Deathly Hallows Epilogue

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

This is it! The end of the book. Thank you all for bearing with it. It was a long, hard road.

Looking forward to Sistermagpie's sporking of Prisoner of Azkaban!

Nineteen Years Later

There isn’t all that much to say about this epilogue that hasn’t been said before, but there is a definite change in tone as it starts with an idyllic autumn day as “crisp and golden as an apple.” People have called this epilogue treacle-y, but the sweetness is good after all that action and angst.

Either JKR did write this long before the tortured prose of the earlier chapters, or her relief at reaching the end was so strong that pours out on the page.

We are introduced gradually to the unnamed family. Harry speaks, so we know it’s him. The first child who speaks is Lily, who is whinging about wanting to go to school, too. It’s a bit of a shout out to Ginny’s first appearance in the books, and it’s absolutely bizarre how every single child in this series can’t wait to leave home for several months. There is not one of them who ever experiences the slightest bit of homesickness.

Albus is the second one named. And he’s whinging about the possibility of being placed in Slytherin House.

Ginny then tells James to give it a rest, which is slightly confusing because it makes it seem like James is the one complaining.

But then James cuts in to defend himself. “I only said he might be. There’s nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slyth—“

And then he stops at the look in Ginny’s eyes.

So, right away, we know a few things about this family: 1) They’re all whiners. 2) James is a bully. 3) Ginny is not to be trifled with.

And 4) Calling someone a Slytherin is such an effective insult that even the possibility of being sorted there is enough to cause tears.

James runs ahead like the minature alpha male he is, and Albus worries that his parents won’t write, or that they will write more than the once a month that James says is proper.

Harry tells Albus not to believe his older brother because James “likes a laugh.” Teasing brothers, lying to them, playing practical jokes on them—that’s all a laugh. It’s also a laugh to do that to other students. Unless it’s doing it to Slytherins—which is justice (pre-emptive or otherwise), or Slytherins doing it to anyone else, in which case it’s bullying. Got it. Only took me seven books!

They pass through the barrier and the steam from the Hogwarts express is so incredibly dense that Harry and his family are unable to distinguish any faces at all in the crowd. Harry hears Percy Weasley talking and is thankful that he can’t see him and therefore doesn’t have to talk to him.

I guess Percy hasn’t been completely forgiven after all.

The only people they are glad to see are Ron and Hermione and their kids. We find out their names are Rose and Hugo, and at least they aren’t named Arthur and Molly. I guess because Ron doesn’t feel the need to replicate his parents in his kids.

But I can’t help noticing that Rose and Hugo have the same initials as Ron and Hermione—and that they fit nicely with Ron and Hermione’s first dates: (Viktor) Hugo and (Lavender) Rose. I’m sure that’s all in my own head, because it’s so weird and random a thing to do with names. But there it is.

So, Ron tells Harry that Hermione didn’t think he could pass a simple driving test—which Hermione denies, but even I don’t believe her. Then Ron admits to Harry that he didn’t pass the test and used magic to cheat. So, we know that the wizard contempt for Muggle customs hasn’t changed. I find it kind of weird that Ron waited until his late thirties to get his driving license. Is that a British thing?

Oops. And here’s Ron threatening to disinherit his daughter if she doesn’t get into Gryffindor. Reinforcing the competition between Houses.

And right after that, we get Ron warily pointing out Draco Malfoy, his wife and child. Draco nods curtly after noticing all four Weasley/Potter adults staring at him. That’s pretty rude of them when you think about it. Has Draco been off in Portugal for nineteen years or something?

Also, Ron knows the name of Draco’s kid and demands that Rose beat the kid in every test. So… is this the weird Weasley/Malfoy feud continuing? Why the hell is Ron being so hostile to some kid he never saw before?

Could he be--gasp!--prejudging a child based on his feelings towards the kid’s father? Nonsense. Only bitter, twisted semi-evil old virgins professors do that sort of thing, right?

Of course, I’ve read posts from readers who contend that Scorpius must be evil, like his father, because he’s named Scorpius. I don’t really understand that logic, although I guess there’s some evil character named Scorpius in some television show or something? Or is it a video game? Anyway, I doubt JKR had that character in mind when she wrote this chapter seventeen years ago.

And Scorpius Malfoy doesn’t strike me as any more inherently evil as a name than Sirius Black or Remus Lupin.

I can’t help noticing, also, that Ron gets to embody all this wizard prejudice towards Slytherin and the Malfoys so that we get to know that it’s still there—but Harry can be above it. And Hermione, who tells Ron not to start turning the kids against each other before they even start school—even though she just finds his attitude amusing.

And she’s right. There’s no need for that Ron. I’m sure that the school will do a perfectly fine job in turning them against each other through the course of the school year.

Then Ron tells Rose that Arthur will never forgive her if she ends up marrying a pureblood wizard. So, while we can hope that prejudice against Muggleborn is fading away, prejudice against pureblood is going strong!

Let’s see. Percy supposedly married Penelope Clearwater (Muggleborn) and Ron married Hermione (Muggleborn). Charlie didn’t marry anyone. Bill married a French quarter-Veela. Is Angelina Johnson pureblood or not? Did George get blasted off the family clock if she was? (Note: Most of this information comes from the documentary on JKR, not from canon.)

Then we get about a page of dialogue to inform us about the fortunes of various characters. Teddy Lupin is through with school and “snogging” the daughter of Bill and Fleur. Plus, he’s close to the family already through being Harry’s godson.

Neville Longbottom is the Professor of Herbology at Hogwarts (no mention of his barkeeping wife, though.)

James aims a kick at his little brother, teases him by mentioning thestrals, kisses his mother, hugs his dad, and runs off into the train. What a charming lad he is! Why, he reminds me of a young Dudley Dursley!

Poor little Albus is now about to throw up at the thought of invisible skeletal horses. Obviously this kid is not Gryffindor material.

Harry comforts Albus by telling him that thestrals are sweet and not scarey and that he won’t have to encounter then this year. Then he tells him that he actually knew a brave Slytherin once, that he and Ginny won’t stop loving him if he is sorted into Slytherin, and that he can just tell the Hat to put him somewhere else.

And that’s the moral of the story, I guess. Maybe you were born into that quarter of the population naturally inclined to evil—but you have the choice to ask the Hat not to condemn you immediately.

And maybe—just maybe—the Hat will listen.

Finally, we get everyone staring at Harry because he’s famous and Ron making a joke about it. The joke being that anyone might possibly be staring at Ron. Lest we were worried about it, we’re reassured that Harry is still the prettiest one!

And then the train leaves and Harry suffers a pang of separation anxiety. Ginny comforts him by saying that the boys will be fine. Harry touches his scar and tells her knows that—because the scar no longer hurts, which means that Voldemort is still dead.

And, since there couldn’t possibly ever be another Dark Wizard, all is well.

Fan Service:
Harry names his children just like a fanfic author!


Fan Slappage:
Draco is prematurely balding. Take that fan girls!
Harry named a kid after Albus Dumbledore. Ewww!

DVD Extras:

EXT: DAY – KING’S CROSS STATION PLATFORM

As the train pulls away, Harry and Ginny’s hands abruptly stop waving and drop to their sides. Ron and Hermione each grab onto one of Hugo’s hands.

HARRY
See you.

GINNY
I thought you were going to take Lily out for an ice cream.

HARRY
I have to get to work.

Ginny sighs. A tall young man with blue hair emerges from the steam clouds left by the train. It’s obviously Teddy Lupin.

TEDDY
I can take the kids, Aunt Ginny. I was hoping we could make it a holiday.

LILY
Teddy!

He hugs Lily, who runs over to him. Hugo follows, climbing familiarly onto Teddy’s back.

HERMIONE
You don’t mind?

TEDDY
Nah. Shall we go to Diagon Alley?

HUGO
Diagon! Diagon!

He gathers up the two kids and they all disappear into the steam. Ginny turns to leave as well.

GINNY
See you at home then.

Left together, Harry, Ron and Hermione smile at each other.

RON
Been awhile, Harry.

HARRY
It’s summer. There’s always more obliviating to do in summer.

They start strolling toward the parking lot. As they pass onto the street, Ginny can be glimpsed in the background crossing the street. She pauses at the doorway to a dark bar, looks around furtively, and then darts inside.

Harry slaps himself in the forehead.

HARRY
Sorry—I forgot something.

He turns back into the station. Ron and Hermione shrug at each other.

CUT TO:

Harry, walking through the steam clouds of the station. He is anxiously looking around for something. He passes a pillar, barely noticing that Draco Malfoy is lounging against it.

Harry stops and does a double-take.

DRACO
Potter.

HARRY
Where’d your wife go?

DRACO
She had a thing. Noticed you staring earlier.

HARRY
Shut up. (There is an awkward silence.) So… Leaky Cauldron?

DRACO
I already booked a room.

Harry nods curtly and turns to go. Draco draws his wand and points it at Harry’s back.

DRACO
Expelliarmus!

Harry’s wand flies out of his hand and clatters to the platform. Draco scoops it up.

HARRY
Draco! Goddamnit! Stop that!

DRACO
(grinning) I’m the Master of the Elder Wand! I’m the Master of the Elder Wand!

HARRY
(rolling his eyes)
Please. You are not. That’s been over forever.

DRACO
(handing Harry the wand) Then who is?

HARRY
Some vagrant in Knockturn Alley, I think. Happened my first day as an auror.

DRACO
Doesn’t that worry you? Maybe he’ll go steal the wand.

HARRY
Like he remembers. He was dead drunk at the time.

They grin and walk away side by side into the mist, knocking their shoulders together.

CUT TO:

PARKING LOT – KING’S CROSS STATION

Ron and Hermione get into their car. Hermione immediately sticks a magical device (which is most definitely not a Bluetooth headset) into her ear and pulls a pile of papers out of her briefcase.

HERMIONE
Don’t forget to check your mirrors.

RON
(annoyed)
I was going to!

HERMIONE
You always forget. (She touches her device in her ear:) Thickness? Did you get that brief about Elvish welfare I sent you?... That’s the one…. No, it isn’t a step backward… Let me explain.

Ron frowns and throws the car into reverse to back out of the parking spot—without checking the mirrors.

Ginny appears briefly in the back window, weaving slightly as she walks.

With a THUD, the car stops and Ginny abruptly drops out of sight.

Ron and Hermione glance at each other puzzled.

HERMIONE
What was that?

RON
Speed bump.

He pulls forward and speeds away, as a crowd of Muggles gasp and run to Ginny’s body, which is lying on the pavement.

FADE OUT

Comments

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

So eeevil. Why am I laughing?

[octopuspatronus.livejournal.com]

You did it! You've finished DH and killed Ginny! (And what a great way of doing it, too-- there's a reason we make people take driver's tests, Ron!)

I don't know how you found the strength to do this, by the way. I haven't so much as touched my copy of DH since I read it the first time. Extra kudos for you.

[kitrinlu.livejournal.com]

DRACO
Expelliarmus!

Harry’s wand flies out of his hand and clatters to the platform. Draco scoops it up.

HARRY
Draco! Goddamnit! Stop that!

DRACO
(grinning) I’m the Master of the Elder Wand! I’m the Master of the Elder Wand!

That? Was pure, distilled awesome :D


Thanks for all the work you've put into sporking this pile of dreck. The DVD extras make the book so much more bearable.

Is it bad that I can't help picturing grown-up Draco as looking something like Riff Raff (http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0010153/) from Rocky Horror? I think it is :(

[snapes-witch.livejournal.com]

I really hated her oblique references to the actors -- Tom Felton's receding hairline and either Rupert Grint's own difficulties obtaining a driver's licence, his movie Driving Lessons, or both.

Thank you for reading this dreadful book for us; now I'll never have to suffer through another reading on my own. Now I'm settling down to wait for everyone else's cogent remarks.

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

>They pass through the barrier and the steam from the Hogwarts express is so incredibly dense that Harry and his family are unable to distinguish any faces at all in the crowd. <

Oh. I get it. We're now supposed to remember the cosmic King's Cross from two chapters ago and get all nostalgic. (All aboard for the Next Big Adventure!!!)

I can easily believe that she wrote this back all those years (not 17, by this time, more like going on 20) ago. After all, we know she claims not to reread her own work. Anyone who read an outline of PS/SS could have written this chapter.

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

YES!! GOD BLESS YOU!!! S.L.A.G (SOCIETY of LOBBYISTS AGAINST GINNY) MEMBERS, REJOICE!!

*reads again*

*cancels meeting with fandom assassins for hit on Montavilla*

Loud cheers for the DVD extra. Well, the H/D isn't my cup of tea, but otherwise:

Some vagrant in Knockturn Alley, I think. Happened my first day as an auror.

YES!!! Exactly what I predicted.

Only your slant of having the vagrant drunk - and therefore oblivious of his new status - was an excellent variation. That's actually a great, non-joking, solution to the whole 'master of the Elder Wand' mess, given as how there is no convenient 'find the master' spell or detector in the canon. My solution was for Harry to walk into a pub in Knockturn Alley with ten Auror mates and start a bar brawl - pretty quickly the chain of who-defeated-whom would be lost in the furore - but this is better.

Harry and Ginny - a lifeless, soulless marriage. YES.

And then even more lifeless!!! Hee. :-)

(What does it say of me that I actually feel a bit sorry for Ginny now? Or worried about my own baying for her blood? DEATHLY HALLOWS HAS TURNED ME INTO A BLOODTHIRSTY MONSTER, I'm telling you! I wasn't always like this! It's all Rowling's fault.)

Ron/Hermione - simiarly loveless. And then Ginny suffers for Ron's deliberate/habitual rejection of his wife's admonitions.

This DVD extra is a work of art!!

Regarding the canon epilogue itself ... it was just a *horrible* way to end the series. It might be *intellectually* satisfying - Harry had always craved a 'normal' life, and so that's what he got, 'all was well' - but in every other respect it's sadly lacking, ending the novel and the series on a bland, emotionally dissatisfying note. Much better to have finished it with the last line of the preceding chapter, "I've had enough trouble for the rest of my life", or however it went.

But no; Rowling wanted to tack on the epilogue, bringing it out of the mothballs. I wonder, too, how much of her great need to instruct her readers on Harry's future - which came out only too clearly in the post-publication interviews - drove her to slap on these few extra pages to lock in H/G and R/Hr as canon?

In all respects the epilogue fails. Harry's world hasn't changed at all from the conditions which launched at least two dark lords, Grindlewald and Voldemort. Ron's proven to have not matured at all. He hides his shortcomings from his wife (although, unlike 'The Potters', we note that Hermione isn't addressed as a Weasley; I take solace in the likelihood that she's now divorced from Ron). Slytherin are still evil. It has all the emotional substance and appeal of a dead fish.

Thank you for your review of DH, I found it to be greatly entertaining (I wish I'd found it earlier)! Your DVD Extras win!

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

Rupert Grint's own difficulties obtaining a driver's licence, his movie Driving Lessons, or both.

I didn't know that!! Interesting.

I think by the time that Rowling got to DH, and even HBP, she was getting tired of her series. That and she didn't have a clear idea of how she was going to wrap it up.

Deathly Hallows in particular is full of little self indulgences by Rowling, I reckon. In some of the interviews she mentioned have various scenes were 'favourites', images she'd wanted to write from the beginning. Things like Harry's death walk into the forest, and Hagrid carrying him out.

So scenes like that, and Molly's defeating Bellatrix, and so forth, were inserted without any regard to how they affected the story/series as a whole. I don't think she really cared much. Besides, the book was guaranteed to be a commercial blockbuster success anyway.

But that bit about Grint's real life is interesting!

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

Anyone who read an outline of PS/SS could have written this chapter.

There's not much that relates to the material preceding it in the same novel, is there? That's part of why the epilogue is such a let-down, I guess. I liked Montavilla's comparison of Lily to the first glimpse we had of Ginny - straight from PS, as you say. And Ron's regressed back to the 'take it easy' immature fellow that he was before she made him grow up a bit to be a match for Hermione in the last book.

The bit about Snape being 'the bravest man' Harry knew was new. And Teddy, of course.

[eir-de-scania.livejournal.com]

And the Ginny haters will love you forever. Personally I thought H&G deserved each other, but, oh well. :-P


Either JKR did write this long before the tortured prose of the earlier chapters, or her relief at reaching the end was so strong that pours out on the page.
***She wrote it umpteen years ago and didn't feel like doing much changing. The hotel room mini bar was calling her!

Harry hears Percy Weasley talking and is thankful that he can’t see him and therefore doesn’t have to talk to him.
***Our Percy has hardly become less stuffy and pompous over the years.

So, Ron tells Harry that Hermione didn’t think he could pass a simple driving test—which Hermione denies, but even I don’t believe her. Then Ron admits to Harry that he didn’t pass the test and used magic to cheat.
***So no Muggle ever wished they could do a bit of magic when passing those damned tests? I know I did, and I bet our Jo did as well.

It's obvious the old animosity between the houses are well alive and kicking. I seriously doubt the wizard world is able to change. Still I don't get the impression of more than good-natured bantering from the adults. Ron and Harry sound a lot like my best friends dad and my own, whene they didn't want to show thy had a lump in their throat and fell back to clumsy jokes.

Teasing brothers, lying to them, playing practical jokes on them—that’s all a laugh.
***Sounds like normal older behaviour to me. I suspect if anyone else, even a fellow Gryff trying something similiar on Al would find himself well and truly hexed by James.

If you want a better Epilogue, you have on here:
http://bloodrebel333.livejournal.com/360925.html

[oryx_leucoryx]

I guess Percy hasn’t been completely forgiven after all.

That's because of his criticism of Harry and Hermione's reforms. He keeps finding places where they aren't that well thought out.

But I can’t help noticing that Rose and Hugo have the same initials as Ron and Hermione—and that they fit nicely with Ron and Hermione’s first dates: (Viktor) Hugo and (Lavender) Rose.

I thought Rose was named after Madam Rosmerta, Ron's everlasting true love.

And she’s right. There’s no need for that Ron. I’m sure that the school will do a perfectly fine job in turning them against each other through the course of the school year.

QFT

James' treatment of Al is a shout out to the twins' treatment of Ron. I didn't like either iteration.

Harry comforts Albus by telling him that thestrals are sweet and not scarey and that he won’t have to encounter then this year. Then he tells him that he actually knew a brave Slytherin once, that he and Ginny won’t stop loving him if he is sorted into Slytherin, and that he can just tell the Hat to put him somewhere else.

It took 11+ years for Al (only!) to hear for the first time that there was a Slytherin who was extraordinarily brave and not completely contemptible.

And, since there couldn’t possibly ever be another Dark Wizard, all is well.

What about a Dark Witch? With ties all over the Ministry? Who would never think of herself as particularly Dark? Kudos to Arsinoe de Blassenville for making her the illegitimate daughter of Crouch Sr. Wouldn't be surprised if she's the secret lovechild of Crouch Sr and Dolores Umbridge, adopted in infancy by the Grangers (neither bio-parent could have afforded the scandal).

The DVD extra is lovely (except for keeping the trio alive, but one can't have everything). Ginny, Ron, the Elder Wand...

[eir-de-scania.livejournal.com]

Hermione immediately sticks a magical device (which is most definitely not a Bluetooth headset) into her ear and pulls a pile of papers out of her briefcase.

***Correct. Even with JKR-maths, this is a future fic. Blue-tooths was only fit for museums when this happens

[mmmarcusz.livejournal.com]

There is not one of them who ever experiences the slightest bit of homesickness.

Malfoy probably does, which is why he gets regular letters and lots of packages. Hell, most of Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin do. But not Gryffindors, because homesickness is a cowardly form of love.

So, Ron tells Harry that Hermione didn’t think he could pass a simple driving test—which Hermione denies, but even I don’t believe her. Then Ron admits to Harry that he didn’t pass the test and used magic to cheat. So, we know that the wizard contempt for Muggle customs hasn’t changed. I find it kind of weird that Ron waited until his late thirties to get his driving license. Is that a British thing?

I imagine he just didn't bother. But many European countries are less car-centric than the U.S. and have better public transport, so it's not unknown for citydwellers not to bother learning to drive (I'm 21 and haven't).

James aims a kick at his little brother, teases him by mentioning thestrals, kisses his mother, hugs his dad, and runs off into the train. What a charming lad he is! Why, he reminds me of a young Dudley Dursley!


I wonder if Harry's kids have ever met their uncle Dudley (okay, second cousin once removed). I'd like to think that they'd reconcile, seeing as Big D just replicating his parents' behaviour. Also, Harry is Grand Chief Warlock or whatever while Dudley is presumably unemployable and mooching off his dad, which makes it easier for Harry to be magmanimous.

[papier.livejournal.com]

Ron frowns and throws the car into reverse to back out of the parking spot—without checking the mirrors.

Ginny appears briefly in the back window, weaving slightly as she walks.

With a THUD, the car stops and Ginny abruptly drops out of sight.

Yay! :D But you forgot the SPLAT!

A sue dying such an ordinary, un-epic death. Quel tragedie! :'D

[papier.livejournal.com]

Iirc, the kids are occasionally taken round to 'Uncle' Dudley's (probably once a year or something) and they hate it. I'm sure she said it in an interview. Not at all surprising.

[papier.livejournal.com]

Not for anything other than general interest, but I'm pretty sure Rowling doesn't drive. She has some sort of car-phobia (but only when she's behind the wheel) that I remember reading about on her website years ago. Maybe she's gotten over it since then.

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Teddy Lupin was new. Completely so (considering he was only about a month old). And Snape getting a half-arsed accolade was sort-of-new.

But by the end of PS/SS we'd been told that he'd just been trying to *save* Harry from Quirrell, not kill him. So some kind of acknowledgment that he wasn't a villain would have been in order, even then.

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

You must be in Slytherin. :)

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I can't tell you how that animation makes my day!

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

Thanks to Accio Brain, I picture grown-up Draco as looking like David Hyde Pierce. And I am not complaining at all about that!

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

I didn't know about Grint's real life problems, either. I probably read about them at some point and then forgot.

I can't really hate her doing that, because I know that if I were her I'd probably do something similar. It's just too fun to stick in little in-jokes like that. The difference is that, because of how much interest there is in the actors--and in JKR--we know so much that we get all the jokes and it becomes less about the work and more about the celebrity.

But still, I see that as a very easy and human trap to fall into.

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

Right. I once remarked that you could go directly from the end of PS/SS to this epilogue and everything would make perfect sense--with the possible exception of Teddy Lupin. The relationships between characters in the epilogue are totally telegraphed in PS/SS. Even the thing about Severus can be inferred from the end of the first book.

You'd never know that anything at all happened in the other six books. Harry is completely the same character as he was when he was eleven.

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

*cancels meeting with fandom assassins for hit on Montavilla*

*breathes a sigh of relief and dismisses horde of fandom bodyguards*

Well, the H/D isn't my cup of tea...

But you have to have some H/D. It's too intrinsic to the series.

I will confess that I felt a bit bad putting it in after writing last week's DVD extra. I'm kind of liking Astoria/Draco. I tell myself, though, that growing up pureblood gave them both a rather sophisticated perspective on marriage. So, they have an open arrangement and as long as nobody scares the horses, they're good.

My solution was for Harry to walk into a pub in Knockturn Alley with ten Auror mates and start a bar brawl - pretty quickly the chain of who-defeated-whom would be lost in the furore - but this is better.

The bar brawl might work--or it might inspire one of the brawlers to serially kill everyone else in order to insure his mastery of the wand.

I actually think a more burning question is whether or not Harry ever gave Draco his wand back.

(What does it say of me that I actually feel a bit sorry for Ginny now? Or worried about my own baying for her blood? DEATHLY HALLOWS HAS TURNED ME INTO A BLOODTHIRSTY MONSTER, I'm telling you! I wasn't always like this! It's all Rowling's fault.)

That last bit was all for you, Madderbrad.

But I have another confession: The biggest problem in writing this one was getting Lily and Hugo away. I couldn't stand the thought of having little kids getting hit by cars--however fictional--or being in the car that killed someone.

It's rather tragic that Ron kills Ginny like that. But I figure he'll never realize that it was him. It would take too much thought.

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

***Our Percy has hardly become less stuffy and pompous over the years.

I suppose, although I never found that a great reason to shun someone.

***So no Muggle ever wished they could do a bit of magic when passing those damned tests? I know I did, and I bet our Jo did as well.

I'm sure they did, and I'm sure that they have cheated when possible. Doesn't make it right.

In full disclosure, I actually did fail my driving test the first time for not checking my blind spot--even though I was sure my vehicle didn't have one. But the second time I took the test, I went ahead and checked it and passed. Not rocket science.

Still I don't get the impression of more than good-natured bantering from the adults.

I would agree that it's just good-natured bantering, except that it's sooo prevalent in the epilogue. They hardly talk about anything else other than House competition. Ron warns Rose twice about Scorpius--which seems excessive when he's never seen the kid before.

And I find it weird that he's so interested in a kid he's never seen before.

***Sounds like normal older behaviour to me. I suspect if anyone else, even a fellow Gryff trying something similiar on Al would find himself well and truly hexed by James.

Well, I know that my nephew wouldn't get away with kicking his little sister. Ever.

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

I thought Rose was named after Madam Rosmerta, Ron's everlasting true love.

I never thought of that!

James' treatment of Al is a shout out to the twins' treatment of Ron. I didn't like either iteration.

At least with James it isn't two against one.

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

You know wizards. All their technology is obsolete.