Who here has finished the new Harry Potter?

[Rainbowreflect]

I finished it yesterday & want to know what others thought.

***WARNING, POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD***

[shoelace414]

1. I did

It was short..

[Rainbowreflect]

2. So what did you think of it?

Compared to the last 5 of her books, how do you feel this one rates?

[shoelace414]

3. It's about equal to all the rest.

[GaYellowDawg]

4. I was finished at 4:15 AM EST on the 16th.

A number of things, and you'll need to highlight to read just in case someone changes his/her mind about spoilers at the last second:

1. I was quite dismayed to see Dumbledore die. I think that everyone would love to have a Dumbledore in their lives; someone wise and powerful... but kindest most of all. While I realize that Dumbledore had to take some sort of back seat in order for Harry to come fully to the fore, I hate that it came to Dumbledore dying.

2. More than that, I was really dismayed that Snape killed him. I've always harbored this hope that Snape would someday turn his back on his bitterness and become a decent person. I got picked on a lot as a kid - harassed by more popular kids - but I let that go a long time ago, felt a lot better for it, and I was hoping that Snape would be able to let go. Unfortunately, his choices put him in the worst of positions: either kill Dumbledore, or kill Draco Malfoy. I believe that Dumbledore was pleading with Snape to kill him rather than Malfoy - at that point, Draco was still an "innocent" and therefore salvagable.

I've always thought that if Snape could have seen the distaste with which Harry viewed James's treatment of Severus, he might have felt more kindly towards him.

3. I hope that Snape has some sort of nasty little end in Book 7. One where he has time to make some sort of pathetic, feeble excuse. I think that character has gone past redemption.

4. I got a little sick of all of the adolescent kissy-poo. I wanted to see more of Snape's classroom and more of what McGonagall considered N.E.W.T. level Transfiguration. If those things had been included, I wouldn't have been as tired of all the relationship stuff. I could have put up with an extra hundred pages - I think that Rowling edited a bit too fiercely this time.

5. There are actually people out there debating whether Dumbledore is actually dead. He's deader than Karl Rove's sense of ethics. Rowling has never shown any hint of bringing anyone else back, and Dumbledore has always seemed to view death as one of those things that mature adults don't fear.

6. I am extremely curious to know how this series will end. I'm hoping that it doesn't end with Voldemort's death; I'd like to see Draco Malfoy have some sort of turnaround and play a part in Voldemort's downfall, and he and Harry learn to live with each other. I hope that Hermione somehow saves his mother and Draco is shocked out of hating Muggle-borns. I'd love to see some sort of 20-years-later chapter with Malfoy as Slytherin head-of-house and Potions instructor, Potter as DADA instructor and Hogwarts head, Hermione as Gryffindor head-of-house and Transfiguration instructor, and Ron Weasley as Minister of Magic (with Percy as his secretary, LOL). Oh well, I doubt that I'll get any of those... but I'm sure that Rowling will wrap up the series inventively. I just hope I like the invention.

[XemaSab]

15. Additional spoiler thread here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=279x1025

I'd like to see a repost there please :-)

Interesting ideas....

there's a big LIHOP/MIHOP contingent, that says that the argument that Hagrid overhears is the one person telling the other person he has to go through with it, and the other person saying he doesn't want to do it. Page 405 is I think the relevant page.

Also, the idea of Snape and Harry reconciling their differences, especially after what Harry sees in the pensieve, is a strong one. I'm not sure this has been ruled out.

[soothsayer]

5. me! stayed up all night on Sat 'til it was done

I agree with everyone else who said it was edited rather militantly. Loved all the great backstory on things. Would have loved to see more classroom activities and details as that's such fun. I still have hope for redemption for most everyone we think is bad.

[MN ChimpH8R]

6. Finished it last thing last night

It was the weekend's project.

It's an incredibly fast moving book, and seemed to be a little too short for all that was jammed into it.

I was very pleased to see Harry find love, and I don't think she will be abandoning him (no matter what Harry says) given her background and personality.

The last hundred pages were shattering and very grim. I felt vindicated to find out that a prominent character was just as rotten as I'd always believed him/her to be. New instructor is a most interesting character, and I think we've not heard the last of him.

My take is that Rowling's writing has become better as the series becomes darker. Going to re-read it much more slowly in a couple of weeks to get the richness and details.

I can't imagine the last book being anything less than 800-900 pages. There's so much to resolve, explain and tie together. Can't wait!!

[SharonRB]

14. Mine, too

I started it Saturday afternoon and finished it at about 6:30 Sunday. I thought it was way too short -- I thought it would take me the rest of the summer to finish it, but I couldn't put it down and had a nice quiet weekend to read.

I also cried when Dumbledore died and I don't think Snape is really a good guy as some are saying. I think he's evil through and through.

She really set up the next book with the ending, but I wonder if Harry, Ron and Hermione will really not come back to school -- if it's not shut down -- and will spend the whole book chasing He Who Must Not Be Named and killing him in the end.

As others have said, I don't think Ginny will leave Harry and that they will wind up together.

[MN ChimpH8R]

16. I think you're right

Ginny and Harry are together for the duration - they've both experienced LV up close and that is one of the things that bonds them. And since when does a Weasley sit on the sidelines?

I expect to see a lot more of Dumbledore's Army, with Harry in the lead. Snape - ah the riddle of the Sphinx in the HP books. On reflection I agree that Snape did exactly what Dumbledore wanted him to do. That Snape did nothing to harm Harry and was telling him to close his mind during the battle was extremely intriguing. I doubt we've seen the last of Slughorn either.

[youthere]

7. Not me...

I can't stand that long wait in between installments. I bought the book and I will only read a few pages a day.
I finished "Order of the Phoenix" at the beginning of June.
I used to do that with my Halloween candy too.

[Liberal Veteran]

8. That's why I am going to work on 4 hours of sleep....

I started it at 6pm last night and finished at 1:30am.

Shocking and shockingly gripping at the end.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. I finished yesterday... in tears. Am happy for all the couples in love

though.

[Rainbowreflect]

10. ***Spoiler Alert***

I love the bit about Ron & the love potion. Made you think for a moment that he was going to declare his love for Hermione.

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. I wanted

Lupin for myself, though. I'm always drawn to the unloved underdog. (no pun intended.)

[catbert836]

12. Yes, I did.

Finished it on Saturday.
Wow. That totally blew my mind.

[MissMillie]

13. I bought it for my son yesterday. He had to work last night

but he read for 3 hours before he went to work, and for an hour when he got home, and I'm sure that right now he is ignoring the chore list I left for him and he's reading.