Deathly Hallows: Reactions
On the whole, I was INCREDIBLY satisfied with Deathly Hallows, as I'd always trusted I would be, because I think, despite some of the flaws of all the books, that JKR is absolutely brilliant.
LOVED:
1. The seven Harry Potters - I don't think it was great idea because of the number of people it put at risk... but I totally enjoyed the temporary gender-swap of Hermione and Fleur. xD Er, I also couldn't help thinking, "So... wouldn't they all know what his peen feels like?" That shouldn't entertain me, but it does.
2. "Merlin's saggy left - !" - Ron = <3.
3. "I'd do your fly by hand, though," AND "... It's not all about wandwork either." - *insert mad sniggering here* Again, Ron = <3.
4. Hermione packing Ron's underpants - I really adore how unembarassed and comfortable Hermione is when it comes to Ron and Harry.
5. "Merlin's most baggy Y fronts," - Was Merlin even AROUND when that sort of underwear was invented?!
6. Luna - I was afraid that either she wouldn't have a big enough role in this book or that she'd be killed, and since I absolutely love Luna, I wanted neither to happen. She's just, so random and strong and... gyah, see #4 under "DIDN'T."
7. Snape's Patronus and how he got both Ron and Harry where they ought to be - I honestly believed, the entire book, that Snape, no matter what went down, was secretly not on Voldemort's side, and I think all the things he did really show the true measure and strength of his character.
8. "Well, he's not my type, but he'll do." - The slash fangirl in me went wild.
9. NARCISSA MALFOY - She loves her son, and puts him first. I totally respect that.
10. The fact that Harry DIDN'T go back to Hogwarts as a student - One thing I loved about HBP was the ending, because I think it went in a direction that previously, NO ONE had expected. It's always been said that there were going to be seven books, one for each of Harry's seven years at Hogwarts. I'm glad it didn't work out the way most people expected, because I think that would've taken away from the brilliance of the story.
11. Neville - I'm so proud of how far Neville's come. He's always had that Gryffindor bravery in him, which we've seen develop throughout the books, but to slay Voldemort's SNAKE?! He's something else.
12. The H/D subtext - Harry/Draco has always been one of my favorite pairings, and despite all the Harry/Ginny, I appreciated the fanservice (deliberate or not). Harry saving Draco's life, Draco holding onto him, and Harry using Draco's wand were all squee-ish moments. <3
13. Ron and Hermione FINALLY snogging - God, I've been waiting for that since book ONE, and I was afraid that JKR would end up killing one of them before it could happen. I'm relieved that it finally did!
14. Snape - I never liked Snape until after I finished reading HBP. It was finally then, after seeing him so involved with so much of the action, that I realized how complicated his character actually was. In the end, I think he was an incredibly strong and admirable man, although not in a conventional sense.
15. Snape being in love with Lily - I became fond of Snape/Lily after I became fond of Snape, and the truth behind Snape's motivations makes him the sort of character I've hoped, since HBP, that he would actually turn out to be.
16. The dynamics between Snape and Harry - I can't even describe how I felt during their brief moments of interaction, or after Harry had seen all of Snape's memories. It was heartbreaking, it was perfect, and it was terrible.
17. Draco - I'm happy that he wasn't all bad, and that in the end, he managed to survive. I thought he would probably die, but I'm glad his fortune ended up better than Snape's - that his soul was spared.
18. When Harry used the Stone to briefly have Lily, James, Remus, and Sirius around - I was ECSTATIC to see Sirius. I KNEW that whether or not he was dead, there had to be SOME way that he was going to be back in the action - without coming back to life. I also thought that Harry's parents MUST get involved in the final battle somehow, despite being dead - and I'm so glad we got to see them again.
19. Harry inadvertently becoming a horcrux - I'd always wondered if Voldemort would end up having more horcruxes than we expected, and I was never really sure about the number, because Voldemort is incredibly stupid sometimes, blinded by fear, his ego, and hate. I liked the turn of events.
20. Harry living - I didn't believe for a second that JKR would actually kill him, although I knew it was possible. The whole series would seem stupid and pointless to me if he had actually died, so I'm glad JKR didn't go that route... and let him become The-Boy-Who-Lived-Twice. ;)
DIDN'T:
1. Remus and Tonks getting married - Seriously, WTF?! I mean, weren't they technically in a relationship for about a MONTH before that happened? I know Remus felt guilty about it later on because of his being a werewolf and all, but I wonder if he ever really loved her. =-/
2. Lupin - He's always been one of my favorite characters, but he was just such an IDIOT in this one that it annoyed me.
3. Harry not remembering who Gregorovitch was right away - Somehow, I remembered that he was the maker of Krum's wand, and it was frustrating having Harry puzzle over it when I knew, although I know he couldn't know right away.
4. Peter Pettigrew dying - He owes Harry a fucking life debt, and for a single moment showing the tiniest bit of mercy doesn't make up for that.
5. Harry not visiting his parents' house in Godric's Hollow - I really wanted him to go inside, and I sort of wish that there would have been a horcrux there instead of somewhere else. Voldemort made horcruxes during significant killings, and I thought he would have left the last for Harry's murder. Even though that failed, I would have preferred one less horcrux so there really were seven, Harry included and Voldemort unaware.
6. Harry's feelings towards Ginny - Okay, so they dated in his sixth year. The fact remains that she was his second girlfriend, she looks something like his mother, she's liked him forever, and it's SO DAMN CLIQUE that they end up together. >.< I still think Luna would have been a MUCH better match for Harry, especially since Ginny became so FLAT in DH, since we hardly ever saw her.
7. Tonks - She was so cool in OotP; in fact, when she was introduced she quickly became one of my favorite characters. Then, spontaneously, she becomes incredibly lovesick, marries a man who is too poor, too old, too dangerous AND TOO GAY for her, and then proceeds to have a child with said man - ONLY TO LEAVE THAT CHILD WITH HER MOTHER AND GET HERSELF KILLED. Mothers like that make me angry. Her baby should have come first, not Remus, not Harry, and not any sort of battle.
8. Snape dying - HBP convinced me that Snape was going to die. For him, there was just never any way out. Some people on Harry's side would always hate him for killing Dumbledore even if it had been Dumbledore's wish, AND Voldemort would be after him. If he stayed on Voldemort's side, the Order would STILL be after him, and Voldemort couldn't be trusted not to decide to kill him either. With everything that's happened to Snape and all he's had to go through - even if he had lived, I don't think he would have been able to have anything better than a miserable existence, especially with the surfacing of his memories. I knew Snape had to die, but I still wish that he could have had the chance to be happy, for one mistake to not have taken over his life.
9. Dumbledore - I think he's a right fucking bastard, and that's all there is to it. I wish Harry hadn't forgiven him or named his child after him, because Dumbledore really doesn't HAVE any redeeming qualities. (And I think by using Lily, he tortured Snape worse than Voldemort, in some ways.)
10. The Epilogue - I think it was probably necessary for "normal" non-fandom related fans, because that's how they've expected things to end up, but for people in fandom - I think it might get widely ignored, but it was very clique and not... disappointing, but not anything we couldn't have assumed - if we really wanted to - from the ending.
I did like DH very much, although it was very sad. However, I admit, I did expect it to be a lot more bloody. I didn't think nearly all the Weasley's would survive, and I completely expected a lot of the Death Eater's we knew to be murdered. I'm very surprised that the three Malfoy's survived; I thought they were goners for sure. I expected a lot more people from Harry's year to perish too, but if they did, we certainly didn't get any names. I cried six times throughout the whole book - thrice for deaths (Hedwig, Dobby, and Snape) and thrice after/during specific events (when Hermione told us what she did to her parents, when Harry was viewing Snape's memories, and when Harry went to face death willingly with his parents, Sirius, and Remus). I'm glad so many of the characters I wanted to survive DID survive.