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The Aftermath: We were all correct

by David Haber

Sometime a week before Book 7 came out, someone commented that Harry would die, but then come back. I think most everyone on the site thought it was a silly idea. But I told several people at that time that I thought that just might be the perfect solution, although I couldn't figure out how J.K. could make it work. J.K. did, of course! So, the half of the Harry Potter fans in the world who thought Harry would die were right! And the other half who thought he would live were also right!

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Reader Comments: (Page 22)

i thought the book was awesome! it had an answer to most of the questions but i do have 2 complaints.
1. Although i loved the battle between Mrs. Weasley and Bellatrix, I was hoping that Neville would her! i thought he would be in the book a little more!
2. The epilogue was interesting but it didnt explain much. where is luna? what jobs do everybody have? who married draco? who is the new minister of magic?

But also i thought it was an awesome book! i really miss reading about hp! thank you jkr!

Posted by katie from bothell,wa on July 23, 2007 10:40 AM

I don't even know how to start. This was, by far, the best of the seven books. Full of exciting moments from the beginning to the end... full of unexpected, sometimes painful, s. Dobby, Mad-Eye, Lupin (sniff), Tonks, Fred... ouch! Dumbledore as a real human being, with more virtues than flaws, but real. And yet, adorable. Ron and Hermione together AT LAST! (Cheers!), Harry and Ginny, just as it was supposed to be. I swear to you guys, I was physically tired last night, when I finished reading the book. It was wonderful closure, and yet, some kind of sadness fills out hearts... it's the last time we read anything new about Harry. Our dear Harry.
Tom Riddle got just what he deserved, not knowing nor understanding the first thing about love and caring for others.
You know what meda me really cry? Two things: Kreacher devoting his loyalty to Harry at last, and Percy coming back to the right side. Just breathtaking.
Oh, and I'm starting to re-read the book; I'm sure I understand loads more this time around.
I love you all, fellow Potter friends. It was, is and always be a pleasure discussing the Potter world with you all.

Posted by Ariadna from Mexico on July 23, 2007 10:40 AM

The Wormtail thing was really good - even though some readers were disappointed. He had been too deep in the dark side, too close to Voldemort, to really be grateful to Harry and take significant risks for him. Just a moment of hesitation was all he could do, and that made all the difference between life and for Harry. Isn't it typical of Voldemort (and the forces of evil - very Christian theme here) that even a gift and a reward from Voldemort, as was the silver hand, in fact still belonged to Voldemort and was a weapon to make sure he was obeyed by Wormtail and would him in case of disobence.

Posted by Cecil from Tacoma WA on July 23, 2007 10:42 AM

also i forgot one thing:
where was the muggle or squib who was said to do magic when they didnt know they could?

Posted by katie from bothell,wa on July 23, 2007 10:43 AM

First, I loved the book. I think all of us need to re-read it and re-read the whole series and we probably find most of the "unanswered" quetions really are answered or at least partially so.

In the epilogue, Teddy was at the station to "see off Victoire" - it never said he was going on the train himself. He surely would have finished school. Victoire must be Fleur and Bill's daughter as others have said.

As to the naming of the children, I think Harry and Ginny made good choices. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind Ron and Ginny's childrens names but I probably find out when I re-read the books. As to why neither named a child after Fred, well that honor should go to George's first born son.

Sure, I'd like to know what jobs they have, what happened to Luna, who is head at Hogwarts now, if they ever put up Snape's portrait, etc. but most of this is not necessary and gives us something to speculate on ourselves.

I'm hoping JK put out a readers' companion book, or someone else work on it and she edit it. For now I am happy that we have 7 books that we can read and re-read. And don't forget 2 more movies to come!

Posted by Ken from Tampa, FL on July 23, 2007 10:47 AM

True Constantine, whay you say is true. Also that gives JK some backup for not making more books for HP, or stops anybody from trying it. Brilliant!

Posted by Luis from Olney, MD on July 23, 2007 10:58 AM

It was stated in the book that Teddy was at the station to see Victoire off to school. He was not still attending Hogwarts. "_and he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away". (DH p 756 U.S. edition)

Posted by Sea from Maryland on July 23, 2007 11:01 AM

To the question I've seen pop up many a time now -- I am pretty sure the person who we see use magic who we've never seen use it is Crabbe, being as he was one of Malfoy's 'dim' friends. I realize, though, that he is not a Muggle, so my question is, are you all SURE it was a MUGGLE supposed to do magic, or just someone we'd never expect? My alternate theory is that Dudley showed magic -- love! Who would have thought, ungrateful and spoiled Dudley, to show love? That was intense, I believe I shrieked with joy at that point...

To answer the person who mentioned that Hermione put a memory charm on her parents, and then shortly after claimed she'd never done one: in Snape's memories, we see him Confund Mundungus, by telling him what he's going to suggest (seven Harrys and whatnot) and that he is not going to remember any of the conversation between him and Snape. So, I assume that Confunding is different, and that what Hermione meant was that she hadn't used something like "Obliviate!" or something...but to be honest, I read the book in 2 days and have forgotten the details about that, so I could be way off.

I already wrote about this, but now I've had time to gather my thoughts, I feel even more hurt about Snape's . Here we discover that Snape has sacrificed himself for Harry more deeply than anyone in the entire series...that he's been doing it for many years...and all we get is his very short , and not even an honorable one...I suppose what I mean is that his seemed too 'random' for the important character that he was, but then, maybe I've got the idea all wrong?

Perhaps the only way for us to truly feel deeply SORRY for Snape, sorry about how incredibly tragic it is that Snape was in (unrequited) love with Lily all those years only to see her marry the man who treated Snape so horribly, was to see him have a quick and, in my opinion, 'unfair' ...it was such a tragic way to , in that it was so short and he had no time to reconcile with Harry. In him ending in this way, we can really feel for him. I don't know about any of you, but his story hit me hardest...I thought it was so terrible and sad, and I keep bursting out in tears randomly because of it...although, that may be a mixture of sadness that the series is over...

I do have another thought about their reconcilation though...maybe it wouldn't make sense that way. We forgot, though Snape did protect Harry...and though we COULD believe that he, deep down, cared for Harry...the fact remains that he disliked Harry very much, because he disliked James...eh, I dunno, though.

But one last, new, and hopefully comforting to some, thought: Perhaps we can assume that, though J.K. left out Snape being in the headmaster's office, his picture IS, indeed, there, and thus, he, in some way, knows that Harry's son was named after him. Actually, I just realized that his portrait isn't him, but even so...seeing those portraits talk, especially Dumbledore's...really makes you believe they're still alive...I suppose they are, in a way. In any case, even if not by the portrait, those of you who believe in a Higher Place can assume that Snape is watching Harry, and has seen his forgiveness and gratitude.

Posted by Katie T from California on July 23, 2007 11:12 AM

Oh, another comment...
I can't wait for the excellent Alan Rickman to play Snape in ly Hallows! I also want to see him in HBP, but the last movie be out of this world, if they adapt it well, that is. I hope they forget that mania of leaving out important stuff.
Oh, and about unanswered questions, what do you think happened? Did Harry, ROn and Hermione stud thir seventh year later? Did they sit their N.E.W.T.s? What profession did they become? What were all the middle names of the children? Did Kreacher (and I suppose his children) continue to serve the Potters for generations? What happened with the dementors? Who stayed as official minister of magic (I hope Kingsley)? What about the Headmaster at Hogwarts? So many things are left for us to speculate! Lots of fun!

Posted by Ariadna from Mexico on July 23, 2007 11:17 AM

Brilliant book. The Hallows were a great twist that noone was expecting but perhaps weren't truly necessery. It's a shame that some of the characters who d did too. But overall, I was very happy with the final few chapters and especially liked peeking into Snape's past. Liked the last lines too.
Great website too with many interesting discussions that I've only just found, thanks!

Posted by Misty from UK on July 23, 2007 11:17 AM

So many great comments and insights here about Book 7! (Was Voldemort really the baby in King's Cross (I thought so too)? Is Moody really ? Was it Ted Tonks who did magic late in life?) I love how so many hints and asides from the earlier books were relevant in this one, showing the value of careful reading; yet at the same time there were enough new ideas introduced to keep it unpredictable.

As for the Snape/Lily connection, this was the one thing that I did see coming: there were a lot of clues that showed that this would turn out to be the reason behind Snape's behavior. The most powerful evidence comes from the chapter in OTP when Harry looks into the Pensieve and sees what JKR tells us is "Snape's Worst Memory" -- it's Snape's worst memory not because he is being public humiliated by James and Sirius (which must have happened pretty often) but because it is the moment in Snape's life when Lily turns against him once and for all. (Interestingly enough, this part was left out of the recent film.) Then in HBP there is Slughorn's constant emphasis on Lily's potions ss, drawing a clear connection between Lily and Snape (the only person whose potions ss rivaled hers) while they were in school. There was Voldy's reluctance to Lily, even though he had just ed James without hesitation; we know now that it was because Snape asked him to spare her life. And finally, I think we know now what it was that Cuaron added to the PoA movie that JKR said people would look back on and see as a spoiler -- it was the extended conversation between Harry and Lupin when Lupin tells Harry how Lily saw the good in everyone, no matter how bad they seemed. Vague, yes, but now we know there is only one thing he could have (presciently) been referring to.

Amazing how these things come together in the final book! I loved it.

Posted by Violet Path from Boston, Mass. on July 23, 2007 11:18 AM

Here are some possible answers to questions, simply taken from other books.

Jobs... who knows, but I would bet that both Harry and Ron are in the Ministry of Magic.

Draco's Wife: Most likely Pansy, the girl always following him around.

It's a good bet that Neville married Luna.

As for the world of HP, Rowling said that she would "revisit it" but that Harry's story was over... which leads me to believe that IF she des go back, it be with the kids.

Posted by Ryan from Columbia, MD on July 23, 2007 11:19 AM

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