“Hey! I don’t have to put up with this! I’m rich!” - Princess Vespa

Written by Sonia Lepe. Sonia’s article is safe for people, like me, who haven’t yet started Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I have a really hard time getting into books or movies or shows that have cliffhanger endings because I find them so torturous. I avoided the summer long release of The Green Mile until someone begged me to read the first book as the 4th was on the cusp of coming out (there were 6 in total, each coming out monthly from April to September).

I also read really, really quickly. I tore through the 3 books, and threw the third up in the air, raced in my pajamas to the bookstore that was closing, threw myself at the register and begged them to sell me the 4th book. I tore it open, devouring the first 2 pages while they processed the sale.

And then had to wait a whole 30 days to see what happened next, my emotions hopping like I was doing a mental pee pee dance. (I still haven�t picked up the Dark Tower series).

I also have a hard time with endings, though not the way you think. I don�t have a problem when something ends as long as it ends right. When I first heard they were going to end The X-Files oh so many years ago, I was devastated�then they took another 3 years to actually end, by which time I wanted to kill it myself (and by then I�d stopped watching, only to catch the last episode and grunt as I turned off the TV). The Matrix should have ended with one movie (in my opinion, although I do echo many others). My beloved Buffy ended almost just right, I still feel a bit prematurely, but it didn�t drag out. I think ole Joss thinks the same, as she�s been resurrected in comic form.

So, when the Harry Potter series first came out, I wasn�t gonna do it. I�d heard good buzz surrounding the first book, but I also knew that there were supposed to be 7 in total. That soured me to try and go into it, but I heard so many good things, I caved.

I�m glad I did. Being invited into Harry Potter�s world, Hogwarts and Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade and (I could go on and on) I found myself becoming a part of it. I also didn�t mind the lags of time between the series, even though I heard some people were miffed that JK Rowling was taking her time. I savored it, knowing that she was doing it at her pace, in the confines of the structure she had long ago mapped out. She was doing it her way, and no one was gonna tell her HOW to do it. I had enormous respect for her (still do).

When the 6th book, The Half Blood Prince came out, my friend Gabby, her boyfriend�s 15 year old daughter and I went to the Midnight Madness festivities in NYC and had an amazing time. I tore through that book in a weekend (the first time I allowed myself to do that) and came away from it feeling drunk, anxious and afraid for the 7th and final book. Would she still be able to wield the same magic? Could she tie all the loose ends together? Would I come away from it feeling empty? Disappointed? Exhausted? Relieved?

This year, we again got dressed up in our Hogwarts uniforms, an expanded group of 8 of us, and celebrated in the city again with other fans, screaming the countdown to midnight when they ceremoniously ripped open the boxes. And about 40 minutes later, we had our copies, and we staggered home, exhausted, anxious to start reading.

I�d avoided the spoilers and early reviews like the plague, and like the 6th book, I was determined to read the last book quickly so no spoilers could kill it for me. That Saturday, I read 500 pages of the 759 page book. Yowza. I had to be torn away since I had 2 birthday parties to go to that night.

Removed from the book�s temptation, I was able to start processing everything I had been reading, swiftly, but not overlookingly (I read fast but well, a skill long since honed on Nancy Drew books). I decided that although I was ��s done, I would stop reading, not reading at all on Sunday (and I was sufficiently busy to actually stick to that�for the most part).

My sister ruined it for me, calling me to ask if I�d reached a specific chapter, and now I HAD To read it, I HAD to know.

(So much for restraint).

And so I stayed up until 2:30am into Monday and dreamt of Harry Potter when I finally was able to fall asleep and haven�t been able to think of anything else, really.

J.K. Rowling knew exactly what she was doing from the day she wrote the first sentence in The Sorcerer�s Stone. She did, indeed, have every detail accounted for, every year marked, every character thought through from their birth and (for some) their death. All unfolds in The Deathly Hallows, and overall I am grateful for her allowing us in and folding everything in as she had unfolded it out to us for the past 10 years.

Yes, Harry faces Voldemort. There is a big battle at the end, actually broken up into 2 big battles, and we lose characters we�ve loved throughout.

But, what I�ve always loved about the series (and something I�ve heard being complained about) is that she spends too much time with our 3 central heroes (Harry, Ron and Hermione) planning and talking and arguing. But that�s what I�ve also loved about the series! The developing relationships between the 3, with Harry gaining a sister and brother he�d never had, the budding argumentative romance between Ron and Hermione, playing out like a witty 40�s movie. That they grow up together, defy each other, but still come back and embrace and support one another in spite of everything, each of them aware of the greater good, but also looking out for their individual backs. I want to believe my friends would be so devoted in this type of battle.

It is raw, emotional. It reveals facets to characters we thought we knew so well. It resolves the issue of whether or not Harry was capable (of bravery, of maturity, of responsibility, of facing death), of why Dumbledore trusted Snape unequivocally. It brings back characters and resolved them from issues past.

I don�t want to wax on with too many details � because to do so does a disservice to the writing. To disclose certain points (spoilers, in any shape or form) is like showing you how a magician does a magic trick. A large part of the Harry Potter popularity is the surprise, the awe, the wonder, the innocence of what is being unveiled, and some things that are kept hidden, sure. Not much is hidden here in this book. All the big questions are answered, and a lot of the little ones too. I don�t want to be the one to show those details to you � discover them, savor them, yourselves.

My bone of contention is really one: some characters are lost in battle and there isn�t as much fanfare as I would have hoped for their passing (because, I think, they deserved better).

The longest standing debate I�ve seen is about the interpretation of the prophecy between Harry and Voldemort � one cannot live while the other survives. It also comes to mean both must die, both can live, it gets a little complicated, but it does make sense, in the end, if you think about it (and this was J.K. Rowling�s greatest achievement � making us think). I�ve read the complaints, and I�ve re-read the chapters at the end, and this is the conclusion I�ve come up with: Harry has compassion, love and honor, where Voldemort has not. Voldemort cannot repent, and without that humanity, he is bound to fail. That is the biggest distinction between the 2, and I think ultimately that makes the break between them. I don�t think I�m revealing anything here except to say Harry asks Voldemort at one point to show his remorse. That is Harry giving Voldemort the chance to see what Harry already does � and it is up to you to see what happens next.

There is an epilogue that answers a few questions as it how it all ends up, years later, after the dust has settled. I�ve read ad heard more than one complaint about it. I, personally, loved it. Maybe it didn�t answer every little bitty question (my sister�s peeve) but overall, it tied a nice, slightly lopsided, bow over the entire saga.

And yes, I am sad. The joy of finishing the book and learning everyone�s fates was just as bittersweet, because I want to know more. It�s like graduating high school. You can visit, but you aren�t the same. You took everything you needed from it. It will always be different, going back, when there is no more to know.

But everything, good and bad, has to end. And this amazing, wondrous, magical series comes to a close in the best possible way. I raise a glass to J.K. Rowling for it, and bow my head in thanks and respect for allowing me � and us � to take the journey with her.

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