Before the book came out, rumors said that the author will kill Harry in the end. But Rowling was advised by some acclaimed writers like Stephen King not to end Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as such, as it may lead to Conan Doyle's fate when he decided to vanish Sherlock Holmes in, what he thought, would be his last novel.
Peril is at hand as the 748-page novel opened with Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters torturing the Hogwarts professor of Muggle Studies.
At the end of Half-blood Prince Harry, Ron and Hermione decided to skip their last year at Hogwarts and go backpacking to fulfill Dumbledore's last wish to vanquish the remaining Horocrux. Without any clear view of their path, the three decided to make the journey and hunt for fragments of Voldemort's soul with the knowledge and experience from the previous years as their map and weapon.
Then the Deathly Hallows intervened. Three powerful objects, when in possession, would make one the master of death. Immense fear of Voldermort's next act of murder and skepticism about Dumbledore's true identity, Harry decides whether he must go after the Hallows or the Horocrux.
The book have short stories within the chapters that filled holes and created a more vivid view of the main characters that affected Harry's fate: Albus Dumbledore, Lily Potter and Severus Snape. Dumbledore's past was definitely unforeseen and controversial. But my favorite of all these stories are the tales from Snape, since it was revealed that he had this secret love for Harry's mother. All of the things Snape did from the first book until the last was all an act to protect Harry. He was, for me, the biggest surprise. My brother and I suspected him as a vampire, but the things written about him in the book was far more than blood-sucking.
There are some parts, while reading, that made me impatient since there are a lot of times that all they did was travelling and not accomplishing anything (meaning not finding a Horcrux, or a Hallow for that matter). But, nevertheless, these moments were action packed! Like when they were caught by Greyback and was locked in the dungeon of the Malfoy manor and the eerie encounter with Bathilda Bagshot.
The war at Hogwarts is definitely mind-blowing. Giants, house-elves, centaurs, werewolves, Death Eaters, members of the Order, members of Dumbledore's Army and folks from Hogsmeade and Lord Voldemort all in one place. Immense chaos!
Rowling satisfied both sides of the fan's and critic's expectations. The other half was expecting that Harry will die at the end because of the prophecy: Neither will die, while the other survives. Harry was Avada Kedavara-ed by Voldemort. He is the one who was destined to face death. And he accepted this wholeheartedly. Hence the unexpected twist of his near-death experience at the King's Cross station with Dumbledore, which satisfied the strong opinion of the Stephen King and other writers that the hero of the story must victoriously survive and live.
The story was wrapped-up with a nineteen-years-after epilogue that, while reading every sentence, kept a wide smile on my face and made me sigh and utter awwww's in-between.
A friend of mine asked me what I felt knowing that Deathly Hallows will be the last of the series. I never really thought about it, until now. I wanted to say that I'll miss Harry, Ron and Hermione, but then... I believe I will not, because Rowling's masterpiece are indescribably unforgettable. Platform 9 3/4, Diagon Alley, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Quidditch, Hogsmeade... everything narrated by Rowling made me, especially my two brothers, rediscover the pleasure and the rewards of reading. They immersed themselves to reading other novels and masterpieces after learning about the boy with a lightning scar on his forehead.
It was overwhelming to know that I read book with the rest of the world.
That everyone celebrated the victory of The Boy Who Lived.
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