Blog #3

The Death Hallows, in my opinion, is an incredible finale to the Harry Potter series. A huge part of this is because of the grand scale of the book; there’s so much going on and a lot of the mysteries are still being pieced together up until the very end, offering such a high caliber of storytelling that few series ever achieve.  For a majority of the series, Harry was always the focus and we just sort of watch him overcome the challenges placed before him. However, the threat in this book seems much more global, since the entire wizarding world is falling apart and Harry’s task of destroying all the Horcruxes in almost insurmountable.

One of the more interesting aspects of this book is how much we learn about characters like Dumbledore, Snape, and even Kreacher. Up until this book, we as the reader had always viewed these characters in a certain way, but Rowling surprises us yet again by showing us a different side to all these characters. Dumbledore had always been seen as this god-like wizard and a kind, helpful mentor to Harry. It’s kind of strange to think that Dumbledore was always such an important character in the series, but we the reader, just like Harry, didn’t really know much about him at all. Learning about Dumbledore’s past definitely makes him seem more human and proves that even the greatest of wizards can make mistakes. Snape is also another character who became increasingly more important as the series progresses, starting off as the scapegoat that Harry always blamed for the bad happenings around Hogwarts. Since then, we never really knew whether to trust him or not, but by hearing about his Lily and his promise to protect Harry really makes you respect him a lot more as a character. I know a lot of people (myself included) still don’t like him and some of the decisions he makes but you can’t deny that some what he did was genuinely heartbreaking.

The final battle at Hogwarts is also very powerful emotional for various reasons and serves as an epic climax to the series. It was very moving to see all of Harry’s friends and companions come together to aid in the fight against Voldemort and his army, proving that Harry doesn’t have to do everything alone. Even some minor characters like Neville and Mrs. Weasley step up and do major things like stopping Nagini and Bellatrix. A lot of the deaths in the final battle were extremely tough to accept, especially when we’re talking about characters like Lupin, Tonks, and Fred. The death of Lupin and Tonks was extremely unexpected and also very sad, especially knowing that Teddy was now orphaned and will have to live a life similar to Harry. It’s kind of cruel to see Harry lose not only his father, but also the two people closest to his father as well. For me though, the most shocking death was Fred’s because I also happen to be red-headed twin and I’d always related to there characters. They were always my favorites because they always stayed positive and did their best to cheer everyone up. I can’t even imagine what it’d would be like to lose my twin brother so it was super depressing to see George deal with something so traumatic. All in all, the finale throws so many emotions and surprises at the reader that makes it an unforgettable end to the series.