Book 7 is finally up! This may be my favorite Harry Potter book, so it was really difficult to pick just a few moments. I actually started re-reading the entire book, because I had thumbed through it so much while searching, it felt like I was already reading it.
Ear-Related Humor
"'Saintlike,' repeated George, opening his eyes and looking up at his brother. 'You see...I'm holey. Holey, Fred, geddit?'
Mrs. Weasley sobbed harder than ever. Color flooded Fred's pale face.
'Pathetic,' he told George. 'Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humor before you, you go for holey?'"
"'Well said, Harry,' said Fred unexpectedly.
'Yeah, 'ear, 'ear,' said George, with half a glance at Fred, the corner of whose mouth twitched."
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 5, pages 74, 81
I love Fred and George so much. I laugh out loud every time I read this part.
The Kiss
"'So then I thought, I'd like you to have something to remember me by, you know, if you meet some veela when you're off doing whatever you're doing.'
'I think dating opportunities are going to be pretty thin on the ground, to be honest.'
'There's the silver lining I've been looking for,' she whispered, and then she was kissing him as she had never kissed him before, and Harry was kissing her back, and it was blissful oblivion, better than firewhiskey; she was the only real thing in the world, Ginny, the feel of her, one hand at her back and one in her long, sweet-smelling hair --"
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 7, page 116
Swoon! When I first read this book, I think I had to stop for a moment at this part to collect myself. Poor Harry, he loves this girl. And he is afraid that if he's with her, she will be in danger. But Ginny isn't one to be scared off easy. She is basically letting him know, in no uncertain tones, that she is still interested, and will wait for him.
Godrick's Hollow
"He could see it; the Fidelius Charm must have died with James and Lily. The hedge had grown wild in the sixteen years since Hagrid had taken Harry from the rubble that lay scattered amongst the waist-high grass. Most of the cottage was still standing, though entirely covered in dark ivy and snow, but the right side of the top floor had been blown apart; that, Harry was sure, was where the curse had backfired. He and Hermione stood at the gate, gazing up at the wreck of what must once have been a cottage just like those that flanked it....
His touch on the gate seemed to have done it. A sign had risen out of the ground in front of them, up through the tangles of nettles and weeds, like some bizarre, fast-growing flower, and in golden letters upon the wood it said:
On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981,
Lily and James Potter lost their lives.
Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard
ever to have survived the Killing Curse.
This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left
in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters
and as a reminder of the violence
that tore apart their family.
And all around these neatly lettered words, scribbles had been added by other witches and wizards who had come to see the place where the Boy Who Lived had escaped. Some had merely signed their names in Everlasting Ink; others had carved their initials into to wood, still others had left messages. The most recent of these, shining brightly over sixteen years' worst of magical graffiti, all said similar things.
Good luck, Harry, wherever you are.
If you read this, Harry, we're all behind you!
Long live Harry Potter.
'They shouldn't have written on the sign!' said Hermione, indignant.
But Harry beamed at her. 'It's brilliant. I'm glad they did.'"
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 17, page 332
This is the first time that Harry has ever seen his childhood home, and he is feeling very alone up until this point. While visiting his parents' graves, he is struck with just how not there they are. Heck, his best friend even walked out. But seeing this sign, with the messages left for him over the last sixteen years, proves to Harry that there are people out there rooting for him.
Potterwatch
The entire Potterwatch broadcast covers about 6 pages, so I'm not going to type it all out, but here's an exert:
"'Rapier, could you please give us your take on the various stories we've been hearing about the Chief Death Eater?'
'Yes, River, I can,' said Fred. 'As our listeners will know, unless they've taken refuge at the bottom of a garden pond or somewhere similar, You-Know-Who's strategy of remaining in the shadows is creating a nice little climate of panic. Mind you, if all the alleged sightings of him are genuine, we must have a good nineteen You-Know-Whos running around the place.'
'Which suits him, of course,' said Kingsley. 'The air of mystery is creating more terror than actually showing himself.'
'Agreed,' said Fred. 'So, people, let's try and calm down a bit. Things are bad enough without inventing stuff as well. For instance, this new idea that You-Know-Who can kill with a single glance from his eyes. That's a basilisk, listeners. One simple test: Check whether the thing that's glaring at you has got legs. If it has, it's safe to look into its eyes, although if it really is You-Know-Who, that's still likely to be the last thing you ever do.'
For the first time in weeks and weeks, Harry was laughing: He could feel the weight of tension leaving him.
'And the rumors that he keeps being sighted abroad?' asked Lee.
'Well, who wouldn't want a nice little holiday after all the hard work he's been putting in?' asked Fred. 'Point is, people, don't get lulled into a false sense of security, thinking he's out of the country. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't, but the fact remains that he can move faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo when he wants to, so don't count on him being a long way away if you're planning on taking any risks. I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but safety first!'...
The radio's dial twirled and the lights behind the tuning panel went out. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were still beaming. Hearing familiar, friendly voices was an extraordinary tonic; Harry had become so used to their isolation he had nearly forgotten that other people were resisting Voldemort. It was like waking up from a long sleep."
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 22, page 443
The Potterwatch broadcast is marvelous! Simply hilarious, and so reassuring to Harry! As the book says, Harry feels himself laughing for the first time in weeks! The horcrux hunt has been very difficult, for everyone, and I think they needed a brief chance to just enjoy each other. To have fun, if only for a moment, and to be reminded that they are part of a much bigger purpose.
The Kiss
"'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 Dobbies, 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 her voice. 'OI! There's a war going on here!'
Ron and Hermione broke apart, their arms still around each other.
'I know, mate,' said Ron, who looked as though he had recently been hit on the back of the head with a Bludger, 'so it's now or never, isn't it?'"
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31, page 625
Finally!! Ah, Ron and Hermione! How I love them! They balance each other so well, and I was so thrilled when this moment first happened. Sigh.
Well, there you have it! My favorite moments in each Harry Potter book! To read the rest of them, click the link:
