One more comment on HARRY POTTER

I don't know about you, but I thoroughly enjoyed the theme of friendship throughout the whole series.  The only thing that bothered me a little was just how exclusive Harry, Ron, and Hermoine were.  At the same time, though, there can't be TOO many heroes.  In spite of the fact that the three of them were tight as a pair of skinny jeans on fat girl, they still considered others their friends.  As I mentioned previously, I cried my way through Deathly Hallows.  One scene in particular that really shook me up (outside of those who died) is the scene where they've gone to visit Luna's dad, Xenophilius.  Harry explores Luna's room upstairs where he finds the faces of himself, Ron, Hermoine, Neville, and Ginny painted on Luna's ceiling with beautiful, gold lettering across all the paintings:  FRIENDS.  That was so very moving.  It really showed that Harry wasn't in this battle with Tom Riddle (I refuse to give him more power by referring to him by his assumed name) alone--or with just Ron & Hermoine. 

Of course, it tore me to pieces when Ron and Harry fought and Ron left for awhile.  I didn't know if I was going to be able to continue reading at that point, I was crying so hard.  I knew he'd regret leaving and I knew the horcurx he was wearing was making Ron's emotions boil beyond the bursting point, but that didn't make it any easier when he left.

And, yes, I bawled like a big ole baby when Ron came back....in a big way--saving Harry's life and getting the Sword of Gryffindor in the process!!!!  I always knew Ron had so much more spirit, life, and heroism than he gave himself credit for.  It was so emotional to learn that he always felt "less than" around Harry, in spite of Harry's attempts to let Ron be himself.  Look at everything Harry went through for the Quidditch match to make sure Ron felt confident!

It's Harry's love for his friends (who truly are his family) that holds this whole story together and makes it the AMAZING story/series that it is.  Sure, the magic is fun and really cool.  The whole plot wherein Harry has to defeat the "bad guy" keeps the story running and interesting.  But the real glue that gives the story its true heart and soul are the friendships.  It is amazing how swiftly and easily bonds of friendships are made.  From the very first, Ron's mom welcomed Harry into her brood as one of her own--she always treated Harry as a son and never doubted even for a second anything Harry ever did or said, even when it looked like Harry might have been the one to have actually hurt Arthur Weasley. 

I just wanted to say that I found the FRIENDSHIPS throughout the Harry Potter series absolutely beautiful and the best part of the read.