Here are five things I loved about Harry Potter and the Deatlhy Hallows. (Do I even need to specify that there are spoilers after the jump? Seriously, if you haven’t read it and are planning to, DON’T CLICK. I MEAN it.):
1. Luna’s eulogy for Dobby: I’ve made no secret of my abiding fondness for Ms. Lovegood, and this little scene just typifies everything I admire about her. She’s such a wonderful combination of dottiness and unexpected emotional insight. She just breaks my heart.
2. Hermione’s stylish accessory: Is there a major character in the Harry Potter books who wouldn’t be dead were it not for Hermione’s cleverness? That traveling bag of hers is kind of the supreme example of her intelligent competence and preparedness. I would also like to note that, while Ron seemed to learn absolutely nothing in six years at Hogwarts and Harry seemed to focus on disarming, stunning and shielding to the exclusion of everything else, Hermione did the reading and learned how to apply the knowledge in day-to-day life. I hope she got an honorary degree.
3. Just about every moment with Neville: I sort of wish that there was a companion book to Deathly Hallows that showed what was happening with Neville, Luna and Ginny at Hogwarts while everyone else was off recreating Lord of the Rings. Catching up with Neville late in the game, we didn’t really get to see the last bits of his evolution from ineffectual, good-hearted nebbish to can-do, good-hearted nebbish, and I frankly feel a bit cheated by that. The bits he did get were absolutely golden, though.
4. Very little Hagrid: There were a number of teachers I missed in this installment, but that big, lumbering, secret-blabbing, friend-endangering idiot wasn’t one of them. He’s essential absence from the proceedings was really, really welcome, and it probably kept a cap on the body count. Nothing’s more dangerous than Hagrid trying to be helpful. The big dolt.
5. The Snape revelations: They weren’t surprising, and I felt they got short shrift, but it was satisfying to be ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. (I always love that!) Okay, I didn’t suspect the childhood friendship or anything, but I was very glad to see that my beliefs about his essential nature were correct, and that Rowling resisted the urge to over-sentimentalize them in any way. He was still a bastard, but he was doing the right thing. (I’m reluctant to admit this, but I often found myself agreeing with Snape about Harry. He really was mediocre, lucky and profoundly disrespectful.)