And as it has finally come to an end for me again, I am reminded of all the rough endings in this finisher. The deaths that come like a domino effect. The split of our beloved trio. The feeling of abandonment and confusion, and of Harry not entirely knowing the man he thought he knew as his saviour until now; having to act blindly, continuing on this misguided quest set by him in pure faith that it is the right path. These films [part 1 & 2 – talking about them as one] are spectacular and cinematic and truly take you on the emotional rollercoaster. But re-reading the final novel, I am a little disappointed to say that the ending was a little anticlimactic. I think I might actually prefer the screen written endings differentiation to the book written but i’ll elaborate nonetheless…
Before I do, the one thing to appreciate in the written text more so than the film is the weight in the period of time between each event. And sure that’s to say for the whole series but in Deathly Hallows in particular, the sense of searching without a clue makes it a little more sanity crushing when you realise how long they’re searching with blindfolds on.
The time leading up to the wedding and all the planning that goes on without anyone knowing the details of the task set by Dumbledore. Molly purposely trying to interrupt any moment the 3 have alone while they’re staying at the Burrow to stop them making any concrete plans.
When they finally do make a move to Grimmald Place, we are reintroduced to Kreacher who is now technically Harry’s to command. As much as Kreacher has made an inconvenience on their past quests, we do finally learn that servant to whoever, the elves [or this one in particular], loyalty is most true to whom they are treated with some respect by. When they escape the ministry and try to go back to Grimmald Place but end up in the woods, my heart melts when Harry thinks of Kreacher waiting for them back home with the pie he promised he’d cook for them.
Anyway… Here’s a few snippets I adored in the DH films that I just think we missed a little out on in the novels. For one, we can never exactly hear or feel the ear splitting screams of Hermione from words on a page but we definitely felt it watching her being tortured by Bellatrix. I even like the entire scene and choices of writing, the acting, the magic, etc. in this whole scene where Bellatrix discovers the sword in Malfoy Manor. The dialogue is a little different in the book but in the film, the full weight of the situation is apparent to us. We can sense the fear in Bellatrix and we know that something has gone wrong.
Another moment in the film and one of my favourite in all 7 is the dragon when it takes it’s first breath of fresh air after being inprisoned for hundreds of years.
The fear in all their eyes during the battle of Hogwarts.
The silent moment Harry takes after seeing Snape’s memories of his mother and Dumbledore in the pensieve.
Although we did hear about it, but actually seeing Ron and Hermione go into the Chamber of Secrets to get the basalisk’s fang and destroy the Horcrux.
Longbottom finishing Nagini and Harry and Volde battling it out.
And lastly, Harry breaking the Elder Wand instead of burying it again with Dumbledore when someone so clearly can look for it again. I do suppose that could leave us with a potential future story so maybe that’s the reason why she left it as that? I’ll add it to my list of things to add JKR if I ever got the chance!
So here we have it, a story about a lost boy who finds himself and saves the worlds but couldn’t have done any of it without the help of his friends. Its wholesome and is a good reflection on real life. We can still be bold, independent and make a difference but a lot of the time, we need help and it doesn’t take anything away from what you have called yourself to do.
Now to end this love letter to Deathly Hallows, I leave you with my favourite quote from this film and even one of my top quotes in general I like to follow…
“Do not pity the dead. Pity the living and above all, those who live without love.”
Peace.