Personally, I just loved the way she totally proved me wrong and made it seem so logical. About Harry being a Horcrux, for example. I was so sure that would never happen...

Totally agree with you about the "19 years later" chapter - my mind is still pretending it doesn't exist. Wasn't Hogwarts the only place Harry had ever felt at home? Why shouldn't he be there? And all the children there just felt like they were there so they could be named after dead characters, honestly. I dunno, I just didn't like it.

I really loved a lot about the book. I particularly loved how Harry kept missing Hogwarts; that made it so much more real. In addition to the fact that this quest he had wasn't cookie-cutter shaped; meaning, he didn't just go out and do it and the book wasn't just an action, magic-filled journey like most classic fantasy (and some of the new stuff, too). He actually struggled with it and, in his own words, had to get out of "this mess that Dumbledore left them in." That's a lot like life, and I admired Rowling for her take on that.

Which is then why the epilogue was so annoying. What happened to the Ministry? How did all of that work out? What happened with Draco, other than that he lived? Is Azkaban still being run by Dementors? Seems like a bad idea to me (Goblins should run it instead), but it isn't clear.

But I liked the little sweet things, the romantic nuances in this book. Ron and Hermione falling asleep holding hands. Ginny's kiss for Harry's birthday, and, of course, the scene wher Ron and Hermione finally---FINALLY, after all these years---have their kiss.

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No matter how subtle the wizard,
a knife between the shoulder blades
will seriously cramp his style...
[link]

I'm somewhat torn too. I thought it was appropriate and I thought it settled everything, but i admit I expected a bit more umph. I think because it was played up so much, i almost expected things to happen so that they weren't as surprising as they could have/should have been.

i really wish that both Ginny and Snape had larger parts in the book, when all is said and done.

and lastly -- how the heck did dumbledore ever defeat grindelwald if he had the elder wand?!

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If you have 3 cans of soda and you gave it to a hobo, why do they have toes?? None! BEARS DON'T EAT CHICKEN!!!!

My.Photography: ~Photolectric

Yeah, me too. I also loved what we got to know about Dumbledore's past, how he's just a human as well. And how there was a reason for Snape's dislike of Harry beyond what we already know. But then, I always hoped he'd turn out good in the end.

Personally I feel like when we got so little answers out of it, we shouldn't really have gotten to know anything about what happens later. It felt more like a "hey, finally they're happy" kind of chapter. I'd have loved to know more about what happened to Draco too. I have so many questions when it comes to him.

But yeah, I loved the sweet things as well - as when Mad-Eye had died and Ron was rushing to Hermione to comfort her when she started crying.

oh, one more thing -- JKR is planning to write a harry potter encyclopedia where she details all the things she never got to write about in the books, including things for an epilogue -- like how harry and ron work for the auror department and revolutionize the ministry, and hermione is working for the magical law enforcement, and all the names of weasley children born in the past 19 years (Victoire is Bill and Fluer's oldest), etc. I saw it on msn if you're interested!

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If you have 3 cans of soda and you gave it to a hobo, why do they have toes?? None! BEARS DON'T EAT CHICKEN!!!!

My.Photography: ~Photolectric

That's part of why I'm going back and re-reading it. To just kind of take it in again, at a slower pace, since I know what happend in the end. I just found that there were a lot of little places where things didn't quite add up or make complete sense or I was left with questions, somewhat confused. So I'm hoping that this second run-through will help.

I DID hear about her 8th volume, just not the details as of late. It sounds like that it will be more like an appendix, or an extended epilogue, rather than a book of histories and so on. It'll probably be some of both, but it will certianly be nice to hear about what happened in those nineteen years between the end of the last chapter and when Harry and the gang are seeing their children off to Hogwarts!!

--
--

No matter how subtle the wizard,
a knife between the shoulder blades
will seriously cramp his style...
[link]

I also loved when Bellatrix was hurting Hermione and Ron was shouting and trying to get out of the dungeon.

Yeah, I just hope that when she releases her encyclopedia/8th volume, she explains some of what happens in those 19 years. The fact that Rowling just skipped that much time, and then didn't fill us in.... I don't get it.

--
--

No matter how subtle the wizard,
a knife between the shoulder blades
will seriously cramp his style...
[link]

Just read an interview with her where she said a lot of what happened in between, but unfortunately I don't remember the link. Harry was an Auror, though, and since that's what he wanted to be in OotP, I think it makes sense (now that I know that's what he is)...

Ugh. I like that idea, I guess. It makes sense. It fits him. Well, in my mind, when he gets older he turns to Hogwarts. I mean, even in Deathly Hallows, she continues to have Harry reflect on how much he misses it, how much it meant to him, la la la, so how come he's not there in the end?

But it's her story. She's gotta tell it her way.

Although I really am eager to see what she comes out with next!! With an imagination like that, it'll be curious to see what else she can cook up.

--
--

No matter how subtle the wizard,
a knife between the shoulder blades
will seriously cramp his style...
[link]