It took 11-year-old Robert Featheran III just seven hours to finish J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

But he had to wait more than a week to even talk about it. And that was really, really hard to do.

"It took my mom two days after I had gotten the book to start reading it," said the seventh grader at Waipahu Intermediate. "I was like, 'Hurry up already!' "

And there was a lot to talk about this time around. (For those who haven't finished the book yet, this is a cue to stop reading.) A new romance. (Two, actually.) A new mystery. And another death. A shocking one.

"There were so many twists," said Robert, who barricaded himself in his bedroom to finish the book. "I even shut myself out of eating, which is one of the things I prize in my life. I wouldn't eat or leave my room."

He couldn't wait to talk to his parents about the sudden and tragic death of one of the book's most beloved characters, and the person who did the killing.

Most fans who wrote to The Advertiser said they cried. Others were stunned. Some had to re-read that part of the book to make sure it really did happen.

And it did.

Albus Dumbledore, the admired headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, died — at the hands of Professor Severus Snape.

Fans everywhere — and there are a lot, considering the initial U.S. print run of the book was 10.8 million copies — are still trying to accept Dumbledore's shocking death and Snape's (relatively) surprise turnabout. There's even a Web site — www.dumbledoreisnotdead.com — created to help fans cope with the tragedy.

Hawai'i readers have not been immune to the grieving.

"I was devastated when he died," wrote Natalie Helper, 13, of Kailua, who's convinced Dumbledore isn't really dead. "I was crying off and on for days."

She's "almost positive" Dumbledore will return in the last book and help Harry triumph over Lord Voldemort. Dumbledore has been her favorite character since she picked up the first book in second grade.

"He's kind, wise, forgiving," wrote Helper, who thinks Dumbledore is similar to her other favorite fictional character, Gandalf from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. "He tries to see the best in people."

Caryn Nunokawa, 24, of 'Aiea, was equally devastated. She cried for 10 minutes.

"I had a hard time going on to finally finish the book," wrote the third-grade teacher, who read the book in four days. "A week into the school year, I had a discussion with a fellow teacher who had also finished the book. We spoke of how the death wasn't real, and how there may be a way where Dumbledore comes back in the seventh book. Let's keep our fingers crossed."

Robert Yokoyama, 33, of Wahiawa, wasn't shocked about Dumbledore's death. "I know something significant had to happen to maintain the interest of the many Harry Potter fans," wrote the teacher and aspiring poet, who read the book in one weekend.

Malia Paauhau says that while she wasn't surprised that Dumbledore died — considering that Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, died in the fifth book — she was taken aback that it was Snape who killed him.

"For some reason, I kind of knew Dumbledore was going to die, but not at the hands of Snape," wrote Paauhau. "Dumbledore trusted him so much that I really thought Snape was a good guy."

David Ko, 13, of San Francisco, cried after reading about Snape's horrific act. "I couldn't believe that Dumbledore died at the hands of one of his teachers," he wrote.

A few still have confidence in Snape, though, believing that his killing Dumbledore was part of some master plan.

"I am sure that Snape is a good wizard," wrote Barb Rozzi, 63, from Wahiawa, who read the book in about five days. "I think Snape will try to protect (Draco) Malfoy."

Some people have interesting predictions about Rowling's seventh and final installment (see sidebar, right). Most figure Harry will defeat Voldemort and remain friends with fellow Gryffindors Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. But others have more complex ideas about what's to come.

Some are sure another major character will die. There are even those who predict Harry is the final Horcrux, a vessel for holding a fragment of a person's soul.

Ko is confident Harry will defeat Voldemort in the final book — "after destroying all the Horcruxes, of course" — and reunite with Ginny Weasley, his new crush. He's also excited to find out what happens with the romance between Hermione and Ron, who's his favorite character because he's funny and immature.

"Two years till the seventh book — it's too long a wait," Ko wrote.

The Featheran family of Waipahu has theories on everything. As soon as everyone finished the book — the longest anyone in the family took to read it was about a week — they started analyzing every twist and turn.

Tammy Featheran, 43, is convinced Dumbledore isn't dead and had to kill someone to make a Horcrux. Bob Featheran, 43, expects Ginny to be the heroine in the final book, with her love saving Harry from Voldemort, and that Neville Longbottom will harness his talent in herbology to find a cure for his parents. And their son, Robert, thinks either Harry's invisibility cloak or Hagrid's umbrella is a Horcrux. (Their daughter Alisha, 8, is getting into the books now.)

"We enjoy talking about the books we read, because we look at them differently," said Bob Featheran, a fan of fantasy fiction. "We discussed the books with our son to make sure he understands what he's reading. ... He couldn't wait to talk about the book. He had a gag order for a while."

Must be in the genes. When Bob and Tammy Featheran started dating more than 14 years ago, they would read the same book together, then talk about it. They're not that surprised their son is such a voracious reader, especially of fantasy fiction. He read the entire "Lord of the Rings" trilogy in a week when he was in the third grade.

"They were just waiting for me to finish it (the latest Harry Potter) so we could have our Oprah discussion," said Tammy Featheran, a part-time library clerk. "All theories start filling up in your head."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.