Harry Potter 6 - SPOILERS

Back here after a short absence. I know, I know, I should be more constant in updating. When I do, I think there's hardly anything interesting to say, and when I don't, I keep remembering things I'd like to blog! Now aren't we odd, we humans?
Anyway, I finished reading the sixth HP last Friday, after this looong wait, and a bit later than 24 hours since I got it from Amazon. The wait was all worth it, I'm sure. Yes, the books keep getting darker, and though the happy-happy, fairy sort of atmosphere of the first books has disappeared, there remains charm in every single page. The plot thickens, too. And Rowling has really taken her readers in - I really thought it'd be a student dying, I believed it might have been Neville. I really like the character, but in the light of his increasing importance and his part in the prophecy, it sort of felt possible (btw, didn't you people love Prof. MacGonagall's rebuke that she'd talk to his grandmother and tell her that her having failed Charms in her time was not a reason to dismiss it as a useless discipline?!). So did Ginny's relationship with Harry, and the feeling was right, wasn't it?

It is also remarkable how we end up pitying Malfoy. It is funny, because with all the excessive pride exhibited in the previous book, I think Harry was meant to appear slightly unlikeable even to his admirers. It is some achievement, I believe. And the idea of the Half-Blood Prince was fantastic - I really did not expect it, though it made perfect sense when revealed.

I also loved Horace Slughorn, and what about taking the shape of a shabby sofa to conceal himself from Dumbledore. As hilarious as his little drunkard scene with poor, grieving Hagrid (I love him so!) after Aragog's burial. And what a creation, Fred and George's Wizarding Wheezes. What a fantastic pair they are - and what about their "U NO POO". Heh.
And oh dear, I can't believe he is dead. After I had such a bad time when he was suffering and begging for mercy while trying to get Slytherin's locket back. The funeral was such a beautiful bit of narration, in my opinion. Nothing less for the only one You-Know-Who feared, uh? But it still leaves one really shocked and somewhat deflated. Not the book. It's just he was such a great man, such a lovable character. Well, at least there's still his portrait at the Headmaster's office.
But it is hard to imagine another book without him. I know Rowling will manage, but still...!

I shall really look forward to her work after HP is finished (oh yes, let's face it, there is only one left now!). She is a great storyteller, and she has got a great imagination and a wonderful instinct for new materials, I think.