I just wanted to know if anyone else thought J.K. choked at the end when she didnt kill Harry I always felt he was headed for the noble sacrifce route which I was fine with…Thoughts?
I say this as someone with a passing familiarity, though not necessarily a fan:
Why kill the golden goose if it can still give eggs?
JKR said that she was done with HP after the last book came out, but recently she’s made statements to the effect of exploring that world further. By letting Harry survive, there’s opportunity for further sequels. Even if she was happy with the fortune she’s amassed so far from the books, one can never be too rich. 
Do you mean that when Voldemort “killed” him why didn’t he stay dead? Or did you hope he would die after having resurrected?
Basically I just read the whole thing as a Christian allegory, and if he had stayed dead on the first one, well, that wouldn’t work out. But I hadn’t considered other options having read the last book.
I was hoping for a different death scene all together because i think the scene as written talking to Dumbldore and all that was great it worked i just wantd something different if that makes any sense. Also i never thought about it as a Christian allegory although now that i think about it…Duh on my part. Thanks for the new perspective!
I think either choice had big positives or negatives. As it is I liked the ending. A double-kill on the Avada Kedavra would’ve been neat, but it would have robbed the book of its exciting climax.
I wish I had a more spirited take on it, but I think both outcomes had merit.
I think she pussed out killing Mr. Weasley and I’m bitter cause Sirius, Remus, and Tonks =/
Yeah I also read that Mr. Weasley was supposed to die, but she gave him a reprieve.
Remus and Tonks just felt senseless, so close to the end! And they both go.
I’ll admit, reading the books Sirius’ death made me cry but I think it was needed for the character arc. Especially the whole “stripping away layers of protection” thing we have for Harry, with first Sirius being gone, and then Dumbledore.
I totally agree I was so pissed about Remus and Tonks and Hedwig
I don’t buy that at all. The only reason Sirius died was cause Mr. Weasley lived.
Try to imagine a Half-Blood Prince with Sirius there. ?
I imagine it being awesome and Harry gettin wit Ginny lol
Sirius loved Harry and I know that he was Harry’s family, as close as he had one, but realistically, he would have held Harry back. Like Cas said, harry has his layers of protection stripped away, and that is key to him rising to the challenge. Sirius was also quite immature, and not really the kind of role model Harry would need to do what had to be done.
Given JKR ‘took out’ my favorite character in the books - Snape - in DH, I didn’t think she wussed out at all. I was also really, really, upset when Dobby died. Surprising, given how little I cared about him.
As a firm Snape supporter, I was glad Sirius didn’t make it to HBP. I’m probably one of the few people who didn’t like Sirius (or James for that matter) very much, even though he (they) obviously meant a lot to Harry.
I understood, I think, what Sirius meant to Harry, but I never felt he was a very good role model. He was more like a fun uncle than a father or older brother figure.
I thought Dumbledore was much more of a good influence on Harry, even iwth his orchestrating.
I know a lot of folks think the death count of heroes isn’t THAT high in DH, but we have to remember that Harry was dealt devastating blows in the LAST two books before that.
Hisssssssss BLASPHEMER!
Marauders4life
Hee. I know. I can’t help the way I feel.
This kind of reminds me of that podcast from a while back about bullies. I think that’s what it is. I think James and his posse were bullies. Which isn’t so bad since they were younger, kids are idiots sometimes, whatever, but Sirius never quite grew out of it, whereas Lupin did (and maybe James too, but given his rather short lifespan, it’s hard to evaluate, since the most we learn about James was him in his youth, where he was pretty much an sbarb).
I think James’ transformation would be a fascinating read. Rowling doesn’t need to extend the timeline; I just want to know more about the years between graduation from Hogwarts and deth for Mr. and Mrs. Potter.