Harry Potter ****SPOILERS****

[Rainswept]

Ok Now we're free to discuss at will.

I think the epilogue ending for book seven sucked. I would much rather have had none at all, or perhaps a "One Year Later" rather than 19.

There are so many unanswered questions about what happened during those 19 years. There could have been plenty of oppourtunities to tell some great stories. Any tension is going to be taken out of them now tho, since we all know harry spends the next 19 years raising a family, away from Hogwarts.

I'd have liked to see him spend time as an auror, cleaning up the rest of the death eaters. then become defense against the dark arts professor, then headmaster.

I'd have liked to hear the romance evolve between him and Ginny, not to mention dealing with dangers like the remaining death eaters wanting to capture/kill his godson.

I'd have liked to see how the Dursleys reacted to Harry saving the world, and Dudley liking Harry.

I'd certainly have liked to see him, Ron, and Hermione go back to school for a 7th year.

I'd like to see Hermione as the first ever Muggleborn Minister of Magic.

[Calena]

The epilogue sure does look like something scribbled in 2 minutes without much thought. As I said, I liked the book, but the epilogue is plain disappointing.

I liked the "free will of the wand"-thing.

That Harry didn`t die because he was willing to die is very cliche, but ok for a fantasy book.

I would have bet a year`s salary that Snape is on the good side.

The deaths of Fred, Dobby and Lupin didn`t live up to the announcement of someone important dying. I would rather have had Hermione or Ron dead - it would have been more epic.

I would have liked to see Harry graduate, too, but after defeating Voldemort a school year in Hogwarts would be very boring - no dangerous "extracurricular activities"

But all in all Rowling didn`t wreck her story, like for example Stephen King did with the last 2 books of the Dark Tower.

[Rainswept]

Stephen King did with the last 2 books of the Dark Tower.

Easy now, we're only spoiling Harry Potter here =P

Oh ya there was plenty to love about the book. I was pissed that she killed Fred tho. Deaths in the previous book served to further the story and had important effects on the characters. Killing Dobby was that sort of death, most of the others in this book weren't.

Killings like Fred & Hedwig really added nothing to the story, they just made the reader sad. I suppose that was her point, that deaths can happen in wars indescriminantly, but really, she went a bit farther with it than she needed too.

I also found the multiple maimings that just couldn't be fixed by magic stupid. Bill all scarred up, George losing an ear? Didn't George get hit with the very same spell that Harry hit Malfoy with in book 5? Snape healed Malfoy right up.

[EarthRise]

Killings like Fred & Hedwig really added nothing to the story, they just made the reader sad. I suppose that was her point, that deaths can happen in wars indescriminantly, but really, she went a bit farther with it than she needed too.

Dude, remember how Harry Potter went to find dear Voldy after Fred died? Fred's death was of critical importance since it prompted a Doomsday sort of view to spur Harry into action.

[Zankou 2.0]

I'll come back here in about two days...just finished Phoenix now, and starting Prince.

[Cryofdragon]

How it should have ended:

[farfalla]

And you call that a wand

[Zankou 2.0]

How it should have ended:

That version of Harry looks remarkably like Morfin Gaunt.

[EarthRise]

And you call that a wand

You're giving me waaaay too much room to make a very base joke.

[Zankou 2.0]

Done...I finished re-reading the books in order.

And, you know what, Rowling left far too many ends loose, and we will likely never get the answers!


But I absolutely loved the series, and it was even batter the fourteenth time through.

Well, ok, third for the 6th book and second time for the 7th.

[Rev. Rowan Redbeard]

It was decent. It is easy to say "I might have done it differently" when you haven't written a a single well known novel, much less 6 others.

So, while there are things I am not entirely pleased with, I don't think we've got much to complain about.

[Elektra]

There are so many unanswered questions about what happened during those 19 years. There could have been plenty of oppourtunities to tell some great stories. Any tension is going to be taken out of them now tho, since we all know harry spends the next 19 years raising a family, away from Hogwarts.

I'd have liked to see him spend time as an auror, cleaning up the rest of the death eaters. then become defense against the dark arts professor, then headmaster.

I'd have liked to hear the romance evolve between him and Ginny, not to mention dealing with dangers like the remaining death eaters wanting to capture/kill his godson.

I'd have liked to see how the Dursleys reacted to Harry saving the world, and Dudley liking Harry.

I'd certainly have liked to see him, Ron, and Hermione go back to school for a 7th year.

I'd like to see Hermione as the first ever Muggleborn Minister of Magic.

Those things would have been interesting enough to see, but then Deathly Hallows would have had to be 10.000+ pages long. Anyway, Miss Rowling says she will be writing an Encyclopedia, so hopefully, we will get out answers then.

Either way, Harry didn't become a Professor or Headmaster, he became an Auror and was appointed by Kingsley the department head. I couldn't really see him in a teaching position anyway.

Hermione began working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, where she managed to make life better for House Elves, and is now pretty high up in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Killings like Fred & Hedwig really added nothing to the story, they just made the reader sad. I suppose that was her point, that deaths can happen in wars indescriminantly, but really, she went a bit farther with it than she needed too.

The loss of Hedwig represented a loss of innocence and security. She has been almost like a cuddly toy to Harry at times. Voldemort killing her marked the end of childhood. I'm sorry... I know that death upset a LOT of people!

I also found the multiple maimings that just couldn't be fixed by magic stupid. Bill all scarred up, George losing an ear?

I actually thought it was very realistic from her part, as you can't expect people to come out unharmed out of a war of those proportions.

About the Epilogue, I thought the children's names were...ugh. Is it just me or is naming both your children after both your dead parents kind of...creepy? I understand if he wanted to honour them in somehow but there are other more clever ways of honouring people without being so blunt. For instance, he could've kept James in the middle. And for Lily, well, how about a flower name? Or an "L" name? Or a name that give the nickname Lily, like, I don't know - Jillian, Elizabeth?

Naming his children so blatantly after his parents links to unorthodox associations between a brother and a sister and is rather shudder-ish.

Albus Severus is just corny.

Sorry for the long post, I was late to come in the conversation.

[Rainswept]

Yes, it is more realistic, and I generally appreciate that in a story. One of the great things about both fantasy and children's stories, however, is that you have license to tell a story not just how it is likely to go, but how it ought to.