Do not read this if you are planning on reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Harry dies and Hermione gets turned into Voldemort's personal house-elf. Ginny hooks up with Neville, and Luna hooks up with a Nargle, which turns out to be a shape-shifter.

Okay, that should take care of the people who like spoilers.

Why do my favorite stories keep doing this to me? Everyone has kids! Tonks and Lupin ... now, what was the point of that if JKR was just going to kill them off ... to make Harry the godfather so that he would take care of a child, right? WRONG! It seems like Harry never took care of Teddy.

And then Harry and Ginny get together - of course. But then they have three kids? And Ron and Hermione have two kids? And when, exactly, do we get to find out what kind of jobs these people have? I suppose that Ginny becomes a SAHM and looks down on Hermione for working at the Ministry or something. Because I don't think Hermione would give up her education to become a SAHM.

Of course, this is all purely speculation because we have no idea what they are like as adults. Considering that the epilogue centers around their children.

What a lousy epilogue, too. I didn't care anything about what was happening, and not because I'm CF. It didn't even seem like JKR even wrote that part herself!

I get that the kids are going off to school like their parents did, so it's kind of coming full circle.

But honestly, would Harry make the best parent? He was abused for 10 years of his life, he had no parental figures except Dumbledore (Sirius? BAH! He was never really "in" Harry's life.) I guess the Weasleys, but then that's kind of gross that he marries Ginny. I don't like her, anyway.

If we had to have an epilogue, couldn't it have been 10 years in the future instead of 19? Because then that would bring us up to present-day (Harry, Ron and Hermione were all born in 1980.)

I wonder if he still has his scar.

I did like that the Malfoys turned against Voldemort for the sake of their son. THAT I liked. Yes, Draco SHOULD come first before taking over the world.

I guess that's it.

Oh, and by the way, I KNEW Snape was on the good side. I can't wait until my husband gets to that part. He's on the couch reading it now. And that was just the point that I was saying to myself, well, I guess he really IS bad.

I'm with you. I loved the book until I read the epilogue and it just felt like a sell out. Nothing about the careers that they had or the lives that they live, just their kids. I was really disappointed.

A lot of people on different boards agree about the epilogue... surprise, surprise, my husband thought it was great, to show that "life goes on" and blah blah blah.

My ONLY friend who's finished so far agrees with me, though, that she would have liked to find out what their jobs were. We decided that Harry should have been the DADA professor, and Hermione should be minister or something, at the very least a professor. Ron, who knows?

Although, it would be pretty hard to be a professor at Hogwarts IF YOU'RE A PARENT! Maybe that's why Harry and Hermione aren't teachers.

I said maybe because they dropped out of school they are all living with the Weasley's, they've added additions to the Burrow because they have no money ... are there such things as wizarding GEDs?

But I guess everyone graduated that year, the war was their final exam or something.

I cannot escape. Harry Freakin' Potter Mania is everywhere. Even here. Come on, guys. Leave one Rowling -free place on the planet, please?? Cussing and throwing things is the next step...

Sorry, I'm just HP7 -ed out. I'm not a fan. I'm just a poor schmuck who works in a bookstore. This crazy weekend would make the sweetest bookseller cuss and throw things. I just needed to vent.

By the way, just to keep up with my customers, I went to a New Zealand website on release day to skim the spoilers (Friday was a day sooner for them).

I was so going to post this as soon as i read the epilogue on saturday morning. I always wanted Harry to have a family and kids because he missed out on all that and he really wanted one, if of course he lived. I figured those that went on to teach at Hogwarts would be CF so everything would balance out.

But....
I wanted to know what they did with their lives. 7 books describing their growth, intellegence, courage... I wanted to know what they did with all that after they finished school. What happened to George now that fred is gone, what about Luna, what jobs did harry, ron, hermione, and draco have?

The family part would have made a nice few paragraphs but what else.

So far all of my friends agree and I'm the only CF one so I don't think this is just an opinion of people who are planning on not having kids.

I agree- I liked that they carried on with family life but would really have liked to find out what *else*.

Although, if the author ever wants to start another series, she has the perfect "in" with that epilogue. The next generation of wizards, with the odd offhand reference to their parents and what they do...

I volunteered to help out my friend who runs a bookstore (I'm no HP fan either...it has never appealed to me). Never again. What is it about this book that brings out the total crazy in some people? And the parents who were there were encouraging their kids to be selfish (the bookstore had cupcakes, including "magic" cupcakes for prizes...and the parents encouraged their kids to eat 10 cupcakes or to take the wrappers off each one in search of the magic ones).

I don't get the Pottermania, either.

As long as we limit it strictly to labeled threads, though, I don't see the harm...they're easy to skip!

Exactly....if you're not interested, you don't have to read the thread! I am a Harry Potter fan, and just finished the book. I agree the epilogue was kind of lame, and it would have been more interesting to find out about the careers of the characters, rather than how many kids they had and the kids' names. Oh well....

Cindy

Ick, sounds like the bible... blah blah blah beget Noah beget blah blah blah. So boring!

I also thought that the ending being so focused on their kids was kind of stupid. I just kind of felt like if that was the extent of their adult lives, then that's pretty lame considering what they accomplished. All of the experience they gained and all that they learned, just culminates to them chuckling at their kids once a year when they get on the train? How about what they do after the train leaves with the kids?

After reading all 7 books and staying up until 4am to finish this one to find out what happens to Harry and his friends after Voldemort and finishing school, I get the Hogwarts class list 19 years later, listing characters I neither know nor care about. If she wasn't going to fill us in on anything significant about the characters we've been reading about since book 1, then she just should have ended it after Harry fixes his wand and said THE END.

I thought the book ending was much more powerful than the epilogue.

I have to say one thing about the bookstore harry potter party I went to. I was somewhat apprehensive because of the parents and kids that would be there. However there ended up being more teenagers and adults than little kids. The kids that were there were with parents who seemed to be more into harry potter than their kids. Everyone was dressed up, the adults in more creative costumes. The bookstore organized games and debates for adults as well as kids. All in all it was a great experience. Kudos to those parents who really parented their kids that night or left the younger ones and uninterested ones at home.

You crack me up! I will say that my local bookstore (privately owned) did an AWESOME job and should be commended for the way that they handled everything (there were over 700 pre-ordered books there, and there were more people than that at the party.) We just heard that their other bookstore had the largest party in the nation!

The bookstore organized everything, they closed down Main Street for a few hours, it was cool. We were number 152 and we got our book at 12:05. Our friends were number 560 and they got their book at 12:25. They say everyone got their book by 12:35.

So go booksellers all over the country, you rock!

My husband is really mad that I don't like the epilogue. He says "it's because you're CF!" Well, a little, but I DID want to see Harry with a family (but why, oh why does Hermione have kids?) My husband says that the epilogue demonstrates that life continues and everything's okay.

But I don't care about the kids! Mention that they have them, sure, have them at King's Cross, but can the adults have at least one intelligent exchange between them? PLEASE???

And I agree that all the other stuff needed to be wrapped up. Why is Neville the only one who gets to have a job?

Ingilbert...You're in Chicago, I think the Mugglenet.com people were at a book party in Naperville, IL...I wouldn't be surprised if that's the bookstore you mentioned that had the biggest party in the nation! I was at a pretty big party in Lexington, KY, where I was traveling last weekend (normally I'm in TX). I don't know how many people were there, but it was a LOT. I had my book by 12:30 though, and I was pretty far back in line.

Anyway, I learned last night that J.K. Rowling is planning to write a Harry Potter Encyclopedia, including all the notes and histories she has created over the course of writing the books. Hopefully this will tie up some of the loose ends about the main characters' jobs (though it sounds like Harry was rich enough to not have to work, if he didn't want to). Maybe he works for the new Ministry? Maybe Hermione does too, and Ron stays home with the kids? Just because they didn't mention their jobs doesn't mean they don't work. I don't know if there's much need for Aurors (Harry's ambition) with Voldemort gone, but there might still be evil wizards, just not as evil as Voldemort was. Maybe Hermione works in Muggle Relations somehow? Or House-Elf rights? Anyway, I think once the Encyclopedia is published it will answer a lot of those types of questions. (She said she won't write it immediately, she wants a break! I guess she deserves it!)

Oh, and also, remember J.K. Rowling is a mom, albeit a working mom, and her focus is going to be on kids.

Cindy

My fiancee just finished reading the last Harry Potter. I never got into them, but he told me about the end and like many of you I was like, "WHAT?" I found it very ridiculous and very unneeded that she had to add their kids in there. I was very upset especially when Tim told me, "Well, I think it was a good idea because it's a 'feel good' situation." I WANTED to get sick to show him how much I disagreed.

I finally finished reading last night. I agree -- the epilogue was SO anti-climactic after the book ending. It completely knocked the wind out of my sails. Still, I didn't have a huge problem with showing them with their kids, I just would have liked to have found out what the rest of their lives entailed.

I like the idea of the encyclopedia to tie all the loose ends together - sure beats taking notes!!

I didn't get all that out of the epilogue. What I got mostly was that Harry named one of his sons after Snape, the bravest man he ever knew. WOW. After all those years of thinking Snape was scum and hating his guts. That was gut wrenching to read. And he did mention his scar and the fact that it hadn't hurt him in 19 years.

I would have liked to have seen a longer d�nouement. The end of the book was great, don't get me wrong, but I thought the book itself ended a bit abruptly. What I liked about the epilogue is that it seemed like Harry got to have a happy life, and he deserves it. But there was WAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY too much Naming of the Offspring and too much dialog from the kids, about whom I did not give a damn. I also got confused as to which one was what one and what one was whose, and didn't care a whole bunch. Wondering if that is a setup for "Hogwarts: The New Class". But I am still glad that Harry got to grow up and have a life. Maybe we will see some of those gaps filled in future works. LOVED the book overall. I finished it last night, and when I leanred that Harry was the 7th Horcrux, I started yelling "no no no no no no no" aloud. My DH told me to get a life!

I also thought the kids names were confusing - who belonged to whom, etc. I saw an interview with JKR talking about their careers, etc. She said the original epilogue was much longer/more detailed but somehow it didn't work with the rest of the book (how?), so they shortened it.

The whole Snape/Lily thing was so bittersweet. And all this time we're led to think Dumbledore had something really dirty on Snape to keep him in line. I loved the doe Patronus. My first instinct was that somehow it was his mother's love still protecting/guiding him. I liked what it really was even better though.

Maybe JKR will make the original epilogue available one day. I would like to read it.

I agree on the Snape/Lily thing -- I was not expecting that. I was glad to see Lily's character developed a bit more, since I always thought James got more air time than she did in the earlier books.

Hey, does anyone think that the people bellyaching about the lack of religion (Christian references) in the HP books will try to claim that Harry's self sacrifice was Christ-like? If they do, I shall be quite ill.

I had a feeling that Harry was the 7th Horcrux after reading the HBP, because it all added up. We don't know what JK Rowling is going to do in the future with her works, she could still answer a lot of questions. I think how it ended was fine. I am still in shock over everything else.

Selkie, I have had the same thought, esp. given that the whole series is the old good v. evil, light v. dark theme where good triumphs. I wonder how history will view HP - 100 years from now will it be considered a "christian" series (think Narnia, Wiz. of Oz, etc.). Although since HP didn't die - in spite of his self sacrifice, it's not the "ultimate" sacrifice, is it?

Yeah, but Harry went to Voldermort thinking he would die, totally prepared to do it, so I think it counts, you know? He didn't know he would have the option to come back. And choosing to come back was a risk, too, he didn't know whether he could truly finish Voldemort, and how much pain he might suffer trying to do so, and whether he might die again for good.

I saw an interview with JKR on the Today show this morning (next half of the interview is tomorrow morning) and she was doing a Q/A with some kids who were there hearing her read from the book. In response to a question, she said that Ron and Harry ended up revitalizing the Auror department at the Ministry, and Hermione was pretty high up in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. So basically she became a lawyer for magic. I think she's very suited to that, and has the brains for it.

Cindy

I saw that same bit. I was pleased to hear that she had thought out their futures and what kind of jobs they would have.

See, I saw the whole HP going to die willingly like Aslan going to the Stone Table. And of course, Aslan=Jesus. But, I don't think that it was meant to be religious in the case of HP.

Also, in the movie Order of the Phoenix, the picture that the Daily Prophet puts out is of Dumbledore holding HP like Michaelangelo's Pieta (You know, the statue of Mary holding Jesus after they bring him off the cross.) That kind of bothered me, if it was done on purpose.

I didn't even notice the Dumbledore picture in Order of the Phoenix. Dang, now I need to go see it again! LOL! (Don't get me started on Michael Gambon as Dumbledore, he is my least favorite actor in the movies, considering how he refuses to even read a Harry Potter book so he can do his character justice...)

I saw the Aslan similarities too...but Aslan KNEW more than Harry did. Aslan knew about the magic that would bring him back. Harry didn't. So, in the end, maybe Harry is really more brave?

Cindy

OMG Michael Gambon. My friends and I call him Psycho Dumbledore. He is always SOOO angry. He flips out about everything. REAL Dumbledore takes everything in stride and is exceptionally calm. We thought that Psycho Dumbledore was going to beat Harry up in GOF when he's like "DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN???"

Haha!

That's the reason I don't like GOF very much. Michael Gambon will never get the gentle side, or the quirky side of Dumbledore unless he reads at least ONE book. He just doesn't portray Dumbledore properly. He has no understanding of the character. Someone once suggested they should get Peter O'Toole as Dumbledore. I think he would be perfect! He has the humor for the role.

Cindy

Gambon is certainly no Richard Harris, who was absolutely perfect as Dumbledore. I agree, Peter O'Toole would have been a much better replacement. Too bad they didn't ask us!

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i finally finished HP last night.i stayed up to almost midnight to finish it. i have to agree with those of you who were disappointed with the epilogue.i would have been much happier if it wasnt' even included in the end.i thought it was really hokey. i would also have loved to find out what happened to the char. besides having kids. why did they all have to have kids? i mean i was thinking about it and well i mean all of them were so talented and smart and i think just to show that they had kids and that was it was really a let down. i mean what else did they do with their lives? it just really irritated me. i liked HP dont' get me wrong but it's not one of my fav series that i have ever read. that's just my opinion.

indigo

You are awesome!

*gasp*! Thank you so much good people, esp. Ingilbert for writing about this.
YES, I was disappointed in the epilogue too. why was it only about the kids?! I liked the way Harry's 2nd son, Albus, is shy and a bit insecure and needs advice from Harry. That was quite sweet (as in Albus Dumbledore gave Harry lots of advice, and now Harry gives Albus advice). but ... that's it?! The big hero became nothing but that? I'd rather if the book ended before the epilogue.
but yes, I agree also that maybe JKR has had too much critique to last her whole life too. LOL.

Yes, the Harry/Albus thing was sweet. I do feel for JKR. But, she has a mighty big paycheck, so I don't feel too bad.