Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn’t finished the last books! I can’t sit on some of my thoughts any longer. Don’t worry though, I’ve pointed out when/where you can start skipping. *wink*

You can’t please everyone all the time. That’s just reality. But there’s no way getting around the amazing phenomenon created by J.K. Rowling’s series on Harry Potter. Call it whatever you want but at the end of the day millions of kids and adults alike have jumped into books and that has been unprecedented in my lifetime. The movies are added fluff and have captured an audience all their own even for those who have never read any of the books. I don’t think anyone can argue the success of it all.

I’d be lying if I said I was immediately sucked up into the craze. I held my distance. I even felt that I had no desire to read the book for all its hype. So I waited until just before the first movie came out and heard people talk about all they’d have to leave out to make it a movie. The first book was so engaging and quick, so fresh and new from anything else I’d read that I quickly joined the ranks waiting for the next book…and the next…and the next. I wondered when the craze hit if she’d really stick to her guns ending at book seven. I hoped she would as so many good things get beaten to death actually taking away from the original goodness, so I was happy that she stuck to her guns. The imagination that has flourished in its wake will likely cause many more wonderful series, stories and authors to pop up and that too, in my mind, is a good thing.

As in all thing there are opposites. Some took an immediate stance against the book. From a religious perspective there were many who claimed it to be evil due to the pretext of wizarding and magic. It was ironic to me that those who argued the most and loudest would be discovered as never having read them. I suppose there’s always opposition just as there is always good with evil and vice versa. Then there’s the “Barney Syndrome” which quickly came about. (I’m talking about Barney the purple dinosaur.) This being the scenario of so many claiming how you couldn’t justify the success for the simplicity of the concept and how anyone could have done it. Which at the end of the day is simply moot because J.K. did do it. It’s so easy to sit from your easy chair and make assumptions and judgements. Jealousy is ugly. But I digress.

I have to keep reminding myself that these were books written for children and youth. So much of it was so enjoyable at my age. I also find myself wondering why things didn’t go more robust in some places and then I again remember the target audience. I think kuddos are deserved for bridging this gap between ages and generations with such zest and shared interest. Although there were elements that I felt disappeared, dropped off or simply didn’t finish, the level of detail with which the entire story line was thought through is amazing to me. Especially given the long nature of the series.

*****If you haven’t read books 6 & 7 this is the time to skip to the next asterik notice.******

I felt from the beginning that Snape was one of her deepest characters and that he was devout to the right cause/side although his methods and personality triggered instant dislike. You had to know if Dumbledore trusted him that we were in the dark about a lot. Of all the characters for me, he’s the one that kept my constant interest and curiosity. When I first heard the title of the sixth book I suspected that Snape would be the half-blooded prince. I just felt from the beginning that his role was going to be big in the series. How tickled I was to be proven right! And at the end of that book when many speculated that he killed Dumbledore for personal gain, finally showing his true colors as a bad guy, I held my ground that the final pleading was one for Snape to be strong enough to do what had to be done and not a plea for his life. (Although I didn’t have it pegged that Dumbledore was already past saving.) I thought it was exactly what would have to happen to allow Voldemort to trust Snape completely. And indeed it did. Voldemort was fooled to the very end. As with all good bad guys, their ignorance and pompous ego are their downfall. Even after he killed Severus (which I hated knowing was inevitable) he was clueless to how much he didn’t know and how critical that piece was to his own demise. I loved by the way, that the Elder’s wand backfired the death curse on Voldemort. That was a classic way for him to bring about his ultimate destruction and it was quite the funny twist that it would involve Draco. It was also satisfying to see that for all his pompous knowledge and skill that he missed the mark with the true power of the hallows and the wand. It makes me wonder how much Snape knew of the whole affair. What I didn’t have pegged was how deep and established the friendship between Snape and Lily was and how critical it was to Snape’s allegiance and loyalty. I knew he had a crush on her but was surprised to read of how early their ties went. I felt like I could truly relate to Lily for this detail. In turn it made me further evaluate the development of James, Harry’s father. I felt that his character was pushed a little too much to drop hints about Snape’s past. It didn’t fit for me that Lily would end up with a guy that was the instigator of so much cruelty. Even including the frailities of youth, stupidity of young boys in groups and the positive influence of a good girl. I would rather have seen Sirius be the ring leader and James an accomplice as that would have been a better fit. But then again I’m back to reminding myself of the target audience and this really had no bearing on the story development.

There’s a lot to be said of Dumbledore. I honestly felt that this book tied it all together for me but it took a while to let it all sink in to come to that conclusion. On first introduction, I began to see this great wizard as infallible, near perfect and all wise. In fact, I couldn’t find anything about him that I didn’t like…which should have been a clue. I took issue with the Goblet of Fire movie and their interpretation of Dumbledore. I didn’t like the few scenes that showed him emotionally upset or without answers or direction because I never got any of that from the books. I wondered why J.K. let that go through, but as I read the final book it all became clear. The movie was actually foreshadowing more of the deep and secret nature of Dumbledore. Dumbledore is still a good guy, but he’s not unblemished - he’s human. In fact, he’s more tortured than at peace with himself. I didn’t even realize I’d put him on a perfection pedestal until that nasty Rita Skeeter obliviated it. I actually liked the way it ended with him. He’s still wise, he’s still good but he’s also human. He made mistakes as a boy by pairing up with another gifted boy who had some dark intentions and being selfish. Imagine that - a teen being selfish! *giggle* After having some time to absorb the final book and learnings of Dumbledore and his past I think it came together perfectly. He did love Harry. He was so secretive and kept him out of as much as possible all the way along until the sixth book because he didn’t want to face the truth of what would be necessary knowing Harry was the seventh horcrux for Voldemort. Maybe he felt that protecting Harry was his second chance for failing with his younger sister. I was always left wanting more from Dumbledore and I think that’s as the author intended it. To be more direct would remove some of the mystery for all of us. I was a little disappointed that he didn’t play a more helpful role until the very end. I was really pulling for more of an Obi-Wan Kenobi role that would empower him through death to become a more vital assistant for the hero. I kept hoping the entire book long that it wouldn’t be all saved for the end. Oh well, it was still most enlightening! Of my most favorite conversations are the final ones between Snape and Dumbledore. They talked with each other in a way that showed you these two characters truly knew the other as no one else did. Thus, they talked as their “real” selves in each other’s presence. I liked that. Dumbledore was sarcastic and snippy at times and Snape showed concern and compassion in his frustrated way. I thought it some of the more tender relationships brought out in the final book. They also showed you just how human and balanced both characters really were.

I was sad that Fred died in the final battle. I really liked the Weasley twins - they had such a fun and entertaining chemistry. At least his mum got to take out the rotten Bellatrix. I think I let a whoop for her when that battle scene came up. That was a fitting blow for justice. There were more that died in the end than I expected. Lupin and Tonks were a mixed blessing for the sake of tormented father role and they needed to be together, but it was sad that they had just engaged on the journey of parenting at the time of their deaths. But all in all it was what had to happen to keep the story going and believable. I would have felt cheated if it had been Ron or Hermione, and you couldn’t have a final stand without losses on both sides. I knew Harry would be victorious but I wasn’t expecting how long it took to achieve the end. I kept expecting Voldemort to die or begin dying with each destroyed horcrux. I’m still a little confused over which one was used to bring him back from death the first time. But my husband pointed out that they provided him the ability to be immortal and in this way may not be as physical as I was interpreting. This helped me because I couldn’t understand how he kept living after Neville (who I am SO happy about in this book) took out the last horcrux when he beheaded Voldemort’s snake. So I can get with the concept that the destruction of each horcrux didn’t mean death, it simply removed the ability to regain life after the last death blow, but there is still something that I felt didn’t fit here - something I can’t quite put my finger on.

I didn’t have many disappointments. Although I was so hoping to see more tie in with good deeds done and building an army to resist and fight at the end. There was such wonderful introduction of magical creatures throughout the series and I felt they kind of got left out in the end. The dragon they freed in the bank for instance. I kept waiting for the return favor to be all dragons to bend to Harry’s will and aid for the resistance. Just as I’d hoped all Hermione’s elf rights movement would have enlisted assistance and help from the house elves. They seemed to only appear in brief moments here and there - rather sporadic and ordinary for all their unknown and misunderstood magical powers. They got in at the very end of the battle but even then the contribution and description seemed to fall short for me of what they could have/should have done. I kept waiting for Hagrid’s spider friend to help turn all the spiders to Hagrid’s beckoning and for all those magical and wonderful creatures he was famous for teaching us about come to his aid as well. In the end the battle felt rushed and the middle of the book felt drawn out to me. I found myself wanting to kick it up a notch in this last book as they were hiding in the tent from forest to forest. It just started to drag a bit and I felt those parts could have been cut in half. While in contrast, I felt the battle scene could have been expounded on with the use of the magical creatures. I sort of understand the dividing line she kept painting between the wizards and all the other magical creatures but I think it would have been cool to have bridged that at the end.

I wanted to know what Dumbledore’s last message to Petunia was about when he screamed “Remember my last!” and we almost got there with the flashbacks to her as a girl with Lily and writing to Dumbledore then. But alas, that one dropped dead with no explanation for me. I was also hoping for more development in the death eater that was led back to the safe house. I wanted to read more of how that would have contributed to the search/pursuit of Harry and maybe how Kreacher could have helped keep them off his trail. A final battle between the two werewolves Lupin and Greyback was also on my wishlist. But then, after the wimpy and weak looking movie version of Lupin as a werewolf I suppose that was for the best. More on that below. Still, all these things pale in comparison to the things I really enjoyed.

Among my favorites of this book was the bank chase. The idea of treasures touched by unauthorized hands multiplying with heat and deadly accumulation was brilliant to me. Their escape from the bank was awesome. I also loved that they kicked butt at the Ministry of Magic and helped free so many people. There was a slight disconnect for me with Umbridge as the last thing I remembered was her being carried off by the Centaurs but it made sense to have her rise with Voldemort at the ministry. She’s the kind of character you love to hate. The originality of Harry Potter is really an incredible tribute to J.K. I loved all the magical creations and terminology she invented and the many levels they had - the whomping willow, muggles, Mrs. Weasely’s clock, all the magical creatures…simply too many to name. The world was unique and engaging and it never grew tiring or redundant for me even over 7 books and thousands of pages.

*****If you’re skipping ahead, tune back in now. ******

My only disappointment with the movies so far was the look of Lupin as a werewolf. Why couldn’t they have made him as awesome and intimidating as Van Helsing? I mean sure, he’s no Hugh Jackman, but dang - that show made werewolves look cool! The Harry Potter ones paled in comparison. If they were going for the lifelike comparison to the human Lupin they nailed it but personally I like the version of the werewolf being bigger and badder than the human form. Van Helsing nailed it. That may have just been bad luck/timing for that show to come out roughly the same time as the first HP movie to include a werewolf. In general, I think each director has remained true to the stories, even if they’ve moved around the timing of some details and I think each has done an amazing job capturing the elements in the time allotted. Each book has gotten more and more complicated and I can’t even imagine being faced with the task of editing the content in a way that doesn’t damage the basic story. Amazing really.

I’m with my husband on book seven ranking with the third as my favorites. These two held the most depth and development with story lines and details for me. I thought J.K. really wrapped up her series with style. I think what she accomplished with the stories goes beyond what we can see in tangible returns. I hope that many new and young minds have been inspired to create their own amazing stories and characters. Say what you will about the author, but I think the good she’s done with her work has and will continue to far outweigh any negative.

At the end of the day, Harry Potter reminded me what reading for pure fun was about. He reminded me of the struggle it can be to find our own paths and missions in life - how at times it can feel very lonely and frustrating yet at the same time remind me how we are never alone and how valuable friends are. In fact, I think the major difference between Harry and Dumbledore was the power of good friends. I really think J.K. shared so many wonderful and important qualities and lessons about life in her books. I for one am glad that Harry Potter is a household name for it.

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