There are too many cool moments or events in this story to go into full detail with, so I’ll only do a few of my favourites. The gang breaking into the Ministry of Magic was brilliant – I loved how it didn’t go to plan – like it ever would! I liked how Hermione stuffing Phineas Nigellus’ portrait into her magical bag was a bit of a misdirection. At first I thought he’d betray them to Snape, which in a way, he did, but it later enabled Snape to locate the gang and direct them to Godric’s sword. The whole chapter where Harry is viewing Snape’s memories was absolutely heart-wrenching. Breaking into, and then out of, Gringotts was, I felt, a nod to the first book when Hagrid said anyone would be mad to try and break in.
It was a lovely moment when we found out there was a Taboo on the word “Voldemort” – Saying it alerted the Death Eaters to your presence, so you’d better not be plotting against him! The impression that we readers got all throughout the rest of the series was that he was referred to as “You-Know-Who” because of fear, and the mere mention of his name evoking memories of his terrible actions in the past. We had no idea it was used to track his enemies, I thought it was a nice touch. Off topic slightly: Why did my dirty mind always add the word “furry” between the words “Hufflepuff’s” and “Cup”?
Going by this last book, Neville could easily have been Voldemort’s equal. He’s the unsung hero in this one, leading the remnants of Dumbledore’s Army against the harsh regime put into place at Hogwarts after the Dark Lord took over the Ministry of Magic. And of course, he pulls Godric’s sword out of the hat to kill Nagini – lovely touch. He only got good at magic after he broke his Dad’s wand in Order of the Phoenix and got one of his own, which I thought was a deft and subtle nod to the wand-lore explored in this story.
Overall, I give the series a big, fat [10], it is a delightful read whether you’re an adult or a child.
