Do you want to know the ending of Harry Potter's story?
This exercise is inspired by SMODCast, because I think they could have gone even deeper :) Needless to say, hang on to your hats, there are many spoilers afoot.
I wrote an ASS long retelling but turns out even I did not have the guts to read my own post. Here's the short of it. Though Rowling made sure most people would end up being happy with whatever happened to Potter, some great lengths where taken to throw people in the wrong direction. This is Rowling at her best of course. For instance, Harry DOES die in the book, in fact he even prepares for such an event because he learns that he himself is holding a part of Voldermort's soul within him. This is the reason why they share so many traits, including an afinity to the same type of wands. On the night of his parent's deaths, when Lily protected Harry from the death curse, a part of Voldemort's soul was ripped from him and that part found host in the only living thing left in the room - Harry.
There is a big deal about horcruxes and how they all hold a piece of Voldermort's soul, and how they all need to be destroyed before even trying to kill Voldermort. The only person who seemed to have undrestood this was Dumbledore who never told anyone, even Harry, as he sent him off to find and destroy these objects shortly before he would die at the hands of Snape.
Rowling seems to have a nack at killing off characters for the sheer heck of it. She is arbitrary in her methods and I suspect she only does this for the sake of adding the element of sacrifice to the book. Rarely do the characters see their deaths coming, rarely are their death relevant beyond the "ah SHIT!" factor. I wonder if there is some kind of dart board with names in her office. Anyway, here is the list of people who died during the book, and there are a fuck ton.
- Hedwidge
- Mad Eye Moody (killed by Snapes)
- Dobby (protecting Potter)
- Lupin
- Tonks
- Fred
- Snapes
The three last deaths are the hardest to swallow for many readers, especially when you consider that Lupin and Tonks got married at the start of the book and that they had a child prior to their deaths as they defended Hogwarts from a full on assault from the Death Eaters.
Wait, where's Harry? Ah! Along the story, it turns out that there are other hidden tasks that lay before them which where conveniently laid by Dumbledore. One of which is the Three Hallows, or as they are often called, the Deathly Hallows, which are items that would render it's owner pretty much in control of death. This is something that Voldermort wants for himself obviously but it turns out to be the key to Harry's survival as he becomes the owner of the Hallows just before he is killed by Voldermort. The way he ends up with the Hallows is played brilliantly I should add, so you barely guessed anything prior to his death.
It also turns out that Dumbledore's death by the hands of Snape was all arranged. Dumbledore was going to die soon because of his meddling with one of the curse hocruxes which also held one of the Hallows - the death wand - and it was important that Dumbledore surrendered his life to someone and not be dueled or attacked to the death. This has to do with how wands inherintely work. When wizards fight, the winner becomes the master of the losers wand. When a wizard dies from other reasons, the wand's power dies out. The death wand has been the source of fruitless conflicts for what might be centuries already and Dumbledore did not want it to fall within the hands of anyone else, especially not a Death Eater. So he wanted to surrender his life to Snape should anything happen, this way there would be no other owners and one of the deathly hallows, a possible source of great power to Voldermort, would be destroyed.
In fact we learn a great deal about Dumbledore's past, he may have possessed all three Hallows at one point which was one of his life long dreams and it might be argued that the final books could be considered the subject of Dumbledore's legacy. Harry's own cloak happens to be one as he the decedent of one of the original members of who managed to acquire them from death himself. The invisibility cloak, far superior to any other that have ever been known in the wizarding world, is in fact Death's very own cloak which ensures the wearer from being seen or detected by any magics. Once Dumbledore noticed that this powerfull yet apparently benign relic was in the hands of James Potter, he borrowed it from him for study. This is why Albus had it in his possession all this time and only gave it back to Harry when he started school. We also learn that Dumbledore's personal weakness has always been the thirst for more power. Not that he would do evil things with more power, but his obsessions to understand the tenets of magic would often make him ignore the realities that revolved around him. He blames this for the alienation of his brother and the untimely death of his sister, both events that happened during his youth. This is why he never aspired to go beyond the title of Head Master of Hogwarts even though he was known to be the most powerful wizard of his time. He also believes that some bizarre twist of faith is risponsible for the death of Harry's father who was cloakless when Voldermort came to attack his family, because Albus was studying it at the time!
Snape was one of the good guys all along. He dies giving Harry a liquid memory that held all that he needed to know about his true intentions and more importantly, the fact that Harry needed to die for the whole story to conclude. We also learn that Snape's loyalty to Dumbledore comes from his love for Lily which he knew since childhood. In fact they where both friends while Petunia was jealous of them both for having control over magic. Petunia even tried to get into Hogwarts by pleading with leaders to Dumbledore and her refusals turned her against her sister and anything that had to do with her, especially Harry. Snape never accepted the attack by Voldermort upon the Potters, he then gave his allegiance to Dumbledore to both honor Lily's memory and exact some kind of penitence for naively believing in Voldermort at first. He still hated Harry none the less who was the spiting image of his father, who in turn had been quite troublesome against the young Snape.
At the end of the conflict, Harry goes to Dumbledore's study in Hogwarts with Hermione and Ron by his side, most of the final answers are given there. He learns that Dumbledore's plan did not go through as he had wished and that, by some twisted series of events, Harry is now the true owner of death wand because it was in fact Malfoy who defeated Albus before Snape could finish the job, and at some point during the book, Harry dueled Malfoy and won not only his current wand but also the power held by the Death wand which was buried with Albus (and retrieved from the grave by Voldermort once he learned who was the last owner). He understand the importance that he must not die in duel for the chain to be finally broken. He relinquishes the wand to Dumbledore's tomb at the behest of Ron who reminds him that he's giving up something of considerable power. Harry responds "I've had enough troubles for a life time".
The last chapter is aptly called "19 years later". It is short gives a decent yet not too extensive series of hints as to what happened to Harry and his friends in the later years. Here is the wiki entry.
"Nineteen years later, Harry and Ginny Weasley are married and have three children: James, Albus Severus, and Lily. Ron and Hermione are also married and have two children, Rose and Hugo. The families meet at King's Cross station, where a nervous Albus is departing for his first year at Hogwarts. Harry's nineteen-year-old godson, Teddy Lupin, is found kissing Victoire Weasley (Bill and Fleur's daughter) in a train compartment. Teddy is apparently very close to the Potters, with Harry remarking, "He already comes round for dinner about four times a week." Harry spots Draco Malfoy and his unnamed wife with their son, Scorpius; Malfoy acknowledges Harry with a curt nod, then turns away. Harry comforts Albus, who is worried he will be sorted into Slytherin, by telling him that his namesake, Severus Snape, was a Slytherin and the bravest man he ever met. He adds that the Sorting Hat takes one's own choice into account. Neville Longbottom is now the Hogwarts Herbology professor and is close friends with Harry. The book concludes with the words: "The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well."
I wrote an ASS long retelling but turns out even I did not have the guts to read my own post. Here's the short of it. Though Rowling made sure most people would end up being happy with whatever happened to Potter, some great lengths where taken to throw people in the wrong direction. This is Rowling at her best of course. For instance, Harry DOES die in the book, in fact he even prepares for such an event because he learns that he himself is holding a part of Voldermort's soul within him. This is the reason why they share so many traits, including an afinity to the same type of wands. On the night of his parent's deaths, when Lily protected Harry from the death curse, a part of Voldemort's soul was ripped from him and that part found host in the only living thing left in the room - Harry.
There is a big deal about horcruxes and how they all hold a piece of Voldermort's soul, and how they all need to be destroyed before even trying to kill Voldermort. The only person who seemed to have undrestood this was Dumbledore who never told anyone, even Harry, as he sent him off to find and destroy these objects shortly before he would die at the hands of Snape.
Rowling seems to have a nack at killing off characters for the sheer heck of it. She is arbitrary in her methods and I suspect she only does this for the sake of adding the element of sacrifice to the book. Rarely do the characters see their deaths coming, rarely are their death relevant beyond the "ah SHIT!" factor. I wonder if there is some kind of dart board with names in her office. Anyway, here is the list of people who died during the book, and there are a fuck ton.
- Hedwidge
- Mad Eye Moody (killed by Snapes)
- Dobby (protecting Potter)
- Lupin
- Tonks
- Fred
- Snapes
The three last deaths are the hardest to swallow for many readers, especially when you consider that Lupin and Tonks got married at the start of the book and that they had a child prior to their deaths as they defended Hogwarts from a full on assault from the Death Eaters.
Wait, where's Harry? Ah! Along the story, it turns out that there are other hidden tasks that lay before them which where conveniently laid by Dumbledore. One of which is the Three Hallows, or as they are often called, the Deathly Hallows, which are items that would render it's owner pretty much in control of death. This is something that Voldermort wants for himself obviously but it turns out to be the key to Harry's survival as he becomes the owner of the Hallows just before he is killed by Voldermort. The way he ends up with the Hallows is played brilliantly I should add, so you barely guessed anything prior to his death.
It also turns out that Dumbledore's death by the hands of Snape was all arranged. Dumbledore was going to die soon because of his meddling with one of the curse hocruxes which also held one of the Hallows - the death wand - and it was important that Dumbledore surrendered his life to someone and not be dueled or attacked to the death. This has to do with how wands inherintely work. When wizards fight, the winner becomes the master of the losers wand. When a wizard dies from other reasons, the wand's power dies out. The death wand has been the source of fruitless conflicts for what might be centuries already and Dumbledore did not want it to fall within the hands of anyone else, especially not a Death Eater. So he wanted to surrender his life to Snape should anything happen, this way there would be no other owners and one of the deathly hallows, a possible source of great power to Voldermort, would be destroyed.
In fact we learn a great deal about Dumbledore's past, he may have possessed all three Hallows at one point which was one of his life long dreams and it might be argued that the final books could be considered the subject of Dumbledore's legacy. Harry's own cloak happens to be one as he the decedent of one of the original members of who managed to acquire them from death himself. The invisibility cloak, far superior to any other that have ever been known in the wizarding world, is in fact Death's very own cloak which ensures the wearer from being seen or detected by any magics. Once Dumbledore noticed that this powerfull yet apparently benign relic was in the hands of James Potter, he borrowed it from him for study. This is why Albus had it in his possession all this time and only gave it back to Harry when he started school. We also learn that Dumbledore's personal weakness has always been the thirst for more power. Not that he would do evil things with more power, but his obsessions to understand the tenets of magic would often make him ignore the realities that revolved around him. He blames this for the alienation of his brother and the untimely death of his sister, both events that happened during his youth. This is why he never aspired to go beyond the title of Head Master of Hogwarts even though he was known to be the most powerful wizard of his time. He also believes that some bizarre twist of faith is risponsible for the death of Harry's father who was cloakless when Voldermort came to attack his family, because Albus was studying it at the time!
Snape was one of the good guys all along. He dies giving Harry a liquid memory that held all that he needed to know about his true intentions and more importantly, the fact that Harry needed to die for the whole story to conclude. We also learn that Snape's loyalty to Dumbledore comes from his love for Lily which he knew since childhood. In fact they where both friends while Petunia was jealous of them both for having control over magic. Petunia even tried to get into Hogwarts by pleading with leaders to Dumbledore and her refusals turned her against her sister and anything that had to do with her, especially Harry. Snape never accepted the attack by Voldermort upon the Potters, he then gave his allegiance to Dumbledore to both honor Lily's memory and exact some kind of penitence for naively believing in Voldermort at first. He still hated Harry none the less who was the spiting image of his father, who in turn had been quite troublesome against the young Snape.
At the end of the conflict, Harry goes to Dumbledore's study in Hogwarts with Hermione and Ron by his side, most of the final answers are given there. He learns that Dumbledore's plan did not go through as he had wished and that, by some twisted series of events, Harry is now the true owner of death wand because it was in fact Malfoy who defeated Albus before Snape could finish the job, and at some point during the book, Harry dueled Malfoy and won not only his current wand but also the power held by the Death wand which was buried with Albus (and retrieved from the grave by Voldermort once he learned who was the last owner). He understand the importance that he must not die in duel for the chain to be finally broken. He relinquishes the wand to Dumbledore's tomb at the behest of Ron who reminds him that he's giving up something of considerable power. Harry responds "I've had enough troubles for a life time".
The last chapter is aptly called "19 years later". It is short gives a decent yet not too extensive series of hints as to what happened to Harry and his friends in the later years. Here is the wiki entry.
"Nineteen years later, Harry and Ginny Weasley are married and have three children: James, Albus Severus, and Lily. Ron and Hermione are also married and have two children, Rose and Hugo. The families meet at King's Cross station, where a nervous Albus is departing for his first year at Hogwarts. Harry's nineteen-year-old godson, Teddy Lupin, is found kissing Victoire Weasley (Bill and Fleur's daughter) in a train compartment. Teddy is apparently very close to the Potters, with Harry remarking, "He already comes round for dinner about four times a week." Harry spots Draco Malfoy and his unnamed wife with their son, Scorpius; Malfoy acknowledges Harry with a curt nod, then turns away. Harry comforts Albus, who is worried he will be sorted into Slytherin, by telling him that his namesake, Severus Snape, was a Slytherin and the bravest man he ever met. He adds that the Sorting Hat takes one's own choice into account. Neville Longbottom is now the Hogwarts Herbology professor and is close friends with Harry. The book concludes with the words: "The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well."