I finished reading late last night, and just caught up here, so forgive me for the extra long meara.

I was sad with every death, but nothing made me actually cry until I read that Harry’s daughter was named Lily. I lost it at that point. I’m glad we got more of Lily’s story this time. It seems that so much was about Harry’s father and his father’s friends, but I really wanted to know more about Lily.

The lack of progress at the beginning bothered me, until the characters started complaining about their lack of progress, and then I was ok with it.

I loved all the little moments and the call backs to the previous books. Overall, I thought it was done very well.

One thing I didn't like? Molly using the word, "Bitch". Completely out of character.

I thought it was perfectly in character. Molly was always all about her family. I always got the feeling that if someone messed with her kids they’d have a serious badass witch on their hands.

ETA: I did think giving Draco a receding hairline at thirty-six was a little spiteful. I mean, yes, he was a sniveling weakling, but come on! I was really hoping he'd get to do something, actually, even if it was something small. I mean, they do save his life twice -- it really felt like a setup for him to do something worthwhile for once.

I really thought he was going to save someone to redeem himself.

I think that the books (esp. 4 and this one) really shine when they are at Hogwarts, as opposed to the rest of the wizarding world. Hogwarts and the school calendar provided a predictable yet comfortable timeline for the stories which I missed in this one.

I agree with this. The school year always kept the story moving at a good pace. I also want to know if they went back for another year of Hogwarts to complete their education after the battle and to clean up all the damage at the school.

My absolute favorite theory on this was posted on Livejournal. George obviously goes on to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and Fred is a castle ghost, until the day George dies and they move on together.

I'm not sure about George becoming a professor, but I love the thought of Fred as a school ghost causing trouble and helping out his neices and nephews when they attend the school. I'd rather George continue to make a great success of the store he and his brother began together.

And in terms of closure, the final parting with the Dursleys worked. Dudley even had a mini-redemption that is sort of apt for leaving adolescence.

I really liked that part too. He was a kid, and he didn’t necessarily have to turn out to be just like his parents, which is what Dumbledore feels about Draco.

I'm glad they didn't come back because it would have been too neat for everything, even the Dursleys, to be tied in a neat bow.

I think it would have been kind of interesting to see Dudley’s son/daughter get on the train to Hogwarts at the end.

Offing Remus and Tonks offscreen was kind of lame. People were more moved by Dobby's death.

I agree. I want to know how they died.

“Mr. Weasley, he was the person who got a reprieve,” Rowling said. “When I sketched out the books, Mr. Weasley was due to die in Book Five.”

I was kind of surprised he lived through the series while every other father figure in Harry’s life died.

Oh, and I meant to say that I figure George settled down, got married, they had kids, and his first was named Fred - all before the younger set had kids. I mean, it was his twin bro and all, so I'm good with that.

I thought this too. It makes the most sense for George to have the honor of naming a child after Fred.

One of the things I like about Dumbledor's hidden past is that he so easily could have become Voldermort. If he'd gotten obsessed with the hallows (which continued to be a temptation to him even into his wise old age) he could have been an even bigger bad.

I think Harry could easily have gone this ways too. He could have been a bitter, violent kid, considering how he was raised. I think that is (continued...)

( continues...) why it was so important that he made the choice to go after the horcruxes instead of hallows.

"He--What?! No, he didn't! He's a dork, look at him. He's got stupid glasses and his hair always looks like crap...he collects owls for God's sake, there's always shit all over his study...My dad couldn't save the toilet from overflowing, let alone the world! He's...he's a dork!"

Bwah! Love this.

sj reminds me--I meant to say much earlier that I really hope that H, R, & H do finish their education. It bothers me that the entire series was built around the seven years of Hogwarts and yet there was no closure for their time at Hogwarts at the end. At the least I would have liked to have seen them being honorary graduates with their class since the magic they were doing was so advanced. I can't see Hermoine being satisfied without her diploma, either.

My feelings here may be my own teacherly "finish school" issues, but given that millions of students read the series...well, I just would have liked some acknowledgment that finishing your education is important.

Plus, I think it would have kept a lot closer to the spirit of the series and brought us nicely back to the first book. Yes, I know that we ended with the trio's kidlets heading to Hogwarts, but...it's just been bugging me.

Since Ron and Harry go on to become Aurors (according to interviews with JKR) and Hermione moves up very high in the Ministry, I expect they had to go back to school.

I can't believe the Hermione would actually quit and I'm sure that Ron's parents wouldn't allow him to quit either.

Plus, it's more Harry's home than anywhere else.

I'm sure that Ron's parents wouldn't allow him to quit either.

The twins quit before their last year, didn't they? I think it is more likely Hermione that wouldn't let them quit. I'd like the think that they had a nice, quiet, no life in peril, 7th year at school, finishing their education.

How does the 7 year thing work in Britain? I had the impression that the last two years were sort of optional, although I, like Kristin, would like to see kids finish school just on principle.

Yeah, my impression was that the first five years are the mandatory ones, so it's not really analogous to high school students dropping out before 12th grade. From [link]

Secondary school is compulsory from 11 to 16 years old. At the end of this period, pupils take their GCSE (General Certifiate of Education) examinations, which generally take 2 years to prepare. After this, pupils can stay on for another 2 years and then sit their A Levels, which are necessary to continue to university level.

Also, I've heard that the whole graduation ceremony thing is mostly an American invention, at least for secondary school. I don't know how much of this is strictly true, but that's the impression I've gotten from... well, mostly from reading British fans making fun of American-written HP fanfiction, really.

My favorite was the story where Hermione talks about the Civil War -- you know, the one with Lincoln.

We didn't have a graduation at my high school (in England). There was a ceremony at the beginning of the next school year where certificates were given out for achievements in the past year, but that wasn't just for graduates.

Hmmph. That reminds me that I won one (a book token, IIRC) and never picked it up because by then I was at university in Canada.

You can get into US/Canadian schools on the strength of GCSEs (well, you could on the strength of O levels, which were replaced by GCSEs after I left). I got almost a year's worth of credit for my A levels taken off my degree. I had to take Bio 101 to make up my pre-reqs.

Thing is, British students specialise after GCSEs, so that one bio class was something I'd decided not to pursue two years earlier, and wanted to dive straight into my degree.

Which is really so much more than the question asked...

How does the 7 year thing work in Britain? I had the impression that the last two years were sort of optional

Yeah, but that's just in the *Muggle* world....