Nerve Endings Firing Away

[Guest-post by Ash]

[Spoiler alert]

Only one book was pre-ordered for our apartment, so P and I tussled over who would get to read the book first. We decided on a coin toss and I won. I think fortune favored me because I had spent every free minute of the last week reading books 1 through 6 again! Since I won the coin toss, I was handed the additional responsibility of writing my take on Book 7 for both our blogs.

First off, let me say that as an avid Harry Potter fan, I am certainly more than happy with this final book. It faced an immense amount of hype and I wondered if Rowling would find a way of pleasing her fans, satisfying both the inquisitiveness of their minds and the hopes of their hearts. She has done a great job and she has certainly satisfied one fan – I only hope that other readers enjoy the book as much.

Rowling prefaces the first chapter with two rather ominous quotes about death that set a grim tone for the rest of the book. The story starts off at a brisk pace, and moves quickly from Harry leaving the Dursleys and Privet Drive for the last time, to his eventful escape to the Burrow as his mother’s protection breaks, to Bill & Fleur’s wedding at the Burrow, to Harry & co setting off on their quest and ultimately retrieving the first Horcrux (Slytherin’s locket).

By this time, the Ministry of Magic has been taken over by Voldemort’s minions and Harry, Ron and Hermione are Undesirables, fleeing from the law. The pace slows down considerably now as Harry & co. wander through the English countryside, hiding themselves and searching for the horcruxes and ways to destroy them. Along the way, they also learn more about Dumbledore, Grindelwald and the Deathly Hallows. Harry’s connection to Voldemart gives him glimpses into his thoughts, and he learns that Voldemort is pursuing one of the Hallows to gain even more power. Harry is torn between finding the Horcruxes and seeking the Hallows instead.

A capture and a daring escape kickstart the finale as Harry & co. acquire another Horcrux (Hufflepuff’s cup) amidst great danger. By this time Voldemort has discovered that Dumbledore has set Harry on the Horcruxes, and his thoughts reveal to Harry that the other Horcrux (Ravenclaw’s tiara) is hidden in Hogwarts. Harry & co’s arrival at Hogwarts leads to a last stand at Hogwarts as students and teachers gather to defend their school against Voldemort and his Death-Eaters.

Rowling had hinted to her fans that major characters would be offed in this book. By my count, 6 beloved characters are killed in the course of the story, 2 of them in the first few chapters. Even though deaths were anticipated in all the bloodshed, each death still comes as a shock and breaks your heart. Rowling treats these deaths gently and does not aggrandize them . And yet we feel Harry’s pain as he loses those close to him, and we echo his grief and desperation. I was close to tears at several points in the story, and they flowed unrestricted when Harry finally makes his way to the ultimate confrontation with Voldemort.

The Harry Potter books have been written with the focus on the hero, and readers have always identified with Harry’s joys and sorrows. This solidarity is enhanced in this last book, as we journey with Harry in his quest and keenly feel his frustration, grief and desperation. When in hiding, Harry often longs for the joys and comforts of Hogwarts, the Burrow and even Grimmauld Place. And we long with him, missing those familiar dear things, the constants that charted nearly every Potter book before — shopping at Diagon Alley, the Hogwarts Express departing from Platform Nine and Three Quarters, the trips to Hogsmeade, butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, the Quidditch matches, Christmas dinners in the Great hall. Their warmth is sorely missed in this cold and dark new world. The trio’s Christmas this time is far different from the many wonderful Christmases at Hogwarts, and Mrs.Weasley’s sweaters are conspicuous in their absence. We feel these losses keenly not just because Harry misses them, but because we as readers yearn for them as we traverse the grim and unfamiliar territory of this book.

So it is entirely fitting that Rowling set the finale in the ramparts of Hogwarts castle, as teachers and students fight to the death to defend their beloved school. It is fitting that this place that meant so much to the orphans Harry and Tom Riddle, should be the stage for their final confrontation. There could be no other place for Harry to face death than in this place that was sanctuary to him, and no other conceivable place for this book to end than this beloved school that was a home to us all.

In these final chapters, Rowling reunites us with all that we learned on our years of journeying with her. It all comes full circle. Characters that we have come to know over the many years come together in this final stand. And Snape, oh Snape! The character whom we all hate and yet hope to be proven wrong. His secrets are revealed finally, and we learn the truth about his ambitions and motivations.

Rowling writes the last chapter as an epilogue set about seventeen years in the future. Although it is cute to have the next generation of witches and wizards introduced to us, I was not altogether happy to see the middle-aged versions of our favorite characters. It was jarring, and made me feel disconnected from them, as if I were meeting my closest friends after seventeen years in a class reunion and knowing nothing of what had happened in the intervening years. I would have preferred if she set the epilogue only a few years into the future, so we saw them perhaps graduating from Hogwarts, or setting out into their new careers. But of course, I don’t suppose she could have satisfied all of her fans, all of the time.

And I must admit, my disappointment with this epilogue may well be that Rowling pretty much dashed any hopes of recommencing the series! Although I loved this last book, I am saddened to see the series end, and I feel like I’ve lost a little bit more of my childhood. It’s hard to imagine that there will be no more Harry Potter adventures to look forward to.

[Cross-posted at aDashOfAsh]