The End of An Era

The final chapter of the Harry Potter series was bittersweet. Not only because we learned what happened to Harry, Ron, Hermione and the others but because it meant that the end of an era. I began my journey with Harry Potter when I was in the third grade and it continued until the summer before my junior year of high school, college if the movies are included. Talk about a long-term relationship. It was a complex ending, however. The search for the horcruxes was exciting and I never knew what was going to happen. Even after it all came out and we knew that Snape was good after all, it was still hard to figure everything out. Just thinking about it now, I finally realized that it was Snape who sent the Patronus leading Harry to the Sword of Gryffindor. This was the second time I had read the entire series from start to finish. I definitely read things that I completely forgot about – the entire Winky/Imperiused Barty Crouch scenario, for example. I think overtime I’ve gotten so used to the movies that I forgot how complex and intricate the plots of the books are. One thing I always remembered, however, was the passing of the Elder Wand. When I was reading the last few chapters of Half-Blood Prince I knew what to expect and I carefully read the passage where Draco Malfoy disarms Dumbledore. It was so simple, just in one little, inconspicuous sentence, Rowling changes the plot entirely. Of course, you wouldn’t know that until you read the seventh book… One of the most poignant parts of the final book was when Harry is walking through the grounds towards the Forbidden Forest. He is under his cloak and is a silent observer of the scenes unfolding around him. He sees Ginny, taking care of a wounded classmate, informs Neville of the necessity of Nagini’s death. Harry’s thoughts are all centered around the idea that his life has to end so soon, “The long game was ended, the Snitch had been caught, it was time to leave the air…” (Deathly Hallows 698). It amazes me to think that this seventeen year old boy could sacrifice himself the way that Harry did. It wasn’t even that Harry knew he was going to die, everyone is going to die eventually. The amazing part is that he walks himself into the forest, he leads himself into death. Having said that, the whole scene was somewhat depressing, and still, as I read it, I knew Harry wouldn’t die. The first time I read the book, I had this feeling of disbelief. There’s no way Harry could die, it’s HIS story that we’re reading. How would the book go on without Harry at the story’s center? What would the point of this whole saga be if the hero died at the end? In the end, I was right and Harry lived. The scene where Harry is carried back into the castle by Hagrid is just as powerful as his walk into the forest. The story has come full circle. The man who saved baby Harry from the rubble of his home in Godric’s Hollow is now carrying the same boy into Hogwarts after being ‘killed’ by the same man who tried to murder him all those years ago. The whole chapter I was just waiting for Harry to spring back to life with an “AH-HA!” and when it finally happens, the subsequent duel is brilliant. Voldemort dies by his own Unforgivable Curse and Harry remains true to himself, only attempting to disarm Voldemort. This says something about Harry’s character. Despite all of the pain and suffering that Voldemort has caused Harry, it still does not make him powerful or angry enough to resort to murder.

I started to think less of Dumbledore through the course of the book. Not so much his experiments with the dark arts, but more so the little details that he didn’t tell Harry. I understood that Dumbledore left the Horcrux collecting more open-ended so that Harry, Ron and Hermione have to figure it out for themselves. The similarities between Dumbledore and Harry, however, especially regarding their residencies in Godric’s Hollow were details that the Headmaster really should’ve shared. There were some hints, however, that Dumbledore had also lost some close to him, although it is understandable that he never shared details with Harry. Although they were very close, some things shouldn’t be shared between a student and teacher.

In the end, the seventh book is one, if not the, most exciting installments of the series. When I got to the last few chapters, it was hard to put it down and work on other homework. Being able to discuss the books in class gave me new insight. It made me think of situations in a different light and also brought up things I hadn’t even considered. It’s sad to think that I can no longer read legitimately Harry Potter as opposed to doing other homework..