Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: everyone’s read it - have you?

'His hand closed automatically around the fake Horcrux, but in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead for himself, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort he knew must come, whether in a month, in a year, or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione.'

The final showdown. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" essentially lays the path for the inevitable confrontation between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. Good versus evil. Light versus dark.

As I started to leaf through the first few pages, an increasing sense of familiarity struck me. But I couldn't make out what it was until I read a comment from one of the many Harry Potter fan sites. "I felt like I was reading fan fiction when I read the book," was what one of the readers said. Deathly Hallows does indeed resemble a fan fic, and not a very well-written one at that. There are not many of the plot twists and turns that one expects from a true-blue "Harry Potter". In fact, the plot was rather predictable since many of the theories speculated by fans proved to be correct. Nevertheless, it is still a rather enjoyable romp through the final tale of the Boy Who Lived.

Although Deathly Hallows might not have lived up to the expectations of many readers, you have to give credit to J.K Rowling for her exceeding creativity. She single-handedly brought the Harry Potter universe to life. She authored the saga that compelled millions of fans worldwide to line up at bookstores till the stroke of midnight to get their hands on her latest tome. Note that I spent the entire night of 21 July complaining to anyone who would listen about how no bookstores in Singapore were open to sell the book at 12.01am. Bah!

The 7th episode of the Harry Potter saga takes The Boy Who Lived and his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, on a quest for the remaining Horcruxes -- items that contain parts of Voldemort's soul and ensure his immortality. The trio also stumble across a trio of magical artifacts, the combination of which, it is believed, enables the possessor to evade death.

Around them, the wizarding world is locked in conflict. A full-fledged war has broken out between the Muggle-hating progressives led by Lord V himself, and the freedom-loving status quo supporters led by, well, no one in particular. No luxuries such as Quidditch, battling full-grown trolls and Norwegian Ridgebacks and cramming last minute for exams (though I wouldn't exactly call studying a luxury, it pales in comparision to fighting a war).

Though Deathly Hallows has its not-so-great moments, it is a spectacular finale to a phenomenal series. It certainly proves to be a bittersweet read to fans, who will, as quoted from a reader, "emerge from the confines of the book with full but heavy hearts, giddy but glad for the experience." I did.

Anyone reluctant to let go of the wizarding world may find comfort in some fan sites where fans amass to mourn the end of the series. Alternatively, some well-written fanfics could pull you through an adventure in the Potter universe once more! Check 'em out:

www.fanfiction.net
http://www.fanfiction.net/secure/live_preview.php?storyid=3188800
http://www.fanfiction.net/secure/live_preview.php?storyid=3658070
www.mugglenet.com
www.the-leaky-cauldron.org
www.veritaserum.com
www.hpana.com

By Alice Zhao