Deathly Hallows, chapter 21

[anehan]

The Tale of The Three Brothers

* Finally, we come to the point of this book. Or rather, the not-point, since I don't think this book is coherent enough to have a point.

* Luna probably knows all about the Deathly Hallows. If Harry had been real friends with Luna, instead of this I-only-remember-her-when-it's-convenient-to-me friendship, he'd probably have found out about them some time during their friendship.

* I'm still a bit disappointed that Harry wasn't forced to work with Zacharias Smith, or anyone else he'd slighted, to destroy the Horcruxes. He didn't have to grow up at all to finish his quest, which surely is completely against the purpose of a quest.

* To be polite, Harry drinks from a cup provided for him by a stranger. I'm all for politeness, but hello, this is wartime. A little bit a common sense wouldn't go amiss.

* Dumbledore left The Tales of Beedle the Bard for Hermione, apparently as some sort of a clue. But of course Harry has been too busy to have taken a look at it.

* What is it with Harry and Ron that they have to interrupt Hermione when she's reading the tale? I would be very irritated if someone constantly interrupted me when I was reading aloud.

* Oh, so the name of the Elder Wand comes from the tree it was made. I always thought it had something to do with being older or something like that. Shows what I know.

* Well, that was a boring fairy tale. It had all the right elements for a fairy tale, but the execution was lacking.

* Hermione, of course, can't pass the opportunity to question Mr Lovegood's belief in the Deathly Hallows, as if it mattered what he believed. They've found out what the symbol means. Surely that's what's important.

* This is the first time we have heard about Invisibility Cloaks having a limited shelf-life. I rather think that we ought to have had a tiny little hint about the special quality of Harry's Invisibility Cloak.

* Of course Harry is so special himself that he can't have an ordinary Invisibility Cloak--which, we've been told, are extremely rare--but a one-of-a-kind cloak.

* This is also the first time we hear about the bloody trail of the Elder Wand. Once again, I think we ought to have had a hint about its existence before. Say, a chance word from Professor Binns in History of Magic.

* Ron doesn't realize that because Hermione and Harry were raised by Muggles, they learned different superstitions than Ron the wizarding-born. That just goes to show that notwithstanding Arthur's fascination with Muggles, they haven't really learned anything about them. I wonder if it's partly Molly's fault. Not that I think Arthur knows much anything about Muggles, but maybe Molly has prevented him from teaching his children the little that he does know. I wouldn't be at all surprised if that was the case. Molly strikes me as one who is very prejudiced against Muggles, even if she doesn't go as far as wanting to kill them.

* Ah, so Professor Binns has mentioned the Deathstick / the Wand of Destiny / etc. Would have been helpful is we had heard that as well.

* Harry, of course, was asleep during that lecture and thus has no idea such a wand is rumoured to exist. Typical. What happened to the boy who eagerly read his History of Magic textbook before he went to Hogwarts?

* "Wands are only as powerful as the wizards who use them. Some wizards just like to boast that theirs are bigger and better than other people's." Is it terrible that my mind immediately went to the gutter when I read that?

* Oh my god, the painting in Luna's ceiling. Does she have to be so pathetic? But of course, no one could resist the charming fellow that is Harry. Even Zacharias Smith probably had a crush on him.

* Harry feels a great rush of affection for Luna when he sees how Luna idolizes him.

* For all that I diss Hermione, she does think quick in an emergency. Her plan to conceal Ron, obliviate Mr Lovegood, and reveal herself and Harry to the Death Eaters was pure genius. And then she managed to turn and Apparate in mid-air. Truly, the girl is amazing. (All right, all right, so I couldn't resist a little dig, but really, I do admire her in moments like this when she comes across as genuinely quick-witted and not just the author's self-insertion.)

* I'll be leaving for my parents' today and don't know when I'll be back. On Monday at the earliest. I'll answer comments when I'm back.

Comments

[aasaylva.livejournal.com]

I'm still a bit disappointed that Harry wasn't forced to work with Zacharias Smith, or anyone else he'd slighted, to destroy the Horcruxes.
That would have been interesting, but I guess the author wasn't prepared to make Harry or Hermione admit to any fault of their own. What I don't get is her complete lack of "the houses working together" that had been hinted at at least from GoF onwards. What became of it? Another dropped ball?

He didn't have to grow up at all to finish his quest, which surely is completely against the purpose of a quest.<7i>
One can only conclude that by HBP she was so besotted by her own creation to not be aware of any imperfection that might call for improvement. For reference: the epilogue where they are STILL the same people they were at eleven.

What is it with Harry and Ron that they have to interrupt Hermione when she's reading the tale?
Well, she has to learn betimes to shut up whenever the menfolk talk!

Well, that was a boring fairy tale. It had all the right elements for a fairy tale, but the execution was lacking.
I don't think I'm misquoting yodel when stating that's typical for the whole series: all the right elements but put together they don't make much sense.

As to the whole mess about the Deathly Hallows - given Rowling's usual fondness of waving the metaphorical gun before firing it, I really wonder whether the Hallows were an afterthought or not. When working out a plot like this, surely the way your hero defeats the Dark Wizard is the main concern? But then why not the least bit of foreshadowing, which would have been childsplay to do?

Ron doesn't realize that because Hermione and Harry were raised by Muggles, they learned different superstitions than Ron the wizarding-born.
It also shows the complete lack of cultural interaction even within the trio. You'd think given Ron's upbringing he'd have been curious about the lifestyle of those weird Muggles his father always was on about. But no. And Hermione the read-it-all never bothered to ask about children's literature?

Molly strikes me as one who is very prejudiced against Muggles, even if she doesn't go as far as wanting to kill them.
I hear you. She's the kind of white mother telling her kids to be nice to the black kids because their skin colour is not their fault...

Is it terrible that my mind immediately went to the gutter when I read that?
No, I'd say that's what Rowling intended.

As to Hermione's quick thinking: I liked it, too, but at the same time it renders the whole concept of Harry-the-big-hero and Hermione-the-sidekick less and less convincing. It reminds me of (aversion of?) the Cid-saga, where the Christian Spanish won a battle against the Saracens by putting the much famed but unfortunately dead Cid onto a horse thus striking fear in the enemies' hearts....

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

He didn't have to grow up at all to finish his quest, which surely is completely against the purpose of a quest.

Harry was born perfect, doncha know? He has perfect people radar, he has perfect timing, he has perfect flying ability, he's perfect in every way. Except where he doesn't like to do his homework, but that's why Hermione was invented, to take the strain of the everyday world off him. He was meant for bigger and better things and learning to use people, goblins and house elves to free up his time is just the burden of the Great Magical Bwana.

* Oh, so the name of the Elder Wand comes from the tree it was made. I always thought it had something to do with being older or something like that.

I think the name is supposed to give off both vibes. It's the Elder wand of all wands, and it's made from the elder tree. In earlier books this would have played the juxtaposition much better than it does here. I think Rowling dropped her interest as well as the ball in more than a couple of places.

* This is the first time we have heard about Invisibility Cloaks having a limited shelf-life. I rather think that we ought to have had a tiny little hint about the special quality of Harry's Invisibility Cloak.

Because Harry was born perfect, doncha know? His IC is more speshul than anybody else's speshul cloak.

All the foreshadowing - the DHs, the 3 Bros, everything, could have come out at The Burrow as Molly tried to replace the family Harry never knew. He could have been forced, out of politeness and a liking of Molly, to listen to the Tale of the 3 Brothers somewhere back in CoS and had it brought up occasionally in talk, the way we bring up familiar tales - "Harry's such a Cinderella story," for instance - most westerners understand the reference. There should have been something like that in the WW, too, shared culture that is taught to the Muggleborns as they come in.

That's something I don't get. Rowling taught English in Portugal for a bit, didn't she? Part of teaching language is introducing people to the culture of the language. We learned about literature, important historical figures - for instance, I heard about El Cid and his Death Ride of Vengeance in Spanish class. Why was there nothing in place for the Muggleborns who are, after all, making a huge culture shift? Someone, somewhere, between Gryffindor and Dumbledore, should have recognized that need.

Once again, I think we ought to have had a hint about its existence before. Say, a chance word from Professor Binns in History of Magic.

A bloody tale should have had every twelve year old boy at Hogwarts repeating the tale and pretending that he and he alone could master the EW. Draco as Harry's foil would have been perfect here. All the boys randomly playing, Harry making the claim to ownership of the EW, Draco saying that a Gryffindor couldn't do it because they're not cunning enough and besides, Harry was raised Muggleborn... showing Draco's prejudicial upbringing and giving a cool ironic foreshadowing.

(no subject) (part II)

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

That just goes to show that notwithstanding Arthur's fascination with Muggles, they haven't really learned anything about them. I wonder if it's partly Molly's fault. Not that I think Arthur knows much anything about Muggles, but maybe Molly has prevented him from teaching his children the little that he does know.

Arthur doesn't look at Muggles as real people. They're like trained seals or hind-leg-walking poodles or sea monkeys to him. He's fascinated with them the way a kid is fascinated by bugs. IMO, of course, his supposed liberality toward Muggles boils down to the Superior's fascination with but no true curiosity toward, supposed "Inferiors." "Aren't they quaint?" "Isn't it cute when they do that?" There's a clear separation between Arthur and Muggles and he has never shown any interest, IMO, in bridging that gap. He'd rather watch and be entertained. He doesn't like people who try and take those precocious but childish Muggles away from him.

Molly strikes me as one who is very prejudiced against Muggles, even if she doesn't go as far as wanting to kill them.

I think Molly is more indicative of the WW population in general. They have their Separation. It was good enough for the past generations, it's good enough for her. Mixing only leads to trouble. We're all God's creatures, we all have our place, and by God, we all ought to remain in our places. She may also be fed up with Arthur's childish fascination. He's out collecting things like plugs (and does that mean stoppers or electrical junctures?) when he doesn't even know what they are or what they do and he has no real intention of finding out. I think the books reek of prejudice on some level, and it isn't just the overtly hostile DEs.

But of course, no one could resist the charming fellow that is Harry.

Poor Luna! Yes, she really is pathetic in the end. Only her worship of The Great Pottorini saves her. She, like Zacharias, Draco, Hermione, Ernie McM and Ernie from the Knight bus, Stan, Molly, Ginny, various and sundry Black descendants, Remus, Dumbledore, (insert character name here) can only cling to Harry like the Israelites raised up their dying in the desert to view the snake icons.

* Harry feels a great rush of affection for Luna when he sees how Luna idolizes him.

That's Harry's criteria for choosing who he likes - do they idolize him?

* For all that I diss Hermione, she does think quick in an emergency.

Except when Snape is dying, in which case she's just a slack-jawed observer. She who could heal Ron's major Splinch, and heal Harry of the bite of that same snake, didn't know what to do. Introducing Hermione, author's self-insert, plot device, and indicator of authorial dictate of who is Deserving and who Isn't.

Her plan to conceal Ron, obliviate Mr Lovegood, and reveal herself and Harry to the Death Eaters was pure genius.

Yes, it was. This was one instance of forethought in DHs that worked very well.

* I'll be leaving for my parents' today and don't know when I'll be back.

Have a good time!

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

In Harry's defense, even if he had heard about the 3 Brothers from Luna he'd probably have forgotten it by now. Remember up until here he didn't know the story was about him.

I will forever be disappointed Harry wasn't forced to work with people like Zach Smith. As it was not only did he not have to, we took time out of our busy battle to show us Harry was right about him all along.

Re: The invisibility cloak yeah, that's kind of a funny thing to stick in there, especially give we've never seen any others. It's the type of thing JKR would usually do so I suspect she only came up with it for this book. Previously we thought belonging to Harry was quite special enough for a cloak.

Molly not liking Muggles but not wanting to kill them makes her totally not prejudice. It's easy to be politically correct in this universe.

So Harry slept through HoM? That would make him deserving of some horrible injury, right? Or is that only if you're in CoMC. Or a Slytherin. Or Draco.

Luna's paintings are the creepiest thing ever. The whole House of Lovegood is a big ole house of horrors.

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

- “He didn't have to grow up at all to finish his quest”

This sentence is key to one of the biggest failures of the series. Harry didn’t grow up. He didn’t really work for any of his successes – he didn’t *deserve* it. This rendered him as unworthy as he was unappealing. As I said before, some apologists said that the camping decades were essential for the development of his character. He started off acting on emotion, without thinking. He told his best friend to get out, despite knowing that he was under the influence of evil, without thinking. He followed a mysterious doe on a ‘hunch’, abandoning his sleeping, unarmed other friend, without thinking. He then ended this section of the book (Thank the Lord) by breaking The Taboo without thinking. How I wish Voldemort had pulled out Lucius Malfoy/Charity Burbage’s wand at the climax and killed Harry while he was expositioning about the Elder Wand. Head Auror my Arse.

- “Hermione, of course, can't pass the opportunity to question Mr Lovegood's belief in the Deathly Hallows, as if it mattered what he believed.”

Prisoner of Azkaban – Lavender’s bunny has died and all Hermione cares about is that she’s proved right that Divination is worthless. I remember thinking she was as hard as nails then, which upset me because she was one of my favourites.

Now that I detest her, I have no trouble pointing out that she’ll happily trample over people’s beliefs/feelings to put across her point of view/ be proved right. For a major character on the good side, she’s almost as much of a failure for JKR as Harry, though she certainly didn’t start off that way.

- “I rather think that we ought to have had a tiny little hint about the special quality of Harry's Invisibility Cloak.”

When Harry was showing Ron his cloak in CoS, how hard would it have been for Ron to comment on how it was still in really good condition as they usually needed to be replaced after a few years, or something along those lines?

- “Oh my god, the painting in Luna's ceiling. Does she have to be so pathetic?”

Didn’t the painting have the other children who went to the Ministry in Book 5 as well? I just thought it was a reaction to a girl who’d been completely rejected and made to feel different and lonely all her life. She was over-reacting to having some friends at last. But only if the picture had all five of them – if GoldenPolyJuiceBoy was singled out in any way, I’ll happily add my vomit to your own!

Hermione Rant

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

- “For all that I diss Hermione, she does think quick in an emergency... I couldn't resist a little dig, but really, I do admire her in moments like this when she comes across as genuinely quick-witted and not just the author's self-insertion.”

We’ll have to agree to disagree here! To seem genuinely quick-witted, it has to be a consistent character trait and it’s not. She fluctuates between this off the cuff brilliance and slack-jawed incompetence and the reasoning never ties up. You can’t say – she didn’t think to snatch the Horcrux off Ron, even when she knew (and said) that it was causing the problem, because she loves him so much she lost her head. It would be a believable reason, but then how was she able to save him from a serious splinching, when he could conceivably bleed to death? You can’t say she let Snape die because she didn’t know what to do in a life or death situation, though that might tally with her earlier incarnation, for the same reason (and Snape’s life was definitely less important to her than Ron’s). Also, she saved Harry from the *exact same thing* (Nagini) a few chapters before.

She apparated Yaxley to the front-door of Grimmauld Place – why not apparate him away again? Or stun him? Or obliviate him? Or scar him for life? She blew their headquarters (and subjected us all to tiresome, life-shortening camping scenes) in a situation which was a lot easier to rectify then the little miracle she performed here. And why did she act like such a dimwit at Godric’s Hollow, jumping at a hissed ‘come’ but not working out that a hiss was Parseltongue? Or blindly following this mute old woman into her strange smelling house in the first place? (Has someone died in here?!) Of course, things changed when she had to save Harry, when she suddenly was able to fight off a giant snake and cure Harry in a way St Mungo’s couldn’t hope to.

This isn’t a quick-thinking girl, but a true author insert/Hollywood wet dream, that hadn’t had a chance to shine for a few pages. So instead of the Trio all working together to get themselves out, JKR made her do everything and she looked as unbelievable as she had for the entire book.

In the earlier books, while Harry was earnest and 100% well meaning if reckless, Ron was tactical and streetwise, but really lazy unless put on the spot and Hermione was exceptionally clever, morally sound but panicked in tense action situations.(That's how I saw them, anyway.) If JKR had stuck to that and resisted the Super-Hermione, Ron is a fool, GoldenPolyJuiceBoy nonsense, the later books would have been much better. Instead she lost control of *all* her characters, not just the Trio, until it was obvious that the only thing driving their behaviour was plot requirement.

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

What if Harry told Ron in CoS, when Hermione was petrified, that muggles believe that people in comas can hear the outside world? Ron could start to tell her the Tale of the Two Brothers, but when he got to the part with Death, Harry could stop him telling him it was too insensitive and start telling her a muggle tale. JKR could easily make a scene like that, with Ron's subsequent sulking and criticisim of the muggle story, quite amusing - in just a small paragraph.

Maybe one day in Poa or Gof, Harry could be reading Hermione's notes and ask her what's the 'Elder Wand' and Hermione could tut and say that's what Binns was talking about for 45 minutes this morning. Ron could say something about how they had better things to do then pay attention to Binns, Hermione could roll her eyes and the story could move on with no need for further reference.

I said below that Ron could have commented on the exceptional quality of Harry's cloak when he first got it in Philosopher's Stone.

I'm no writer, those scenarios need some work! However it would be easy to mention each one briefly in separate books and different siituations. I probably wouldn't give any of them more than a few sentences, just a brief mention, so that when they were finally linked in Book 7, everyone would go 'Aha!', or 'I remember that', not 'wtf?'

[the-stars-say.livejournal.com]

The fact that Harry was born special - descending from the third Peverell brother and Godric Gryffindor - doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose and meaning behind him only being orphaned cos Voldermort chose him as his opponent?

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

>One can only conclude that by HBP she was so besotted by her own creation to not be aware of any imperfection that might call for improvement. For reference: the epilogue where they are STILL the same people they were at eleven.<

Actually, the same people they were at 14, One of the things that actually impressed me about GoF is the smoothness with which Rowling had aged the characters from 11 to 14. Because these were recognizably 14-year-olds. NOT 11-year-olds. And looking back you could see that this was not a sudden process, the aging of the characters had crept up on us in a manner which was entirely convincing.

It was the skill of the handling of this which kept me hoping that she would eventually pull herself together and give this story the ending it deserved. And at least some credibility that she was capable of doing it.

Instead, it flew out of the window when Warners weighed in and started wagging the dog.

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

Harry could stop him telling him it was too insensitive...

And Ron, wizarding-raised as he is, could look blank and say, "Huh?" From what we've seen, mental health, other than the extreme cases like the Longbottoms and Lockhart, is nothing to be concerned about in the WW.

Yes, any of those scenes, plus any number of others, could have been inserted at some point well before DHs. It all could begin with Vernon overhearing about the Potter boy and how his story would rank right up there with the Tales of Beedle the Bard only that it's real. Anything to make it a cohesive series instead of an ending with a huge WTF?! as its base. But no, secrecy, the sudden surprise, had to take precedence. :P

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

Believe me, I'm rolling my eyes as I'm typing this, but...

begin eye-rolling You know, Prophesies are only spouted about special people - demigods, children of gods, like Hercules or Achilles. Normal people have no place in epics. eyes drop out, bounce, stop rolling

[eir-de-scania.livejournal.com]

What I don't get is her complete lack of "the houses working together" that had been hinted at at least from GoF onwards. What became of it? Another dropped ball?
***Yes. Sadly, yes.

But then why not the least bit of foreshadowing, which would have been childsplay to do?
***Bad planning and bad writing. Sorry JKR, you failed.

Molly strikes me as one who is very prejudiced against Muggles, even if she doesn't go as far as wanting to kill them.
I hear you. She's the kind of white mother telling her kids to be nice to the black kids because their skin colour is not their fault...
***ROTFL! So true!

Re: (no subject) (part II)

[eir-de-scania.livejournal.com]

I so totally agree with you on Arthur and Molly! ;-)

[anehan]

I really wonder whether the Hallows were an afterthought or not

That's what I've been wondering as well. They feel so pastede on. It feels like the Hallows are tacked there to divert our attention away from the emptiness of the plot.

[anehan]

Harry was born perfect, doncha know?

It's so annoying. Harry doesn't develop at all. Even his Quidditch ability stays the same all through the series, and isn't that unconvincing.

Good point about the lack of cultural education for the Muggleborns. It's so typical of the Wizarding World that they neglect such an important part of education. It'd be in their own best interests to assimilate the Muggleborns as soon as possible, but they just seem to use their energies in hating them instead of doing something constructive to solve the "problem".

Re: (no subject) (part II)

[anehan]

Oh yes, I agree completely, Molly and Arthur both are prejudiced against the Muggles--in their own ways. Their family is probably fairly typical in their attitudes towards Muggles: either being patronizing or wanting nothing to do with them. I suspect the ones who want to kill Muggles are a tiny minority but that most of the Wizarding-born people are perfectly happy to keep separate from Muggles, as the support that Voldemort initially gained before he showed his true colors shows.

In a way, I'm glad that Hermione didn't save Snape, although it is one of those jarring scenes because she ought to have been able to do it. But I guess Rowling couldn't but kill Snape. She had fucked him over so completely there was nothing left in his life. A life-sentence in Azkaban would have been waiting for him if he had survived, his role as a spy notwithstanding.

[anehan]

As it was not only did he not have to, we took time out of our busy battle to show us Harry was right about him all along.

Oh my god, I'd forgotten that. It really is unbelievable how Rowling can write this kind of stuff with a clear conscience.

Re: The invisibility cloak yeah, that's kind of a funny thing to stick in there, especially give we've never seen any others. It's the type of thing JKR would usually do so I suspect she only came up with it for this book.

I suspect she came up with the whole Deathly Hallows plot only for this book, it's so pastede on.

So Harry slept through HoM? That would make him deserving of some horrible injury, right? Or is that only if you're in CoMC. Or a Slytherin. Or Draco.

Good catch. ;-) So Harry really deserves all the camping because he didn't pay attention in one lesson during his whole time in school.

[anehan]

I thought that the Horcruxes were bad enough, but really, they are positively masterful examples of good writing compared to the Deathly Hallows. At least with the Horcruxes there was the diary which was something of a clue. But with the Deathly Hallows we had nothing. Nothing.

[anehan]

Usually the point of a quest is that the hero has to grow up and earn his victory. But not Harry. Noooooo. The Chosen One is so Speshul he needs not change.

Head Auror my Arse.

And one who, moreover, revolutionized the Auror Department. Harry! The boy who hasn't got an original thought inside his head!

Re: Hermione Rant

[anehan]

I think we'll end up agreeing here. :-) Hermione used to be one of my favourite characters earlier in the books, but I consider her characterization to be another victim of Rowling not knowing what she was doing with her characters. It's so sad that almost no important character was safe from her blundering. In fact, she did such a bad job with the characterization in the later books that I'm stunned how she could have done that. There are flashes of brilliance (like Draco in HBP), but they are drowned out by the inconsistencies (like Draco in DH).

I agree that Hermione's characterization is very inconsistent. At times she is brilliant and quick-witted, yet at other times she's a moron. Add to that her fascination with Ron and I'm left with a character that's designed to drive me crazy. I like her, true, but that's more for what she was in the earlier books than what she is now.

I agree, she used to panic in serious situations (remember her reaction to the boggart in her third-year DADA test), and I liked her as she was. Not everyone has to be quick at thinking on their feet. But I guess that was one of the things that had to go when the Super!Hermione came into being.

[anehan]

Heh, he's so Speshul even Voldemort couldn't stay away from him.

[anehan]

In this series, people's worth and moral character is decided by whether they like Harry or not. Or if they don't like Harry, at least they ought to love Harry's mother.

I like Luna as well, and it pains me to see her to be so pathetically grateful for the little attention she gets from the Golden Trio.

Re: (no subject) (part II)

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

A life-sentence in Azkaban would have been waiting for him if he had survived, his role as a spy notwithstanding.

I'll bet Super-Harry could have gotten his sentence dropped. He got the portrait for him, after all, and he became Head Auror, he saw the memories, and there seems to be nothing against euthanasia in the Potterverse.

On Snape having nothing left, he could have found something, far, far away from Hogwarts as a zillion fanfics speculate. If anybody deserved a second chance in the series, and a peaceful life, Snape was at the head of that list.

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

I'm inclined to think that the concept of the *3* Hallows was a late entry. The speshul ultra-wand was in the pipeline from the beginning. I *think* the Resurection Stone *may* have been around since after OotP -- or may not. But rolling in the cloak to complete the set smells like an 11th hour addition, and is just plain bogus.

[n1ght1ng4l3.livejournal.com]

*Luna probably knows all about the Deathly Hallows. If Harry had been real friends with Luna, instead of this I-only-remember-her-when-it's-convenient-to-me friendship, he'd probably have found out about them some time during their friendship.

How hard was to add this the Deathly Hallows some rambling of Luna in OOTP or HBP, Ron to dismiss it as a bedtime story and Hermione to call it bullshit? The Death stick (different from Elder wand, which could have been the book’s title) and its blood trail could have been mentioned in some of Binn’s classes as well as you’ve said. It wouldn’t sound this cheap and shoed in.
Like you also say, the cloak’s abilities sound cheap as well. Why didn’t anyone remark that usual Invisibility Cloaks collapsed with time and that one didn’t? Moody/Tonks (it was one of them, can’t remember) could have tackled this when there were two cloaks mentioned in OOTP (like, one of them is failing because of time, that’s why they had two).
The stone was cracked (this didn’t alter any of its properties, really?) and Dumbledore managed to feint Harry to think that wearing the ring was equal to wanting to see his sister again, when it’s known that it needs to be turned thrice?
Let alone the contrived wandlore of a wand’s master (the EW could have worked differnetly) It makes no sense, and all of this just smells of something Rowling cooked up at the eleventh hour, since everything else on the book is dull. Sure the Hallows were the only thing that fascinated me in DH but even then were awfully explained and introduced.

* I'm still a bit disappointed that Harry wasn't forced to work with Zacharias Smith, or anyone else he'd slighted, to destroy the Horcruxes. He didn't have to grow up at all to finish his quest, which surely is completely against the purpose of a quest.
I’d have preferred Harry being in Hogwarts through the year (planning and then making their investigations in Hogsmeade and holidays). Sure it sounds lame, but it doesn’t sound lamer than making a camp out straight out of Lord of the Rings, complete with the One Ring transfixed as locked.
Nice excuse to actually see Neville Longbottom grow up (though maybe he only grew up because Harry was not there, which is disgusting) and Severus Snape a headmaster.

* Oh my god, the painting in Luna's ceiling. Does she have to be so pathetic? But of course, no one could resist the charming fellow that is Harry. Even Zacharias Smith probably had a crush on him.
I was kind of disgusted with that. Luna is supposed to be ‘peculiar’ and say awful truths. Doesn’t she see the Trio (and Ginny) were uninterested in being her proper friends? Sure she’d be a little starved for friends, but isn’t she supposed to see these kind of hypocrisy in the first place?

[n1ght1ng4l3.livejournal.com]

Ahem number of characters too high.

* For all that I diss Hermione, she does think quick in an emergency. Her plan to conceal Ron, obliviate Mr Lovegood, and reveal herself and Harry to the Death Eaters was pure genius. And then she managed to turn and Apparate in mid-air. Truly, the girl is amazing. (All right, all right, so I couldn't resist a little dig, but really, I do admire her in moments like this when she comes across as genuinely quick-witted and not just the author's self-insertion.)

I hope you’re really making a dig, because she didn’t show any wit in there, only her usual ability to mess things up when under pressure. Actually I’d say she always takes a stupid approach when given the chance. She was always lucky (aka Rowling can’t see underneath the underneath) nothing ever backfired on her.

She should have changed Lovegood’s memory and hope that story it sticked with the Death Eaters. She knows, from her parents, that she can later restore them easily and there will be no harm done. Obliviating is a different story. It will make him not remember anything at all and with no story, that would compel Voldemort to extract his memories like he did to Bertha Jorkins, so he can know what Harry was doing there and clues about where he’s going next. It would kill Lovegood in the process as well. Hermione knows what happened to Bertha (at the very least, she knows it’s possible to extract from Morfin), and even if she didn’t, she ought to have stumbled across the possibility of extracting memories and even dying from the brain toll when she researched Obliviate.

And if Voldemort really saw these memories then he’d know about the Deathly Hallows and that they conquer death and that Ron was there with them (putting the Weasleys in danger). This would have been interesting. Hermione would feel guilt and insecure about herself. But no, Voldemort behaves like an idiot as usual so they’re all safe. The only thing she did was to buy herself and the Weasleys time by putting someone to death. But changing his memory would also save time. She took the overcomplicated route she always does, only to fail miserably if this was real life and Voldemort had an IQ with three digits.

[anehan]

Yes to Harry spending book 7 at school. Part of the allure of the HP books for me was that they were boarding-school stories. I liked reading about classes and new magics they learned. Camping trips just don't compare.

I would have liked Luna much more if she'd really been the misfit who sees things as they are. As it is, she comes across more as someone who just wants attention with her weird ways.

[anehan]

I think we're just going to have to disagree about Hermione in this scene, because I think she acted as well as she could have been expected to in such a tight situation. There was very little time to think, so I'm impressed she could come up with what she did. True, it might not have been enough if Voldemort had a brain, but for a girl her age (and bearing in mind that she has a tendency to freeze in stressful situations--at least, she did before) it was impressive.