posted
OK, I will concede there could have been a brief, three days later, scene that laid plot points, that allowed the Epilogue as it stands to make more sense. But still everything in the 'three days later' can be guest and/or assumed. As can, what happened in the intervening years.
Does it matter what job Harry got, as long as he got one and took care of his family? Yes, it matters to you, but you can fill in the blanks with your imagination.
I say Harry worked for Weasley Enterprises, other say he was an Auror, others think he was a Quidditch Star, but whatever he did, we know he loved and took care of his family, and that is most important to me.
Was Harry damaged? Certainly he was, just as the World War II veterans who took part in the great battles of that war were, but what did they do? They came home and got on with normal life, because after the horrors of war, normal was all they really wanted. Did it never haunt them, certainly it did. In the dark and dangerous recesses of their minds, those horrors were always with them, but they didn't burden their families.
For their families, they wanted beauty and love and hope, not darkness and despair. I'm always moved when I see WWII vets, now over a half century later, break down in tears as they recount their war traumas. They held that darkness and pain all these year because they wanted to protect their loved ones from it. I think that is a noble thing; part of what makes them 'The Greatest Generation'.
I think that is also what make Harry and the gang part of their 'greatest generation', that they put war and pain and despair behind them and moved on.
posted
I thought James middle name would be Arthur, more like. Maybe Lily's middle name is Arthur. Maybe you only name kids after dead people.
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posted
I don't think they knew a whole lot about PTSD back during WW2 They don't understand enough about it these days.
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quote:Originally posted by pooka: Maybe Lily's middle name is Arthur.
Maybe it's Fred.
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I'm in the camp of people who think the book didn't need an epilogue, let alone one taking place nineteen years later. I didn't really need to be told that "All was well" nineteen years later - unless Ron managed to disarm Harry and take the Elder Wand, of course all was going to be well. It felt silly and superficial, and my Deathly Hallows will always end on page 749. Harry's "I've had enough trouble for a lifetime" is ending enough for me.
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quote:I prefer to think Harry and the gang continued to have some adventures from time to time and ended up working at Hogwarts, (his only true home).
I think the Epilogue pretty clearly establishes that Harry, Ginny and all the other adults we meet on the platform do not teach at Hogwarts, since none of them get on the train.Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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quote:I prefer to think Harry and the gang continued to have some adventures from time to time and ended up working at Hogwarts, (his only true home).
I think the Epilogue pretty clearly establishes that Harry, Ginny and all the other adults we meet on the platform do not teach at Hogwarts, since none of them get on the train.
They don't really have to get on the train to go to Hogwarts though That was just Lupin because Lupin is poor and Slughorn just wanted to recruit students for his club. I don't know how Dumbledore, McGonagall, ect all got to school. Brooms? Apparating at Hogsmeade?
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posted
The reason I didn't like the epilogue was that it was written in the tone of the first three books. The entire 7th book is written as a book for adults, and then the epilogue reverts back to a children's story. The last sentence might as well have been, "and they all lived happily ever after."
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posted
It makes sense to me. Back in the first book, Harry was innocent. Now he has children who can stay safe and innocent in a new world.
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quote:I prefer to think Harry and the gang continued to have some adventures from time to time and ended up working at Hogwarts, (his only true home).
I think the Epilogue pretty clearly establishes that Harry, Ginny and all the other adults we meet on the platform do not teach at Hogwarts, since none of them get on the train.
Yes, I would have to agree Harry and the gang weren't teaching at Hogwarts at the time of the epilogue, but it doesn't mean they couldn't have taught there at some point in the 19 years.
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posted
I'm sure when the seventh movie comes out, the epilouge will become the final scene. Then JKR will jsut have them slip in a shot of a Daily Prophet that happens to have headlines about all of the characters we are missing out on.
"Minister Shacklebolt passes some new act"
"Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes #1 Joke Shop"
"Headmaster *Blank* continuing some sort of tradition."
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posted
There were only maybe two sentences missing from the epilogue that I would have liked to have seen.
Harry is an Auror or whatever. Luna and George got married
I think it's pretty obvious that Harry had never raised but had always taken care of Teddy. Also that Victoire is Bill and Fleur's, a year younger than Teddy, probably concieved just after the final battle.
I also had no problem with the 19 years later. The oldest son was 12, and Harry was 18 at the end of the final battle so Harry was 25 when that son was born, I don't see that as excessive at all.
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posted
Yeah, I don't think Harry actually ever had Teddy living with him, because his son insists that Ted can have his room.
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posted
Now I've seen more than one person say that we ahouls all just like the ending the and imagine the rest for ourselves. But can't you see that it isn't just the same? I didn't write the books, so anything I just imagine just doesn't seem right to me. I want to see J.K. Rowling tell me what happened, because then I've got finality. If she does it, then there's no disputing it. This way, you don't tell someone what you thought could have happened, and then they give you 5 reasons why it couldn't have. If she told us, its undisputable and official, which is what I want.
Article contains spoilers and also reveals the character who got a reprieve and one the wasn't meant to die but did.
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posted
Also, while Harry is not a full time Hogwarts teacher, he does come and do guest lectures on Defense Against the Dark Arts.
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quote:Originally posted by breyerchic04: Also that Victoire is Bill and Fleur's, a year younger than Teddy, probably conceived just after the final battle.
If she's about to start her last year at Hogwarts, she'd have to be younger than that. 16, almost 17 tops.
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posted
Can't I have my fun? Though actually Hermione turned 17 very early in their 6th year, and would be turning 18, still not quite enough time. She would have just graduated if born then. I guess they waited a year.
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posted
That I'll take. I think someone needs to have a bit of comfort immeadiatly after the first battle, Bill and Fleur seem like the perfect choice.
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posted
Heh, yes twin boys, who aren't at all attracted to veelas. But really Percy deserves redheaded twins more than Bill does.
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posted
Identical twins are not hereditary -- they are a genetic fluke that occur in 4 out of every 1000 live births. Fraternal twins are hereditary, but only through the mother, since it requires her body to act in such a way as to release 2 eggs. They are also common among women who take fertility drugs. Hmmmm...fertility magic??
Sorry about the nerdy talk...for various reasons I got curious and did a bit of research just a month or two ago.
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posted
There is a family in my mom's school with two sets of identical twin boys. This might be just one random fluke.
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I wouldn't mind having twins, but that's because my ovaries keep taking over my mind making me forget that babies=difficult.
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posted
Well, as I spent 30 minutes out of every hour and a half nursing my son for the first 6 weeks, I'm not sure how I'd manage twins. I know people do, but I'm glad it's not me! Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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I heard once that the proportion of identical to fraternal twins is the opposite in Japan to what it is here in America, that is, the identical twins are more common (70/30 %) there. And no "how can they tell?" jokes.
I've also heard folk reports that some women can be... encouraged... to release multiple eggs. Though in the cases where people report this, one twin miscarried, so it doesn't seem like a great idea to me.
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posted
Heh. My dad's side of the family is identical-twin-carrying. My great aunts Velma and Zelma (I know, poor kids, right?) are identical, and my cousin was born an identical twin (her sister died at a young age). It's a skip-a-generation sort of thing, or at least it has been so far. I'm not from that line, though, so probably no twins for me...though I have to agree, twin babies are the cuteness!
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posted
I always thought that it would have been nice if Harry became the defence against dark arts teacher at Hogwarts. I mean, he was practically doing that job during his 5th year when he formed DA, and look how good his students turned out. Many of them were dueling Death Eaters and holding their own in the final battle! They could even all form patronuses, which is something that was thought to be beyond the abilities of most inexperienced wizards. And who in the wizarding world wouldn't like the idea of Harry Potter training kids to defend themselves against dark magic? He certainly has the practical experience and an impressive track record.
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Don't you think you might want to check with your wife first?
quote:Originally posted by Synesthesia: You could eat yams for that effect.
Although they'd be fraternal, not identical. Also, American/European "yams" are actually sweet potatoes. Only true yams, which mostly grow in South America, have the estrogenic effects you're talking about.
quote:Originally posted by Christine: Well, as I spent 30 minutes out of every hour and a half nursing my son for the first 6 weeks, I'm not sure how I'd manage twins. I know people do, but I'm glad it's not me!
Exactly. I've done the one-baby-at-a-time routine three times. Totally worth it, but the idea of dealing with TWO at once makes me lightheaded.
My mom has three sisters. Two produced a set of fraternal twins apiece. So they probably DO run in the family. This is why my favorite part of each ultrasound was when they confirmed there was one healthy baby.
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posted
Well, there's no question that fraternal twins run in families. It's the identical ones that are in question...I did another look around the internet today (briefly) and still found the same stuff I did last time...fraternal is hereditary identical not....or maybe just not *proven*. Who knows, really? We learn something new all the time. Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
I know there is some possible evidence on identical twins being hereditary but it is very little and if you really think about it, you can correlate anything if you look hard enough. A woman having fraternal twins is much more likely because some women are predisposed to drop more than one egg at a time. My best example to this comes from cattle, my family has been dairy farming for 45 years so we have a lot of records on births over a long period of time. We have about a 5% twinning rate with our cows and I am constantly analyzing the genetics for breeding and health purposes. I have only ever found a correlation in fraternal twinning. It is a lot easier to notice in cows because we hate it when we have mixed sex twins. If a cow gives birth to a female and male calf, the female has a 95% chance of being sterile,what we call a freemartin, and since we are dairy farmers that isn't a good thing. So we tend to watch the cows that have a tendency to twin, they both need to be female if they will be worthwhile, and since there are a lot of complications that come along with a multiple birth we are a lot happier if it is a single birth.
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posted
Rowling was on Today this morning, and she said that the epilogue was originally a lot longer and more detailed. But that it didn't work as writing, so she reduced it. But she did say that Ron and Harry revolutionized the Auror department, and that Hermione is very high up in magical law enforcement.
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Have to say, I didn't think Harry would become an auror, especially after he got the Elder wand, but at least I know now. It feels better to know....as for a poetic vs tell-y ending...even as a writer I have to say that in this case, I would have preferred a big chunk of information dumped on my head. We've just known these characters too long not to care and want to know. Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: [QUOTE]Originally posted by rivka: NO!
I'll take Rivka's pair if she doesn't want em.
quote:Don't you think you might want to check with your wife first?
It was HER idea! Or were you saying she might not want a set of twins originally reserved for Rivka?
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