One thing that frustrated me was Dumbledore's edict that only Harry, Ron and Hermione could know and set about on the quest for the Horcruxes.

I can kind of see this though. It was pretty clear to me that Dumbledore took into account other people's weaknesses (including his own) when trying to give HRH their task. Others were pretty tempted by their proximity to Voldy's soul pieces and/or what they thought they could do with the Deathly Hallows. It's very "lord of the rings" in this way. Dumbledore felt that Hermione could balance out Harry's confidence, so I think he really felt that the fewer the people who knew about this the better - particularly since so many could be corrupted.

Draco Malfoy: shot by own troops in Vietnam

::snerk:: Coffee on monitor, literally.

I think I felt most for Hedwig, dying rapped in his cage. That's no way for a flying creature to go.

Plus, Hedwig was still mad at Harry when she died, which just made me SO sad.

I can kind of see this though. It was pretty clear to me that Dumbledore took into account other people's weaknesses (including his own) when trying to give HRH their task. Others were pretty tempted by their proximity to Voldy's soul pieces and/or what they thought they could do with the Deathly Hallows. It's very "lord of the rings" in this way. Dumbledore felt that Hermione could balance out Harry's confidence, so I think he really felt that the fewer the people who knew about this the better - particularly since so many could be corrupted.

Okay, I get that. I guess I wish that at the least the trio had discussed the why of it (more? at all?) amongst themselves, rather than accepting it "because Dumbledore said so", especially once Harry starts on his fallen-hero mope.

I think the major issue would be that the more people who knew what they were looking for, the greater the chance would be for Voldemort to find out.

But he wouldn't have to tell anyone what's up! They could have a cover story, and, say, only bring new recruits/refugees for parts of the quest before dropping them somewhere safe!

/wishing Harry had invited Tonk's dad into the tent so he wouldn't be ded.

I think the major issue would be that the more people who knew what they were looking for, the greater the chance would be for Voldemort to find out.

Well, that, and because ultimately Harry had to stand alone. Not just in a narrative sense -- he literally had to be prepared to walk in there and die for everything to work. In this, I think He-Who-Has-Been-Multiply-Named had his number: There were too many people willing to throw themselves on their swords for Harry, particularly the adults in his life. I don't know if he'd ever gotten to the place he needed to be mentally and emotionally to finally defeat Voldemort if everyone was there to keep stepping in front of him.

You know, I decided while re-reading the Goblet of Fire, that Harry was going to face Voldemort and not die. I just decided he wouldn't have been given the nickname "The Boy Who Lived" if he was going to die at the end. In a way, it was the ultimate spoiler.

In a way, it was the ultimate spoiler.

Heh. That's good. I was just convinced that Rowling would hesitate to kill off the three characters she's invested so much in making her young readers associate with, and would be extremely reluctant to make any of her young characters (including Dudley and Draco) irredeemable. That being said, the Malfoy family got off a bit easy. Sigh, but then, people like that often do.

Did we find out what happened to Draco's mom and dad?

they were huddled with their child in the last chapter...but by rights, they should have been sent to Azkaban.