Finally got HP7

[petronia]

So I stayed up all night reading it. Thanks to which I got to work late, then I had to go to lunch with colleagues, so had to stay late and miss an advance screening of Stardust. Why is life so hard. XD

THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON: AN INNER MONOLOGUE

petronia: Haha, years upon years ago when I stumbled on shalott's angsty H/D war fic and was so shocked - I don't know what I'd've thought if someone had told me the seventh book was going to turn out like this.
petronia: Actually, didn't I see on her fic page the other day that she'd finished a
petronia:
petronia:
petronia: ......:0

I blame lack of sleep. You know, from staying up READING ALL NIGHT.

Some thoughts, blah-blah-blah:

* The writing is good! We all bitch like "Well, JKR's not actually that great a writer," but nothing here made me roll my eyes or get out the mental red pen. She's not a stylistics-fireworks kind of writer, but every effect she aims for, she achieves, and what more can you ask. (At this point, that is; I do think the writing's improved in various ways over the course of the series.)

Her real forte is character voice. Not so much character development itself: characterization serves plot in HP more than the other way around, and it can be a stretch. But when Remus Lupin opens his mouth or Luna Lovegood hers, the words couldn't be anyone else's. The jokes are funny, the banter crackling. OTOH there's a massive amount of convenient handwave in this one, way more so than in the previous books (or at least, I don't remember groaners like Dean Thomas turning up outside the Trio Tent to deliver exposition, or Crabbe inexplicably betraying Malfoy with an arcane and never-heard-of curse that just happens to be Horcrux-destroying).

* I was going to write in the preceding point, "They're kids' books after all," but really... each book is darker than the last, and DH isn't far off astolat's Scholomance-type darkfic in upsetting potential. ^^; The kids who were Harry's age when the first couple of books came out are of drinking age in the States now, but if a fifth-grader decided to read the whole series from beginning to end starting tomorrow... Then again I read The Lord of the Rings when I was nine and I'm not warped irremediably. Why are you looking at me like that.

* Dumbledore's past: dude, how'd this Marguerite Yourcenar novella get pasted into my Harry Potter novel.

("Eroica! ......No, wait.")

* Dumbledore in general: I kept being reminded of that arc in Mirage of Blaze where you couldn't tell if Kenshin were really evil and had betrayed Kagetora or not. XD;;;;; At the time I was like, "This is roughly equivalent to Dumbledore-haters in HP being canonically proven right when they saw him as a secretive, manipulative jerk pulling Harry's strings," and, and, orz. I thought it was awesome that JKR actually addressed that head on. Good going, Jo. Now about the whole bit where you can choose not to be sorted into Slytherin but once you're in you're beyond redemption...

* The Trio: maybe this is just me being an old fart but I find I like these kids better as they grow older (and as I see them interact in more movies XD). I'm at flist skip=360, ahaha, and I think I'm in the minority that didn't feel the part with Harry and Ron and Hermione camping out in the woods was boring - quite the opposite. Final battles are exciting and all, but it's the zombie survival stuff that's sick with suspense: just you and your buds, out in the woods, hunted by all, able to trust no one, exhausted and hungry, nothing to fall back on except what you can carry, trying to keep it together mentally, not knowing dick squat except you have to KEEP MOVING or you will be deeply fucked. I don't know, I have a weakness for the trope. XD Frodo and Sam's journey to Mordor, etc. The one part of the Vorkosigan series I read over and over again is the second half of Barrayar, where Cordelia and Gregor escape into the mountains.

Speaking of which, I can't decide whether I should be offended that Hermione is the one who manages to keep their shit together... through the magical powers of her beaded clutch purse. AT LEAST IT'S NOT MOON POWER PRISM MAKEUP? Though there's heavy tiara action in the finale

* I noticed Harry using the Unforgivables without remorse or apology, because fandom'd talked about that sort of thing. I was surprised but, well. If it were me in those circumstances I would've used them without hesitation, and I wouldn't have felt the least bit sorry for it afterward. So I'm not exactly going to judge Harry Potter for it. ^^;; Hermione memory-wiping her parents unsettled me a lot more, but she clearly had qualms, and this is in the context of it being usual in wizarding culture to Obliviate muggles all the time. It's sort of like how the entire game of Quidditch horrifies me, but it doesn't seem to bother wizards that their kids could fall seven stories and break every bone in their body, because they can be fixed up so easily. Apparently the pain and trauma themselves don't count for much.

* An essay on pairings I could have written and posted separately years ago: the problem with Ron/Hermione is that as soon as I realized there was going to be kid-to-kid romance in this series, I knew it was going to be Ron/Hermione. I'm talking about structurally, from the Doyleist perspective. If the Trio are to be the heroes throughout, then Harry/Hermione would throw the whole dynamic out of whack, because it would render Ron irreversibly the third wheel. Which would be okay if Ron were, yanno, Hanamoto Shuuji, but he's not. Ron is jealous and prone to inferiority complex, and he wouldn't be able to say "These are the two people I love best in the world and I wish them every happiness with each other" without bringing his own issues to the table. It would be the end of the friendship. Not a bitter end necessarily - Ron could be distracted by falling hard for someone else, which is the tack taken by those H/Hr shippers who actually care about Ron, I think - but they wouldn't be able to stay The Trio. Which they can still be if Ron and Hermione get together, because Harry doesn't have the same hangups, and obvious plot reasons tip his friends toward revolving around him rather than vice-versa.

...But Harry/Hermione would have been better. XD Like canis_m I didn't even realise this until... book 5? The fourth movie? And it's not so much Harmonian arguments re: why Hermione is qualitatively a better woman for Harry than Ginny or Cho. In my eyes they just have chemistry, as soon as they're left alone with each other. I can't explain it and other people likely can't see it. I really think JKR realized it, though, or she wouldn't have trodden out the hoary SHE'S LIKE A SISTER TO ME, A SISTER, SO WHAT IF WE'VE BEEN SLEEPING TOGETHER IN THE SAME TENT.

* That being said, I don't mind Ron/Hermione at all - it's cute and well-done and I don't read these books expecting them to validate my ship preferences. XD I even kind of like Harry/Ginny although Ginny's role is reduced to Hero's Spunky Yet Perfect Beloved, so in terms of having something interesting to say it's like Harry/Hermione > Harry/Luna >>>> Harry/Ginny (not even counting slash ships). I'd extend the same to Lupin/Tonks but I think she handled it badly. I mean, Tonks started off as a pretty cool character but then spent one book moping pathetically over a guy and the next sidelined due to PREGNANCY. I liked the scene where Harry blows up at Remus (Harry's reaction is entirely illogical and in character), but I can't believe the Remus Lupin we know would not be able to talk himself through this shit and recognize when he's borrowing emo, so it just kind of comes off like he's not that into her. XD;; He's miserable throughout, and she seemingly doesn't even notice. And, I dunno. If you'd asked me in book 5 what HP characters most set off my gaydar Lupin and Tonks would've headed my list, so it's like, how did that even happen.

* Deaths: I was pretty sure one of the twins would bite it, just because it's the one thing she could do that would hurt the most, but it still stings like the dickens. XD;; Whereas both Lupin and Tonks dying off-screen just elicited this sense of admiration. "Shit, lady, you're HARDCORE." Possibly I'd switched over to the mentality with which I read CLAMP. The cast was literally decimated.

After Sirius I figured the entire Marauder generation was in for it anyway. ._. Except Malfoy family unit surviving intact: who'd a thunk! Draco seems to have inherited the Teflon genes.

* Speaking of hardcore, how about that Neville. <3

* Speaking of... I'm sorry, even fifth-graders have got to be sniggering over the whole Harry Submits Draco's Wang, I Mean Wand, To His Will business. Especially fifth-graders. It feels friendly in his hanPFFTHAHAHAHAHA.

* Snape/Lily: I'd discounted this fan theory because I thought it was too cheesy. I should've learnt that there is no such thing as a too-cheesy unannounced het ship to JKR. XD It was really sweet. Snape's patronus adjklw;wposa:sdf I WILL TRY MY BEST NOT TO MAKE A BAMBI JOKE OOPS TOO LATE. OTOH this is like 1000% more justification for Snarry, and I'm honestly unsure how I feel about that prospect. XD

* Epilogue: this following upon the (admittedly less egregious) one in Privilege of the Sword convinces me that it's a bad idea by default. Those of you who write novel- and series-length works: please resist the temptation. XD Please! I mean, if you'd asked me what I thought JKR's authorial intent was with regard to her characters' future, I would've described a scene very much like that anyway. But it was unnecessary to show it for precisely that reason. Leave the door open for those who want it that way; let the text speak for itself.

Going back to work on SSBB. XD ONE LAST PUSH.

Comments

[niche.livejournal.com]

honestly one of my favourite reviews ever. i haven't laughed so hard in forever. i actually didn't notice the "it feels so friendly in my hand" bit. also, hahahah to both lupin and tonks triggering off your gaydar. someone does need to write about how that happened.

[arboretum]

iawtc!

[petronia.livejournal.com]

It is all JKR's fault. Ex. the whole Dumbledore thing, which I read with a mounting sense of UHH. I mean, if someone had written fic in which Grindelwald turned out to be a blond bishounen uber-thief with whom Dumbledore had had an Ambiguously Passionate Male Friendship in his eighteenth summer that ended in tragedy, they would've had to commit fandom seppuku out of sheer inability to live it down. But this is why it's good to be the canonical author I guess??

[niche.livejournal.com]

it's brilliant though, jk. for all we know she's lurking somewhere in pot fandom or taking over the manga-ka's soul as she writes all the crack about ryoma and his farting tennis abilities. totally possible, bb.

and i genuinely believed i managed to appreciate the story as jk wrote it because i'd already been numbed by the wtf-ness of animanga fandom. ftw.

[pere-chan.livejournal.com]

I thought I had done with the reasons to second this as my favourite HP7 review. And then you said THAT. XDDDDD

The ILX poll

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Taking Sides: DUMBLEWALD vs GRINDELDORE

oh shi --

[drmoonpants.livejournal.com]

And, I dunno. If you'd asked me in book 5 what HP characters most set off my gaydar Lupin and Tonks would've headed my list, so it's like, how did that even happen.

ha ha ha ha HA AHAHAH AS I KEEP SAYING ladysisyphus AND I ARE TOTALLY GOING TO WRITE THAT FIC. ...eh, us and like 7000 other HP fans, I guess, so I was never heeeeere

OTOH this is like 1000% more justification for Snarry, and I'm honestly unsure how I feel about that prospect. XD

SERIOUSLY, CRAP. I mean, Snape's dying words, in light of that particular revelation, had me spending the next ten minutes going 'WHAT THE. ... WHAT. ... ... >____> hot WAIT NO WAIT THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT'. But by then it was too late and I was already banned from LJ.

...I'M SORRY THAT I FEEL OBLIGATED TO REPLY TO EVERYONE'S HP+DH POSTS, I GUESS THIS MEANS I LIKED IT OR SOMETHING. Anyway.

Re: oh shi --

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Dude, I dunno, it looks to me like the 7000 other HP fans are busy slashing Degrassiwarts: The Next Generation. XD; WHY.

There was someone who doujinshi'd Snape's death scene already! ...I can't find it again. But yeah, IAWTC. >_>

[one-if-by-land.livejournal.com]

I WILL TRY MY BEST NOT TO MAKE A BAMBI JOKE OOPS TOO LATE.

WAY TO CRUSH ANY LAST GRAIN OF SNAPE'S MALE DIGNITY TO THE DUST, SABINA XDDD

[petronia.livejournal.com]

TRAGICALLY DEAD MOMMY DEER :(

IN THE FOREST

[canis-m.livejournal.com]

But it was unnecessary to show it for precisely that reason. Leave the door open for those who want it that way

Living in the Age of Fanfic as we do, though, I expect we'll only see more of these...preemptive strikes. I mean, cases where authors deliberately choose to shut the door, because they don't live under rocks and they know exactly what an open door leads to, and they prefer to cling to some illusion of control, or whatever. XD; Which is not going to make for better books, no, but I have a certain sympathy for the impulse.

Which would be okay if Ron were, yanno, Hanamoto Shuuji

Aaaahaha MOAR THOUGHTS RE: HACHIKURO PLS <3 uhh someday, after SSBB perhaps.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

I hadn't even thought of that. Shows what my mentality is. XD To me living in the Age of Fanfic means I'd consider myself a failure if I wrote a fantasy novel series and my fandom couldn't divvy up into multiple ship camps with enough "canonical justification" all around that people could have fun arguing it.

More thoughts re: Hachikuro once I finish the second season (6 eps to go!). I'll probably ask people to link their reaction posts from years past ahaha.

[canis-m.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure how I'd feel! If I were an author in that position. Being hardcore-OTP and all, I might be tempted to fling some anvils to overcompensate.

6 eps ufufu OTANOSHIMI NI.

[chibaraki.livejournal.com]

I chose to take the epilogue, which I sort of thought was pointless and silly, as a HAHA FUCK YOU to the really crazy OMG JKR DOESN'T KNOW HER OWN CHARACTERS/LA LA LA WE CAN'T HEAR YOU HARMONY FOREVAR shippers, which made it much more palatable to me. XD (Amusingly, this is me staunchly insisting on interrogating the text from my probably-incorrect perspective re: people interrogating the text from their own probably-incorrect perspective, the circularity of which only adds to my enjoyment.)

[astrael-nyx.livejournal.com]

Re: the Privilege of the Sword epilogue

Oh God YES. I felt the epilogue was so clumsy after the most perfect ending of Katherine's declaration. I usually guiltily enjoy epilogues (like HP) knowing them to be more or less tacked on and disconnected, but PotS was a slap in the face considering the delicious abruptness of the ending.

I actually mind HP's epilogue less than PotS, since I don't have the expectations of writerly ability of Rowling as I do of Kushner. Actually, I immensely enjoyed the beginning of the epilogue and hated the very end.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

The PotS epilogue should've been constructed as a separate story, IMO, like "The Death of the Duke". But I like these abrupt endings that tell you nearly all you need then let you hang open-ended on a line of dialogue. XD I think the ending of LoGH really affected my ideas in that regard.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Er, I think I meant LotR there. XD

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

I liked the woods-tromping part! I just didn't like how stupid they were being with the pendant, I mean it pains me to watch an obvious trainwreck coming in from 100 pages away. I think the only other part of the woods chapters I disliked were Harry's two-page inner monologues re: Elder Wand, but this was easily remedied, I just started skipping whenever the CAPSLOCK and ellipses showed up.

If the Trio are to be the heroes throughout, then Harry/Hermione would throw the whole dynamic out of whack, because it would render Ron irreversibly the third wheel.

Huuuh. You know, that makes sense. XD I was kind of offended when Ron/Hermione happened in five, because I really hadn't seen their awful bickering as being that kind of bickering. (Can't a man and a woman get on each other's nerves without hormones being the cause?) But I thought the Ron/Hermione in this book was great, I mean, they were so cute together. XD Their bickering was actually banter, and it was funny banter too.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Things were constantly happening in this book because they "had" to happen, not because they were reasonable or likely. >_> Dunno - I guess this is maybe the trade-off for Dumbledore not leaving behind a prophecy that told the team line by line what geographical locations they were supposed to visit for their fetchquests.

The early-on bickering didn't make me feel inclined to ship them, either, but it was pretty clear to me that it was intended to pave that road. But yeah, now that they're more mature and not stupidly hormonal 15-year-olds. (They marry young, in the wizarding world... but it's hard to deny that both Harry's and James' generations had to grow up real fast.)

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

XD I liked the scene where the three of them are in the woods, just escaped from the Ministry of Magic with the first Horcrux, etc, and Ron and Hermione kind of turn expectantly toward Harry like, okay now what, and he's like, guys, I told you there was no plan, didn't you believe me?

Plot always comes to Harry Potter, he never goes to the plot, it was just more obvious in this book since there wasn't all the usual Hogwarts stuff around to distract. -_- Plus, this was the book where he was actually going to be proactive, without the help of any mysterious old dudes pulling strings. XD Oh well, at least he tried.

James and Lily's generation was totally the Hippy Generation of the Wizarding world, but I'm having a hard time getting a handle on Harry's generation. I mean, Voldemort was only seriously acknowledged as a threat in the last two years, I really wonder whether that was enough time to leave a permanent impression. XD; I guess he and his classmates are the Adults Just Don't Get It generation, since they (the kids at Hogwarts) knew something was wrong years before the rest of the wizarding world knew/would acknowledge it. So I guess, when JKR said in interviews that this generation went on to reform the Ministry of Magic, I can kind of see how that could have happened. (Kind of.)

[z107m.livejournal.com]

Leave the door open for those who want it that way; let the text speak for itself.

Well, you know, it's like orson scott card returning to his ender series and picking up with bean. When asked, he pretty much said he needed the cash.
Though what came to mind when I read the epilogue was more like lotr's ending that went on and on about sam's daughter marrying off, etc. etc. etc... just with considerably less finality.

Snape/Lily
Yeah, we kinda saw that coming from a mile away, but did it have to be his sole reason for everything? Somehow, for me, that felt like the most disappointing part. Can't people simply be altruistic? (Although that's supposedly Harry's bit, he has the convenient reason of revenge, as well. Same goes for good old hardcore Neville, as much as i enjoyed his kick-ass resolve.) My ever practical friend said to me, "Nobody does good for nothing. That's too idealistic. That only happens in great literature."

Sometimes my very practical friend can be surprisingly sage. :b

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I dunno, the more I thought about it the more I wished it'd been more like what I thought Snape was about in the first few books - that he was an unpleasant, grudge-holding asshole who joined the Death Eaters because that's what Slytherins did, but nevertheless had the moral fibre to step back and say nuts to that when he saw Shit Was Seriously Not Right. But it makes sense because these books aren't really about morals at all, they're about Love. Possibly because Love is the highest moral law, or some quaffle. XD

I don't know that Neville's motivation was supposed to have been revenge so much as it's just poetic justice. Although for that he would've had to be the one to off Bellatrix. Actually I'm surprised it didn't happen that way. XD

[cis.livejournal.com]

Love is the highest moral law

oh god JKR actually is RTD how did i not see this before ^^;;;;;;;;;;;;

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hermione memory-wiping her parents unsettled me a lot more, but she clearly had qualms, and this is in the context of it being usual in wizarding culture to Obliviate muggles all the time.

This threw me because I just was reading the Dresden File books, in which such mind-control is black magic prohibited by one of the seven rules that get you executed on the spot, should you be discovered. Took me a second to recall that I was dealing with a different Harry.

(if you haven't read the Dresden Files, I suggest checking them out, if for no other reason than for one of the most thought-out magical systems I've seen; the writer's pretty obviously a gamer and has a gamer's logic about it, but they read smooth enough not to be mistaken for a player's manual.)

And I had the same reaction to Lupin & Tonks vs Fred; Fred made me shriek WHAAAAT but L&T were, as you say, written off as expected casualties of the X/1999-esque bloodbath.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Yeah, in HP it has to do with the Secrecy Law or whatever it's called - if Muggles can't be allowed to find out about the wizarding world, then obviously memory charms are necessary. (Not that I think this is realistic, because of all the Muggle-borns' parents. You can't expect all of them to be understanding, or to maintain complete secrecy vis a vis friends and extended family.) But Obliviate and other memory-modification charms are quite morally problematic when you think about it. Then again, this is a universe in which a high school student is given access to a time-travelling artefact so she can take more credits than she has hours in the day. XD;

I do plan on reading the Dresden File books at some point - they sound interesting!

[prototypical]

JKR clarified that Hermione didn't Obliviate her parents, she simply modified their memories with heavy-duty enchantments. And after Voldemort died, she went to Australia and lifted it.

There were a lot of good questions answered in her chat Monday. I know a transcript's up at MuggleNet.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Yes, I assumed she would have gone and lifted the spells after the war was over. It doesn't change the fact that it's a morally iffy thing to do, unless she got their consent beforehand. ^^; But I do think this is part of the universe's assumptions (see above comment). And war forces some tough choices.

[cis.livejournal.com]

through the magical powers of her beaded clutch purse

I went for coffee with a girl I know, the other day, and she mentioned in passing a personal theory of how interesting it is that the young women of the thatcherkid generation have such a fixation on the handbag. it's yr very own portable partial object of power!

I still love Tonks, if I were writing fic I'd probably be working on some awful epic about Tonks' adventures in having a quietly miserable life without even noticing it. (the babble about R&T has really made me notice how most of fandom seems to have a vested interest in Remus as a character that I don't share?)

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Is the "it" bag thing particular to this generation? XD I would've said, self-fulfilling prophecy (girls are supposed to be into handbags and shoes, therefore they are), Sex In The City as aspirational model, etc. But that's what it is as a signifier, yeah.

Carryover from the good old S/R days. XD Besides Remus = huge woobie, werewolf rights easily identifiable with queer/HIV rights, and so on.

[qem_chibati]

I hate Harmonian arguments and was feeling kind of bitter about the ship (though I used to love it muchly but)

...But Harry/Hermione would have been better. XD Like canis_m I didn't even realise this until... book 5? The fourth movie? And it's not so much Harmonian arguments re: why Hermione is qualitatively a better woman for Harry than Ginny or Cho. In my eyes they just have chemistry, as soon as they're left alone with each other. I can't explain it and other people likely can't see it. I really think JKR realized it, though, or she wouldn't have trodden out the hoary SHE'S LIKE A SISTER TO ME, A SISTER, SO WHAT IF WE'VE BEEN SLEEPING TOGETHER IN THE SAME TENT.

* That being said, I don't mind Ron/Hermione at all - it's cute and well-done and I don't read these books expecting them to validate my ship preferences. XD I even kind of like Harry/Ginny although Ginny's role is reduced to Hero's Spunky Yet Perfect Beloved
Word fricking word. D:

*goes back to read the rest*

[qem_chibati]

Deathly Hallows and Half blood prince, really shook up my view of Hermione...

One thing that strikes me about the wizarding world, is over all, it seems to be very low on empathy - injuries are easy come easy go, muggles are lesser beings, other magical creatures are lesser beings, memories are modified at a twitch.

It really feels like a power corrupts, all power corrupts completely, kind of world... In that their are a lot of "nice people", but just casually inflict horrible things.

Hermione used to be my favourite character, but from book four, I started getting uncomfortable, because it felt like "she must always be right, rather than doing what's right" with how she handled Rita... And it just got worse from there.

When she said she had modified her parents memories, I couldn't help but think - "wow, you are a bitch. Don't they get any say?"

It's things like that, and Harry's seemingly sudden ability to handle the unforgivables (he had trouble with them before, this was said to be a virtue) that make me worry. Because I do think there is just this easy slide, no consequences kind of view, and that the heros are right, because they are the heroes, sort of thing happening.


Though I give the following disclaimer, while reading the camping scenes, I ended up thinking "dammit I don't ship this couple anymore, why are they so cute together? D:" So clearly I can't be trusted. D:

[troisroyaumes]

XD I actually can't see Harry/Hermione at all. I mean, I see the chemistry between the actors in the movies, but not at all in the books. Maybe this is because I like Ron and don't mind the bickering-to-romance transition, cliché as it is. That being said, Harry/Luna makes much more sense than Harry/Ginny does.

I liked the Trio camping in the woods too! I actually expected most of book 7 to be like that and was surprised to find that there was much more action than I expected. (Not that I minded the action at all. ^^)

[bell]

AT LEAST IT'S NOT MOON POWER PRISM MAKEUP? Though there's heavy tiara action in the finale

Oh you are SO DEAD. XD

[celestriad.livejournal.com]

haha, love the review. XD;

[tochira.livejournal.com]

I can't believe the Remus Lupin we know would not be able to talk himself through this shit and recognize when he's borrowing emo

THANK YOU.

re: all the rest -- still laughing. XD

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

I so agree with most of you said...well, I thought that the wood scenes where a little bit too long, too, but I don't think that it was as dramatical as the other fans tend to say. My main hang up is not the fact that they can't do anything for such a long time, but the fact that I think it fairly riddiculus overall for Muggleborn wizards trapsing around in the woods. After all, they should be able quite easily to blend in in the Muggle word.

The other thing is the idea to like the characters more with each Movie...I actually hate the movies! Because they are wraping the character considerable. Movie-Ron is reduced to mere Comic relief...in the book, he has a vital role. He is the one who tends to keep Hermione on track (ie in the book, it is Hermione who panics because of the devil snare, in the movie it is Ron), the expert on the wizard world (ie he is the one who explains what "Mudblood" means...in the movies, nearly all lines where Ron is explaining something, have gotten transfered to Hermione) and the one who acts as a buffer between Hermione pushiness and Harry's tendency to draw into himself when he get pushed to much (in the movie, Hermione is very sensitive and often acts as a emotionally help for Harry...but this is defintily Rons job, who is the only really lighthearded of the trio).

The so called Chemistry between Harry and Hermione is only there in the Movies (where Hermione is a really annoying Mary Sue, because all her negative charactaristicas, like her pushiness or her tendency to be self righorous, are simply not there, instead she is very sensitive). In the books, I sill fail to see how Harry, who has no physical attraction at all to Hermione and tends to withdrawl from her whenever he has a problem, is supposed to have any kind of romantic relationship with (unless it is a treesome with Ron involved...Ron could provide what Hermione lacks as a partner for Harry).

Okay, Movie Rant ended, let's see your other points. Yeah, I agree about one of the twins most likely dying (and wasn't it pulled off beautifully), about the Epilogue (why, JK, why????), and the satisfying cheesiness of Snapes Story.

I think that Harry throwing around Unforgivables came too much out of the blue (still can't wrap my mind around it). I disagree about your interpretation of Remus character. I think, leaving Tonks is exactly what he would do. He spend his whole life running away, after all. He wallowed in self pity for twelfe bloody years instead of trying to look after Harry (even if he couldn't reach him at the Dursleys, he could have contacted him after he started Hogwarts). I agree that the way Tonks got sitelined was a shame.