List of things that surprised me:

1- I wasn't hugely shocked by the whole 'Snape really is good' revelation...I think most of us were suspecting that he wasn't really evil anyway.

2- I seriously was expecting one of the main characters to die, like Ron or Hermione! The Remus/Tonks deaths were really sad, and so was Fred's. And Dobby's and Moody's.

3- The ending. I told my sister what happened (she's not a huge fan of the books) and she thought it sounded cheesy. I thought it was quite a nice way to end the book, just didn't expect JK Rowling to do it that way (Harry has 3 kids!! lol)

4- That 'Tale of the 3 brothers'. A lot of my friends thought that 'Deathly Hallows' would mean the Horcruxes, or some special hallowed ground.

5- Harry is descended from one of the Peverell brothers- that means Slytherin was one of his ancestors! A lot of fans were suggesting that anyway.

6- Harry WAS a horcrux after all.

7- Also, a lot of other small surprises, like the slightly sentimental Dudley/Harry moment at the start of the book, Snape and Harry's mother..

Please add to this forum! I'd really like to know what shocked everybody else, or made them sad, or if something happened that you knew was going to anyway.

1. I was really really sad at Fred, Tonks and Lupin's death too. :'( But like you, yellowmonkey, i thought someone like Hagrid or Ron or Hermione might.

2. I loved the whole Mrs Weasley fighting Bellatrix and ultimately killing her in the end thing as well. It was AWESOME, but totally unexpected! :)

3. I also loved the duel between McGonagall and Snape. It was great, even though it was pretty short.

4. I always thought the Deathly Hallows refered to the Horcruxes as well, so i was really surprised to find out it meant something completely different.

5. I always suspected that Snape loved Lily, but it was great to actually read it, and i was sure Snape would turn out to be good. :)

6. I always thought Harry would be a descendant of Gryffindor..lol.

I loved the book, it was awesome..i wished the epilogue could have had more stuff about Luna and Neville as well though.

Oh yeah, Neville ended up as a Herbology professor! JK Rowling said that someone we wouldn't expect would become a teacher, and we all thought it had to be him! I loved that!

And I forgot to mention Dumbledore's past, as well. Still think he's great :)

All the points you have both mentioned were great! What I loved was how people changed and redeemed themselves - I loved that Percy came back to fight with his family, and I LOVED how Kreacher appreared at the end, fighting with the house elves, it was so great the way he warmed towards the trio when they were kind to them, I was so glad he didn't die in Grimmauld Place when the Death Eaters found out about it! Dobby's death just broke my heart, it was so so sad! I just loved the book though, can't wait to read it again! :D

Totally agree with you, tinydancer...I love how Kreacher changed in the book! I also like how the book showed there was a bit of good in a lot of the bad characters, like when Narcissa Malfoy knew that Harry was actually alive when she checked his heartbeat, but lied to the rest of the Death Eaters that he was dead. (because he told her that Draco was still alive inside Hogwarts). And also, I love how Ron and Harry rescued Malfoy, who ends up not-so-evil at the end of the book. AND at the beginning when Dudley tells Harry 'I don't think you're a waste of space'- that was actually really nice and unexpected. Just shows that they're not 100% evil, as we thought.

Yeah it was great, and I don't usually like all that change of heart redemption stuff but it was just so well written that I couldn't help but love it! I thought it was great, as you said yellowmonkey, that Narcissa and Lucius even put Draco first and that he was more important than Voldemort to them. Dudley was great also, I actually thought he would have featured more, but I'm glad that the "spoilers" posted about him being a wizard weren't true!

Great posts- i can't really add much, except that i was kind of shocked at all of those things about Dumbledore's childhood, but just like you, yellowmonkey, i still love him!
p.s. people in my town are crazy about this book- i was on the underground a few hours ago and there were about five people, all in different seats reading 'deathly hallows'!

same as hydriade i can't really add much...and again same i was totally shocked at dumbledore...and in disbelieve in snaped memorys that he had used harry in a way... i kinda hated at that point...but don't any more...didn't expect the whole snape & lily thing at all...again surprised that none of the trio actually died at expected at least one... i also love the whole kreacher thing...can't say i sore that comeing...i agree with tinydancer i'm glad the spoilers aboout dudley weren't true i like the little bit where he said harry weren't a waste of space.

Suprises:
1. That none of the true main characters, such as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, etc. died.
2. That the Deathly Hallows weren't referring to horcruxes
3. Harry a descendent of Slytherin
4. Percy coming back to the family. I really thought he would just die in the ministry.
5. Certain deaths(Lupin, Tonks, Fred, Dobby)
6. The whole Kings Cross chapter where Harry got to talk to Dumbledore about everything
7. Mrs. Weasley killing Bellatrix and calling her a bitch. :)
8. Dumbledore's whole family situation, and his perfect image being broken
9. Kreacher being good!

Things I thought would happen, but were fun to read about anyway:
1. Harry killing Voldemort. Loved how he kept calling him Tom Riddle at the end.
2. Snape being good in the end, and protecting Harry the whole time. I loved that chapter.
3. Snape being in love with Lily, that being the significance of Harry having Lily's eyes.
4. Ron and Hermione finally hooking up! And the fact that Ron was so nice to her the whole book, kept putting his arm around her and stuff.
5. Final battle at Hogwarts. Couldn't have imagined it better.
6. Harry &Ginny, I suppose, I'm not the biggest fan of their relationship but it was sweet.

Dissapointments:
1. We never find out what happened to the Dursleys.
2. We don't find out what Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny do for work.
3. I was a bit dissapointed that there even was an epilogue, it seemed to be that things ended too perfectly.
4. Harry's kids named Albus Severus, Lily, and James just didn't do it for me...
5. Hedwig and Dobby dying, I thought that was a bit uncalled for. The other deaths were sad, but I don't know, it just didn't seem like those two really needed to fight so there wasn't a real reasonf ro them to die.

Anyway, a lot of that was repeated in earlier posts, but I wanted to throw in my two cents. :)

I agree with itsjennyson!

Dobby's death was outrageous! :(
Such a happy charecter and he didnt deserve to die!

And i really want to know if Harry was an Auror! Because it seems that he just turned 38 years old without a job, and relied on the publicity outcome lol

I always knew Snape was good and i was upset by his death! Didn't expect the whole Lily Potter thing though!

The Harry Horcrux wasn't a shock but i am glad everything turned out sweet in the end.

Maybe we will find out in a few years about Harry etc because J.K.R will get bored and will write:

Albus Severus Potter and the Resurection Stone

The plot will include Harry's son finding the stone in the forest, accidnetally bringing back Voldemort.Then.....wait for it........the whole saga repeats itself with everyones kids instead.

It's a good theory i think lol

The book was all in all a big disappointment for me. After finishing I checked fan sites because I was told that all the loose ends were tied up. However, we were apparently supposed to find out what Dudley saw when confronted by the Dementors, Harry's eye colour was meant to be significant, and we didn't find out about there being more to Petunia "than meets the eye". Did we ever find out what the howler from Dumbledore (remember my last) meant anyhow? Or why Sirius disappeared behind the veil?

I was really suprised by a lot of thing is the book. Most of which are mentioned above, but one that shocked me the most and isnt listed is...

Petunia, she wrote to dumbledore trying to get into hogwarts. It was only when he had to rufuse that she started hating the wizarding community...
AND
They knew snape since they were kids...i couldnt believe it. And that petunia knows him.

Kapow- The significance of Harry's eyes being the same as Lily's is because Snape was in love with Lily, and when he looked into Harry's eyes he saw Lily. That's why he wanted to look into his eyes before he died. I thought that part was cute.

Petunia, I'm guessing what was more to her than meets the eye is that she was jealous of Lily more than anything, and the whole reason she calls wizards freaks is because she wishes she could be one. I agree that there should have been more to that though.

And well...Sirius disappeared behind the veil because Bellatrix stunned him and he fell. The veil is obviously a bridge between life &death.

I don't know if the howler thing was answered, but I'm guessing it meant their last conversation in which Dumbledore told Petunia he needed to stay there because of the protection he received by living with his family, which is why she suddenly decided he could not leave when he heard it.

I think the answers to some of those questions were a bit dissapointing, and people were expecting more, but I still thought it was an amazing book overall.

1. The locket was with Umbridge. I knew Umbridge was going to return I just had no idea that she would have one of the Horcruxes

2. The deaths

3. Snape's love for Lily (although this was more hoping that he wasn't rather than surprise)

4. Deathly Hallows

5. Ron's departure in the middle

6. Harry the Horcrux (I wasn't really surprised, I was just a bit disappointed)

Oh yeah, congrats to those fans who thought that the Ravenclaw Horcrux was the tiara/diadem in HBP!

I thought of another little suprise...What about the Gray Lady being Ravenclaw's daughter and the bloody baron being the one to kill her...very interesting!

if the epilogue thing hadn'y have been there it would have been a lot easier for an eighth book/ spin off. but JKR said she was going to definitivly end the series and that's what she did- its just seems too perfect and very confusing (plus a wizard story about a group of 40 year olds doesn't sound incredible). she puts nineteen years worth of events into a few pages. it would have been better to describe more fully the relationships of ginny/harry and ron/hermione and then their kids. its just got waaaaay to confusing!!

loved:
nevilles bravery
umbridge's warped mind
dobby
kreacher was actually nice
harry's resurection
kings cross- i mean WTF!!! soooo unexpected
dudley was GRATEFUL!!!

there's still loads of unanswered questions though. i just wish the last chapter (nineteen years later) didn't exsist.

Oh, i really liked how we actually saw that McGonagall could be really quite powerful. In some of the other books we hear characters like Madam Pomfrey saying stuff about how McGonagall was pretty powerful, but we've never actually seen it.
The duel between her and Snape was great. I wish it had been a little longer. :)
Anyone else think so?

the whole snape and lily thing. and also how petunia wrote to dumbledore asking if she could got to hogwarts

I was a little suprised that we didnt see that much of Ginny, they have been saying how powerful she is and all that, and they didnt ever show her fight. I thought for sure she would have a big role with the fighting...

I know I keep posting but I keep thinking of new things that suprise me...

Hedwig dieing was one of the biggest surprises for me, because i really liked that bird, and don't see why she had to die.
Also it surprised me that she didn't have any information on what happed to Luna is later life. I half thought she would be with Nevile.
i also found the kids bit confusing, because it made it seem harry and Ginny had 3 kids, but then near the end it has Ted Lupin, kissing someone called Victoire, and it is implied that she is also a child of harry and Ginny's. I just found the whole epilogue rushed and confusing

I was a little suprised also that someone didnt name their kid Fred. There was James, Lily, and Albus Severus named after dead poeple, why not fred...

george called his son fred! im only speculating, which is why she didnt tie every thing up in the end, some things are better left to the imagination, that way ppl can get involved more in the book and discuss wat they think may hav happened characters rather than be told this happened that happened and thats the end!)

Aw that would be cute if George named his son Fred. :)

Another thing that I didnt see coming was at the end when Harry went to sacrafice himself to save everyone else, he in turn protected everyone the same way his mother did all those years ago when she died for Harry.

when bellatrix died and voldemort cried out, made me think there might have been something going on between them. i think voldemort might have actually cared for her even though he's never loved and has no friends only followers.

victoire is supposed to be harry's kids cousin. so its got to be one of the kids of ginny's brothers. so its bill and fleur's kid because it's a french name.

i think rowling should write a better, more detailed ending about every character (no matter how small) so we can all stop guessing

Yeah, i agree with you, caintil31. I was pretty surprised at Voldemort's reaction when Bellatrix as killed.

I really wasnt suprised much by voldemorts reaction when bellatrix died. She was afterall his most faithful follower. I am sure he cared for as much as he could care for anyone but personally that didnt suprise me much

One thing that was interesting (if not suprising) ... when Harry and "Tom Riddle" were squaring off at the very end - Harry asked(twice or three times) for Tom to "show remorse." Very kind, I am sure ... but WHAT IF HE HAD SHOWN REMORSE??

I realize - there was not much chance of that - but sometimes "what if's" are fun too.

Thanks ... New Guy

A couple things that I expected ... since Voldemort knew that Harry could see his thoughts at times ... why could HE not control the "outgoing message" ... either by stopping it, or sending out a false one. (He HAD done that before ... so ...??)

It was a shock HOW MUCH Harry had doubted Professor Dumbledore! Not so much that he doubted at all ... but the DEPTH of his doubt. I almost expected him to fall to the "dark side" for a chapter or two.

As many of you mentioned ... I also expected Snape to be a "good guy" ... but, WOW ... he could sure ACT like a slimy good for nothing! (sorry for the rough language! :) I have to admit - once he was mortally wounded by Voldy - I doubted my theory that he was on Harry's side.

Here is a strange quote ... when Snape found out that Lilly died in Voldemort's attack - Dumbledore said (something like) "they put their faith in the wrong person ..." What exactly did THAT mean? (I guess I would have expected Snape to turn away from Dumbledore after (what could have been construed a "double cross") Lily died. But that would've screwed up the entire book ... so ... never mind! :)

I thought that Ron and Hermione would get together but i thought it would happen when he returned from his strop. However when he stood up for the house elves you knew that was the moment and to be honest i think it is alot better that way.

Oh to plekang- when Dumbledore said they put their faith in the wrong hands it meant Lily &James made Peter Pettigrew their secret keeper instead of Sirius, and then Pettigrew told Voldemort where they were.

On a completely unrelated topice but w/e
I was watching the British Open on either the Saturday or sunday after the book came out...and TIGER WOODS was on the 18 th green and 95% of the crowd were holding up their HP books reading...while Tiger Woods was on the 18th green at the British open...that just baffles me

Molly fighting Bellatrix, that was awesome, but I wish the fight had lasted a bit longer. All these times when Molly seemed to be just a regular housewife..... The use of the B- world really surprised me. I was like, 'woah, there are kids reading this book'.

Ok..i dunno where else to post this but JKR revealed how Lupin and Tonks died. Lupin was killed by Dolohov and Tonks by Bellatrix. :'(

WAY TOO MANY TO WRITE BUT ALMOST EVERYTHING OTHER THAT HARRY LIVES MARRYS GINNY AND RON AND HERMIONE AND VOLDY DIES BUT EVERYTHING ELSE WAS A SHOCKER

Re: piperpayton22
Really? Before I got to the ending, I was actually trying to figure out which of the trio would die, because I thought I read it somewhere (or heard) that JKR said she killed one of the main characters..... but, hey, SURPRISED!

One of the main characters did die! FRED!!! That was the worst of all of the characters to die. I atleast thought that he should have gone out with a blast, something worthy of him, but no... he got hit by a wall!-_- lamest way to die... Dobby even got a better death, cuz he was protecting harry. And personally, the names of Harry's kids was confusing me. I kept thinking that somehow some of these characters were back. oh well! I am hoping for another book, but if not i suppose i'll live. I'm hoping she might surprise us though and surprise us with another book in say, five years?! It's a fun thought!

I was actually VERY surprised by many things!! after reading book 6 I didn't really try and make any predictions and I didn't think too much about what would happen in book 7 becuase I wanted to be surprised. While I was reading it there were so many things that surprised me...

I really thought that Harry would die, but I was very glad to see that he didnt. That whole chapter and that story were very surprising and intense to read...harry walking to his death, talking to dumblendore, the fact that he couldn't die becuase Lily had saved him, the wand stuff, etc It was all SO good and exciting and surprising to me...

The deaths were VERY surprising especcially Lupin and Tonks...I didnt even expect one to die but BOTH!! I was so mad/sad/shocked! And Fred! making jokes before his death and the whole family gathered around him...I didnt wanna accept that he had died! Dobby...I love Dobby's character that was the first time that I cried in the book and I was soo shocked...

All the Horcrouxes were surprises to me;...I hadnt figured any of them out and the way they got them was also very exciting/surprising. The snake in Bathilda's house surprised me, I didnt expect it

Kreacher!! I loved him in this book...
ALso like people said before, In this book we could see that many people whom we believed to be horrible werent 100% evil --> Malfoy (narcissa), Kreacher, Dursleys, Snape...and probably more i cant think of
I really enjoyed Dudley in this book and I wished we could have seen what happened to them...

Harry calling Lupin a coward! That actually really surprised me, it was really sad and I was glad he got to properly say goodbye to him while walking to the forest! *very touching moment when he made Harry Ted's godfather!

I was VERY surprised, like someone said, that Petunia had asked Dumblendore to go to Hogwarts! THat kind of explained many things to me..but I was very shocked....Also Snapes love for Lily. I knew he had liked her but I didnt know it was that big and that his whole life basically revolved around lily

Like Tubby2002 I was surprised that we didnt get to see Ginny more in the fighting scenes. I would have liked to see more of that...I knew that Ron and Hermione were gonna get together but I was surprised when it happened becuase it just kinda happen, I had to re-read to make sure it was happening lol
Also I was surprised and I laughed so hard when we found out that Ron had opened the CHamber of Secrets and had spoken in Parsletouge haha

Also I really liked all McGonagall parts and with Snape! I loved that part
Ms.Weasley calling Bellatrix a Bitch

Neville - I knew he was brave and stuff but in this book he did so much! including killing Nagini and being the first to encourage people to fight Voldemort when they though Harry was dead!
Also one of the best parts of the book, I loved that Harry kepts calling Voldemort Tom Riddle...

Yeah I could keep going cuase there were soo many things! I really liked this book It was definitly my favourite

There is a version of fan fic in which Ginny joined the trio and set out to find the horcrux. It's really good if you want to see Ginny in action!