Yes, yes, I know. I'm behind the rest of the world. Frankly, the truth of the matter is I hadn't even read book 5 when 7 was released this summer. I enjoy the books, but really, I've never been obsessed over them or considered myself fannish in anyway.
But the nice thing about not having read 5 or 6, was that I got the last 3 books all in one lump. That's been a lot of my reading over the last couple months.
I had been spoiled for Sirius' and Dumbledore's deaths, though not for the specifics. And I managed to escape spoilers for any other details. So while I thought Half-Blood Prince was boring as all hell, the fact that it was Snape surprised me. Probably because I didn't want to think he was evil and had been double-crossing them all along. I was very dismayed about that.
Especially when book 7 starts out with Snape right at Voldemort's side. But I trudged on. And actually trudged is probably a good description of my reading for the first half. I could easily put the book down at any point. Horcruxes? Hallows? I was just left with a big feeling of "meh."
But the last third of the book...I didn't want to stop. Finally. The big pay-off. I had guessed way back that Harry was the 7th Horcrux. I never expected him to survive.
What hit me in the gut, though, was the truth about Snape's involvement. He did all this for the love of the only woman he ever loved, the only real friend he ever had. He sacrificed so much in order to protect Lily's son. That was my real emotional moment. Oh, sure, the final scene between Voldemort and Harry was tense and fun, but I had already had my emotional satisfaction by that point.
I even enjoyed the cheesy epilogue. I was getting pretty darn pissed that people were dropping dead left and right, even if I knew it was inevitable. The too-happy postscript was exactly what I needed. And except for calling their younger son Albus Severus, the naming of children after dead relatives? So fanficcy. I did roll my eyes at that.
But I'm done. Finally. I don't have to be so paranoid about avoiding anything Harry Potter related now.
mydeira, was it Snape you were going to mention in your anti-hero panel? 