My thought is this: Are they the best books ever written? No. But at what reading level were they written at? A kids. What kind of ending does the majority of Harry Potter readers want? A happy fairytale ending, because kid's just don't GET stories that end any other way. Yes, I think if JK wanted to go for a mature, darker book, most of us would have been more pleased with it, however she still has to cater to the intermediate school aged kids who read of the tales of Harry Potter. So in that, I feel she has done a remarkable job. (with the exception on 9/10ths of the last chapter, it should have been just the happily ever after weddings rather than this albus severus nonsense)