When the final book came out, I was one of those fans standing in line at Midnight. It was a sort of bittersweet moment: I could barely wait to read the final book, but I didn’t want the series to be over. I started reading the series when I was seven years old and finished the last book when I was seventeen. Spending an entire decade emotional invested in Rowling characters, I felt satisfied that she did them justice in the last book. All these characters that seemed such caricatures in the first book came to life in this book: Petunia, Snape, and even Hermione. I remember crying during Snape’s memories not only for Snape but Petunia as well. Most all of her characters, even the smaller ones, were so fleshed out.
Dumbledore’s back story surprised me immensely. I couldn’t believe that this man who loved muggle candy and always knew exactly what to say to people. He seemed so humble that I couldn’t imagine him as wanting to build a world where wizards ruled over muggles. This complete reversal gave me whiplash. After Snape’s memories, I wanted to hate him for using Harry as his puppet but the scene at King’s Cross left me unable to. It was obvious how much the choices that he had made during his life weighed him down. In the epilogue when I found out that Harry named his son Albus Severus, it became obvious that Harry had forgiven him and if Harry could I could as well.
And then there was Snape. The end of Half-Blood Prince blew my mind because I truly thought that Snape was on Dumbledore’s side. Dumbledore trusted him completely and then he just killed him. I honestly couldn’t believe it. I never really like Snape but I never thought it was capable of that. In Deathly Hallows during the chapter of Snape’s memories, I cried. Honest to God balled like there was no tomorrow. It was the wee hours of the morning and I couldn’t have been more grateful that my parents were still asleep because of how much this book made me cry. It really says something about an author that can make one the least liked characters in a series become one of your favorite character’s in the span of one chapter.
The Golden Trio really grew into themselves during this book, Ron especially. When he left Harry and Ron by themselves, I wanted nothing more than to shout at him. I also wanted to shout at Harry because he didn’t do much to comfort Hermione during that very tough period of time. When he came back and destroyed the Horcrux, I wanted to scream: Yes! Character Development. Hermione started out the series as caricature of the smart, bossy girl but through the series Rowling expanded her character. In this last book, Hermione really showed that it wasn’t her intelligence that was her most defining feature but her loyalty and her bravery. Harry became much rash in this book. Thinking his decisions through instead of rushing head first into a situation without thinking. These three really rubbed off on each other.
On a side note: Team Neville forever.
What makes this series so successful is the sheer fact that even though none of its readers have every ridden a broom or used a wand or fought a dark wizard, the themes and messages that Rowling establishes in her books are universal. Everyone has experienced the death of a loved one or the betrayal of a friend. Rowling’s world building is beyond interesting but the familiarity of her characters and their experiences is what kept the readers coming back.
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