Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows - POTENTIAL SPOILERS

[Ilium]

It made any spell cast more powerful, when used by its true owner. A major point of the fairytale was to show that having more power doesn't actually make you unbeatable. It will still be a strong draw to any wizard that craves power, such as Voldemort and Dumbledore in his youth. No matter how powerful a wizard you are, you are a single unblocked spell away from death, no matter the age of the person who cast the spell.

It doesn't even have to be a spell. In the fairy tale as Hermione read it, the original owner had his throat cut in his sleep. No magic involved at all.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

One end was in Hogwart's, which they controlled, and the other end was (I think) at the Malfoy House, which they also controlled. They probably considered it dealt with, if they considered it at all.

I'm guessing the Malfoy Manor end was also warded with spells to alert the residents to anyone in that room other than Malfoys.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It made any spell cast more powerful, when used by its true owner. A major point of the fairytale was to show that having more power doesn't actually make you unbeatable. It will still be a strong draw to any wizard that craves power, such as Voldemort and Dumbledore in his youth. No matter how powerful a wizard you are, you are a single unblocked spell away from death, no matter the age of the person who cast the spell.

In D&D terms, I'm guessing it jacked up the caster level of spells cast from it to an epic degree. But that doesn't mean that spells couldn't still block it and it doesn't mean that people can't still make saving throws and the like.

More importantly, since Voldemort never got it to work, we don't know if it could have blasted through Harry's shields normally.

 

[Vocenoctum]

But why didn't Snape and the Death-Eaters secure the cabinet after taking over? They made a point of blocking up and securing all other secret passages into the school simply to block Order of the Phoenix members and Harry.

It was never stated of course, but a safe assumption that the cabinet was rendered inoperable would suffice.

BTW, can someone tell me what the big deal was with the Deathstick? What did it do that another wand couldn't? It's reputed to make the wielder unbeatable in a duel, and yet its wielders have all been defeated one by one via magic throughout its history. It certainly didn't seem to do a whole lot to protect Dumbledor against Malfoy's oh-so-clever disarming curse.

UberVand or not, Dumbledore could have easily beat Malfoy. He was focused on Harry though. Grindelwald stole it.

Dumbledore's duel with Grindelwald is really the main time when the wand was taken in an actual duel I think. Since we lack real details on that, it's hard to judge what exactly transpired.

If all its previous wielders have been deafeated, why does the deathstick even have this great reputation? As Voldermort showed, it more often seems to be a liability to its wielder than a benefit.

Voldemort was never a true wielder of the wand. Throughout history, I think the wand had changed hands more through treachery than through face to face duels. It's also possible that the wand chooses when it wants to change hands.

 

[Loincloth of Armour]

Neville is guaranteed a spot in the history books. His personal failings will be glossed over as "humble beginnings."

And Sirusis Black will go down in the wizard history books as a horrible murderer and Death Eater, no matter what those few members of the Order say otherwise. (There are darn few left alive after Wizard War II who know the truth.)

So even the history books say something, doesn't mean it's true. [Stop glaring at me for saying that Hermione!]

It was never stated of course, but a safe assumption that the cabinet was rendered inoperable would suffice.

Which is what I thought too. I assumed after the assault in HBP, the teachers either disenchanted the cabinet or put a locking spell on it.

And even if they didn't, when Snape took over and locked down the school the cabinet would fall under the 'known' ways into and out of the school and thus be watched and/or sealed.

 

[Numion]

I didn't see redemption for any of the Malfoys; they only changed tune because they fell on Voldys bad side, due to repeated failures as Death Eaters.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I didn't see redemption for any of the Malfoys; they only changed tune because they fell on Voldys bad side, due to repeated failures as Death Eaters.

Except that EVERY Death Eater fails eventually, in Voldemort's eyes. They just had a few bad rolls early on, but not bad enough to die on the spot.

There was no way they'd stick around indefinitely.

 

[Hijinks]

It seemed every single character had some sort of pressing flaw that made them whiny, emotional, and angst-ridden.

I beg to differ. The vast majority of the Weasleys (especially George and *sniff* Fred) were happy people who did their best to remain a family under tough circumstances. I never really heard much whining from any of them - except Ron, of course.

Finally, the epilogue. Wow. That was the most pointless chapter I'd read in the whole book.

I thought the epilogue served a purpose: it guaranteed that no one will be writing a story about the Harry Potter gang that takes up where they left off right after Moldybutt was killed. I am fine with the series being done, as much as I loved the story and the characters. I would really hate for someone else to try to revive it. I think, perhaps, that she wanted to make sure she herself couldn't be lured by money and take up the story again.

One plot gripe which I haven't seen mentioned is why was Voldemort a moron? He knew who all the Order of the Phoenix people were, and where they lived. Why weren't they dead or at least in Azkahban?

I believe that most of them were either on the run, or it couldn't be proven that they were anti-Ministry. I got the distinct impression that Moldybutt was having to work within the Ministry rules for the time being, and the Ministry needed proof of wrongdoing. The purebloods like the Weasleys were protected by their status; if they had been half-bloods or Muggle parents, they would have been dead or in Azkaban.

Overall, I enjoyed the book a lot. I think it was a fine ending to a fine story.

I think they spent way too much time wandering around the woods and being aimless. What was the point in going to Bathilda Bagshot's house in Godric's Hollow, other than to see the picture of the young Grindelwald? and the Deathly Hallows symbol on the gravestone, I guess. It just seemed to me like they wandered around aimlessly for a long part of the book.

I thought Moldybutt's death was almost an afterthough. I actually missed it the first time - it was almost midnight and I'd been reading for 8 hours and I was tired and skipping a bit - and I had to go back and re-read that paragraph. He actually died at the end of a paragraph, his death didn't even rate a full paragraph! What the...

Did anyone else see a resemblance in Harry going to the woods to offer himself to Moldybutt, to Aslan offering himself to the White Witch? He offers and doesn't put up any defense, they taunt and humiliate him, someone he loves is watching and helpless, he is killed and falls, they start laughing and jeering... I definitely saw a correlation.

 

[kingpaul]

Did anyone else see a resemblance in Harry going to the woods to offer himself to Moldybutt, to Aslan offering himself to the White Witch? He offers and doesn't put up any defense, they taunt and humiliate him, someone he loves is watching and helpless, he is killed and falls, they start laughing and jeering... I definitely saw a correlation.

I hadn't thought about it, but you're right. And, IIRC, Rowling is a Lewis fan, so it might also have been an attempt to pay homage to Lewis.

 

[kingpaul]

I didn't see redemption for any of the Malfoys; they only changed tune because they fell on Voldys bad side, due to repeated failures as Death Eaters.

I thought Narcissa redeemed herself. She was a mother first, Death Eater second. Bellatrix, at Snape's house in HBP, said she'd be glad to offer up her sons if they were needed.