Who's trying to bring down anyone else? I love the Harry Potter series, I've been reading the books since I was in sixth grade. I wouldn't have made it to the epilogue otherwise -- that doesn't mean I can't dislike parts of it. That also doesn't mean I'm trying to change your mind by having an opinion.
To Obsessions,
No, ending the book after the Battle of Hogwarts wouldn't have been a good place to stop... but Rowling really could have done a much better job with the epilogue. It felt like a cop out to have things end so serenely. She had so much material to work with and yet she didn't address any of it.
How about some closure for the people who actually died? Harry got to see Lupin after, but he got to be with his friends and maybe he didn't have to suffer from the effects of the werewolf bite post death, but what about Fred and the rest of the Weasleys? Only Dobby got a funeral, there was no time for any one else. I'm surprised Malfoy could even bring his kid to school and that he wasn't being stoned to death. What happened to all the surviving death eaters? Were there trials? She spent all of book five telling preaching about how the four houses should unite and then didn't develop it any further. Aside from Snape, none of the Slytherins helped out with the war effort. Not one student from one quarter of the magical British community actually bothered to join up in DA or make any difference on the other side. She left a lot of things hanging, and not in a good way.
I just don't like Ginny in general, so that might be it. =P I didn't think there relationship had much development. Granted, he only started noticing her after he got over his feelings for Cho (with the help of some jealousy) but
1) It felt like it came from the middle of no where
2) It seemed like they had little to no interaction whatsoever
3) I would have bought a relationship with Luna -- she seemed to "get" Harry more.
It felt like she was his little sister more than anything else. That's all I'm saying. It felt weird, underdeveloped and much too convenient. Look at Ron and Hermione's relationship. Even if you were to dislike the pairing, you could see it happening since book four. They're not perfect, they have obvious flaws and holes with their relationship as seen with their constant bickering but it was always there.
Any who, also about crushing children's dreams... after the third book, it's not really meant for children to read. It has to be young adult+... too angsty otherwise.
=P and now you've gotten me curious about slash-fic people.