Long time no post...and my very LATE review of HP&DH!
I know I'm very very VERY late on writing my book 7 review - people have done about two or three reviews plus about 87 memes each one about the book by now - but for many reasons I haven't done mine.
Darth Real Life has got quite a grip on me this month. I've been working my @$$ off, finishing my first residence's monography, and trying to deal with whatever else Darth Real Life has aimed my way.
First, my maid's seven-year old son died after he had a cranial traumatism - that week was quite ugly, she was here at home when they called her, I took her to the hospital and talked to the doctors who had assisted him - there was nothing that could've been done, and he died in a few days.
Then my sister had a rough couple of weeks with a back pain that she first thought was just her muscles but was actually an urinary infection - she is better now.
And now my father-in-law is at the hospital since last thursday night. He has hypertension, diabetes and renal insuficiency (with no need for dialysis so far), and now he had to go to the hospital to treat an infection. He is a little better, but he still will be at the hospital for at least a week.
Besides that, when I do manage to be at home and not working, I've been so very tired because of the aforementioned facts...that and the few times I sat on my computer I ended up not writing a review because this is the LAST Harry Potter book. And my LAST review.
I don't want it to end.
So, I've been postponing my review.
I loved the book. I really, truly did. I dunno what has some people so put off or mad or angry or just plain unsatisfied with the book - then again, people seem to be like that for a lot of different things these days, not just Harry Potter.
I loved Harry and the Trio. Their dynamics was great. They were all more mature - even Ron, who managed to do one thing I was a bit mad at him for because it was childish. Yes, he did leave Harry and Hermione, but he did want to come back, he had been trying to find them for weeks and when he did, he did something so utterly awesome that...*sigh* I love Ron.
But I'm getting ahead of me! :P
The beginning of the book was great - I cried with the Dursleys. I actually wanted to hug Dudley and Petunia. Dudley was grateful to Harry for saving him from the Dementors! And Petunia had a small motherly feeling towards Harry at the end of that chapter, though she managed to supress it.
The Seven Potters was funny at first, but it was a chapter that left a bitter taste in my mouth. Hedwig and Mad Eye dead, and so soon in the book...not to mention George losing an ear. It certainly showed us that the book was not going to be light, nor the deaths just a few.
Meeting Andromeda was a YAY! moment for me, not only because I once made an Andromeda cosplay, but also because having her physically resembling SO MUCH Bellatrix was cool in SOOO many levels for me - and not all of them book-related! XD
The Will of Albus Dumbledore showed that the man was very intelligent, indeed! Using the snitch that Harry had swallowed, giving Hermione a book that had the Hallows' tale, and giving Ron the deluminator...the man certainly deserved the title of greatest wizard of all time!
The Wedding was beautiful - up until the end, that is - and also a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark book. Harry posing as a Weasley cousin, Ron being jealous of Krum, HARRY being jealous of Krum - "Ginny is dating. A big bloke," or something like that...LOL! Mr. Lovegood was a riot, and Aunt Muriel...well, what would you expect of an old aunt? :P And the end, which was expected - let's face it, Death Eaters were bond to appear - was very nicely done! Quite dramatic, especially with Kingsley's Patronus!
Ron and Hermione...did you notice that they spent close to 200 pages WITHOUT bickering?!? I was all "OMG! THEY ARE NOT BICKERING! THIS HAS GOT TO BE BECAUSE THEY ARE TOGETHER, THEREFORE, WE NO LONGER HAVE UST, BUT RATHER RESOLVED SEXUAL TENSION! DAMN YOU, JO, FOR NOT SHOWING US THEIR FIRST KISS!" XD Ultimately we learned that was not the case, but still...it was brilliant. As brilliant as Harry's birthday gift from Ron - LOL! XD
And I LOVED Hermione's bag/purse/what-was-the-name? that carried it all inside it. I want a bag like THAT - and I know it would infuriate my boyfriend, he already complains about my big bags! XD
Grimmauld Place as headquarters and the whole Kreacher storyline was very nicely done, IMHO. I still hated the character with a vengeance at the beginning, but he redeemed himself, and him being all so nice with Harry was actually funny - but nice nonetheless. RAB being Regulus was a given, but it was nicely exploited and explained. One of many fandom's theories proved correct and I was glad.
In fact, let me just go on a tangent here. Many people complained that the book was pretty obvious and previsible. Heck, we had 6 books prior, this was the seventh and LAST book, and it was built upon bricks layed down since book 1 - the invisibility cloak, Riddle's diary, Peter's debt to Harry, Voldemort taking Harry's blood, Snape's story - she gave us the bricks, and now she construced the tower. Some stuff were bound to be obvious - AND she still managed to give us some unexpected stuff - the Deathly Hallows. So, to me, for all those reasons, I thought this was a GREAT book. If what happened in the book came out of NOWHERE I would've been mad - and I'm sure so would all those people that thought the book was too predictable. STOP complaining. Humpf.
The ministry's break-in. Their planning and then its execution...I was at the edge of my seat - figuratively speaking, of course, but it was a gripping chapter! AND UMBRIDGE! I was surprised but at the same time I wasn't at all! That old hag sure hated halfbloods and that she chose to stay with a Voldemort controlled Ministry and to be head of that department...it was not a surprise! I always hated that woman, and I hope she rots in Azkaban!
Anyway...the beginning of their quest was...slow. Yeah, I have to admit it. The search for the horcruxes that they did not know what they were exactly...they were running around the country aimlessly, it did worn out a bit, and it kinda made Ron's actions seem justified, only they weren't. I was SO mad at him! I'm glad he came back!
Godric's Hollow was so sad...especially since it was Christmas. I cried when Harry saw the monument, his parent's graves, and their house. And I was all excited about Harry meeting Bathilda Bagshot and learning a bit more about his family and about Dumbledore...only to see poor Harry be jarred into the middle of the war again, with Voldemort going for his neck.
Then Ron came back! It was brilliant! He saved Harry's life, got Godric's sword, and destroyed the Horcrux! Riddle!Harry and Riddle!Hermione were cruel, but Ron destroyed the locket nonetheless! Harry telling him that Hermione was like his sister...and telling Ron that things often sound more marvellous than they really are and that he had been trying to tell Ron that for years...brilliant. Ron was brilliant in this chapter, and I forgot I was mad at him for leaving.
Potterwatch was BRILLIANT. And so were Fred and George. *sniff*
Then, when they were taken by Fenrir to Malfoy Manor...God, that was an awful and great chapter! Awful because we had Hermione being tortured - every time something like that happened with her or Ron I feared they would die! So it was excruciating this time, I was totally yelling with Ron for her! But great writing and development. Again, at the edge of my seat, figurativelly speaking, and then Luna, and Ollivander, and the mirror with the blue eye sometimes I thought was Sirius' and sometimes I thought was Dumbledore's...and Dobby! Rescuing Harry and the others! But dying. I didn't cry when he died, but when Harry was digging his grave I was crying a river! It was so sad...
Peter's death was very fitting to me. He had to pay his debt to Harry, and Voldemort knew that, so he had some sort of safety against that - the silvery hand he gave Peter. The moment Peter betrayed Voldemort, the hand killed him. Quite fitting for a traitor, I think.
Shell Cottage was fun, I LOVE BILL AND FLEUR! I also love the fact that they are canon! ;P At that time, we had small vibes of Luna and Dean (though I prefer Luna and Neville) and we had the preparation for their next assault! This time, Gringotts! LOVED IT, btw! I had had a hunch that the UK kids cover showed a stargate Gringotts vault, and I was right! I'm not sure how I feel about Voldie hiding a horcrux inside the Lestrange's - or was it Black's? - Gringotts' vault, but the treasure multiplying to kill whoever tried to rob it was disturbingly effective and seemed gruesome. Griphook was a sneaky little goblin bastard, I'm glad Neville got the sword back from the sorting hat later!
Aberforth! OMG, I love that man! I totally agree with mrsronweasley about him! He is even better than Dumbledore! XD *loves Abertforth*
The Hogwarts' Battle was very well written. I know we didn't see it all - we didn't see all the deaths, for example - but that's why the book is from HARRY's POV. That was another common complain people had - we didn't get to see enough of the battle, or we didn't get to see what was happening at the wizard world or at Hogwarts with Ginny, Neville and Luna. Again, the book is from Harry's POV! Sure, I would have wanted to see the rest of the sextet and their rebellion - heck, I would have LOVED that - but the book is from HARRY'S POV! So, it's a moot point.
LOVED McGonagall, btw. As always. :)
Oh, and if anyone needed proof that Ron is intelligent, he went after the basiliks fangs to destroy the last horcruxes! YAY for Ron! :D
I loved that Harry wanted to leave Ginny safely behind inside the Room of Requirement, and I loved even more that she took the first oportunity to sneak out on him - that's the Ginny we all know and love! :)
Ron and Hermione. OMG, their first kiss! I had given up hope in seeing that, first because I thought they had already kissed, then because I knew they hadn't but thought they never knew, then, in the thick of the battle, when Ron FINALLY got SPEW, he earned himself a snog! And QUITE a snog! I was sooooooooooooooooooo thrilled and happy!! Still am! :D
Ravenclaw's diadem, the Grey Lady's and Bloody Baron's love story...I really liked it! Voldemort being to Albania had a purpose - finding the lost diadem! But it wasn't too clever of him to hide that in the Room of Requirement...Crabbe was really stupid as well, to use that cursed fire. I was not sorry that he died.
The deaths in this book didn't bother me as much - well, except for one death. Fred's. Not the way he died - it WAS in the thick of the battle, despite what some may say *coughnandaweasleycough* - but that he died. I always knew a Weasley would die, but I was hoping it would be Percy or Molly or Charlie. NOT a twin - I was vividly reminded of a Sugarquill fic I read years ago, To the Last Freckle, a fic where we have Fred thinking about his dead brother George, and it was soooooooooo sad, so unfair to him that I couldn't cope with it - even less so when the death of a twin is made canon. *snif* So, his death bothered me very much - not only I cried an OCEAN over it, I was actually sulking and
On the other hand, the remaining death's didn't impact on me as much. Hedwig did, at least a bit, because it was unexpected - I even thought for a moment unecessary - but Charity Burbage, Mad Eye, Rufus (who kinda redeemed himself by not revealing Harry's location before dying), Peter (duh! I was happy the traitor was gone), Dobby, Ted, Crabbe, Colin Creevey (poor Harry Potter Fan Club fan now only has Ginny), Tonks, Remus and Snape (who I always knew would bite the dust) didn't.
I never thought Remus's death - which I have long since feared - wouldn't bug me. But he has been so out of character to me since book 6 and the whole Remus/Tonks business...especially after that scene when he wanted to run off from his wife and unborn child! PoA!Remus would never EVER do that, he would never act like a coward!
I still mantain that Tonks got Remus drunk the night Dumbledore died, "Animorphmagied" herself into Sirius, had Remus sleep with her, got pregnant, and then Remus had nothing to do but marry her and recognize his son - his love nonetheless is still very much for Sirius. :P *R/S shipper in denial*
Snape's death was totally predictable. His love for Lily had been predicted by lots of fandom people, but I still think his back story was very well written and played out - the whole taunting scene we saw in book 5 that we perhaps thought lame to be his worst memory took a whole new light now that we learned that he lost Lily's friendship that day. I pity the poor Potions Master. OH, and Petunia wanting to be a witch as a kid was hilarious! XD Even if a bit sad, really... ;)
Harry's Death. Man, I was dreading this the whole book. When he saw Snape's memory and realized he had to die and marched to his death, I was torn between being totally devastated and sad, and having a small hope that, since it didn't happen suddenly that Jo was playing with us...and she was! Voldie killing the portion of his soul within Harry - the horcrux he didn't know he had made - and then Harry remaining alive made me sigh with relief! I liked it, I thought it was well constructed and reasoned.
Dumbledore. Man, I loved the story behind the man, how we learned he had been flawed, that he had made mistakes and learned from them! And even that he was a manipulative bastard, LOL! Just like Obi-Wan Kenobi - who, according to my boyfriend, is the real villain in he Star Wars movies! ;) XD And I liked that he had, again, even after his death, a chapter where he explains it all to Harry and to us, the readers. :)
Neville!!! OMG, I LOVE NEVILLE SO MUCH! I've loved him since book 1 when he stood up against his friends and earned ten house points for that...I loved him more after book 4 and learning about his parents' destiny...I loved him even MORE in book 5, when we saw him visiting his parents in St. Mungo's...and I ADORE him in book 7, when he destroyed Nagini, the last horcrux, right under Voldemort's nose whatever-he-has-instead-of-a-nose! For Dumbledore's Army! LOVE HIM! I want so squish Neville SO HARD! :D
I loved that each Horcrux was destroyed by a different person - the diary by Harry, the ring by Dumbledore, the locket by Ron, the cup by Hermione, the snake by Neville - that one was AWESOME, btw! - the tiara by that cursed fire, "Harry" by Voldie.
I really really REALLY loved the Final Showdown between Harry and Voldemort. The whole scene, the lines, the Deathly Hallows playing that part, everything! I was just a bit peeved about the whole business of how the elder wand's allegiance came to be with Harry - that was a bit of a stretch to me. But apart from that, it was brilliant.
Perhaps not as brilliant as Molly yelling "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU B!TCH!" and killing Bellatrix, but still... :)
As for the epilogue...it didn't bother me, it didn't feel like fanfic, like most people are saying, but I did wish we had learned more about their future, their careers and the like. And I hope James is actually James SIRIUS Potter! :P Sirius would be mad at Harry if he gave one of his sons the name Severus but not Sirius! XD
I know that when I post this I'm going to remember another handful of comments I should have added, but it's 2:30 AM now, and I have to work tomorrow. ¬¬"
OH! I forgot to tell you guys! The weekend before book 7 came out I FINALLY finished watching Firefly and Serenity! I liked it very much - especially Wash *snif* - but I still prefer Farscape! ;)
Darth Real Life has got quite a grip on me this month. I've been working my @$$ off, finishing my first residence's monography, and trying to deal with whatever else Darth Real Life has aimed my way.
First, my maid's seven-year old son died after he had a cranial traumatism - that week was quite ugly, she was here at home when they called her, I took her to the hospital and talked to the doctors who had assisted him - there was nothing that could've been done, and he died in a few days.
Then my sister had a rough couple of weeks with a back pain that she first thought was just her muscles but was actually an urinary infection - she is better now.
And now my father-in-law is at the hospital since last thursday night. He has hypertension, diabetes and renal insuficiency (with no need for dialysis so far), and now he had to go to the hospital to treat an infection. He is a little better, but he still will be at the hospital for at least a week.
Besides that, when I do manage to be at home and not working, I've been so very tired because of the aforementioned facts...that and the few times I sat on my computer I ended up not writing a review because this is the LAST Harry Potter book. And my LAST review.
I don't want it to end.
So, I've been postponing my review.
I loved the book. I really, truly did. I dunno what has some people so put off or mad or angry or just plain unsatisfied with the book - then again, people seem to be like that for a lot of different things these days, not just Harry Potter.
I loved Harry and the Trio. Their dynamics was great. They were all more mature - even Ron, who managed to do one thing I was a bit mad at him for because it was childish. Yes, he did leave Harry and Hermione, but he did want to come back, he had been trying to find them for weeks and when he did, he did something so utterly awesome that...*sigh* I love Ron.
But I'm getting ahead of me! :P
The beginning of the book was great - I cried with the Dursleys. I actually wanted to hug Dudley and Petunia. Dudley was grateful to Harry for saving him from the Dementors! And Petunia had a small motherly feeling towards Harry at the end of that chapter, though she managed to supress it.
The Seven Potters was funny at first, but it was a chapter that left a bitter taste in my mouth. Hedwig and Mad Eye dead, and so soon in the book...not to mention George losing an ear. It certainly showed us that the book was not going to be light, nor the deaths just a few.
Meeting Andromeda was a YAY! moment for me, not only because I once made an Andromeda cosplay, but also because having her physically resembling SO MUCH Bellatrix was cool in SOOO many levels for me - and not all of them book-related! XD
The Will of Albus Dumbledore showed that the man was very intelligent, indeed! Using the snitch that Harry had swallowed, giving Hermione a book that had the Hallows' tale, and giving Ron the deluminator...the man certainly deserved the title of greatest wizard of all time!
The Wedding was beautiful - up until the end, that is - and also a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark book. Harry posing as a Weasley cousin, Ron being jealous of Krum, HARRY being jealous of Krum - "Ginny is dating. A big bloke," or something like that...LOL! Mr. Lovegood was a riot, and Aunt Muriel...well, what would you expect of an old aunt? :P And the end, which was expected - let's face it, Death Eaters were bond to appear - was very nicely done! Quite dramatic, especially with Kingsley's Patronus!
Ron and Hermione...did you notice that they spent close to 200 pages WITHOUT bickering?!? I was all "OMG! THEY ARE NOT BICKERING! THIS HAS GOT TO BE BECAUSE THEY ARE TOGETHER, THEREFORE, WE NO LONGER HAVE UST, BUT RATHER RESOLVED SEXUAL TENSION! DAMN YOU, JO, FOR NOT SHOWING US THEIR FIRST KISS!" XD Ultimately we learned that was not the case, but still...it was brilliant. As brilliant as Harry's birthday gift from Ron - LOL! XD
And I LOVED Hermione's bag/purse/what-was-the-name? that carried it all inside it. I want a bag like THAT - and I know it would infuriate my boyfriend, he already complains about my big bags! XD
Grimmauld Place as headquarters and the whole Kreacher storyline was very nicely done, IMHO. I still hated the character with a vengeance at the beginning, but he redeemed himself, and him being all so nice with Harry was actually funny - but nice nonetheless. RAB being Regulus was a given, but it was nicely exploited and explained. One of many fandom's theories proved correct and I was glad.
In fact, let me just go on a tangent here. Many people complained that the book was pretty obvious and previsible. Heck, we had 6 books prior, this was the seventh and LAST book, and it was built upon bricks layed down since book 1 - the invisibility cloak, Riddle's diary, Peter's debt to Harry, Voldemort taking Harry's blood, Snape's story - she gave us the bricks, and now she construced the tower. Some stuff were bound to be obvious - AND she still managed to give us some unexpected stuff - the Deathly Hallows. So, to me, for all those reasons, I thought this was a GREAT book. If what happened in the book came out of NOWHERE I would've been mad - and I'm sure so would all those people that thought the book was too predictable. STOP complaining. Humpf.
The ministry's break-in. Their planning and then its execution...I was at the edge of my seat - figuratively speaking, of course, but it was a gripping chapter! AND UMBRIDGE! I was surprised but at the same time I wasn't at all! That old hag sure hated halfbloods and that she chose to stay with a Voldemort controlled Ministry and to be head of that department...it was not a surprise! I always hated that woman, and I hope she rots in Azkaban!
Anyway...the beginning of their quest was...slow. Yeah, I have to admit it. The search for the horcruxes that they did not know what they were exactly...they were running around the country aimlessly, it did worn out a bit, and it kinda made Ron's actions seem justified, only they weren't. I was SO mad at him! I'm glad he came back!
Godric's Hollow was so sad...especially since it was Christmas. I cried when Harry saw the monument, his parent's graves, and their house. And I was all excited about Harry meeting Bathilda Bagshot and learning a bit more about his family and about Dumbledore...only to see poor Harry be jarred into the middle of the war again, with Voldemort going for his neck.
Then Ron came back! It was brilliant! He saved Harry's life, got Godric's sword, and destroyed the Horcrux! Riddle!Harry and Riddle!Hermione were cruel, but Ron destroyed the locket nonetheless! Harry telling him that Hermione was like his sister...and telling Ron that things often sound more marvellous than they really are and that he had been trying to tell Ron that for years...brilliant. Ron was brilliant in this chapter, and I forgot I was mad at him for leaving.
Potterwatch was BRILLIANT. And so were Fred and George. *sniff*
Then, when they were taken by Fenrir to Malfoy Manor...God, that was an awful and great chapter! Awful because we had Hermione being tortured - every time something like that happened with her or Ron I feared they would die! So it was excruciating this time, I was totally yelling with Ron for her! But great writing and development. Again, at the edge of my seat, figurativelly speaking, and then Luna, and Ollivander, and the mirror with the blue eye sometimes I thought was Sirius' and sometimes I thought was Dumbledore's...and Dobby! Rescuing Harry and the others! But dying. I didn't cry when he died, but when Harry was digging his grave I was crying a river! It was so sad...
Peter's death was very fitting to me. He had to pay his debt to Harry, and Voldemort knew that, so he had some sort of safety against that - the silvery hand he gave Peter. The moment Peter betrayed Voldemort, the hand killed him. Quite fitting for a traitor, I think.
Shell Cottage was fun, I LOVE BILL AND FLEUR! I also love the fact that they are canon! ;P At that time, we had small vibes of Luna and Dean (though I prefer Luna and Neville) and we had the preparation for their next assault! This time, Gringotts! LOVED IT, btw! I had had a hunch that the UK kids cover showed a stargate Gringotts vault, and I was right! I'm not sure how I feel about Voldie hiding a horcrux inside the Lestrange's - or was it Black's? - Gringotts' vault, but the treasure multiplying to kill whoever tried to rob it was disturbingly effective and seemed gruesome. Griphook was a sneaky little goblin bastard, I'm glad Neville got the sword back from the sorting hat later!
Aberforth! OMG, I love that man! I totally agree with mrsronweasley about him! He is even better than Dumbledore! XD *loves Abertforth*
The Hogwarts' Battle was very well written. I know we didn't see it all - we didn't see all the deaths, for example - but that's why the book is from HARRY's POV. That was another common complain people had - we didn't get to see enough of the battle, or we didn't get to see what was happening at the wizard world or at Hogwarts with Ginny, Neville and Luna. Again, the book is from Harry's POV! Sure, I would have wanted to see the rest of the sextet and their rebellion - heck, I would have LOVED that - but the book is from HARRY'S POV! So, it's a moot point.
LOVED McGonagall, btw. As always. :)
Oh, and if anyone needed proof that Ron is intelligent, he went after the basiliks fangs to destroy the last horcruxes! YAY for Ron! :D
I loved that Harry wanted to leave Ginny safely behind inside the Room of Requirement, and I loved even more that she took the first oportunity to sneak out on him - that's the Ginny we all know and love! :)
Ron and Hermione. OMG, their first kiss! I had given up hope in seeing that, first because I thought they had already kissed, then because I knew they hadn't but thought they never knew, then, in the thick of the battle, when Ron FINALLY got SPEW, he earned himself a snog! And QUITE a snog! I was sooooooooooooooooooo thrilled and happy!! Still am! :D
Ravenclaw's diadem, the Grey Lady's and Bloody Baron's love story...I really liked it! Voldemort being to Albania had a purpose - finding the lost diadem! But it wasn't too clever of him to hide that in the Room of Requirement...Crabbe was really stupid as well, to use that cursed fire. I was not sorry that he died.
The deaths in this book didn't bother me as much - well, except for one death. Fred's. Not the way he died - it WAS in the thick of the battle, despite what some may say *coughnandaweasleycough* - but that he died. I always knew a Weasley would die, but I was hoping it would be Percy or Molly or Charlie. NOT a twin - I was vividly reminded of a Sugarquill fic I read years ago, To the Last Freckle, a fic where we have Fred thinking about his dead brother George, and it was soooooooooo sad, so unfair to him that I couldn't cope with it - even less so when the death of a twin is made canon. *snif* So, his death bothered me very much - not only I cried an OCEAN over it, I was actually sulking and
On the other hand, the remaining death's didn't impact on me as much. Hedwig did, at least a bit, because it was unexpected - I even thought for a moment unecessary - but Charity Burbage, Mad Eye, Rufus (who kinda redeemed himself by not revealing Harry's location before dying), Peter (duh! I was happy the traitor was gone), Dobby, Ted, Crabbe, Colin Creevey (poor Harry Potter Fan Club fan now only has Ginny), Tonks, Remus and Snape (who I always knew would bite the dust) didn't.
I never thought Remus's death - which I have long since feared - wouldn't bug me. But he has been so out of character to me since book 6 and the whole Remus/Tonks business...especially after that scene when he wanted to run off from his wife and unborn child! PoA!Remus would never EVER do that, he would never act like a coward!
I still mantain that Tonks got Remus drunk the night Dumbledore died, "Animorphmagied" herself into Sirius, had Remus sleep with her, got pregnant, and then Remus had nothing to do but marry her and recognize his son - his love nonetheless is still very much for Sirius. :P *R/S shipper in denial*
Snape's death was totally predictable. His love for Lily had been predicted by lots of fandom people, but I still think his back story was very well written and played out - the whole taunting scene we saw in book 5 that we perhaps thought lame to be his worst memory took a whole new light now that we learned that he lost Lily's friendship that day. I pity the poor Potions Master. OH, and Petunia wanting to be a witch as a kid was hilarious! XD Even if a bit sad, really... ;)
Harry's Death. Man, I was dreading this the whole book. When he saw Snape's memory and realized he had to die and marched to his death, I was torn between being totally devastated and sad, and having a small hope that, since it didn't happen suddenly that Jo was playing with us...and she was! Voldie killing the portion of his soul within Harry - the horcrux he didn't know he had made - and then Harry remaining alive made me sigh with relief! I liked it, I thought it was well constructed and reasoned.
Dumbledore. Man, I loved the story behind the man, how we learned he had been flawed, that he had made mistakes and learned from them! And even that he was a manipulative bastard, LOL! Just like Obi-Wan Kenobi - who, according to my boyfriend, is the real villain in he Star Wars movies! ;) XD And I liked that he had, again, even after his death, a chapter where he explains it all to Harry and to us, the readers. :)
Neville!!! OMG, I LOVE NEVILLE SO MUCH! I've loved him since book 1 when he stood up against his friends and earned ten house points for that...I loved him more after book 4 and learning about his parents' destiny...I loved him even MORE in book 5, when we saw him visiting his parents in St. Mungo's...and I ADORE him in book 7, when he destroyed Nagini, the last horcrux, right under Voldemort's nose whatever-he-has-instead-of-a-nose! For Dumbledore's Army! LOVE HIM! I want so squish Neville SO HARD! :D
I loved that each Horcrux was destroyed by a different person - the diary by Harry, the ring by Dumbledore, the locket by Ron, the cup by Hermione, the snake by Neville - that one was AWESOME, btw! - the tiara by that cursed fire, "Harry" by Voldie.
I really really REALLY loved the Final Showdown between Harry and Voldemort. The whole scene, the lines, the Deathly Hallows playing that part, everything! I was just a bit peeved about the whole business of how the elder wand's allegiance came to be with Harry - that was a bit of a stretch to me. But apart from that, it was brilliant.
Perhaps not as brilliant as Molly yelling "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU B!TCH!" and killing Bellatrix, but still... :)
As for the epilogue...it didn't bother me, it didn't feel like fanfic, like most people are saying, but I did wish we had learned more about their future, their careers and the like. And I hope James is actually James SIRIUS Potter! :P Sirius would be mad at Harry if he gave one of his sons the name Severus but not Sirius! XD
I know that when I post this I'm going to remember another handful of comments I should have added, but it's 2:30 AM now, and I have to work tomorrow. ¬¬"
OH! I forgot to tell you guys! The weekend before book 7 came out I FINALLY finished watching Firefly and Serenity! I liked it very much - especially Wash *snif* - but I still prefer Farscape! ;)