Last Friday at approximately 11 p.m., I began reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Last Saturday at approximately 7 p.m., I was finished with the book. I almost literally could not put it down. I fell asleep around 3 a.m. because the pages were getting all woozy, and I woke up at 10 a.m. to keep reading. This book was so gripping that I didn’t even realize that there’s an entire section of the book where the trio is sitting in a tent in the middle of the woods doing nothing. It was really intense hiding, though. Really intense!

Other than that section, the book galloped along at the speed of the second book. From the daring invasion of the Ministry of Magic to the boneheaded Gringotts heist to the Battle of Hogwarts, fascinating and compelling things happened throughout. IT COMPLETELY MAKES UP FOR ALL THE YELLING IN BOOK FIVE.

The most compelling thing, however, was the vindication of Snape. I had written him off in book six as a turncoat Death Eater, or maybe a never-actually-was-good Death Eater. And then I got hit with the story of him and Harry’s mom (it sounds so much creepier when I say it that way, frownz) which was all heartwarming in a noble, longsuffering way, and I was cheering for Snape, and then I remembered he was already dead, and then I was depressed. Flashbacks are no fair, making me love a character that I want to be alive. So, when I re-read these with my children (should the Lord so bless me), I will cherish all of Snape’s moments, knowing now that he is actually a total champ. What a guy, that Snape. I’d want him on my team. I wouldn’t want to be on his team though, because I’m not Slytherin.