Deathly Hallows - death watch *EXPECT SPOILERS*

[Lenny]

In Leish's thread I said:

Just a bit more on the deaths... in fact, no, I'll start a new thread specifically for them. Anyone mind? I mean, we've got this thread for overall thoughts, one for Teps answered and unanswered questions, why not one specifically for deaths?

Et voila! Use this thread to talk about the deaths, in much more depth than you might do in another thread.

---

Just a list of deaths (forgive me if I miss someone, I'm a wee bit tired).

EDIT: Knew I'd forgotten some - Ted Tonks, and the person with him. Dirk, wasn't it?

And Colin Creevy. And how on earth did I miss Wormtail?!

So my updated list now is:

- Professor Charity Burbage
- Hedwig
- Mad-Eye Moody
- Rufus Scrimgeour
- Wormtail
- Dobby the House Elf
- Ted Tonks and co.
- Fred Weasley
- Professor Snape
- Crabbe
- Nagini
- Bellatrix Lestrange
- Tonks
- Lupin
- Colin Creevey

And, of course, Voldie.

[HoopyFrood]

Dear me, I'm weak...haven't finished the book, but couldn't help looking at this thread Still, the more I've been reading, the more I suspected some of the above. Now it's just a case of reading about them! I don't mind, as I've said, I've not a raving fan of Harry Potter so I don't mind finding out about this kind of stuff. The story is all right thus far, I guess, it's not riveting. Kind of looking forward to finishing so I can get back to Royal Assassin, to be honest!

[The Ace]

Errrrm plus 50 assorted Hogwarts students. Do we mention the giant spiders ?

[PTeppic]

I found the story entirely rivetting, but as I've said in one of the other threads, apart from Dobby the deaths were very casual. Yes, it's a genuine magical battle, but so many of the "main" character deaths were either merely mentioned in passing (oops, Fred's still on the ground) or could have been one of several people (it's someone red-haired out of a group of three red-haired people - pick a straw and they're it). I felt no compassion or emotion, or even sympathy. It's almost as if they died because they had to. We couldn't have so much fighting without including deaths, and so many deaths without it being people we knew would be unlikely (e.g. LOTR trilogy, perhaps even OotP finale), so "lets just pick a few of those we know and happen to mention they died".

It's the same with Ace's point: "and fifty others". Let's think who was there: staff, students (should only be 17+), house elves, the Order, and the Death Eaters. Just typing aloud here, but, we've been introduced to most of the Order, so presumably it was mostly not them. There're probably only about fifteen staff at Hogwarts and you'd expect we'd be told about them. Assuming each year is as per Harry's, then it's 40 strong. Everyone in 7th year is "of age" and on average half the 6th too, though some others below age crept in: say 75 pupils (likely to be a lot less since most Slytherins aren't likely to have stayed and maybe many of the of-age too). But of those, two thirds are Harry's year, and most others are either the year below or are likely to be DA members: most of whom we've been introduced to in the series (e.g. was Lavender Brown dead, or "just" mauled, like Bill?). So, of the humans fighting against Voldemort, we'd have to assume that the vast majority are actually people we know and have come familiar with, and so since they're not named, can it be any of them? Many faceless house elves, perhaps, late pawns who fall in high numbers? Or, finally, do we assume that the majority to fall were Death Eaters? In which case, unless they were killed by cross-fire from Voldemort or their colleages, you have an army of 2/3rds pupils killing on a wide scale... not likely... She doesn't make many but I think this was a small error on JKR's part, not thinking through the implication of a tiny little thought: "not enough deaths for the scale of the battle, so let's add some: and fifty others" without double-checking who was there, etc.

[little smaug]

I can see why the deaths weren't detailed in the final battle - it is a battlefield, which means there are no drawn out monologues, no dying words, no noble deaths. It's hard, it's fast and it's brutal. In that respect, I think Jo captured the atmosphere perfectly.

And yet it's that point that made me sure one of the major characters would die right at the end, after all of the fighting had finished, cut down by a stray Avada Kedavra from a fleeing Death Eater. Because for all the unnamed masses who give up their lives defending who and what they love, there will always be a single figure who dies for no reason.

[PTeppic]

I was sure Molly was to be that person, after her dramatic dealing with Bellatrix...

[Adasunshine]

Originally Posted by Lenny

In Leish's thread I said:

Et voila! Use this thread to talk about the deaths, in much more depth than you might do in another thread.

---

Just a list of deaths (forgive me if I miss someone, I'm a wee bit tired).

EDIT: Knew I'd forgotten some - Ted Tonks, and the person with him. Dirk, wasn't it?

And Colin Creevy. And how on earth did I miss Wormtail?!

So my updated list now is:

- Professor Charity Burbage
- Hedwig
- Mad-Eye Moody
- Rufus Scrimgeour
- Wormtail
- Dobby the House Elf
- Ted Tonks and co.
- Fred Weasley
- Professor Snape
- Crabbe
- Nagini
- Bellatrix Lestrange
- Tonks
- Lupin
- Colin Creevey

And, of course, Voldie.

Can't forget poor ol' Bathilda Bagshot... *shudders at that particular scene*

xx

[Lenny]

And I've just re-read Gregorovitch's demise.

I have to say, there are far too many deaths to keep track of.

[PTeppic]

It's the nature of warfare....

[Tabasco]

Originally Posted by Adasunshine

Can't forget poor ol' Bathilda Bagshot... *shudders at that particular scene*

xx

Geez... yeah. What kind of special effects will that take in the movie? 50 lbs. of ground beef? I had to put the book down for a second after reading that.

[little smaug]

I want them to go the way of Alien and make it hilarious rather than scary.

[Sirathiel]

I'm not wholly through the book yet - 40 pages left and stuck at work *gah*. I keep trying to avoid all these threads though I really want to read them and jump in with my own opinion. *big sigh* So I've skimmed through this one, read the list up to Snape and then stopped, since he's the last one I read die.

I've got to say that Dobby's end made me cry. Or would have if I hadn't been sitting in a bus full of people. But I really wanted to cry. His death was very unfair and very touching. A badly aimed silver knife? But he saved Harry, probably in more ways than one. Well, even if it sounds morbid: Thumbs up for Dobby's death. Very well written and heart touching.

As to the others... they kinda left me cold. Well not cold, but they didn't squeeze at my heart. It was more along the line of: 1 death, 2 deaths, 3 deaths... And I have to agree that they mostly happened "off-page" or in the middle of the big battle. No time to really dwell on them. Not for the people around, nor for the author.
SIDENOTE: Tolkien pulled this off though: gave depth and meaning to isolated incidents on the battle field. Going full out in his descriptions and all that. But then, ... we don't know that many people on the battlefield before Gondor than in the battle of Hogwarts...

I might be back later, once I've finished the book.
~Sira.

[DarkIntentions]

I finished the book this morning and I can't even remember reading that Bellatrix died. Hmm still thinking. .. wdh.

[HoopyFrood]

Another missing from the list...Gellert Grindelwald, killed by Voldemort in Nurmengard prison.

[Lenny]

Gods... pick my list apart, why don't you all?