picture in my mind

I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for the second time. 

SPOILER warning for those who might care.

How is it that I did not spaz about this book enough the first time round??? Ohmygosh. <3 It was such an amazing read the second time, I simply do not understand why I don't recall being this much awed. Perhaps the first time, I rushed through the whole thing like a speeding bullet eager to know how it all would end that I missed the wonderful details that weave the HP world and its intricate plot together. And now, I see it -- oh, JKR, you literary genius, you. Now that I'm freaking 23 (yeow, just writing that number down looks unreal), I have realised that it's been getting harder for me to get absorbed in fiction. There just aren't that many stories that can truly suck me in anymore. And then I reread HP, and I think, HP can still suck me in, regardless of my age whaat. Ahah.

Okay, here are some parts I especially loved:

* When Ron and Hermione finally kiss, in the midst of the battle furor at Hogwarts:

"Hang on a moment!" said Ron sharply. "We've forgotten someone!"

"Who?" asked Hermione.

"The house-elves, they'll all be down in the kitchen, won't they?"

"You mean we ought to get them fighting?" asked Harry.

"No," said Ron seriously. "I mean we should tell them to get out. We don't want any more Dobbys, do we? We can't order them to die for us -"

There was a clatter as the Basilisk fangs cascaded out of Hermione's arms. Running at Ron, she flung them around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron threw away the fangs and broomstick he was holding and responded with such enthusiasm that he lifted Hermione off her feet.

"Is this the moment?" Harry asked weakly, and when nothing happened except that Ron and Hermione gripped each other still more firmly and swayed on the spot, he raised his voice. "OI! There's a war going on here!"

Haha! I love how very in character these two still are, even when they finally get together. And yes, if I were Hermione, I would kiss Ron too -- because how far has he come since the days of S.P.E.W. (for a moment I couldn't remember what it stood for, haha, that is, Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare)? The character development is just awesomeness, I cannot express it enough.

Like seriously. How much I love Neville too. How did he transform from the adorable, timid little boy with his toad to a hero slashing a snake with the Gryffindor sword? And I haven't even started on Harry. The quintessence of a hero -- all the heart and instinct to put others before himself. And just knowing deep down, what to do, when the most critical moment occurs. I mean, he's not as intelligent as Hermione or as wise as Lupin, but when it came down to the scary moment, he's just naturally leader. 

* And then the conversation with Dumbledore, in Harry's head, there were several bits that are definitely quotable:

"It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well."

...

"You are the true master of death, because the true master does not seek to run away from Death. He accepts that he must die, and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying."

... And my favourite quote of all, possibly:

"Tell me one last thing," said Harry. "Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?"

Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry's ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure.

"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

* And because this rhymes, Peeves:

We did it, we bashed them, wee Potter's the One,

And Voldy's gone mouldy, so now let's have fun!

:)