Potential Plot Holes

J. K. Rowling created a brilliant world with incredible characters... but her plot development leaves a great deal to be desired at times.

For example, in "Chamber of Secrets", why were the petrified students not taken to the real wizard hospital? (introduced in book five, and mentioned in book four.) Considering the general usefulness of the Mandrake potion (returning transfigured people to their original state), it would seem like they would have some available? What good is having a hospital otherwise?

It is many little things like this (and a few major things) that make me doubt her ability to come up with a strong, stable plot.

Character Deaths

I've been thinking a little about the characters killed off in the Harry Potter series. Other than the outrage I feel about some of them, I can only think of one or two of the deaths that actually had any impact or import to me.

The top two are Cedric and Dobby, with Dumbledore coming in a distant third. It's possible Moody is in there somewhere. Other than that though, I didn't gain (or lose) anything from the deaths. That is part of the reason most of the deaths bother me so much. It seems like nothing was made of them. Even their pointlessness was ignored. What's the point of killing someone off (expecially "major" characters) if you aren't really going to do anything with it?!