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Thoughts on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
This would have been more random if I'd written it just after I'd completed the book, nearly fourteen hours ago. (1 PM - 4:45 AM = 16 hours/759 pages; that's like, not super fast, but it's still a record for me!) I was on the point of setting down the book and going to bed many times last night, but I couldn't have slept even if I had stopped reading, and as it was, I barely slept upon its completion.
Random, confused thoughts pulsed through my mind as I tossed in ever-lightening darkness. Three lines kept repeating over and over, one not from the book at all, but from a conversation I had about fanfic several years ago.
"I hate it when either Fred or George dies, but not the other, and then the surviving twin never laughs or whatever. You have to either kill both twins or leave both alive. You can't kill just one twin."
The horror of Fred's death was most emphasized at the beginning of the book, in chapter five, when George's ear is cut off; for only the second time in whole series, Fred shows fear. Together, the twins can laugh their way through almost anything (the exception being Mr. Weasley's near-death), but Fred finds the idea of losing George terrifying. And then he dies and leaves George alone. It - it's too awful. You can have Bill, and Charlie, and Percy, and even both parents, but you can't take just one twin. It isn't right.
"Does it hurt?"
"Dying? Not at all. Quicker and easier than falling asleep."
Oh, Sirius, how I love you. This scene had me in tears, not least when Remus said, "I am sorry too. Sorry I will never know him ..."
"Don't be shocked, Severus. How many men and women have you watched die?"
"Lately, only those whom I could not save."
And - and - thank you, Snape. Thank you for making up for that horrible sense of betrayal I had two years ago. Thank you for letting me be right about you those five years before. Thank you for - just - everything! Death by giant snake, what a horrible way to die. I'm sorry.
And, okay, I'm going to brag a little, but I totally called Snape-in-love-with-Lily. I called it pre-HBP days. But until chapter thirty-three, I never really understood what even looking at Harry must have cost him. Harry, the son of the man he hated and the woman he loved. A hybrid of everything he adored and everything he despised. A reminder of everything he had lost. Had he ditched Mulciber and Avery, had he not called her Mudblood, it would have been his son, not James's, that bore Lily Evans' eyes. And every time he glanced at Harry, he would see James, but then he would look into those eyes and he would see Lily, Lily in James, and it would be terrible, unbearable that James should have beaten Snape in this last, ultimate battle. And every time he saved Harry's life, he was protecting not only the son of the woman he loved, but also the son of the man he despised. Yes, I can forgive Snape every vindictive action against Harry, whom he must have hated not only because he was James's son, but because had he not been born, Voldemort would not have killed Lily, and yet had Snape not told Voldemort the prophecy ... and it would always come back to the fact that he had had a hand in her murder, and Harry was the living reminder...
Okay, other points I felt strongly about:
"Does it hurt?"
"Dying? Not at all. Quicker and easier than falling asleep."
"How many men and women have you watched die?"
"Lately, only those whom I could not save."
"I hate it when either Fred or George dies, but not the other, and then the surviving twin never laughs or whatever. You have to either kill both twins or leave both alive. You can't kill just one twin."
The horror of Fred's death was most emphasized at the beginning of the book, in chapter five, when George's ear is cut off; for only the second time in whole series, Fred shows fear. Together, the twins can laugh their way through almost anything (the exception being Mr. Weasley's near-death), but Fred finds the idea of losing George terrifying. And then he dies and leaves George alone. It - it's too awful. You can have Bill, and Charlie, and Percy, and even both parents, but you can't take just one twin. It isn't right.
"Does it hurt?"
"Dying? Not at all. Quicker and easier than falling asleep."
Oh, Sirius, how I love you. This scene had me in tears, not least when Remus said, "I am sorry too. Sorry I will never know him ..."
"Don't be shocked, Severus. How many men and women have you watched die?"
"Lately, only those whom I could not save."
And - and - thank you, Snape. Thank you for making up for that horrible sense of betrayal I had two years ago. Thank you for letting me be right about you those five years before. Thank you for - just - everything! Death by giant snake, what a horrible way to die. I'm sorry.
And, okay, I'm going to brag a little, but I totally called Snape-in-love-with-Lily. I called it pre-HBP days. But until chapter thirty-three, I never really understood what even looking at Harry must have cost him. Harry, the son of the man he hated and the woman he loved. A hybrid of everything he adored and everything he despised. A reminder of everything he had lost. Had he ditched Mulciber and Avery, had he not called her Mudblood, it would have been his son, not James's, that bore Lily Evans' eyes. And every time he glanced at Harry, he would see James, but then he would look into those eyes and he would see Lily, Lily in James, and it would be terrible, unbearable that James should have beaten Snape in this last, ultimate battle. And every time he saved Harry's life, he was protecting not only the son of the woman he loved, but also the son of the man he despised. Yes, I can forgive Snape every vindictive action against Harry, whom he must have hated not only because he was James's son, but because had he not been born, Voldemort would not have killed Lily, and yet had Snape not told Voldemort the prophecy ... and it would always come back to the fact that he had had a hand in her murder, and Harry was the living reminder...
Okay, other points I felt strongly about:
- R.A.B. - I CALLED IT! I CALLED IT! I called it the first time I ever read HBP, long before I even went online to consult anyone else. And, okay, I know I'm far from the only one to come up with it on my own, but I'm so rarely right about anything in HP (aside from ships) that I can't help but feel some surge of pride. But - wow. Kreacher watching Regulus dragged down with the Inferi. That was too horrible. I had nightmares about that. But the Kreacher turned so cute and lovable! I forgive him for Sirius, I really do. "Overkill, mate." Great line!
- Ron and Hermione were OMG SO CUTE! I loved Ron comforting her in the Burrow, dancing with her to get her away from Krum, offering to be tortured in her place (although Hermione was absolutely magnificent in that scene!). And them kissing, finally!
- Ron running out on Harry, you sort of knew it was coming. It sort of had to, in a way. And his return was magnificent, and he and Harry hugged, and Harry finally verbalizing all the things never said between them about Hermione. That was fantastic!
- Dobby died! OMG, I cried so much! His epitaph was perfect!
- Harry yelling at Remus, that was brilliant! But then Remus and Tonks died, WTF? Although I like the idea that the Marauders are together again, happy and free at last. But at the end, where was Teddy living if not with his godfather? What is the point of having a godfather if you're not going to go live with him after your parents die? (Sirius was an exception because he was a convict.)
- Also, Albus Severus is a really horrible name. Not as bad as Scorpius, but still pretty bad. And yes, he's named after two amazing and wonderful men, but it's still a horrible name to inflict on a child. Sirius is a much better name, and if it's not James's middle name, someone is going to seriously pay!
"Does it hurt?"
"Dying? Not at all. Quicker and easier than falling asleep."
"How many men and women have you watched die?"
"Lately, only those whom I could not save."