SPOILERS THROUGH CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Body Count!
Charity Burbage
Hedwig
Mad-Eye Moody
Rufus Scrimgeour
Bathilda Bagshot
Dirk Creswell
Gornuk
Ted Tonks
Gellert Grindelwald
Dobby
Peter Pettigrew
Aw, Dobby. He was the only house-elf I liked, though I'm a little sad to say that Kreacher has grown on me. (It's hard to hate someone who cooks wholesome meals for my woobies.) I actually found Harry's reaction quite moving. Poor Harry. Poor Dobby.
I'm kind of amused by how insignificant Wormtail's role proved to be. Strangled by his own hand for a second's insubordination. Voldemort never really rewards his people, does he? But I suppose that there can be only one big, redemptive death...if there is going to be one at all.
So, Remus Lupin is the Last Marauder Standing.
TEDDY LUPIN.
BABY LUPINS.
Awww.
This marriage with Tonks seems totally pastede on but it's sweet seeing Remus get all excited (excited! Remus!!) about his son. I hope he lives to raise the child with Tonks, and Harry as godfather. Aw, Teddy.
I'm guessing the H/D fans are going nuts over the fact that Harry stole Draco's wand. Cause nothing says love like stealing your enemy's wand when you're weaponless. :P
I wonder what's going on with Draco. Looks like he's having second thoughts about helping Voldemort, though is that because he's tired of being kicked around or because there's a drop of empathy in him?
Rats, Griphook took Ron's sword away. I was so hoping to see my boy duel someone with it.
So that's what happened to Sirius's mirror! Huh. Actually, I'm glad it wasn't Dumbledore's eye that Harry kept seeing. I didn't want Dumbledore having anything to do with Sirius's mirror. I'm okay with Aberforth. More than. Aberforth was rather cool. A goat Patronus? Oh, Aberforth.
And oh, Ariana. Poor little girl. How sad and horrible.
NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM, THERE YOU ARE, I'VE MISSED YOU!
Looks like he's been up to something. Mounting a resistance against Snape, I bet. Rock on, Neville.
Rowling's good at dialogue and I like her descriptions of things, particularly when the characters are out in the wilderness. But when Harry starts thinking, the prose get a bit clunky. They were done for...he could think of no way out...unless he, Harry...yadda yadda... Please, Rowling, ease up on the ellipses. And enough "his/her ___est yet" and "as ___ as ever." (Toward the end of HBP, I started underlining all the phrases that ended that way. My book was full of little black lines.)
But I'm still loving the book. OMG, 200 pages to go! I think! Two and a half hours before I can read some more. *quivers*