Harry Potter Spoiler Thread

[Balta1701]

So, this was requested in the other HP thread. Anyone who wants to actually discuss anything happening in the book, this is your thread. Everyone who doesn't want to know...stay out!

[sox4lifeinPA]

Harry sprouts pubs!

[WilliamTell]

let me know stuff so I can be a mean brother and tell my sister everything before she gets done reading it, haha. i probably wouldn't do that and even though i don't read those books i'd still like to know who dies, what else happens, how it ends and stuff.

[Soxy]

I thought the doe was a bit heavy handed and obvious, but. . .

 

Everything turned out as I had hoped. Although the epilogue was a bit schmaltzy for my taste. Nothing too surprising, except I totally thought Hagrid would die.

[Gregory Pratt]

The Epilogue was, IMO, garbage, especially the last page.

 

The rest of the book was, IMO, brilliant.

[Gregory Pratt]

I can't believe she had as much cursing as she did in the book. "Bastard" and "b****" made their first appearances, as far as I can remember. And Dumbledore's sister was -- I'm not making this up -- gangraped by three Muggle boys when she was six years old. It was important to the plot, and she doesn't say that OUTRIGHT, but you know that's what happened.

 

Snape's story was the best of all, though, and his two chapters are my favorites in the book. Lupin's confrontation with Harry was nice, too.

[Soxy]

I can't believe she had as much cursing as she did in the book. "Bastard" and "b****" made their first appearances, as far as I can remember. And Dumbledore's sister was -- I'm not making this up -- gangraped by three Muggle boys when she was six years old. It was important to the plot, and she doesn't say that OUTRIGHT, but you know that's what happened.

 

Snape's story was the best of all, though, and his two chapters are my favorites in the book. Lupin's confrontation with Harry was nice, too.

I agree, I was a bit surprised by the language. Ron has let a few "hell"s slip in the past. I was a smidge sad that Neville didn't get to finish Belletrix, but the way she went was pretty good.

 

I am still a little confused about how Voldemort got his wand back after he killed Lily and James. I must have missed something there.

 

And the Snape memory chapter was the best, I agree.

[Gregory Pratt]

The first chapter was hard for me to read as it was such a brutal chapter. It's sad in hindsight, too, when Snape says that the only ones he's recently watched die are those he could not save.

 

How did Voldemort get his wand back? Never explained anywhere. That sucks. We never learned what Harry's parents did for a living, either.

 

I didn't like the way Wormtail died. Harry says, "I saved you!" so the hand that Voldemort gave him chokes him? And he kills himself, but not by choice? Not that I'm mad about it. I just thought that was awfully weak. (I know some people who are furious that "she killed BLANK!" or "Harry's not married to Luna!!"

 

Dumbledore's backstory was nice, as well as Grindelwald's. I always wondered about him./

[Soxy]

The first chapter was hard for me to read as it was such a brutal chapter. It's sad in hindsight, too, when Snape says that the only ones he's recently watched die are those he could not save.

 

How did Voldemort get his wand back? Never explained anywhere. That sucks. We never learned what Harry's parents did for a living, either.

 

I didn't like the way Wormtail died. Harry says, "I saved you!" so the hand that Voldemort gave him chokes him? And he kills himself, but not by choice? Not that I'm mad about it. I just thought that was awfully weak. (I know some people who are furious that "she killed BLANK!" or "Harry's not married to Luna!!"

 

Dumbledore's backstory was nice, as well as Grindelwald's. I always wondered about him./

I think the hand choked him because he showed disloyalty to Voldemort by showing mercy to Harry. That momentary weaking of his grip on Harry sealed his fate. At least that's how I read it.

[Gregory Pratt]

That sounds about right.

[knightni]

You guys can use spoilers with the new board, y'know.

[Gregory Pratt]

I don't see a reason to in this thread. This is, after all, a clearly labelled thread.

[knightni]

I don't see a reason for this thread at all now that we have spoiler covering-up with the new board.

[Gregory Pratt]

Well I didn't make the thread.

[GoRowand33]

that had to be the most satisfying book I've read in a while

 

I agree that the snape memory chapters were brilliant, as well as that in limbo kinda thing with dumbledore

[GaelicSoxFan]

I thought it was a fitting end to the series.

 

I was kinda sorry that Fred died, though, mainly because I didn't want anything to happen to any of the Weasleys. Despite being raised by the Dursleys, the Weasleys and Hermione were probably the closest thing Harry had to a family.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I thought the doe was a bit heavy handed and obvious, but. . .

 

Everything turned out as I had hoped. Although the epilogue was a bit schmaltzy for my taste. Nothing too surprising, except I totally thought Hagrid would die.

 

 

The Epilogue was, IMO, garbage, especially the last page.

 

The rest of the book was, IMO, brilliant.

 

Finished early this morning - very satisfying but sad the saga is over.

 

JK went with two of the most popularly theorized plot twists (Snape's loyalties and Harry as 7th Horcrux), but I really think those were the correct choices as that's what the books had been building up to. I was unsurprised as the second of these was revealed, but after the way she set Snape up by his actions in the beginning of the book I admit I began to doubt how she would resolve Snape.

 

I was sooo worried that the epilogue was going to be schmaltzy and ho-hum wrap-up filler, and I actually really liked how she did it. It wasn't wrap-up so much as it was confirming the cycles of continuity in the Wizarding world. I think all of the kids being named for the fallen allies and family mebbers was touching and fitting, but I was left assuming that George had to have an unintroduced child named Fred out there somewhere since it wasn't covered by Harry's or Ron's kids.

 

I was probably most surprised by the two earliest character deaths (Hedwig and Moody), because they happened quick and both of them had a thudding matter-of-factness that set the stage for the fatalities to follow. For the most part, killing peripheral characters was may be too safe and predictable a route, but I won't begrudge JK that.

 

I didn't mind the doe, but sure, maybe a bit maudlin. The vehicle that was altogether too convenient and probably tied everything up a little too neatly was the Snape memories Pensieve session. But on an emotional level, i agrre with everybody that it hit the spot.

 

The Dumbledore-as-ghost of-Obi-Wan Kings Cross exlpanatory chapter can be seen as another overly-convenient conceit but I actually think it makes sense within the context of Harry already unknowingly being the master of the Elder Wand - except that if I followed things correctly he shouldn't have been master over death since he had dropped Gaunt's ring and therefore didn't have control of the three Hallows at the time. What am I missing? Too much substantive knowledge was bestowed on Harry for it to have been entirely his imagination, right?

 

I really thought it was quite good.

Edited July 25, 2007 by FlaSoxxJim

[FlaSoxxJim]

I don't see a reason for this thread at all now that we have spoiler covering-up with the new board.

 

I disagree. Clearly sequestering all the spoilers in a single thread that I could choose to avoid is much preferable. if the server hiccups and just shows the tags around the spoilers rather than covering them, or if someone doesn't post them right, or if someone accidentally highlights them, there would be problems. My enjoyment of te book would have been greatly diminished had I found out any of the big plot twists prematurely.

[Soxy]

I also just want to say, and I've talked about this with my other Potterphile friends, but I was kind of sad by how Voldemort killed Snape. It was just so anti-climactic (and unfair). In the days since I've read the book, I think that's the one thing I really remember what, man, that really f'ing sucked. (But was totally within the range of the character.) Poor Severus.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I also just want to say, and I've talked about this with my other Potterphile friends, but I was kind of sad by how Voldemort killed Snape. It was just so anti-climactic (and unfair). In the days since I've read the book, I think that's the one thing I really remember what, man, that really f'ing sucked. (But was totally within the range of the character.) Poor Severus.

 

It was a necessary - if convenient - plot point, since there had to be a way for memories to flow out of his body along with the blood and he had to hang on long enough to tell Harry to take the memories. A killing Curse wouldn't have allowed that. A killing curse from the Elder wand directed at it's rightful owner also could have been problematic, and V was griping about the wand not yet being right, so he let Nagini do the work.

 

Snape was also keenly interested in the now protected snake, and we found out why when we saw his memories. I could see V setting the snake on him on a spontaneous sadistic whim if he noticed how interested Snape had become in it.

[greasywheels121]

I thought the doe was a bit heavy handed and obvious, but. . .

 

Everything turned out as I had hoped. Although the epilogue was a bit schmaltzy for my taste. Nothing too surprising, except I totally thought Hagrid would die.

 

Got the book Wednesday night from my friend, started it yesterday and just finished it. And I was the same about Hagrid. I thought he was going to die in the early bike scene and then I thought he died during the battle with the spiders.

 

And like everyone else, I really liked the conclusion on Snape. That was basically what my friend and I were predicting, that there had to be something good about Snape for Dumbledore to trust him all this time. I really liked the detail that went into that.

 

Great book.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I think the spiders would have killed anybody but Hagrid. There was always an uneasy truce between them and the Hogwarts Gemekeeper.

[greasywheels121]

I think the spiders would have killed anybody but Hagrid. There was always an uneasy truce between them and the Hogwarts Gemekeeper.

 

True, but I remember even Hagrid being uneasy about going near the spiders after Aaragog had died.

[FlaSoxxJim]

True, but I remember even Hagrid being uneasy about going near the spiders after Aaragog had died.

 

And for good reason - they did turn him over to the Big V once they got hold of him. Perhaps had he not tried to get the Hogwarts fighters to not fire at them they would have just eaten him.

 

Hagrid would have been killed in the Harry replicas chase if he wasn't Hagrid (if that makes sense) - nobody else would have survived the fall he did.

[Kid Gleason]

I had my wife tell me what happened in the book. Boy, that was an exciting book!