If you’re among the speed-reading muggles who’s already gulped down J.K. Rowling’s mammoth final Harry Potter book, we want to know: What burning questions do you have? Is there anything you’re confused about? Any loose ends you didn’t see tied up? Let us know in the comments section — and be sure to include your e-mail address (which, of course, we won’t publish) in case EW decides to tackle your query.
'Deathly Hallows': A question for those who've finished it...
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Comments (1-30) of 479 Add your comment
JK Rowling told us in a post-HPB interview with Mugglenet and The Leaky Cauldron that there would be one character who would experience magic later in life, who was it? Also, who was the character Jo decided to spare, and who were the two that died instead?
The burning question I have comes from the epilogue. I was really curious as to what exactly the trio (and Ginny) did after the final battle. Did they go back to Hogwarts and finish their education? What were their careers post-Hogwarts? None of that was answered!
I read somewhere that they would explain what Aunt Petunia’s howler meant from the 5th book. Did they say or was it in a previous book and I missed it? Also, is it just me, or in another book also, did they say Dumbledore’s brother was the bar tender for the Hog’s Head??
At first I was confused as to how Neville acquired Gryffindor’s sword to kill Nagini, but then I realized he’d pulled it from the sorting hat — does that mean Griphook’s outta luck? I assume so… Other than that, I thought JK Rowling was remarkably thorough in tying up all the loose ends from all previous 6 books.
“Dealthy Hallows” was an amazingly fabulous, emotional, and satisfying read.
I absolutely loved the book, and don’t mind that the details of the cast’s post-Voldemort lives were not fully revealed.
The only hanging plot thread I would like to see answered was how Regulus Black found out about Voldemort’s horcruxes in the first place. He got the location of the cave from Kreacher, but we get no information about how he knew what a horcrux even was, as the subject was banned at Hogwarts, and Voldemort had been so secretive about his own.
Only curious as to why Voldemort made the horcrux in the cave so difficult to retrieve, while the others were quite simple (once you found them)
Why on earth are all of Harry and Ginny’s children named after Harry’s important people? Didn’t Ginny want to name one son after Fred?
My burning question – what happened to Luna Lovegood? I missed her in the “nineteen years later” epilogue.
I wanted the whole wandlore stuff explained a bit more, as well as the second wizards prison. Neither was ever mentioned before. Also, as to the character that was supposed to die but lived- I’d bet money that its Hagrid- the only living adult figure left in Harry’s life. Adults who loved Harry had a tendency to die.
Overall, it was a deliciously satisfying read! The only things lingering in my mind were questions about whether or not they finished school – which I kind of assumed so from the Epilogue – and also the outcome for Neville and Luna, who ended up playing more important parts for the group in the end. Also, the Dursleys? I guess we are just letting them go too without any wrap up?
Did Harry, Ron, and Hermione become aurors? Did they ever graduate from Hogwarts?
The new Hogwarts rules require students to prove their Blood Status to attend. So, how did Colin Creevey (who was listed as being muggle-born back in book 2) manage to stay at the school throughout the year?
How did Gryffindor’s sword get in the Sorting Hat. I thought Griphook had it.
I always wanted to know what jobs James and Lily Potter had when they left Hogwarts. Now I guess I’m always going to want to know the same about Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione.
Petunia wrote to Dumbledore asking to be admitted as a child, so I think that’s what the Howler refered to, but I’m still a little unclear about it. But I am amazed at how well JKR tied up all the loose ends and answered so many questions. I was definitely satisfied, but when I finished I thought, “No! that can’t be all!” I want to know about their grownup lives and I don’t. I was so impressed with Neville, and so suprised I was so upset when Dobby died. I never cared too much about him, but he was so brave and selfless. I really liked the explanation for Snape. I felt that he wasn’t exactly good, he just had the power to love and therefore could never be a true follower of Voldemort. I would like to know more about the Dursleys and Hogwarts. Oh, I’m going to miss Hogwarts so much; it’s making me cry again. I wish there had been more on what happens to the other characters, but at the same realize that the journey had ended, and the rest isn’t really important.
Why, oh why, did Fred have to die? Losing half of literature’s favorite twins was hard to bear.
I understand, but mourn, Dobby’s noble
sacrifice for his beloved Harry Potter. Nonetheless, I cried hardest for him.
The sword has been in the sorting hat for Harry before. I’m wondering why he didn’t just go for the sorting hat – surely that would have been easier for Snape to send him than a patronus?
This may seem like a stupid question to be left with (and I guess the credit goes to Jo’s great job of tying things up) but where are Harry and Voldemort in the cover of the book? That doesn’t at all look like the great hall, and if it is, where are their wands?
Oh, and about the sword, Neville could summon that because he had true courage and bravery. Just like Harry in the Chamber of Secrets It didn’t belong to the goblins, it belonged to whoever deserved it most, and at that moment it was Neville.
I still think the “neither can live while the other survives” part of the prophecy makes no sense. Obviously, Harry and Voldemort both managed to survive simultaneously for over two years after Voldemort’s return at the end of Goblet of Fire. Is Rowling playing some cheap trick where she really means “neither can have great quality of life while the other survives,” or is there some other explanation? I know what Dumbledore says both in Order of the Phoenix and in Deathly Hallows, but neither seems to be a sufficient (or relevant) explanation of this phrase in the prophecy.
Why was Harry able to Apparate/Disapparate without having passed his Apparition test? He was on the lam for his 17th birthday. Wouldn’t the Ministry have been able to “track” his flagrant abuse of the law? If not, then what’s stopped anyone from Apparating without a license?
All in all, I liked the book, but I think this book was rushed through the production process, and it suffered. There were unclear bits, inconsistencies with canon, and the Epilogue felt rushed and didn’t mesh well with the rest of the book. Don’t get me wrong; I laughed, I cried, I read it in 12 hours. But I think it would have been better had Scholastic and Bloomsbury not rushed the process.
What was the point of the Veil in OOTP? Why didn’t Bellatrix just Avada Kevadra Sirius instead of him falling into the Veil all mysterious-like? JKR never brought that back up.
Also, why did she set up a Peter-killing-Remus angle so perfectly (SILVER hand, werewolf) and then do nothing with it?
And finally, HOW COULD SHE KILL HEDWIG? That’s just cruel.
- What happened to George? Did he continue with the joke shop alone?
- For a while it seemed that Ron could have been possessed by Voldy when he returned to Harry and Hermione. Don’t you agree?
- Did no Slytherin students (other than Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle) joined the Death Eaters when they attacked Hogwarts? What about Blaise Zabini? Pansy Parkinson? Did Draco marry Pansy?
I loved the obok and I couldn’t put it down but I wanted to at the same time. WHY DID YOU HAVE TO KILL HEDWIG AND DOBBY?! Did Ted REALLY have to become an orphan too? Will Ted become like Harry? Does Harry ever ACTUALLY become his godfather???? (That was my actual question)
I was curious about the veil too. But that could just be something that the fans made a bigger deal about than it actually was because we didn’t want Sirius dead. At first I was upset about Hedwig, but I then I realized there was no way Harry could have taken her with them on their journey. I’m also confused about the prophecy, I felt that was never explained well.
I thought it was wonderful. My burning question: how is Draco the proper master of the Elder Wand?
I knew Harry wasn’t gonna die when she made him Lupin’s godfather. There was no way that kid was gonna grow up alone. Harry learned how to apparate last year, and no one technically had to register with the ministry any kind of magical abilities (think unregistered animagni), it’s just done for protection purposes. But if you were Harry, would you follow any of their rules?
I wouldn’t mind clarification on the following: If Voldemort created a link between himself and Harry by using Harry’s blood and absorbing the protection Lily left; and if that link was strong enough to keep Harry alive in the face of a killing spell -why didn’t it give Voldemort any protection from the same spell? Harry was kept alive because Voldemort continued to live, but Voldemort didn’t come back from death when Harry continued to survive. Is it because Voldemort was killed by his own spell? Because his soul was already weak and fragmented?
Why was the Wizarding world so unable to revolt against the new regime? If a known enemy had infiltrated the government, the PM been murdered, why would almost everyone just go about their routine, i.e. going to work, sending their kids to Hogwarts? I know the Imperious curse was cast frequently, but on so many?
As an aside, I’m grateful for the closure between Good vs. Evil, but I really relished the quieter moments in between, like when Hermione and Ron fell asleep holding hands, Dumbledore wondered if the Sorting occurred too early, Kreacher was making dinner that would never be eaten, and how Harry called Snape one of the bravest men. Snape’s redemption was the most gratifying resolution for me. I’m also bummed for Dobby, whom I liked as much as Jar Jar Binks. I cried the hardest at his death.
Explanation for how Harry became a horcrux seemed weak to me. I mean, after a death, a fraction of the soul shouldn’t land nilly-willy anywhere should it? Had to be a method of designating an object, but Harry wasn’t designated, was he? Further, how did living with the Dursleys provide Harry any protection. Love? What love did they ever show? Certainly not enough to shelter a boy from powerful Dark Magic for 17 years. Liked the book, loved the series, especially the funny, highly creative, light hearted side, which, understandably, wasn’t present much in this book.
Someone else asked this, JKR did say a non-magical character would perform magic late in life under desperate circumstances and I want to know who it was too or if she dropped it. I really thought the Epilogue should have been longer, I wondered about Luna too. And I was desperately upset about Fred, it seems truly cruel to kill one of the twins. I thought she’d said only two characters would die but I could 5 that are real, fleshed out characters who died, not like the Muggle Studies teacher who we barely remembered.