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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 37)

I also wondered several times while reading the book, which chapter made Jo cry?! I suppose the obvious one is when Fred s, though personally I was much more upset about Dobby, not sure what that says about me! My guess is that Draco or Lucius or Hagrid got reprieved, and that Tonks didn't originally , leaving Teddy orphaned. I LOVED someone's comment about needing a flowchart to follow where all the wands ended up! Couldn't agree more. What is with Americans and harmless swear words? Don't you think the torture scenes were just a bit more important, regarding this no longer being a children's story, which obviously it is not, as a child wouldn't make head nor tail of it. I had huge trouble with Hermione screaming away in Malfoy Manor, whereas I didn't even notice any swearing. I love the idea that it was Dudley who 'did magic' late in life - certainly can't think of anyone else. Like others, I'm definitely going to read the whole lot from the beginning, partly to see how cleverly it all fits together, and partly to ease this sense of bereavement!

Posted by Anita from Northants, England on July 24, 2007 07:34 AM

JK's awesome. There's no one like her born with much wit and gift for storytelling. She's just great! I love her soo much. And I love the ly Hallows, for me it was the best book in the series (except the epilogue part). Seventh and the best!

Every twist was unexpected, especially about the ly Hallows/Septology Symbol. But most of us also guessed right: Neville go back to Hogwarts to teach Herbology, Snape ed Dumbledore but they planned it beforehand, Harry was a horcrux, One of the horcruxes was hidden in Gringgots bank, etc.

But there were also things JK told us that we never got to read in the last book. Like I never read anyone learning magic late in life. I thought that would be Dudley or Aunt Petunia or whoever... Then JK mentioned that there would be no new character in the 7th book, but heck! There were plentiful of them.

There were also lots of . Lots of grieving. I was so touched and saddened by the life & sorrows of Dumbledore and his family, how Regulus Black d, and of course how Harry accepted in the end that he has to make a sacrifice to end himself cause he was a last horcrux.

I was one of the people who thought that the Harry-is-a-horcrux theory's insane. Cause i had no idea how Harry would find a solution for that. Absolutely he has to , but I don't want him to create a horcrux for himself to end Voldemort. And I also don't want him to . Gladly, JK crafted the twist with grace and the theory of Harry as the last horcrux was acceptable.

Long live Harry Potter!
I'm gonna miss Hedwig, Fred Weasley, Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore, Dobby, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Mad-eye Moody, and the rest of those who belong in the Wizarding world who risked their life for the better good...

Posted by Ashley from Baguio City, Philippines on July 24, 2007 07:46 AM

To whoever said that Teddy Lupin should be out of Hogwarts, you were right and wrong. Teddy isn't going on the Hogwarts Express. James said that Teddy said he was seeing off Victoire (who must be Bill and Fleur's daughter, probably in seventh year). Also I think that the reason none of the kids are named Fred is because George or Percy ought to name their kid Fred. BTW, I loved the epilogue because I am such a sucker for happy endings. Did anyone else notice that none of the Marauders survived? It's so sad!

Posted by Aryssa from LA, California on July 24, 2007 07:47 AM

Wow - what an amazing book - certain parts i felt sick to my stomach with nerves.
And the most touching bits - walking into the forest ready to and when Harry told his son about his middle name severus.
There have been lots of complaints about the epilogiue not beign detailed enough - the story isnt about what they get up to in the future - the story is about the battle to defeat Voldemort. It doesnt matter what they are doing 19 years on - they could change their jobs every year, they could be divorced etc. im glad the epilogue was as short as it was as i didnt want another 20 pages rambling on.

There are always going to be a few loop holes or unanswered questions but id rather this than the story altered just to make sure it all gets answered.
Its been an amazing series and an amazing book.
Thank you JKR

Posted by Tonks from London on July 24, 2007 07:59 AM

Re: Future Harry Potter books.
Although I can see no more Harry Potter books per se, there's no reason to think that Ms. Rowling has nothing more to say about the world in which Harry lived. There are plenty of legitimate possibilities for prequels, i.e., stories about the early lives of James and Lily, Severus, Remus, Dumbledore (especially, since we now know he underwent some significant personality growth), and the like. I'm not entirely ruling out even the possibility of new Harry Potter adventures, but it does seem from the Epilogue that after fulfilling his life's purpose of defeating Voldemort, Harry is happily living an uneventful life and perhaps should be left alone.

Posted by IJB from Harrisburg PA on July 24, 2007 08:20 AM

For the Snape haters who are still looking for reasons to hate him - stop. Snape is the most complex and amazing character in the entire series.

Yes, he protects Harry because he loves Lily - but have you even considered the torment Snape must have gone through all those years? He loved Lily from the moment he met her, and he destroyed any chance of having her love in his 5th year at Hogwarts (as seen in OotP). He was the one who told of the prophecy - and he tried in vain to protect her. He had to spend the rest of his life knowing that Lily d because of what he told Voldemort, then he has Harry. Harry who he vows to protect - Harry, who he must resent, because if Harry had not been born in July then Voldemort would not have hunted him down. Harry who is the image of James Potter - the boy who tortured Snape at school. Every smart comment, every resentful act Harry did to Snape it must have been like history repeating itself. But everytime Snape admonished Harry, every time he saw fear or resentment in Harry's eyes - he saw Lily's eyes too. A tortured reminder of his past and of his deep never changing love.
Then what is more, when Snape finally discovered the truth - that Harry was a Horcrux and destined for , and therefore he could never save him, still he continued the work Dumbledore asked him to do. He helped Dumbledore the he requested, he knew he would have to walk alongside Voldemort - the man who ed Lily. He did it all and he continued to protect and help Harry all the way.
Snape's was unworthy - he deserved a better , what is more, he would have d staring into Harrys/Lily's eyes believing he had failed and that Harry was going to anyway.
I hope, that when Snape crossed the veil Dumbledore was there and he told Snape he had not failed, that Harry would live and I hope he and Lily became friends again.

Posted by Orlando from England on July 24, 2007 08:25 AM

amazing battle, curious ending... sad, hedwig dobby fred had to go... and how cool is voldemort - he can fly.. FLY!

sigh...if only it all continues, For 21 years, the scar did not so much as throb. It was all forgotten wen it finally exploded, challenging even the pain from a cruciatus curse. Harry knew, the dark lord had risen. More terrible than ever. But how? Surely, is a one way ticket. But the dark lord had his ways. Ways to delude even the omniscient Dumblebore. The last horcrux was well hidden. Too well hidden in fact. Decades, it had taken for a dark wizard powerful enough to surmount Lord Voldemort's enchantments upon the last relic of Salazar Slytherin (maybe a silver serpent or something). Slytherin had meant it to be revealed to none but his heir (Voldemort). The dark lord had but one last quest in mind. A task he had overlooked but realised during his fall. A quest to attain immortality at last. A quest to evade eternally. A quest for one last horcrux, fawkes....

Posted by vin from singapore on July 24, 2007 08:34 AM

Wait... three questions:

1) are we to assume that it was perhaps Hermione who gave the goblin the fake sword in the vault, and stuffed the real one in her bag? That was never explained.

2) I assume, since they said Harry had part of Voldemort's soul in him, that the kid in distress and in pain on the floor at King's Cross is actually that piece of soul that is actually .

3) Did I miss it or is Luna mentioned at all in the Epilogue?

Posted by Cristina from Miami Beach Florida on July 24, 2007 08:40 AM

What I don't like is the part when Ron open the chamber of secrets with hissing sound.

Posted by BC from Plano, TX on July 24, 2007 08:40 AM

Okay- I must say that I loved that there were the anti-horcruxes, The Hallows. That was a very good twist, when we all were definate on that the Hallows were an actual place.

The only questions I have are.

1. What is the cover of the US edition about? The end when Harry gets the elder wand? Because the background, the arches, doesn't seem to fit into Hogwarts...

2. Who was the wizard that performed magic under very desprate situations? Was it Neville who pulled out the Gryffindor Sword? Or was it Mrs. Weasley, who dueled with Bellatrix? I also must say that I love when she cussed at Ballatrix.

Thanks and it was a grand book!

Posted by CADE from TEXAS on July 24, 2007 08:49 AM

I really loved the book!

Many questions remain though, I would like to know what happened to all the main characters. what Dudley saw when the dementors cornered him, what happened to the remaining eaters, what happened to kreacher and Grimmauld place.....

I did like it that JK finally told us what happened to the Bloody Baron, I've been wondering about that for ages!

I would like to point out though in CoS at Nick's day party, it says on the cake "Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington
Died 31'st October, 1492."

It is his 500 day. Which makes the year CoS takes place 1992. Seeing as Harry is twelve in CoS, he was born in 1980 right?
Then he would be 27 right now. I thought it would have made much more sense for JK to make the epilogue 10 years into the future (which would be now according to our timeline) not 19, which takes place in 9 years time from now...

Any thoughts?

RIP: Hedwig, Dobby, Snape, Tonks, Lupin, Colin Creevey, Moody and Fred

Posted by Selina from Leiden on July 24, 2007 09:17 AM

As all other readers, I would like to share my thoughts about the book. And I suppose that because I want to, I must have liked it. But let me start a thread for all those who think, as I do, that the book did not live up to its promise.
Let me just grumble for a bit...
I) Snape'e redemption ignored
Why is Snape treated so badly? I suppose that Harry's explanation should help to clear his memory, but I really think he still gets a very bad deal! Not only did he redeem his past service to Voldemort, but he took a terrible burden of universal hatred and despise.
II) Harry's blunders and blind luck
What was the reason for letting Harry blunder around with no real plan of getting the Horcruxes? Why did he not try to discover the location of the Horcruxes at the very beginning of the book, by using the connection to Voldemort's mind? It would even have been possible to arrange that Voldemort would get really mad about something. Then Harry could have used Legilimency...
III) The Phoenix motive wasted
One of the most beautiful features of the series was the motive of the Phoenix. It is quite obvious that this motive was connected to Dumbledore. ing Dumbledore would have made sense for the Author if Harry would become more independent; but that is not the case! Harry just blunders about, still a part of Dumbledore's plan, not understanding it and not expecting the results of his actions. It would have made much more sense for Dumbledore to live again, even if just for a while, in order to give Harry more guidance in the beginning, and then to disappear, leaving Harry the master of his own destiny.
This is just grumbling... I know.. But while I have enjoyed the book, I feel sorry for what it might have been. It falls seriously short of my other favorite fantasy series, like "The Lord of the Rings" or "Narnia".
All my best wishes to all other readers. I hope that most of them do not agree with me.

Posted by Adam Wierzbicki on July 24, 2007 09:20 AM

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