All this horcruxes business just seems to me to be a lot of padding, to stave off the last confrontation. Collect up the pieces, and you will have a full person (Reminds me of the Beyond the Fringe skit about the Identikit -- "And so you piece together the face of the criminal?" "No, we piece together a likeness of the criminal. If we could piece together the criminal, then we would be a long way towards having the criminal, the criminal body usually being found beneath the criminal face"). Its real flaw is that it turns the plot into a treasure hunt, which is unnecessary at this stage. What with Horcruxes, and Dementors, and Azkaban, it is all getting way too complicated and wearisome. Seven is probably a book too far. If she were a ruthless self-editor, we would have had the great last war this time around.   I consider this volume to be Harry Potter and the Half-Cash Cow.

yours,

Peter T.