HP7 "i loved it... thought she did an excellent job."

i really marvel at how jkr played on our suspense.
-> from the epilogue (with its quote about death) the question is: who's going to die? which of harry's friends will live on, only in memory?
-> from the first page: you wonder, is snape bad, is snape bad? was i wrong? and you don't find out til the very end.
-> the seven potters - so fearful one of the kids will die
-> ron leaving; i didn't think the trio would be parted... ok and i KEPT fearing ron/hermione would die; SO happy when he came back. one of my fav. parts
-> ron/hermione disappearing at the end.... i was hovering between that they were dead / had gone off to snog.... love that they thought of the chamber of secrets

things i loved:
- that harry didn't "do it all alone" - ron, hermione and neville all got to kill a horcrux (and neville.. nagini)... that was really my favourite detail of all
- neville - love how he finally came into his own once he was out of harry's shadow... i would LOVE a book/fanfic on neville's year at hogwarts.
- elf magic / goblin magic... so intriguing, hope there's something on that in the encyclopedia/ on mugglenet
- lily/snape of course
- what a perfect atmosphere for harry to revisit his childhood home at christmas eve... calm but... full of expectancy
- dobby and kreacher... (did i mention his steak pies sound good?)

things i never expected:
- that dumbledore had such a past; that rita skeeter would be agog to unearth it (love jkr for satirising all the publicity that goes with a great person's death). i knew he'd play a role but i never expected a should-harry-trust-dumbledore internal conflict... very complex, very well done.
- that the barman of hogsmeade and dumbledore had a connection - loved that
- that snape'd be headmaster - always thought it would be mcgonagall
- xenophilius lovegood being such a .... hypocrite (understandable, fatherly love but)
- kreacher - never thought he would turn good!
- always wondered where harry/james' invisibility cloak came from, love that there's a backstory
- lupin/tonks having a kid

things that made me laugh:
- dudley's belated "affection."; the wizards' confushion. ch.2 is hilarious!
- harry's warning krum off ginny "she's seeing someone. big bloke, don't wanna mess with him."
- when hermione convinces harry they're coming for sure; her ultra preparedness for their journey - betwitching her parents, all the books, all the pre-reading... oh hermione... love her love her
- aunt muriel... awful but humourous, oh people like her exist!
- releasing and flying off on the gringotts dragon... typical harry unintentionallly glorious departure

didn't like:
- ginny's minimal involvement (aka minimal snogging... but really)... i just wish she had a larger role; i guess keeping her apart from all the action makes her seem more normal and pure and good.
- lily/snape. ... love/hated it.... as in.... now i wonder what attracted lily to james potter.... what does petunia keep wanting to say to harry anyways? that snape loved lily?