Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - Readalong Post 1 (The End is Nigh!)

I am 90% certain that the rest of my posts for this readalong are going to be a mess of incoherent capital letters, italics and gifs.

But I'm not even sorry, because if you can manage coherent thoughts through Deathly Hollows then YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG. This book isn't all action, but it's definitely all emotion. From Harry having to come to terms with not really knowing Dumbledore, to Bill and Fleur's wedding, to Ron's failure, to the battle at the end *cue CryingTennant.gif here* ... anyway you get the hint. There are going to be tears on top of tears on top of tears, and so much character development. I LOVES IT SO!

I hate your weasel face Joffrey, but I approve your applause

I feel so awkward when Voldemort is all "eliminate the mudbloods!" "keep the bloodlines pure!" I imagine some of the Death Eaters feel a little like Hitler's crew when he pontificated about tall blonde Aryans, "Ixnay on the ureplay oodblay dude, at least until we arrange that plastic surgery..." I mean, I know Voldemort can claim Slytherin as a relative, but his mother was practically a squib so it's not like he's a shining example for eugenics. Basically, I think he should focus on another platform to save himself collar-pulling a la The Simpsons when Skeeter's biography eventually comes out.

I love a lot of this book (even the camping) but I still don't quite understand the motivation for Snape revealing the switched nights for Harry's move from Privet Drive. I don't want to spoil this for first timers (first timer? Is it just you Meg?), so skip down to the kitty gif if you don't want to know.

*SPOILERS* So later we find out Snape is getting all his info from the Dumbledore portrait right, but the Death Eaters never know who his source is yes? But why would Snape still have any sources? I mean, at this stage every Order member thinks Snape killed Dumbledore and is a Death Eater for reals, so why would Voldemort or the Death Eaters think that there would be anyone willing to talk Snape and give him details? So why is it important for Snape to give up these details and risk the lives of 14 order members, many of them kids? Why not let the Death Eaters think that they were meant to be moving on Harry's birthday eve? I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting something important in the Snape/Dumbledore plan which is revealed at the end, but I can't remember and this scene just seems like a ridiculous level of risk for no reason. Anyone remember what I'm forgetting, or have any insight? *END SPOILERS*

Best cat gif? Or BEST cat gif?

Considering Dumbledore isn't alive in this book, it's funny that it's actually the most Dumbledore-y books of the lot. Which I love. One of the things that I've really noticed this read-through is how little Dumbles is actually present in the books. Because of how important he is and his role in the climaxes of each book, in my mind he's always been the father figure to Harry and the wordplay bro-wizard to the trio. But in actuality he's barely present until book 6 and is only really more than a headmaster to Harry in book 5. So it's nice to have a book that helps fill the blanks for us like it does for Harry. Because like Harry we love Dumbledore for being wise and old and having a nifty long beard but don't really know anything about him except that he is wise and old and has a nifty long beard. I'm sure there are people who were a little sad when they read this book and realised how fallible Dumbledore was (shock! horror!) but it always made the character 1000x better for me. He made mistakes and learned from them, although they continued to haunt him for the rest of his life. That's a far better role model than the ultimate wise and infallible figure he's typically seen as.

And just a last thing before the bullet points, poor Kreacher. Poor, poor Kreacher. He's an obnoxious ass-hat when we first meet him, but if his story about the cave doesn't make you weep for him then you are heartless! Heartless I say! So let's raise our cups of coffee or bottles of wine and take a drink for Kreacher, because Fuck. That. Shit.

This isn't quite appropriate, but it was the only HP toast gif I could find. Leave me be, I'M SAD!

Bullet points!

*I was listening to this as an audiobook, do we actually hear how Lucius and co got out of Azkaban? Or is it just taken as given?

*I love when Harry bellows. Harry should always bellow.

*Dudley! Voice of reason!

*"But where's he going to go" ---- DUDLEY I TAKE IT ALL BACK, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! (well, not really, but I greatly appreciate your change)

*The multiple Harry scene was one of the best bits in the movie franchise. (followed closely by Helena Bonham Carter pretending to be Hermione pretending to be Bellatrix at Gringotts). Bravo Daniel Radcliffe.

*"Even you-know-who can't split himself into seven" Heh.

*Hermione is such a badass in the scene where she tells Harry why they're coming with him. She just lays it down so factually, even though she's telling him that her parents don't even know she exists anymore. Hermione for Queen of the Universe (ruling alongside Luna, Ginny and Neville like the kids in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe series).

*I really love that even though they are the object of many men's attention, Fleur and her mother go for men who are thoroughly decent and don't seem to care about looks at all. Right on ladies *fist bump*

*"He tried to put a lot of unsaid things into the hug" ---You are a good guy Harry Potter.

*"I open at the close" and the snitch is perhaps one of my favourite threads in the whole series. JKR you are one clever lady.

*"Luna, my love, if you should feel any burgeoning talent today- perhaps an unexpected urge to sing opera or to declaim in Mermish- do not repress it!" --BEST DAD AND MAN.