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Entry tags:
- !!!,
- can i be harry to your draco?,
- denial is my best friend,
- fandom,
- flailing,
- harry potter and its crazy fandom,
- i am a crazy fangirl,
- i love everyone,
- i write too much,
- intelligence is an occasional hobby,
- let's meta,
- puppyshipping is good for the soul,
- pwned sideways,
- shut up my otps make me happy
OH HARRY POTTER, YOU MAKE ME :D
I started reading Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows at 1:21am and finished at 7:39am. So it took me 6 hours and 18 minutes overall. And now I can finally--FINALLY--talk all about it in its spoilery glory.
Thank you, flist, for making me wait.
If forced to sum up my thoughts on DH in the most succint bullet-point list I could, the result would look something like this:
1. This is my favorite HP book.
2. Vindication for Snape's loyalties!
3. This book? Was absolutely and totally made for me by the Malfoys.
(4. The epilogue is a thing of laughter, ridicule, and here-is-Mei-ignoring-it.)
Thankfully, I get to talk about it as long as I want. ::glee:: So shall we go in a vague chronological order? I grabbed my notebook as soon as I finished the book to jot down all the thoughts that were flooding my mind.
1. This is my favorite HP book.
It is and I'm so excited about and I'm so glad I remained spoiler-free and didn't read the leak. It was so much better holding the book in my hands and flipping pages and--! You know I still love fic. I will continue to love fic. But this is is so much more than I ever thought I'd see us get from canon; there's a lot of what I expected, of course, relationship-wise, but there are a lot of other things that make this book my favorite that I will get to later.
I don't care what you say or if you like it or not. I love this book best. I had fun reading it. It was like a combination of fic (oh those awesome, awesome novella-length post-HBP-fic with those crazy, clever fan theories integrated!) and canon, but even better because it was all canon. \o/
I mean, obviously, I do have qualms about the book. I've yet to read any perferct book. But we'll get to that.
I don't think you're a literary genius, JKR, and I can't say I'm your biggest fan. But thank you for writing this series and this book in particular. I'm proud to be an HP fan.
2. Things that made me grin in happiness and cheer silently.
Bill and Fleur's wedding was lovely and something I desperately wanted to see, because it's a romance I fully support and adore, and it lent a bit of happiness to the otherwise war-tense world. I loved the descriptions of decorations and everyone's jitters, and I love the Delacours. I wished more detail had been given to the wedding ceremony itself--I distinctly recall![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mistful's Bill/Fleur wedding scene in Quality of Mercy and it made me cry. JKR's version was lovely but not nearly as touching.
The Viktor Krum cameo! Perhaps it was fandom, or perhaps it was the fourth movie featuring the Durmstrang boys and their large phallic sticks, but I've been extremely fond of him lately. (I never disliked him in GoF either, but now I'm all squeeful and petting.) I love his indignation about being an international Quidditch star and wanting hot girls! Eee!
The infiltration of the Ministry of Magic with the Polyjuice made me think fondly of Ocean's 11. Oh con jobs! The Trio is not as skilled, but I love them anyway.
Generally, Trio love. I love love love how important Ron and Hermione are to Harry and he only spent one distinct sentence feeling "left out" that Ron and Hermione were falling for each other. It doesn't bear on how much they love you, Harry. I really have come to appreciate that. :)
On that note, when Ron stormed off and left Harry and Hermione alone in the forest, I really had a moment of "oh my God, is JKR actually going to give us H/Hr? 'Cause she could actually do it now." and then the original H/Hr fangirl of me wanted it desperately (and not just for the ensuing wank, which would be hilarious). Part of me always knew she wouldn't, though, because of her, you know "anvil-sized hints". What. Well, it was a nice thought, if quickly disproved. I do like the R/Hr you know. I think they're cute, if slightly dysfunctional.
And the Horcrux search! It really was like reading another fic with another guess at how things would work out. Fan theories played out in the multiple Potters at the beginning (I should be able to recall the exact fic where I saw that but, alas, my memory fails me), Harry being the 7th Horcrux, etc. Fans, they are so smart! Okay, well, some of them. The fantwits at the midnight release made me wish I could go to an "HP for Adults" party or something. But I'll save that story for the Snape section.
Oh, I Love Neville. I'm thrilled he become so active and took up leadership, and found Harry & co, and that he drew the sword of Gryffindor in the end! It came so, so close to Harry dying and Neville saving the world! Close enough to make me very :D :D :D.
Also, seeing Cho again actually made me strangely pleased, perhaps because she was not crying and went to stand by Michael Corner. Ginny's jealousy was not appreciated though.Does she have a chest monster too? Dean being on the run was a nice touch. And just other characters being mentioned. They exist! Hurrah!
What else made me happy? PERCY. Oh Percy, Percy, Percy. I know it is fic that has warmed me up to you, but when he came back and apologized? I nearly burst into tears right then. God, Percy. Oh Weasley family. I do love you wholly and completely and utterly with one glaring exception but er, anyway. And the way Fred responded to him, and how he joked and then how he cried alksdjl. OH PERCY.
And then. Then there were the Malfoys. But they get their own section.
3. Character depth is a plus!
I am glad Dudley got more depth! Even it was as surprising to us as it was to Harry (and even if it felt a bit like a last-ditch effort to make the Dursleys more than 2D characters), I'm glad about Dudley "thanking" Harry for saving his life. It made me all wibbly. You are not all awful! Plus the further character development that Petunia got, glancing back at Harry with something that might have been regret in another lifetime, and the backstory of her jealousy in Snape's memories.
It was also very nice to see JKR mention Hermione's parents in slightly more detail than passing. Clearly, they still played a tiny, nearly infinitesimal role in the book, but at least she remembered them. I'm a bit peeved that she could have Hermione dismiss them so easily when Ron is all about family and Harry is all about family (or emoing about the lack thereof) and even the Malfoys (♥!!) get to care about family, but because Hermione's parents are Muggle and therefore cannot be involved in all the epic, magical war, they're written out of the book like they're not as important to Hermione as everyone else's family is to them. So that's an either/or thing for me. I'm glad they were mentioned and that Hermione thought ahead that much, but the point of fact is, she pretty much never thinks about them again. Less great, JKR. Too handy.
I did like the depth given to Dumbledore, however. I like it more and more as I reflect on the book. Since rereading bits of OotP and watching the movie, I couldn't help but grouch at him, calling him unflattering things in my mind for being so crafty and unhelpful and causing Harry all sorts of unneeded grief. You are not God, Dumbledore; you have no need to Work In Mysterious Ways™. His backstory gave him much more humanity and depth and I highly approve! I like that he struggled with power. I like that he was not always wise and kind and full of charity. I like that he was a genius and battled with arrogance, that he sought an equal mind and friend in Grindelwald, that he made mistakes with his family even though he loved them.
So much more human, Dumbledore, and much more likeable. :) More interesting than the perpetually sage old wizard who somehow knows everything, too.
And, god, my mind could not stop shouting "DUMBLEDORE/GRINDELWALD SLASH" every time Harry found more info on the two of them. Hahaha. Oh fandom is going to have a ball. New OTP!
I don't know if this counts as character depth, but maybe it reflects how Harry's grown since OotP and HBP--there were only one or two scenes where I actually wanted to hit Harry over the head for his stubborn, blind self-righteousness. (It didn't help that JKR made him right most of the time, either.) But it was a large improvement on previous books, where my ire at him was far greater and far more frequent. Oh, Harry, all grown up nowand riding horses naked.
4. Vindication for Snape!
I confess: last night was the first time I actually went to a midnight-release. The seventh book madness swept me along and I was happy to go and mingle and whatnot. (Pictures later!)efio_47 and I mocked the orange/purple theme and deplored the "Snape is Friend/Foe" debate because, honestly. Who still thinks Snape is evil?
Apparently, quite a number of people, as I concluded from the orange stickers of "Snape will betray" I saw.
WELL, HAH, YOU LOSE.
I am glad I hang out with the smart end of fandom. :) With my H/D shipping tendencies and the Slytherin sympathies that immediately invokes, I don't think I've encountered a single H/D fic in which Snape was actually Evil, per se. (He did have his own agenda in some fics, but neither did he betray Dumbledore's faith.) And with the convincing arguments in those fics and in other meta, my mind had honestly just accepted as canon Snape's loyalties to Dumbledore. How could anyone with half a brain think otherwise? (No offense. This is just my bias and massive fic-reading showing.)
When we were in line to get our books, we heard two fantwits (middle school or early high school, I'd guess) whispering behind us about our "Trust Snape" stickers (stuck to our backs). "How can they think he's good? That's so lame. He's so evil. I mean, come on, he's in Slytherin and their symbol is, duh, the snake. Obvious symbolism, duh."
Yes, yes, your logic strikes me down where I stand. I hope they are shocked down to their snide little Gryffindor bones when they read DH and realize that Snape was, in fact, loyal to the end, killing Dumbledore on his own wishes.
And that was pivotal to the plot, thank you very much.
This book convinced me to become a Snape fangirl as previous books couldn't. (I've always liked movie!Snape though. But I don't know if that counts, because Alan Rickman is So Awesome.) I knew he would die and that makes me all wretched inside, but I am so, so happy to have canon proof that he was in fact good and loyal and all that shizznit, 'cause oh vicious vicious vindication.
I mean, er.
I got all sad over the unrequited Snape/Lily. Oh Snape. You know, JKR is not doing a great job of making me love James or Lily, really. They are too glorified as paragons of virtue, of great and noble heroes, etc, when I haven't seen much humanity that makes them likeable. Oh, yes, they're human in Hogwarts, but thoroughly dislikable.
I like Sirius and Remus though, but probably I am biased as a pupppyshipper. I loved the MWPP era best for their fics.
That segues nicely into my next topic.
5. Things that made me less than thrilled.
Remus/Tonks wedding. WTF. How fast do you need their relationship to progress, JKR? And then suddenly a kid? I don't believe I can express the full extent of my loathing for the cavalier way you've treated this offhand het ship you've thrown at us to keep the Sirius/Remus down. And after all that fast-paced relationship you've thrown at us, with some additional Remus Lupin brand of Werewolf Angst™, you go and kill them off.
You don't even give them proper killed-in-battle deaths: you just show their bodies next to Fred's. I hate that.
And you know what I hate even more?
FRED. FRED WEASLEY OH JEEZUS CHRIST PLEASE ERASE THIS PART.
This killed me the worst. The way he died, laughing like Sirius, welcoming Percy back-- It still makes me tear up. Fred. You were my favorite Weasley! (I think. I'm fond of Bill & Charlie, too, but again, that may be fic. Fred is probably a canon favorite.) And I can't imagine what George is going to do without you. It ripped my heart to shreds. No no NO.
I will always hate you for that JKR. I even sort of understand why you did it, but I will still hate you for it. Any other Weasley, JKR, any other. (Well, obviously, except for George. I hate splitting twins up alskjfldk.)
This is also an example of the loose ends JKR leaves at the end of the book and ignores completely in the epilogue (which is another discussion, lolz). What happened with Griphook and the sword of Gryffindor? How do people recover after Voldemort's death? What happens to the Ministry with no Minister of Magic? What about Hogwarts, with no Headmaster? What happens to house unity? How do the Weasleys mourn Fred? This is the kind of stuff I wanted to see in the epilogue. The important stuff.
Let's see, what else kind of ticked me off? Oh, Harry being the 7th Horcrux. She explained it fairly logically, I guess, and she's set it up to be that way since the beginning, but--eh. Maybe I just find it tired and cliché after so may fan theories of the same ilk, but I was disappointed at her lack of originality. I suppose it's not her fault her fans are so creative.
Harry's constant obsession with Ginny. It can be explained away by JKR wanting her to be important enough to him to justify the epilogue (god! that thing), but I didn't buy it. How can he feel more for her (and Hagrid and Dobby apparently) than for Ron or Hermione? He's willing to change track from Voldemort to Bellatrix and Ginny's battle because, omg,damsel hot girl in distress! And I really don't think JKR did very well in selling us/me onto the pairing this book. They hardly spent any time together and while Harry did obsess about her occasionally, I don't see Ginny as any more of a likable or useful character than she was. The whole scene with Mrs. Weasley telling her she was not old enough to fight? God, she's sixteen and she's still a liability.
I know, I know, I'm biased. But I really saw more Harry/Luna interaction that I liked than Harry/Ginny. Luna is helpful and supportive (being a distraction so he can slip on his Invisibility Cloak and slip away), whereas Ginny is...not so much.
But we'll move on because I know I sound like a whiny Ginny-bashing shipper, which I'm not trying to be; I really just don't like how JKR uses her character. I'm sure others can say it much better than I.
I think Dobby Apparating to save Harry & co., then Disapparating, then Dying, was very Epic and Convenient and Trite As Hell. I was not terribly moved at his death, sorry, and found Harry's overwhelming rush of guilt and sadness and other emotions a bit extreme. I felt no such sympathy; it was too rushed and clichéd an affair.
And, lastly, the line that incensed me when I read it was Pansy Parkinson standing up and shouting that Harry Potter was here, why didn't they turn him over to Voldemort?
Still biased against the fucking Slytherins, Jo? It would appear so. There is no such thing as the house unity you made a sorry attempt to promote in previous books, is there?
::bitchy bitch!::
6. Redemption for the Slytherins, and why I love this book beyond all measure.
But then I got over it because I realized how much slack JKR had actually given Slytherins in this book, and how she put so many of them on the road to "redemption" from the horrible reputations she herself had given them.
Slughorn, for example, was fighting along Hogwarts staff against Voldemort. There's a start.
Kreacher, for another example! Strangely endearing and got a laugh out of me at the end when he led the Hogwarts house-elves in rebellion.
And Regulus Arcturus Black. :) Good to know fandom is really as smart as I thought it was.
Snape, of course, because no one can denounce his sheer awesomeness (and bravery? oh let me talk about it some more in the epilogue section).
But, oh god, my absolutely favorite part of the book, no holds barred? Is the scene where Narcissa bends down to check if Harry's dead, asks him if Draco is still alive and in the castle, and upon receiving confirmation, lies to Voldemort and says Harry is indeed dead.
Oh be still my beating heart.
That's a big fucking giant ♥ right there for you. All the H/D, Slytherin-sympathetic fic that made Narcissa a likable character? I thought it was only fic. But now she's canon. The pureblood, coldhearted, ice-blonde and beautiful woman who was if not a Death Eater herself, at least wife and sister to ones--she will sacrifice it all for her son. She loves him beyond all measure. She is a mother, no less terrified for her son than Lily was for Harry.
And Lucius--I had keep reminding myself that it was not AU for him to be alive, after all those fics that kept killing him off--he is not the cold bastard we once imagined him to be. I really thought he'd die in this book, for Draco's failure, or something--anything. I am shocked to see him not only survive but to survive in a unit of family, caring for his son so much that he would beg Voldemort, that he would race through Hogwarts in the midst of the epic battle being waged and not even bother fighting, searching desperately for Draco.
My love for the Malfoys just shot up by, like, 500%.
And Draco, Draco. I love you, Draco. I love that you're terrified out of your wits, that you do care for Crabbe and Goyle like we suspected all along, that you don't want to die, that part of you does trust Harry fucking Potter to save the world.
(And the shipper in me will fangirl long and hard over Harry using Draco's wand, and Draco clinging to Harry on the broom, and Harry saving Draco's life twice without even thinking about it, and Draco being the Elder Wand's master before Harry. I could faint in happiness. You will never be able to make me un-ship this pairing, oh god. ♥♥♥)
I really have no more words. HP7, you've really exceeded my expectations in this area. I was just fervently hoping that neither Draco (okay, or Harry) would die.
Dude, Slytherin love for fuckin' life.
7. Overall plot and pacing things...and That Thing To Which We Shall Refer Distasteflly As The Epilogue
I thought the Horcruxes were...conveniently easy to dispose of, what with the Gryffindor sword and Ron & Hermione managing to off the Hufflepuff cup completely without Harry (or any screentime!) and Crabbe's Fiendfyre.
Well, so goes the plot. I can't say I was expecting anything really great, and I'm satisfied.
Don't like the chapter "King's Cross" at all. I was wondering as I read how things would be clarified at the end now that Dumbledore was dead, since he was always the one that explained everything Harry didn't know throughout the book at the end. Conveniently, JKR gives us this little "afterlife" world. Apparently the only who can know anything of any importance in the wizarding world remains Dumbledore, even dead. Okay, then. Whatever.
I found the "Avada Kedavra" vs "Expelliarmus" bit at the end a little cheesy, but just a little. I suspected JKR was leading up to that ever since the beginning of the book, where Expelliarmus was labeled Harry's "signature" move and he defended it by saying if he'd used the Killing Curse, he would be the same as Voldemort. Clearly, it is their differences that matter.
And now, as for the Epilogue That Wasn't, suffice to say I'm going to be ignoring it completely.
That Harry and Ginny got married after a teenage romance makes me Laugh Out Loud because how many people do you know who've actually done that? And stayed married? It's a cute idea, but really now. They didn't really know each other at all. They can like each other and be mutually attracted all they want, but think of that chapter inmistful's Quality of Mercy again where Harry knew nothing about Ginny's friends or likes. How true, how true. JKR hasn't proven otherwise.
Ron/Hermione is more believable because of all the time they've spent together and all the time they spent finally getting together--because we've seen the progression, I buy it. I don't know if they'll last, but I'd wager on them with greater certainty than on H/G.
And naming the kids James, Albus, and Lily? Oh the cheez. It pains me.
There were two bright spots about the Epilogue That Wasn't, though. :) One, "Albus Severus." Oh Harry. Oh Snape. I love it and it made me tear up even though part of me totally doesn't buy it. I'd need a more sincere, in depth reaction from Harry on discovering that someone he'd hated with such passion could turn out to be good, and in love with his mom. He'd always loathed Snape as a professor, but he was impassioned with fury after Snape killed Dumbledore...I know the reveal of Snape's loyalties probably took a lot of the wind from his sails but, really, 180 turnaround without showing us any of that, JKR? I disapprove.
Two--the Harry/Draco nod exchange. Draco has a child named Scorpius!! I could die! I don't care that he's married. You know, since I'm ignoring the entire epilogue. But eeeee. God I love them so hard.
ETA: AS/S (i.e., Albus Severus/Scorpius) is probably the Greatest Pairing Name Ever and I ship it. ::full of lolz::
ETA 2:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
the_ass_ship HAHAHA FUCK YES. And how cute is this? I love upon!
Okay, so this is like a three-page essay. ::hides face:: TL;DR much?
I'M SORRY. I LOVED THIS BOOK, OKAY?
I'm just, um, going to leave you to it. Anyone who's read already, PLEASE FANGIRL WITH ME. PLEASE. Or discuss. Whatever. And anyone who's still reading/yet to read, please come fangirl with me after! ♥
Thank you, flist, for making me wait.
If forced to sum up my thoughts on DH in the most succint bullet-point list I could, the result would look something like this:
1. This is my favorite HP book.
2. Vindication for Snape's loyalties!
3. This book? Was absolutely and totally made for me by the Malfoys.
(4. The epilogue is a thing of laughter, ridicule, and here-is-Mei-ignoring-it.)
Thankfully, I get to talk about it as long as I want. ::glee:: So shall we go in a vague chronological order? I grabbed my notebook as soon as I finished the book to jot down all the thoughts that were flooding my mind.
1. This is my favorite HP book.
It is and I'm so excited about and I'm so glad I remained spoiler-free and didn't read the leak. It was so much better holding the book in my hands and flipping pages and--! You know I still love fic. I will continue to love fic. But this is is so much more than I ever thought I'd see us get from canon; there's a lot of what I expected, of course, relationship-wise, but there are a lot of other things that make this book my favorite that I will get to later.
I don't care what you say or if you like it or not. I love this book best. I had fun reading it. It was like a combination of fic (oh those awesome, awesome novella-length post-HBP-fic with those crazy, clever fan theories integrated!) and canon, but even better because it was all canon. \o/
I mean, obviously, I do have qualms about the book. I've yet to read any perferct book. But we'll get to that.
I don't think you're a literary genius, JKR, and I can't say I'm your biggest fan. But thank you for writing this series and this book in particular. I'm proud to be an HP fan.
2. Things that made me grin in happiness and cheer silently.
Bill and Fleur's wedding was lovely and something I desperately wanted to see, because it's a romance I fully support and adore, and it lent a bit of happiness to the otherwise war-tense world. I loved the descriptions of decorations and everyone's jitters, and I love the Delacours. I wished more detail had been given to the wedding ceremony itself--I distinctly recall
mistful's Bill/Fleur wedding scene in Quality of Mercy and it made me cry. JKR's version was lovely but not nearly as touching.The Viktor Krum cameo! Perhaps it was fandom, or perhaps it was the fourth movie featuring the Durmstrang boys and their large phallic sticks, but I've been extremely fond of him lately. (I never disliked him in GoF either, but now I'm all squeeful and petting.) I love his indignation about being an international Quidditch star and wanting hot girls! Eee!
The infiltration of the Ministry of Magic with the Polyjuice made me think fondly of Ocean's 11. Oh con jobs! The Trio is not as skilled, but I love them anyway.
Generally, Trio love. I love love love how important Ron and Hermione are to Harry and he only spent one distinct sentence feeling "left out" that Ron and Hermione were falling for each other. It doesn't bear on how much they love you, Harry. I really have come to appreciate that. :)
On that note, when Ron stormed off and left Harry and Hermione alone in the forest, I really had a moment of "oh my God, is JKR actually going to give us H/Hr? 'Cause she could actually do it now." and then the original H/Hr fangirl of me wanted it desperately (and not just for the ensuing wank, which would be hilarious). Part of me always knew she wouldn't, though, because of her, you know "anvil-sized hints". What. Well, it was a nice thought, if quickly disproved. I do like the R/Hr you know. I think they're cute, if slightly dysfunctional.
And the Horcrux search! It really was like reading another fic with another guess at how things would work out. Fan theories played out in the multiple Potters at the beginning (I should be able to recall the exact fic where I saw that but, alas, my memory fails me), Harry being the 7th Horcrux, etc. Fans, they are so smart! Okay, well, some of them. The fantwits at the midnight release made me wish I could go to an "HP for Adults" party or something. But I'll save that story for the Snape section.
Oh, I Love Neville. I'm thrilled he become so active and took up leadership, and found Harry & co, and that he drew the sword of Gryffindor in the end! It came so, so close to Harry dying and Neville saving the world! Close enough to make me very :D :D :D.
Also, seeing Cho again actually made me strangely pleased, perhaps because she was not crying and went to stand by Michael Corner. Ginny's jealousy was not appreciated though.
What else made me happy? PERCY. Oh Percy, Percy, Percy. I know it is fic that has warmed me up to you, but when he came back and apologized? I nearly burst into tears right then. God, Percy. Oh Weasley family. I do love you wholly and completely and utterly with one glaring exception but er, anyway. And the way Fred responded to him, and how he joked and then how he cried alksdjl. OH PERCY.
And then. Then there were the Malfoys. But they get their own section.
3. Character depth is a plus!
I am glad Dudley got more depth! Even it was as surprising to us as it was to Harry (and even if it felt a bit like a last-ditch effort to make the Dursleys more than 2D characters), I'm glad about Dudley "thanking" Harry for saving his life. It made me all wibbly. You are not all awful! Plus the further character development that Petunia got, glancing back at Harry with something that might have been regret in another lifetime, and the backstory of her jealousy in Snape's memories.
It was also very nice to see JKR mention Hermione's parents in slightly more detail than passing. Clearly, they still played a tiny, nearly infinitesimal role in the book, but at least she remembered them. I'm a bit peeved that she could have Hermione dismiss them so easily when Ron is all about family and Harry is all about family (or emoing about the lack thereof) and even the Malfoys (♥!!) get to care about family, but because Hermione's parents are Muggle and therefore cannot be involved in all the epic, magical war, they're written out of the book like they're not as important to Hermione as everyone else's family is to them. So that's an either/or thing for me. I'm glad they were mentioned and that Hermione thought ahead that much, but the point of fact is, she pretty much never thinks about them again. Less great, JKR. Too handy.
I did like the depth given to Dumbledore, however. I like it more and more as I reflect on the book. Since rereading bits of OotP and watching the movie, I couldn't help but grouch at him, calling him unflattering things in my mind for being so crafty and unhelpful and causing Harry all sorts of unneeded grief. You are not God, Dumbledore; you have no need to Work In Mysterious Ways™. His backstory gave him much more humanity and depth and I highly approve! I like that he struggled with power. I like that he was not always wise and kind and full of charity. I like that he was a genius and battled with arrogance, that he sought an equal mind and friend in Grindelwald, that he made mistakes with his family even though he loved them.
So much more human, Dumbledore, and much more likeable. :) More interesting than the perpetually sage old wizard who somehow knows everything, too.
And, god, my mind could not stop shouting "DUMBLEDORE/GRINDELWALD SLASH" every time Harry found more info on the two of them. Hahaha. Oh fandom is going to have a ball. New OTP!
I don't know if this counts as character depth, but maybe it reflects how Harry's grown since OotP and HBP--there were only one or two scenes where I actually wanted to hit Harry over the head for his stubborn, blind self-righteousness. (It didn't help that JKR made him right most of the time, either.) But it was a large improvement on previous books, where my ire at him was far greater and far more frequent. Oh, Harry, all grown up now
4. Vindication for Snape!
I confess: last night was the first time I actually went to a midnight-release. The seventh book madness swept me along and I was happy to go and mingle and whatnot. (Pictures later!)
efio_47 and I mocked the orange/purple theme and deplored the "Snape is Friend/Foe" debate because, honestly. Who still thinks Snape is evil? Apparently, quite a number of people, as I concluded from the orange stickers of "Snape will betray" I saw.
WELL, HAH, YOU LOSE.
I am glad I hang out with the smart end of fandom. :) With my H/D shipping tendencies and the Slytherin sympathies that immediately invokes, I don't think I've encountered a single H/D fic in which Snape was actually Evil, per se. (He did have his own agenda in some fics, but neither did he betray Dumbledore's faith.) And with the convincing arguments in those fics and in other meta, my mind had honestly just accepted as canon Snape's loyalties to Dumbledore. How could anyone with half a brain think otherwise? (No offense. This is just my bias and massive fic-reading showing.)
When we were in line to get our books, we heard two fantwits (middle school or early high school, I'd guess) whispering behind us about our "Trust Snape" stickers (stuck to our backs). "How can they think he's good? That's so lame. He's so evil. I mean, come on, he's in Slytherin and their symbol is, duh, the snake. Obvious symbolism, duh."
Yes, yes, your logic strikes me down where I stand. I hope they are shocked down to their snide little Gryffindor bones when they read DH and realize that Snape was, in fact, loyal to the end, killing Dumbledore on his own wishes.
And that was pivotal to the plot, thank you very much.
This book convinced me to become a Snape fangirl as previous books couldn't. (I've always liked movie!Snape though. But I don't know if that counts, because Alan Rickman is So Awesome.) I knew he would die and that makes me all wretched inside, but I am so, so happy to have canon proof that he was in fact good and loyal and all that shizznit, 'cause oh vicious vicious vindication.
I mean, er.
I got all sad over the unrequited Snape/Lily. Oh Snape. You know, JKR is not doing a great job of making me love James or Lily, really. They are too glorified as paragons of virtue, of great and noble heroes, etc, when I haven't seen much humanity that makes them likeable. Oh, yes, they're human in Hogwarts, but thoroughly dislikable.
I like Sirius and Remus though, but probably I am biased as a pupppyshipper. I loved the MWPP era best for their fics.
That segues nicely into my next topic.
5. Things that made me less than thrilled.
Remus/Tonks wedding. WTF. How fast do you need their relationship to progress, JKR? And then suddenly a kid? I don't believe I can express the full extent of my loathing for the cavalier way you've treated this offhand het ship you've thrown at us to keep the Sirius/Remus down. And after all that fast-paced relationship you've thrown at us, with some additional Remus Lupin brand of Werewolf Angst™, you go and kill them off.
You don't even give them proper killed-in-battle deaths: you just show their bodies next to Fred's. I hate that.
And you know what I hate even more?
FRED. FRED WEASLEY OH JEEZUS CHRIST PLEASE ERASE THIS PART.
This killed me the worst. The way he died, laughing like Sirius, welcoming Percy back-- It still makes me tear up. Fred. You were my favorite Weasley! (I think. I'm fond of Bill & Charlie, too, but again, that may be fic. Fred is probably a canon favorite.) And I can't imagine what George is going to do without you. It ripped my heart to shreds. No no NO.
I will always hate you for that JKR. I even sort of understand why you did it, but I will still hate you for it. Any other Weasley, JKR, any other. (Well, obviously, except for George. I hate splitting twins up alskjfldk.)
This is also an example of the loose ends JKR leaves at the end of the book and ignores completely in the epilogue (which is another discussion, lolz). What happened with Griphook and the sword of Gryffindor? How do people recover after Voldemort's death? What happens to the Ministry with no Minister of Magic? What about Hogwarts, with no Headmaster? What happens to house unity? How do the Weasleys mourn Fred? This is the kind of stuff I wanted to see in the epilogue. The important stuff.
Let's see, what else kind of ticked me off? Oh, Harry being the 7th Horcrux. She explained it fairly logically, I guess, and she's set it up to be that way since the beginning, but--eh. Maybe I just find it tired and cliché after so may fan theories of the same ilk, but I was disappointed at her lack of originality. I suppose it's not her fault her fans are so creative.
Harry's constant obsession with Ginny. It can be explained away by JKR wanting her to be important enough to him to justify the epilogue (god! that thing), but I didn't buy it. How can he feel more for her (and Hagrid and Dobby apparently) than for Ron or Hermione? He's willing to change track from Voldemort to Bellatrix and Ginny's battle because, omg,
I know, I know, I'm biased. But I really saw more Harry/Luna interaction that I liked than Harry/Ginny. Luna is helpful and supportive (being a distraction so he can slip on his Invisibility Cloak and slip away), whereas Ginny is...not so much.
But we'll move on because I know I sound like a whiny Ginny-bashing shipper, which I'm not trying to be; I really just don't like how JKR uses her character. I'm sure others can say it much better than I.
I think Dobby Apparating to save Harry & co., then Disapparating, then Dying, was very Epic and Convenient and Trite As Hell. I was not terribly moved at his death, sorry, and found Harry's overwhelming rush of guilt and sadness and other emotions a bit extreme. I felt no such sympathy; it was too rushed and clichéd an affair.
And, lastly, the line that incensed me when I read it was Pansy Parkinson standing up and shouting that Harry Potter was here, why didn't they turn him over to Voldemort?
Still biased against the fucking Slytherins, Jo? It would appear so. There is no such thing as the house unity you made a sorry attempt to promote in previous books, is there?
::bitchy bitch!::
6. Redemption for the Slytherins, and why I love this book beyond all measure.
But then I got over it because I realized how much slack JKR had actually given Slytherins in this book, and how she put so many of them on the road to "redemption" from the horrible reputations she herself had given them.
Slughorn, for example, was fighting along Hogwarts staff against Voldemort. There's a start.
Kreacher, for another example! Strangely endearing and got a laugh out of me at the end when he led the Hogwarts house-elves in rebellion.
And Regulus Arcturus Black. :) Good to know fandom is really as smart as I thought it was.
Snape, of course, because no one can denounce his sheer awesomeness (and bravery? oh let me talk about it some more in the epilogue section).
But, oh god, my absolutely favorite part of the book, no holds barred? Is the scene where Narcissa bends down to check if Harry's dead, asks him if Draco is still alive and in the castle, and upon receiving confirmation, lies to Voldemort and says Harry is indeed dead.
Oh be still my beating heart.
That's a big fucking giant ♥ right there for you. All the H/D, Slytherin-sympathetic fic that made Narcissa a likable character? I thought it was only fic. But now she's canon. The pureblood, coldhearted, ice-blonde and beautiful woman who was if not a Death Eater herself, at least wife and sister to ones--she will sacrifice it all for her son. She loves him beyond all measure. She is a mother, no less terrified for her son than Lily was for Harry.
And Lucius--I had keep reminding myself that it was not AU for him to be alive, after all those fics that kept killing him off--he is not the cold bastard we once imagined him to be. I really thought he'd die in this book, for Draco's failure, or something--anything. I am shocked to see him not only survive but to survive in a unit of family, caring for his son so much that he would beg Voldemort, that he would race through Hogwarts in the midst of the epic battle being waged and not even bother fighting, searching desperately for Draco.
My love for the Malfoys just shot up by, like, 500%.
And Draco, Draco. I love you, Draco. I love that you're terrified out of your wits, that you do care for Crabbe and Goyle like we suspected all along, that you don't want to die, that part of you does trust Harry fucking Potter to save the world.
(And the shipper in me will fangirl long and hard over Harry using Draco's wand, and Draco clinging to Harry on the broom, and Harry saving Draco's life twice without even thinking about it, and Draco being the Elder Wand's master before Harry. I could faint in happiness. You will never be able to make me un-ship this pairing, oh god. ♥♥♥)
I really have no more words. HP7, you've really exceeded my expectations in this area. I was just fervently hoping that neither Draco (okay, or Harry) would die.
Dude, Slytherin love for fuckin' life.
7. Overall plot and pacing things...and That Thing To Which We Shall Refer Distasteflly As The Epilogue
I thought the Horcruxes were...conveniently easy to dispose of, what with the Gryffindor sword and Ron & Hermione managing to off the Hufflepuff cup completely without Harry (or any screentime!) and Crabbe's Fiendfyre.
Well, so goes the plot. I can't say I was expecting anything really great, and I'm satisfied.
Don't like the chapter "King's Cross" at all. I was wondering as I read how things would be clarified at the end now that Dumbledore was dead, since he was always the one that explained everything Harry didn't know throughout the book at the end. Conveniently, JKR gives us this little "afterlife" world. Apparently the only who can know anything of any importance in the wizarding world remains Dumbledore, even dead. Okay, then. Whatever.
I found the "Avada Kedavra" vs "Expelliarmus" bit at the end a little cheesy, but just a little. I suspected JKR was leading up to that ever since the beginning of the book, where Expelliarmus was labeled Harry's "signature" move and he defended it by saying if he'd used the Killing Curse, he would be the same as Voldemort. Clearly, it is their differences that matter.
And now, as for the Epilogue That Wasn't, suffice to say I'm going to be ignoring it completely.
That Harry and Ginny got married after a teenage romance makes me Laugh Out Loud because how many people do you know who've actually done that? And stayed married? It's a cute idea, but really now. They didn't really know each other at all. They can like each other and be mutually attracted all they want, but think of that chapter in
mistful's Quality of Mercy again where Harry knew nothing about Ginny's friends or likes. How true, how true. JKR hasn't proven otherwise.Ron/Hermione is more believable because of all the time they've spent together and all the time they spent finally getting together--because we've seen the progression, I buy it. I don't know if they'll last, but I'd wager on them with greater certainty than on H/G.
And naming the kids James, Albus, and Lily? Oh the cheez. It pains me.
There were two bright spots about the Epilogue That Wasn't, though. :) One, "Albus Severus." Oh Harry. Oh Snape. I love it and it made me tear up even though part of me totally doesn't buy it. I'd need a more sincere, in depth reaction from Harry on discovering that someone he'd hated with such passion could turn out to be good, and in love with his mom. He'd always loathed Snape as a professor, but he was impassioned with fury after Snape killed Dumbledore...I know the reveal of Snape's loyalties probably took a lot of the wind from his sails but, really, 180 turnaround without showing us any of that, JKR? I disapprove.
Two--the Harry/Draco nod exchange. Draco has a child named Scorpius!! I could die! I don't care that he's married. You know, since I'm ignoring the entire epilogue. But eeeee. God I love them so hard.
ETA: AS/S (i.e., Albus Severus/Scorpius) is probably the Greatest Pairing Name Ever and I ship it. ::full of lolz::
ETA 2:
the_ass_ship HAHAHA FUCK YES. And how cute is this? I love upon!Okay, so this is like a three-page essay. ::hides face:: TL;DR much?
I'M SORRY. I LOVED THIS BOOK, OKAY?
I'm just, um, going to leave you to it. Anyone who's read already, PLEASE FANGIRL WITH ME. PLEASE. Or discuss. Whatever. And anyone who's still reading/yet to read, please come fangirl with me after! ♥
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