Blog #3

The end of the series left me wishing for more as I said goodbye to characters I had spent, essentially, seven years with. The most poignant moments for me were when we get to see Snape’s memories via his dying tears and when Harry faces Voldemort ready to die.

Snape was a character I had hated throughout the entire series. There were times that I felt sympathy for him but ultimately he was the product of bullying and grew up to become a bully himself. I had no inclination that he was working to protect Harry. When we finally learn of Snape’s true motives I was filled with sympathy for him. His love for Lily was almost as powerful as Lily’s love for Harry. I am not saying that Snape’s motives were unselfish but he spent the rest of his life after Lily’s death trying to protect her son, which included living a double life under the command of both Voldemort and Dumbledore and he was hated by both camps. When we learn that it was Snape’s patronus that lead Harry to the Sword of Gryffindor and that it was the same as Lily’s I felt a pang of heartache. Snape’s life must have been incredibly lonely.

Secondly when Harry accepts his fate and goes to Voldemort sure that he is meeting his demise I was deeply sad. As I was reading it I felt sure that Harry was going to have to die. What bothered me most when dealing with this fact was the idea that Dumbledore knew all along that Harry would have to die, and he helped guide him in the direction of doing so. I understand that it is for the good of the world for this to happen, but it was hard coming to terms with the fact that Dumbledore had been orchestrating these events for Harry’s entire life.

The way Rowling takes both Snape and Dumbledore and radically changes what we know about them is genius and put me through an emotional gamut. It was very interesting that Snape ends up berating Dumbledore for raising Harry up like a lamb for the slaughter when all along we had believed that Snape was rooting for Harry’s downfall.

I felt cheated, of course, that so many characters that I loved had to die and that ultimately Harry didn't  but I believe that in this story Harry survives as an example that good can overcome evil and I can’t of any character that deserves a happy ending more than Harry Potter.