Were you satisfied with DH and what were your reviews?

[cagedcactus]

Well, I think that Snape's love for Lily was legitimate. We even saw that in OoTP.
I guess Snape never really gave Lily that chance to love him back. Had he not made friends with others who fancied dark arts too, he probably would have gained that love from Lily too.......
Lily was a good friend of her, then he lost her due to his own mistakes.....
Still Love is love....... even one sided, he knew that he loved Lily, and he was the major reason she ended up dead. He spilled all the beans in front of Voldemort about the prophecy.
Now he knew he owed her, and after DD accepting him to the light side, he owed even bigger favor to Harry and DD. He ended up fulfilling it....... gave his own life to save Harry.

And to answer your confusion towards why other teachers like Minerva, Sprout, and Flitwik didnt rebel against Snape........ you are forgetting one thing. When Snape became the headmaster, Ministry was lost to Voldemort. There was not chance of fighting alone like that. Those good teachers stayed at Hogwarts to protect children from death eaters like Electo and Amycus, and of course Snape.

[Seeker615]

Yeah I do believe the teacher stayed to keep watch on the kids, but it was to me still a stretch that a possible murderer is in charge of the school. (though probably better Snape who in a sense watched out for the kids in his own twisted way than some real sadistic git) It was just I was wanting to see Snape do something different I guess... Anyway I was thinking along a totaly different line as far as Snape goes.

I was hoping he would be redeemed while he was still alive not in his final moments. There was so much hatred between Harry and Snape I wanted to see a showdown of sorts. So I was a bit bummed on how it all turned out. I am sure on a second read through I will accept it better.

[Pip]

Originally Posted by cagedcactus

I diagree.
When Harry asks Dumbledore, whether he is dead or not, DD clearly says that Harry is not dead. There is no mention of veil anywhere in the DH, so we cant just assume one.
the reason Voldemort couldnt kill Harry, was.....
- Harry was carrying Voldemort's horcrux. That horcrux was killed with that AK.
- Voldemort was using Elder wand on Harry. Harry at that time was the true master of Elder wand.

couldn't have put it better myself cagedcactus, well done!

[Piper]

Caged,
JKR had said before that Snape had been loved by someone, apparently it was Lily, but no matter what he did, I can't see that it would have ever been more than her loving him like a brother. I think in going with the Death Eaters, he just saved her from having to tell him the 7 most cruel words in the English Language, "I just want to be your friend" lol.
That is just how it is, when the good looking, rich, well coordinated boy likes a gal, she isn't likely to end up with the hunch back who is really good at ringing the bell, any of the 7 dwarfs, or even the greasy guy who is really good at potions

[cagedcactus]

Originally Posted by Piper

Caged,
JKR had said before that Snape had been loved by someone, apparently it was Lily, but no matter what he did, I can't see that it would have ever been more than her loving him like a brother. I think in going with the Death Eaters, he just saved her from having to tell him the 7 most cruel words in the English Language, "I just want to be your friend" lol.
That is just how it is, when the good looking, rich, well coordinated boy likes a gal, she isn't likely to end up with the hunch back who is really good at ringing the bell, any of the 7 dwarfs, or even the greasy guy who is really good at potions

Agreed. and those words are not just domestic. They have been haunting people all over the world in different languages too. And you deserve some nice reputation points for your last paragraph. Couldnt speak any truer.....


Pip, many thanks for your approval too.

[hp56]

Overall, I really enjoyed the book! The deaths did upset me, though (excluding Voldemort and members of his gang, of course). I was even sad about what happened to Hedwig! When I read that part I was shocked! Dobby's death made me cry, he really admired Harry!

Sometimes the book felt rushed, though (for example, the plot about the Deathly Hallows). And I wanted to know more in the epilogue. I wanted to know what happened to the characters other than the main three, Ginny, and Neville. But JKR says she will write that HP encyclopedia so hopefully some of my final questions about the characters will be answered. DH was a fantastic book!

[Mr_Bandman]

Satisfied, but not thrilled. I can't say that the ending wasn't full of things that I wanted, but that's not really the point. It all seemed a little too Dickens-like in the convenience of things (2 million houses in London and Oliver Twist just happens to burglarize the home of his dead mother's father---that sort of thing). I did not want Harry to die, but I started reading fully prepared for him to be killed. Killed or not, I would like for it to have felt honest, and I'm sorry to say that Harry's trip behind the veil and back, or whatever it was, just seemed dishonest to me. JKR assured people that Dumbledore would not "pull a Gandalf" (which, of course, he did not), but I think what she pulled with Harry is every bit as overly sentimental and unbelievable.

To digress a little, consider the original film, Rocky. That movie makes it---and in grand style---it was awarded the Oscar for Best Picture----in large part because the protagonist does not win in the end. I believe that if Rocky KOs Apollo Creed in the first film, the entire movie is blown and ends up being just another forgettable Sly Stallone flick (and there are no sequels). Another of my favorite films is The Bad News Bears----they lost, too. In both of those movies, the heroes find that the real victory was in the journey they took to get to the final confrontation and the growth they experienced because of it. If Harry dies along with Voldemort at the end of DH, I can live with it. It wasn't one of my "predictions", and this is not at all sour grapes on my part---as I said, I am satisfied, but not thrilled, and the ending of the book is a virtual shower of things that I really wanted to see happen. It just seems a little too easy, and who says we should always get everything we want?

Or maybe I'm just too jaded & cynical to accept "and they all lived happily ever after" as an ending to what I saw as one of the most brilliant pieces of writing of the last half century.

[Jimenem]

The one thing apart from many of the things mentioned here that kinda bothered me was that after the talk of Harry being a good candidate for extreme power because it was thrust upon him rather than sought after by him. Yet he doesn't accept the elder wand. I know he became a great Auror, but he could have been more powerful and meanwhile less corrupted than Dumbledore himself!! Why didn't he chose that? Honestly is there any 19-year-old boy who would turn down that kind of power? I think it was a bit unreal. I wanted to see Harry become the most powerful wizard of all time, and still reside on the good side of things. Am I the only one who thinks his doing the "right thing" was a bit of a let down?

[cagedcactus]

Well, you are right when you say that any teen ager would have chosen that kind of ultimate power, and never think about throw away. But we are talking about Harry. Harry, who has been haunted all his life, for the powers, he never knew existed, and never wanted. He just wanted to be plain, Harry. He hated the attention, and he hated the unwanted fame. News papers ripped him everyday, Ministry was tailing him everyday, even in the school, he was the talk of everyday.

He hated that. So finally when he was given the chance, he wanted to throw it all away out the window. Didnt want to do anything with it. He kept the Cloak, because it came through his family, but wand was something he didnt want. Why? because that wand caused so many deaths. Maybe if he kept the wand, someone in future could kill him in his sleep, just to steal that wand....
Who wants that?

[Jimenem]

I must say that it would take a wizard with cajones the size of beach balls to attempt to steal the wand of the wizard who tops the Auror department at the newly revolutionized Ministry of Magic.

But yes, I suppose you are right.

I was really satisfied with the book, overall. I guess now my only dissatisfaction comes with my newly acquired post-potter depression.