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My Late Journey With Harry Potter: Part 3

Read part 1 here and part 2 here.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

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The Book: The sixth book paved the way perfectly for this one. Every loose end was tied brilliantly and everything came together in such a beautiful way. I loved the search for the Horcruxes and some scenes were truly goosebump inducing. I loved the angle about the inheritance that Dumbledore left for the main three and their significance. But I loved the tale of 'The Three Brothers' more. The discovery of the deathly hallows and the quest for them was quite something. Finally, Hermione and Ron's love story got the necessary importance. When every thing was so good, what could be the best part of the book? Snape, of course. I knew he was a nice man right from day one. Some thing inside told me that he is really important to the story. I knew that he was holding the final thread of the tale. Oh, and how happy I was! I've loved Snape since day one and he remains the epitome of love for me. It is not easy to love and not expect anything in return. Especially when you have a constant reminder of your lost love in front of you. Snape does it beautifully and if you ask me after years if I still like him, I'd reply "Always".

Every scene inching towards the climax was brilliant. I could feel the chill of the cold forest and the fear of the students within me. Finally, Neville deserved to be the hero he always was. The death of Dobby and Fred Weasley broke something within me. They were really lovely characters. I loved every page and every word of this book. This joins the sixth book as my favorite of the series.

The Movie: I cannot believe that they made two parts to cover the final book but neither did justice to it. Everything was shoddy in the movie. Right from the wedding to the happenings at Malfoy Manor, everything was poorly executed. The only thing I loved in the movie was the scene in which Lord Voldemort retrieves the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's grave and raises it to cause lightning. That scene was very well shot and it looked very dream like. The cup of Helga Hufflepuff was a big disappointment. I thought it would be something exotic, but it looked just like an ordinary trophy. Ravenclaw's diadem was beautiful though. The scenes involving Nagini was shot very well too. Snape's death and his memories deserved to be shown in detail and in a much better way. There needed to be more emotion and a lot of unsaid words between Snape and Harry, but it was all very mechanical in the movie. The protection laid around Hogwarts by Professor McGonagall was enchanting and shown beautifully. The dark Lord's death needed more drama as did the scenes in the forbidden forest. It was all way too simple. A book like this deserved a better movie, definitely.

I do have 'Harry Potter And The Cursed Child' with me, but I'm not too sure if I want to read it yet. I'm glad I gave this series another try and was able to complete it within a year. Had the fourth book been good, I would have completed the series in a couple of months, but then again some good things take some good time. I loved the series and I think that the imagination and the work that has gone behind it was exceptionally good. Great, in fact. J.K Rowling definitely deserves all the fame and millions that she has coming her way. With an imagination like that, I'm her fan for life. Sadly, her adult books haven't been able to hold my interests for long. 'The Cuckoo's Calling' tired me and I am yet to give 'The Silkworm' a try. Maybe someday later I will.

The order in which I liked the books:

1. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
2. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows
3. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
4. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
5. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone
6. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
7. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

My favorite movie of the lot. I'm just picking the top three as I hated the rest:

1. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
2. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
3. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

My favorite characters:

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1. Albus Dumbledore
2. Professor Snape
3. Lord Voldemort
4. Luna Lovegood
5. Sirius Black
6. Professor McGonagall
7. Rubeus Hagrid
8. Hermione Granger
9. Fred, George and Molly Weasley
10. Remus Lupin

My least favorite characters:


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1. Dolores Umbridge
2. Petunia Dursley
3. Cedric Diggory
4. Lucious Malfoy
5. Harry Potter - weird but true. He couldn't do a thing without his friends. Maybe it would have been better if Hermione was the chosen one.

My favorite house:


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Thus ends my journey with Harry Potter, but a part of it will always remain with me. If I ever decide to have children, I'll make sure that this will be one of the first series they read. I also have the illustrated versions of the first two books. I'm waiting for the rest of the illustrated books to come out. They will definitely hold a special place in my book collection.

Comments

  1. I still remember pre-ordering the final book, going to the shop at 8 in the morning and buying it and reading it over the weekend while messaging a friend doing the same. It was such an exciting feeling. I only wish she hadn't done the 19 years later thing because it felt too cliched. The rest of the book was fantastic. I wept buckets for Dobby and Fred and Lupin and Tonks...I mean, really? How much more bloodshed did we need? The movies weren't too bad but they will never live up to the book. I have re-read the books so many times and am due for another re-read. There's always something new that pops up for me. I even wrote a post after a few re-reads as to why Harry Potter is not just a kids book. There are so many adult themes in it and it's so poignant and relevant even today. Snape is a wonderful character as is Hermione. I agree that Harry was not my favourite character and in fact, annoyed me in some of the books (I think the fourth in particular). But I can also see how a flawed hero is a good sell as opposed to a perfect one.

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    1. I sometimes regret having missed out reading this way back when it came out.

      Harry was really annoying in the fourth book, almost made me want to kill him.

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  2. I have spent nights reading HP books... My favorite is still the first one. Both by book and movie wise. Mostly because of the way it made me feel at that type. It bewitched me completely. I totally agree that if Hermione was the chosen one she would have been more kick ass.

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    1. The first one sure was special. Hermione would surely have kicked some good ass.

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  3. I read this series when it first came out. Now the memories have faded. I do remember thinking that she did tie all the loose ends pretty well in the end. I think HP books are quite fabulous though they become too dark for kids by the end. Glad you enjoyed the series.

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    1. I'm glad too. They did get darker yes, maybe because even adults loved the book.

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  4. I read all the books in a haphazard manner..i was gifted chamber of secrets by my mom who was unaware that it is a series so I started with the second book! Rest of the books I read from the library and because there was only one copy of each book I read as and when it was available. So I have bought the first book after so many years and started rereading, in sequence this time. The beauty of this book lies in the fact that Harry is just an ordinary boy, he has no special talent as a wizard or a student and yet he defeats the dark just because of the love that surrounds him and the love and goodwill his parents left behind. It makes you believe that even the weakest can stand up to evil and the greatest power is love and maybe that is why Harry is shown very ordinary with insecurities and fears while characters like Snape and Hermoine overshadow.

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  5. I hated the seventh movie. Both the parts. Specially the ending, when Voldy and Harry fight. That was so... Ugh. The book had more logic and sense, and I'm damn sure Hermione shook her head when she saw the movie adaptation of the book.

    I loved the last paragraph of the post. I swear I'll disown any of my kids who say that Harry Potter is overrated or that they don't like Harry Potter. :P

    Glad to see that Luna Lovegood features on your list of favourite characters! While I wouldn't say that Lord Voldy features in it, I may make an exception for Snape. Only because he had the guts to lead the life of a double agent, and never once wavered in his decision.

    I felt so happy rereading snippets of the Harry Potter story via your three posts. It's a long time back when I read the books for the first time, and you reminded me of all those memories I had when I read the books for the first time!

    Much love, Potterhead ❤

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    1. I was so badly waiting for your comment, you know :)

      Oh yes, my kids better love this series. Snape will always be true love for me <3

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