The series comes to a conclusion that is both satisfying and a bit full in the last “course”. Overall JK delivers what people want, answers and mystery at the same time

To avoid the spoiler badness you will have to continue reading by following the link.

I figure a good place to start is to see how I did on my ideas about the Harry Potter conclusion.

Is Harry Going to Die??/Will Harry be dead…..REALLY DEAD? I think I got this right on the money. I also think this gave the best of both worlds for readers who wanted Harry to live and solving the difficulty of sovlving the Voldermort/Harry live and die issue. I also think it was such a “best of both worlds” that is was a bit unsurprising with the corner she had backed herself into.

IS Sirius Black dead? – WOW! So I was WAY wrong here. And this was a MAJOR let down. Not that he was dead - which I thought he was not - but that he really was sort of an after thought only showing up in the Return of the Jedi scene (no ewoks!?). I mean the guy had a WHOLE freaking book about him and he gets written off - as Brian put it so well - as a bitch. Shame and a real let down here.

What about Dumbledore? Well, She did the painting thing, not surprising and an effective. Plus the King’s crossing scene allowed her to get him in on one scene. What was more interesting was the sort of removing Dumbledore from his pillar with parts of his past being shown. She spent a lot of time doing back stories in this volume and vol6 . I think that helped make them more interesting and also showed an improvement in her writing style from a pure YA writer - HP1 and HP2 - to a more mature developed author - HP6 and HP7, thought she stumbled some with HP5.

Who is R.A.B.?? - Not sure but my guess is it is Regulus [A.] Black, younger brother of Sirius. - YUP - it was -

Getting back to the Dursleys –Harry is of age, so they do not HAVE to take him back in. This restores or energizes the spell which helps protect him. Will they take him back?? Will they play any role in the end of the story?? - They played less of a role than I expected. But it was a nice conclusion.

Will Bill and Fluer’s wedding have any “catches”?? SURE DID! Cool scene.

Will Hogwarts reopen…. I sorta took a middle of the road answer here. It did reopen, and with SNAPE as headmaster! I thought it was a cool move but the militant run was a bit extreme - but I guess she needed modivation.

Will Harry have to find Horcruxes?? This is interesting because if so, then the first 2/3 of the book are easily him questing after them. And even figuring out what and where they are. I think something will happen to wrap this up more quickly considering Dumbledore did not know where all of them were. - They did - and I thought truthfully it was a bit on the amazing side. YES- finding them and the battles and adventures were cool BUT they seemed mighty resourceful - and the sword AGAIN showing up at a convenient time. Kinda felt like she had a writers “dilemma” that she pulled herself out of. But Bri called the big Horcrux - with Harry as the last one - nice.

What about Snape? - - WOW! GREAT CHARACTER! He risked EVERYTHING. He has always been fastinating and the meatiest of the characters. I think his death was a little anticlimactic, but the pensive scene of his memory/upbringing/reason for the trust with Dumbledore was one of the highlights.

Draco…What’s up? - Well, I thought there would be reconciliation and in some minor form there was recognition of the role Draco had played in Dumbledore’s fall. Though his “role” in the end was a surprise.

Will Dumbledore’s Army play any role?? They did - and in the capacity I thought.

Will anyone die as a result? Well, I got one right - Lupin. I honestly thought she actually played this pretty safe. No major character (except Snape - and he had to) died. Sure, Lupin and Tooks dieing was heartbreaking because of their marriage and baby but still no shocker.

Ron and Hermione? — Total hook up - at the wedding. Finally. They already bicker like a married couple. - - Ok - got the hookup -missed the exact timing.

Neville Longbottom? -I did not really say anything more than he is more than he appears. Ok - he was - and I think his story line finished up nicely and right on with his character. I like his grandmother.

What about Dolores Umbridge? - I think she will play a role, and he megalomania will get the better of her. It will be a mess. - I thought she would have a larger capacity. I think she was a larger character that she did not know what to do with.

And the Ministry of Magic?? - Yeah - not sure here. I think it’s capacity will be changed. Could Muggles become aware of the Magic-folk around them because of the return of Voldermort? - Ok - got that it’s capacity was changed as it became very corrupt. But they whim of regular folk being made aware - nope.

Peter Pettigrew - you know Wormtail? - OK - so the live debt came into play. But in a sorta odd way. I thought the attacking hand was a bit convenient to save Harry, Hermione and Ron from actually having to kill someone.
OH - and Voldermort?? I think Harry will kill him but it will be at great expense and sacrifice. What that will be is hard to guess, but I think death will play a role. - You know what - Voldermort killed himself. I think she made a real effort to keep Harry “clean”. It was an exciting scene though that I had to nearly map out the wand logic. More on that….

Overall, a very exciting read. I think the pacing was a bit odd at times though. We have the three of them running all over the country side hiding out and having all sorts of internal conflicts, but the outside magic world has gone to shit. We are kinda in the dark about this more then a general awareness. I think the real threat seems dimmed as a result. But she uses the connection with Voldermort effectively.

I also think she could have actually made this volume longer and yet shorter at the same time. I think the running all over with Hermione and Ron is important but could have been trimmed back some. I also think the conclusion could have been opened up a little bit.

The Wand lore ideas presented here - for the first time in true detail - are a major plot point and I found myself asking questions. Though the wand choosing the wizard/witch is interesting and the loyalty switching as a result of duels being won or lost a bit of a big deal to throw into the end volume at that scale. In theory, every single wand from the members of Dumbledore’s army would have switched with their training. Unless the wand didn’t feel like it. It seemed like a set of rules that had an asterix at the end. I guess that frustrated me some because it became THE reason why certain things happened at the end.

Overall, I think she did the series justice. I think the series works for several reasons.

1. It had a limited scope - the series had a conclusion and we knew it was coming. That is great. Too many successful series go on and on (I am looking at you Robert Jordan!) and they draw on into no where and the characters become shells or ALL of the main characters get replaced eventually!
2. The reading level - Sorry folks - but it is written at 5th grade level at best. And that helps the “masses” read it.
3. It is LINEAR - she kept it linear and by using the construct of the school year she has a time frame we can all relate to in some way

And on the note of the series, I have 2 stand outs.

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Year 4) - This book does 2 things: 1 it has a true STORY for the BOOK. The tri-wizard tournament is exciting and on it’s own a very good read, 2 - It contributes GREATLY to the series with the true rebirth of Voldemort . This book is both a good read on it’s own AND vital to the series without either one getting in the way of the other. A tough feat.
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Year 6) - This is the best WRITTEN book. Her craft peeks here with quality pacing, subplots and flashbacks that allow non-linear movement. We also get 2 whole chapters NOT from Harry’s perspective. I wish there were more like that.

And some notable disappointments. I thought Ginny would play a larger roll. She seemed regulated to backgroundness. And with her treatment of Sirus - a GREAT character as an after thought, it really lowered the value of Harry Potter and the Prison of Azkaban. Too bad.