[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Not seeing their deaths made it worse for me... struck home how death can happen even when you're not watching for it. Fred's death, on the other hand, was straight out of any WWII battle movie: happy-go-lucky character dies dramatically just as he's being happy-go-lucky.

Very good points about the destruction of each Horcrux! You might well be onto something there.

Something else I noticed throughout this book, was the recurrence of the themes of parents' obligations to children, and what parents will (and should) do for their children. I hesitate to make the comparison, but look at the difference between the Lupins, who left their child to join the fight, and died, and the Malfoys, who in the end only cared for finding their child and keeping him safe, and lived.

[JenB]

What I wonder is about the Elder Wand... I mean... I thought it was supposed to be undefeatable but it can only be passed down by defeating the owner? Huh?

[StayAt HomeMother]

Look at the difference between the Lupins, who left their child to join the fight, and died, and the Malfoys, who in the end only cared for finding their child and keeping him safe, and lived.

This does not hold true for Harry's parents, who, while trying to hide, still died resisting Voldermort and who, like the Lupins, left an orphan behind.

[Mr. and Mrs. Wesley were also in the thick of the fight and they also survived.]

[Tanniker Smith]

Not seeing their deaths made it worse for me... struck home how death can happen even when you're not watching for it. Fred's death, on the other hand, was straight out of any WWII battle movie: happy-go-lucky character dies dramatically just as he's being happy-go-lucky.

Well, then the next people to die have to be the black guy, the guy from Brooklyn (played by William Bendix) and the blind, French girl . . .

[aberaussie]

Something else I noticed throughout this book, was the recurrence of the themes of parents' obligations to children, and what parents will (and should) do for their children. I hesitate to make the comparison, but look at the difference between the Lupins, who left their child to join the fight, and died, and the Malfoys, who in the end only cared for finding their child and keeping him safe, and lived.

The way I see it is that Tonks and Lupin were fighting for something worth dying for, while the Malfoys realized that what they were fighting for was not worth dying for - therefore they decided to save their own.