The Hog's Head

I have to say, Dobby's death crushed me.  I was actually in tears.  It was very emotional to actually hear his last words in his "own" voice.  "Harry...Potter..."  Heart wrenching

If you listened to HP on tape/CD then I'm sure you'll agree the voicing was very well done.  If anyone plans on doing re-reads now that it's all over, I really recommend listening to them.  I even downloaded the tracks to my Ipod so I could work out while listening (it didn't pump me up as much as the rocky soundtrack, but it didn't inhibit my workout either!)

I have a question for someone who read all the books at the same time and, of course, wasn't spoiled. Think back to the whole series...would you say Sirius's death was more shocking than Dumbledore's? In my case, of course it was, by Book 5 we didn't really have as many clues as to where JKR was going, and, of course, we were too fond of Sirius. Dumbledore, however, had to die, that I could see from the beginning. He was a marked man in my mind since I realized he was like Obi-Wan.

Dumbledore was clearly Dead Wizard Walking, in my mind at least, from the moment of his conversation with Harry about the Mirror of Erised.  I never doubted he would be killed off, because it's such a long established pattern in the Hero's Journey.

But even with knowing he was going to die at some point I was still more shocked by Dumbledore's death, especially the manner of it.  Sirius' death had virtually no effect on me; I was never emotionally invested in the character so it was kind of a meh moment for me.  Also the "death by drapery" thing was really ridiculous, I thought; not the idea of "beyond the veil" but the execution.

I'm the kind of person who can expect something and still be completely shocked. (Um, hi, I still cry when Beth dies in "Little Women"... and I've been reading that book since I was 10... it's in pieces.)

I was completely shell-shocked by Dumbledore's death. Maybe it's because I was on the train, maybe because it was Snape, maybe because I expected Dumbledore to last until book 7... I dunno.

However, it was Mr. Weasley's close call that really, really got to me (and now I find out she almost killed HIM TOO??). At the ripe old age of 20, I had to go running to my dad and cling to him for several minutes, as I got over the fright of Arthur's close call. (Oh, shush, I'm a wuss when it comes to books and movies. I couldn't watch the Dementor scenes in PoA the first time I saw them.)

Still, the most shocking deaths - Hedwig and Dobby. Hedwig was just cruelty, and Dobby was not supposed to make me cry!

I'm not sure Dumbledore's death shocked me, it was just the little matter of being Snape who killed him that had me going  . Sirius, however, had me in tears, and I knew it was going to happen. From the beginning of the book I saw the clues, and I cried before it happened and when it did, and put the book down completely when Remus tells Harry there's nothing they can do (So, I have a soft spot for Remus, you all know this ...). However, with Dumbledore, I just want to have a sense if we saw it coming because we had too much time to think about it, or if everyone did.

I saw Dumbledore's death coming from book one, because it's just what happens to the old mentor figure in these types of stories. He evokes Gandalf and Obi-Wan Kenobi, so I thought, yep, he's toast.

Again with Hedwig.  What shocked me, though, was Harry's lack of reaction. I know there wasn't time, but she'd been there from the beginning.  I just wanted to see him grieve a little longer, I suppose.

Surprisingly, Moody's death also surprised me.  I knew it was a distinct possibility, but I just didn't think it would actually happen.

And Remus.  Oh, Remus.  I have never been one to cry over Harry Potter, but that got me close.  Well, that, Dobby, and the entire scene with MWPP/Lily.  But I digress...