The beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sets the tone for an eventful final installment to the book series. Since the book opens with Harry's preparation to move out of the Dursley's home, I feel like it puts emphasis on the reality of Harry's growing up as well as the end of an era. Harry has spent his entire life under the security of magic and other people. Even though he still has the protection of others, it is now time for him to overcome evil once and for all. Having Voldemort appear at the beginning of the book also indicates the seriousness of the events that will occur as the story progresses. Up until this point, Voldemort hasn't shown up until later in the novels where the 'big' fight occurs. Now that Voldemort is showing up at the beginning of the book and already taking shots at Harry, it's obvious it is just going to get progressively worse as the book continues.
In the midst of Harry's move, we finally see a bit of redemtion in the Dursley's - specifically Dudley. I appreciated Dudley's outspokeness in this scene because it left us with a better perception of his character before the Dursley family parted ways. My initial thought was that it was a sweet way to have Harry leave the Dursley household because he was able to experience the slightest bit of appreciation from them before he moved on. When I continued to think about this, though, I became more frustrated. If Dudley truly did appreciate Harry like he claimed in this moment, he should have spoken up ages ago. Harry has spent his entire life enduring their abuse and belittling, and Dudley supposedly liked him halfway through it all. Harry could have avoided YEARS of mistreatment if Dudley would have spoken up to his parents and defended Harry - because let's be honest, the second Dudley said he liked Harry his parents would have liked him, as well. I don't want to completely bash this scene because I did appreciate it, and I thought it was a sweet departure. I just wish Dudley would have taken the initiative to speak up sooner.
It's like you read my mind! Understandably, we don't see much of the Dursleys as the series picks up steam, but this entire scene seems to come out of nowhere. Although I can appreciate the ending, without any effort earlier, it feels half-hearted, like an afterthought almost. It really disappointed me! When I look at the rest of the relationships Rowling has developed and how she has weaved together such a complex story and universe, it seems like an easy fix.
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