Harry, Harry, Harry.... it's all about potter!

[cha cha trusty]

Sorry to post-ho, but I experimented with font colors and I think I came up with a better color for spoilers......

See if you can read this:

SPOILER: JKR has Lily and James' gravestones in the chapter about Godric's Hollow, saying that they died on October 31, 1981. If Harry ws 1 year old (born on July 31, 1980) then that would make him 27 now in real time! Therefore, the epilogue, which states it was 19 years later, would actually be taking place in 2016, because the year when Harry was actually 17 would have been 1997!

The way to achieve this spoiler color is to use any color in the palette, but change the code to F2F6FA

For instance: the code for white is FFFFFFF. So just change it to F2F6FA! (I think white isn't working for me! you can still read it without highlighting!) BTW - the background on the preview post page is darker than on the actual posting page. Yeah, I know I am coming off like the geek that I am!!! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Edited July 24, 2007 by cha cha trusty

[cha cha trusty]

Back again -- where is everybody??? Am I the only obsessed with All Things Harry??

There is a new development! Apparently JKR was on the Today show this morning and told Meridith Viera that she WILL be writing an Encyclopedia of Harry's World.

READ ABOUT IT HERE and HERE.

btw - I am writing a "lost epilogue" but so far I don't think it's very good! I am still getting ideas for it tho. Maybe I'll send it to the Lost Epilogue site if it turns out ok! (or here? I need encouragement!)

[Ansamcw]

Sorry to post-ho, but I experimented with font colors and I think I came up with a better color for spoilers......

See if you can read this:

SPOILER: JKR has Lily and James' gravestones in the chapter about Godric's Hollow, saying that they died on October 31, 1981. If Harry ws 1 year old (born on July 31, 1980) then that would make him 27 now in real time! Therefore, the epilogue, which states it was 19 years later, would actually be taking place in 2016, because the year when Harry was actually 17 would have been 1997!

The way to achieve this spoiler color is to use any color in the palette, but change the code to F2F6FA

For instance: the code for white is FFFFFFF. So just change it to F2F6FA! (I think white isn't working for me! you can still read it without highlighting!) BTW - the background on the preview post page is darker than on the actual posting page. Yeah, I know I am coming off like the geek that I am!!! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

oh yeah thats true huh....hee thanks for the code. But I think its coming to the point when we can actually discuss without spoiler tags. Maybe we can go until this weekend ...then next week we can discuss without spoilers tags.

[luckiest1]

Ok, here I am, but I have to tell you I clicked on this thread with my eyes half-shut, expecting spoilers. Hee! So glad y'all are using spoiler code. I am only up to the beginning of chapter 3 because I only got mine in the mail from Chapters/Indigo yesterday. Apparently I didn't pay for same day shipping, but that's fine, since I've been a bit busy the past few days anyways, what with Sterling Heights and all.

I'll try to read some more tonight and maybe I can start participating in chapter specific discussions soon....

[Ansamcw]

Back again -- where is everybody??? Am I the only obsessed with All Things Harry??

There is a new development! Apparently JKR was on the Today show this morning and told Meridith Viera that she WILL be writing an Encyclopedia of Harry's World.

READ ABOUT IT HERE and HERE.

btw - I am writing a "lost epilogue" but so far I don't think it's very good! I am still getting ideas for it tho. Maybe I'll send it to the Lost Epilogue site if it turns out ok! (or here? I need encouragement!)

oh I'm here...love to discuss this...just got a bit busy and getting my HP discussion fix with some freinds on email...

ok...I loved the epilogue because this is exactly how I hoped it will end for Harry. With a family...with ginny. I think the problem with this...if people had other hopes...like Harry and Hermione ...then this epilogue totally dashed those hopes.

I also read that others thought it was cheesy...I agree, but cheesy in a satisfying way.

oh chacha...do post your alernate epilogue...thanks for sharing that link. I emember I did that for star wars when I was a kid. Didn't like how it ended so I wrote my own..hee

[Gibby]

Yikes! Dreaded double post!

Edited July 26, 2007 by Gibby

[Gibby]

Back again -- where is everybody??? Am I the only obsessed with All Things Harry??

There is a new development! Apparently JKR was on the Today show this morning and told Meridith Viera that she WILL be writing an Encyclopedia of Harry's World.

READ ABOUT IT HERE and HERE.

btw - I am writing a "lost epilogue" but so far I don't think it's very good! I am still getting ideas for it tho. Maybe I'll send it to the Lost Epilogue site if it turns out ok! (or here? I need encouragement!)

TOO COOL!! Thanks for posting those links, cha cha. I loved the 'Potterwatch' epilogue posted on the first link. It was great! And the encyclopedia will be wonderful to have. No doubt it will be some time before JK Rowling wants to finish it, but it sounds like she already has most of the information written already.

Spoilers:

I thought that Harry was brilliant in the book. It took awhile for him to figure out that he was the master of the Elder Wand, but I think he finally figured it out when he was talking to Dumbledore at King's Cross. He realized that Draco was unknowingly the master of the wand because he had disarmed Dumbledore before Dumbledore died. Then Harry disarmed Draco at Malfoy Manor, and Harry became the master. Therefore, Voldemort couldn't kill Harry with the Elder Wand. So, all Harry needed to do was 'Expelliarmus' when Voldemort tried to kill him at the very end. Brilliant!

I LOVED it that Mrs. Weasly dueled with Bellatrix and won!

And I was also happy the Neville finally got some glory for himself. That was way cool!

Some people in the Potter fandom absolutely LOVED Snape, and can't believe that he's dead. Less than 24 hours after 'Deathly Hallow' came out, there was already Snape fanfic, written by authors who believed that Snape was too good of a wizard not have anti-venom in his pocket, ready to use when Nagani bit him. Heeee!

ETA: Took a few tries, but I got the spoiler color working that cha cha suggested. Hey, I don't care if you're geeky! You came up with a good solution.

Edited July 26, 2007 by Gibby

[Ansamcw]

oh I love the thought of the encyclopedia...I know Tolkien has one and I loved reading it and understanding the history of all the characters.

Oh I loved

spoiler:

mrs weasley fighting too...that scene was fantastic and would be great in a movie.

[luckiest1]

I read a few more chapters last night. I just about had a fit when I thought Hagrid had died. Thank God he didn't, because I might have put the book down right then and there. Heh.

[cha cha trusty]

Dang - I missed it!! JK Rowling was on the Today show this morning and gave all kinds of info that was not in the original epilogue! There is another interview tomorrow morning also (on the Today show). If you want MORE SPOILERS go HERE and read about her interview!!

Here's part of it:

Harry, Ron and Hermione

We know that Harry marries Ginny and has three kids, essentially, as Rowling explains, creating the family and the peace and calm he never had as a child.

As for his occupation, Harry, along with Ron, is working at the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic. After all these years, Harry is now the department head.

“Harry and Ron utterly revolutionized the Auror Department,” Rowling said. “They are now the experts. It doesn’t matter how old they are or what else they’ve done.”

Meanwhile, Hermione, Ron’s wife, is “pretty high up” in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, despite laughing at the idea of becoming a lawyer in “Deathly Hallows.”

“I would imagine that her brainpower and her knowledge of how the Dark Arts operate would really give her a sound grounding,” Rowling said.

Harry, Ron and Hermione don’t join the same Ministry of Magic they had been at odds with for years; they revolutionize it and the ministry evolves into a “really good place to be.”

“They made a new world,” Rowling said.

The wizarding naturalist

Luna Lovegood, the eccentric Ravenclaw who was fascinated with Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and Umgubular Slashkilters, continues to march to the beat of her own drum.

“I think that Luna is now traveling the world looking for various mad creatures,” Rowling said. “She’s a naturalist, whatever the wizarding equivalent of that is.”

Luna comes to see the truth about her father, eventually acknowledging there are some creatures that don’t exist.

“But I do think that she’s so open-minded and just an incredible person that she probably would be uncovering things that no one’s ever seen before,” Rowling said.

Luna and Neville Longbottom?

It’s possible Luna has also found love with another member of the D.A.

When she was first asked about the possibility of Luna hooking up with Neville Longbottom several years ago, Rowling’s response was “Definitely not.” But as time passed and she watched her characters mature, Rowling started to “feel a bit of a pull” between the unlikely pair.

Ultimately, Rowling left the question of their relationship open at the end of the book because doing otherwise “felt too neat.”

Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom: “The damage is done.”

There is no chance, however, that Neville’s parents, who were tortured into madness by Bellatrix Lestrange, ever left St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies.

“I know people really wanted some hope for that, and I can quite see why because, in a way, what happens to Neville’s parents is even worse than what happened to Harry’s parents,” Rowling said. “The damage that is done, in some cases with very dark magic, is done permanently.”

Rowling said Neville finds happiness in his grandmother’s acceptance of him as a gifted wizard and as the new herbology professor at Hogwarts.

The fate of Hogwarts

Nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts, the school for witchcraft and wizardry is led by an entirely new headmaster (“McGonagall was really getting on a bit”) as well as a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. That position is now as safe as the other teaching posts at Hogwarts, since Voldemort’s death broke the jinx that kept a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor from remaining for more than a year.

While Rowling didn’t clarify whether Harry, Ron and Hermione ever return to school to finish their seventh year, she did say she could see Harry popping up every now and again to give the “odd talk” on Defense Against the Dark Arts.

More details to come?

Rowling said she may eventually reveal more details in a Harry Potter encyclopedia, but even then, it will never be enough to satisfy the most ardent of her fans.

“I’m dealing with a level of obsession in some of my fans that will not rest until they know the middle names of Harry’s great-great-grandparents,” she said. Not that she’s discouraging the Potter devotion!

“I love it,” she said. “I’m all for that.”

:F_05BL17blowkiss:

I submitted my "Lost Epilogue" and it was posted on the Lost Epilogue site this morning, right before JKR made everything I fantacized different!! LOL If you want to read it, it's HERE on the Lost Epilogue Blogspot Scroll down to #3.

Number 2 is quite interesting as well.

CAUTION: SPOILERS RIGHT AND LEFT AND EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK ON THAT SITE!!

.

Edited July 26, 2007 by cha cha trusty

[Ansamcw]

I read a few more chapters last night. I just about had a fit when I thought Hagrid had died. Thank God he didn't, because I might have put the book down right then and there. Heh.

oh I thought of you at that point...hee

[Gibby]

cha cha, I enjoyed your epilogue a great deal. But I didn't want it to stop, because you started a story and didn't finish it! The nerve!

:bigemo_harabe_net-24:

And I enjoyed watching JK talk about the book with the kids, too.

[luckiest1]

I have been reading all weekend. I am hoping to be finished by tonight!

ETA: Wow, still no discussion? I have 2 chapters left to read, plus the epilogue. I hope I am not too late to get some discussion going in here!

Edited August 1, 2007 by lickiest1

[Gibby]

Are ya done, licky? Wanna discuss??

[luckiest1]

Yes! I'm done! EEEEEEEE! Do we still need to use spoilers?

[Couch Tomato]

This is Ansa using Couchie's computer...

oh yes lets start discussing and we can forego the spoiler tags its been t weeks I think.

I really loved this book and I think JK did a great job in wrapping everything up.

I am sad its all done though.

[ldyjocelyn]

I finished the book almost a week ago at this point. My thoughts:

I LOVED IT. I thought it a great wrap up to the entire series. Rowling pretty much got everything tied up -- maybe not entirely "neatly" (the whole wand thing still confuses me a bit), but I was just glad that the good guys won!

I have a couple of favorite scenes: 1) when Harry and Hermione found Harry's parent's gravestones, and Hermione conjured up a wreath to place there. I thought that incredibly sweet, and very touching. 2) Hermione beating up Ron after he came back from his "I can't do this anymore" stunt. I LOL'd at that scene. 3) Mrs. Weasley vs. Bellatrix. You go woman! 4) The epilogue. Yes, I'm a sap. The names of the children fascinated me.

I just knew Snape would turn out to be a valiant guy in the end. Loved that. I also loved how Neville stepped up to the plate once again.

I'll come back with more later, I'm sure. However, I did want everyone to know that this week's Entertainment Weekly magazine is all about the Potter. Over half the magazine is about the history of the books, an interview with JK Rowling, and just all over gushing of the books. It's pretty cool.

[luckiest1]

Everything ldyj just said. Those were the highlights for me as well. Well, those and every scene that Hagrid was in.

I need to go back and read book 6 (because I forget everything about it) and then read book 7 again to absorb it more fully.

[ldyjocelyn]

Have y'all seen this yet?

Blog satire of Deathly Hallows

Only read this if you've read the entire book.

I think it's hysterical!

[Gibby]

:lmaosmiley-1:

Hilarious, ldyj!

This is an article about an interview with JKR after the book was published. She talks about what comes next. If you click on 'launch' under her picture, you can see an interview with her. She's not a fan of Snape at all!

JKR Interview

Edited August 3, 2007 by Gibby

[cha cha trusty]

Loved that mega-spoiler blog!!!

Off to Raleigh - hope to meet some of you!!

[Ansamcw]

All through my CA trip...I had HP 5, 6 amd 7 on my ipod...and it is so fun going back to all of it after reading the 7th book...

just goign to start 7 again.

I loved it...even the epilogue.

[luckiest1]

I've been re-reading book 6 on my travels through NC and TN...well actually lots of other states were involved in getting there and home again! So I'm about half way through and it's quite interested, after reading book 7.

[Ansamcw]

Yeah I just finished re-listening to books 5, 6 and 7...I am quite sad that its all over. I don't want it to end, but I guess it must.

It was great because this coincided with my second daughter finishing the book too so we had a really fun discussion of the book. My second daughter absolutely loves the 7th book. she went through 5, 6 and 7 just this summer. Its fun to hear some of her perspective but what was sweet is how happy both my daughters were about the epilogue. They thought it was really essential and they just love how everything was written out.

[ldyjocelyn]

This is kind of interesting....and will make some people hate JK Rowling all the more, I suppose....

JK Rowling Outs Hogwarts Character

J.K. Rowling outs Hogwarts character

By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer 25 minutes ago

Harry Potter fans, the rumors are true: Albus Dumbledore, master wizard and Headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay. J.K. Rowling, author of the mega-selling fantasy series that ended last summer, outed the beloved character Friday night while appearing before a full house at Carnegie Hall.

After reading briefly from the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," she took questions from audience members.

She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds "true love."

"Dumbledore is gay," the author responded to gasps and applause.

She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down."

Dumbledore's love, she observed, was his "great tragedy."

"Oh, my god," Rowling concluded with a laugh, "the fan fiction."

Potter readers on fan sites and elsewhere on the Internet have speculated on the sexuality of Dumbledore, noting that he has no close relationship with women and a mysterious, troubled past. And explicit scenes with Dumbledore already have appeared in fan fiction.

Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," she spotted a reference in the script to a girl who once was of interest to Dumbledore. A note was duly passed to director David Yates, revealing the truth about her character.

Rowling, finishing a brief "Open Book Tour" of the United States, her first tour here since 2000, also said that she regarded her Potter books as a "prolonged argument for tolerance" and urged her fans to "question authority."

Not everyone likes her work, Rowling said, likely referring to Christian groups that have alleged the books promote witchcraft. Her news about Dumbledore, she said, will give them one more reason.