All a dream? WAS End of Harry Potter series.

[theo_kestrel]

No: HPFGUIDX 44790

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "bluesqueak" <pipdowns at e...> wrote:
>
<SNIP> 
> 
> No, the 'dream' ending could only really work if there was some twist 
> to it: I think CS Lewis twisted the 'dream' ending in The Last 
> Battle, by having his characters realise that not only was Narnia a 
> dream, but this world was equally a dream.
> 
> It could work, for example, if the sacrifice Harry had to make was to 
> not only give up the WW, but always afterwards think it had only 
> existed in his imagination - that ending has also been used a lot, 
> but JKR is a good enough writer to pull it off.
> 
> So, the last lines of Book 7?
> 
> 'Harry turned and saw a tall, red-headed young man. 'Funny', thought 
> Harry, 'he looks like someone I once saw in a dream.'
> 
> The young man looked at Harry as if he was searching for someone he 
> didn't expect to find. Then he smiled.
> 
> "Hallo, Harry." he said. "I bet you were glad to lose your scar."
> 
> Pip!Squeak

Infrequent visitor popping his head in...

This possibility reminds me somewhat of the ending of Susan Cooper's
"The Dark is Rising" series as well, where in the end only Will
Stanton, the last Old One, is left with the memories of what really
happened, and the other children are allowed to live their lives
without the burden of knowledge.  It's been a LONG time since I last
read those books, but I don't remember being unhappy with the ending.
 If JKR chooses to take a similar path with her story, I think she
could make it a satisfying conclusion.  One possible quibble I might
have with such an ending though is that after everything Harry's been
through, I think he deserves a little more than this-even though Harry
has never done any of his "heroic" deeds with any thought of personal
gain, he deserves a hero's reward or hero's rest or SOMETHING; there
hasn't been any mention of anything like Avalon or the Grey Havens,
and to have his reward for saving the wizarding world be the erasure
of the last seven years of his life would be disappointing.

Just some meandering thoughts, take it as you will.

theo_kestrel