Good luck, Harry Potter

(Warning: This post contains formidable spoilers for the seventh Harry Potter book. If you haven't finished it yet...get going!)

Ah, Harry Potter. In preparation for book 7 and movie 5, I read books 1-6 and watched movies 1-4. Then I saw movie 5 and read book 7, and then I read 1-7 all over again. I've been reading Harry Potter so much this month that I actually have dreams about it at night (two nights ago it was something about Dobby's Hover Charm in book 2). Some final thoughts:

Small Details I Noticed When I Read the Harry Potter Series This Time Around, Firmly Establishing J.K. Rowling's Utter Brilliance in My Mind (and the Fact That I Have Too Much Time on My Hands to Re-Read Harry Potter)

1. In the very first Harry Potter book, when Harry and Hagrid are hurtling through Gringotts (with the goblin who reappears in book 7!) to Harry's vault, Harry catches a glimpse of what he thinks might be a dragon. In book 7, Harry, Ron and Hermione escape from Gringotts...on a dragon!

2. In book 5, Harry's Aunt Petunia shockingly reveals her knowledge of Azkaban and the dementors, admitting that she heard "that awful boy--telling her about them--years ago." Harry and I both assumed that she was referring to Harry's father, but in book 7, we discover that it was actually Snape! (It occurred to me that Petunia would have saved Harry a lot of heartache if she had gone on to say, "His name was Severus and he was totally in love with Lily.")

3. In one of the earlier books (alas, I can't remember which one), Harry, Ron and Hermione are once again discussing Snape's allegiance, and someone makes a comment that Snape wouldn't have been able to disappear so quickly unless he could implausibly turn himself into a bat and fly away from the castle. In book 7, just before the climactic battle for Hogwarts, Snape actually does this!

4. There are a few delightful allusions to the first book in book 7: When Harry, Ron and Hermione are at the Whomping Willow and Ron despairs of finding a way to turn it off, Hermione says, "Are you a wizard or aren't you?!", which is what Ron says to Hermione as they're trying to save the Sorcerer's Stone in the first book; in Snape's memory, Harry's father says, "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?", which is what Draco Malfoy says to Harry about being in Hufflepuff when they first meet at Madame Malkin's in the first book.

Things That Made Me Cry in Harry Potter 7 (A Better Title for This Would Be "What Didn't Make Me Cry in Harry Potter 7, Because Seriously, I Was a Total Waterworks the Entire Book")
1. Hedwig's death, because I was quite fearful Hagrid might be next
2. when the locket Horcrux said all those horrible things to Ron before he finished it off
3. Dobby's death, even though I never really liked him; "Here Lies Dobby, A Free Elf"
4. when Neville came walking through the picture into the Hog's Head
5. Percy's sudden reappearance
6. when all the students stood between Harry and Pansy Parkinson (that little whore)
7. Ron and Hermione's pre-battle snog session ("Is this the moment?")
8. Fred's death (according to J.K. Rowling on last night's Dateline interview, Fred was the funnier but often crueler of the twins, which was startling news to me because I never saw any difference between them)
9. poor, poor little Colin Creevey
10. everything the Pensieve revealed about Snape, but most especially: "What will you give me in return, Severus?" "Anything"; "I sometimes think we Sort too soon" and his doe Patronus
11. I open at the close...hoo boy, that's where the waterworks really got turned on
12. Harry on dying: "Does it hurt?"
13. Dumbledore to Harry at King's Cross: "You wonderful boy. You brave, brave man."
14. McGonagall's scream at the news of Harry's death
15. Neville to Voldemort: "I'll join you when hell freezes over. Dumbledore's Army!"
16. Kreacher egging on the other house-elves to "fight for my Master, defender of house-elves!"
17. when Harry found Ron and Hermione after the battle
18. when Harry walked into Dumbledore's study and all the portraits applauded

Lines That Made Me Laugh the Hardest
1. Ron's Great Auntie Muriel at Bill and Fleur's wedding on Luna's father's bright yellow robes: "Merlin's beard, what is Xenophilius Lovegood wearing? He looks like an omelet."

2. Ron to Harry on saving Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle: "IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU, HARRY!"

The Line That Made Me Say "Whoa, Mrs. Weasley, Who Knew You Had It In You?!"
"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"

Plot Quibbles I Let Slide Because My Love for J.K. Rowling Knows No Bounds
Ron manages to open the Chamber of Secrets? And return with armfuls of basilisk fangs?

Minor Disappointments
1. Harry totally gave Nearly Headless Nick the shaft.
2. Nearly every single character ever makes a reappearance, but where was Moaning Myrtle? And the Fat Lady? Even Sir Cadogan had a cameo.
3. From Dumbledore's speech at the end of book 4 ("We are only as strong as we are united") to the Sorting Hat's song in book 5 ("We must unite inside her/Or we'll crumble from within"), there seemed to be foreshadowing that the whole wizarding world would really have to come together to fight Voldemort. I wish we had seen more of the payoffs of this, like if at least someone from Slytherin had stayed to fight (I think Slughorn does, but it's not clear), and I wish we had heard a little more about the Resistance (like Potterwatch and Neville's efforts in the Room of Requirement).
4. If I'm reading correctly, Zacharias Smith turned out to be a total weenie!

Major Disappointment
The epilogue, which I'm going to pretend didn't happen. I could have guessed they all live happily ever after; if I was going to have it spelled out for me, I'd have liked some extra information too like what everyone's profession is and what happened in the wizarding world as a whole, not just the news that everyone got married and had babies. That was far too reminiscent of the kind of "Mulder and Scully have kids and name them Melissa and Samantha" fanfic that I hate. (According to J.K. Rowling on Dateline, Harry and Ron have revolutionized the Auror department and Hermione is high up in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.) In fact, I almost didn't read the epilogue at all in the first place when I turned the page and it said "nineteen years later," but that's easily fixable; I'll just close the book when Harry is wondering whether Kreacher will bring him a sandwich in Gryffindor Tower, which was the most satisfying ending I could have asked for.