a weekend dedicated to the latest of the potter series, more with the soap-opera-like interest, which induces the subtle feelings of obligation to keep up with the story.  FT described the phenomenon as ‘flock instinct’, which i see as a very suitable name. a short summary of my afterthoughts:

1) we wont be surprised that the most important event in the next (and last) book would be someone losing his or her virginity rather than dying (opinion shared by panu)

2) with the only adult-figure dead, and the mystery objects to be hunted down and destroyed - is the potter series turning into LoR?

3) characters being supposedly ‘normal’ and down-to-earth yet fighting against the evil of superior powers and capabilities have been understandable so far (and remember potter boy is the victim of child abuse). but it seems tiringly clear that the members of the evil typically make a lot of efforts to improve at their skills and invest a great deal to achieve their goals, while the members of the ‘good’ merely are too poor, too young, too busy with mundane stuff to exert the equivalent amount of investment to achieve what they want (perhaps with the exception of hermione). even though the crucial difference here w0uld be whether people are being passively driven (protecting themselves) or self-driven (achieving their own set goal), the heros simply relying on the regular ability of the ‘boy-next-door’ and occasional luck and the extraordinary social relationships seems to bitterly reflect the survival tactics of today in big corporations.