Saturday, May 05, 2007

Title: What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7?
Author: Schoen, Spartz, Gordon, Stull & Lawrence
Published: 2006, Ulysses Press
Category: Nonfiction

The Harry Potter fever is upon me. I'm one of those people who go wait in line on the night the books are released. I'm already planning my July around #7's release. (Yes, that's a little dorky but I don't care because I love Harry.) I can't wait!

I saw this book on jmc's blog and I made some comment about wanting to read it, so she sent me hers! Woot! Cuz I love some speculatin'. I read Mugglenet.com occasionally and am always impressed by the amount of info there, as well as the quality of the editorials. I think it's the biggest Harry Potter fansite and the people who run it certainly know more about Harry Potter than anyone else--both what has happened in all the books and every single word J.K. Rowling has ever said about them.

So what do they think happens? Here are the most important theories (and what I think about them):

***Obviously huge spoilers here for the first six books. If you haven't read them--what the hell are you waiting for??!! :)

Is Dumbledore really dead?
Mugglenet says: Long story short--he's dead. Rowling herself has said, "Definitely dead."

I say: Agree. It would be completely corny to go back on something like that. It hurts, but I've accepted it.

Luuuurve
Mugglenet says: Ron + Hemione. Harry + Ginny. This is fairly obvious from HBP and has been confirmed by Rowling.

I say: Woohoo! Yes! I love Ginny. Harry might have manfully put her aside at the end of HBP to keep her safe, but Ginny's not going to stand for that. I think she's going to play a huge part in helping Harry destroy Voldemort.

Who is R.A.B and what did he do with the missing locket?
Mugglenet says: It's Regulus Black (brother of Sirius). His name is the only one that fits, and Rowling wouldn't have dropped that hint if we didn't already know the character, however briefly. He was a known DeathEater, though we know little else about him. He had a ready sidekick in Kreacher, who would have been the perfect person to go with him to get the locket (we know from Voldemort and Harry's adventure that two people were needed). If the locket that Harry and the rest find when cleaning out Grimmauld Place (in OotP) really is the horcrux locket, Regulus being R.A.B. explains why it would be there.

I say: Agree. This makes perfect sense. Regulus is almost surely dead, but Kreacher is still around to provide some answers.

Voldemort's Horcruxes
Mugglenet: We know from the books that Voldemort planned on making six horcruxes so that his soul would be split into seven, the perfect magical number. Two are accounted for and already destroyed: Tom Riddle's diary and Slytherin's ring. Two others are certainly the locket stolen by R.A.B. and Hufflepuff's golden cup. Dumbledore thinks the 5th is Nagini, and who are we to argue with that? The 6th is probably an object belonging to Ravenclaw.

Mugglenet thinks that Harry Potter himself is a 7th horcrux. Voldemort meant to create another Horcrux the night he went to kill Harry. When the spell backfired and all that magic flew around, the spell Voldemort had prepared went off and he wasn't even aware of it. They argue that this is the reason that some of Voldemort's power was transferred to Harry--part of his soul now rests in Harry. It also explains why they are sometimes able to see what the other is thinking and why Voldemort seems to have ordered his henchmen not to kill Harry at the end of HBP.

I say: The "Harry is a horcrux" theory is a good one--one I hadn't thought of--but I'm not buying it. I could be wrong, but we've seen how Voldemort's evil is the opposite of Harry's goodness. I don't think that part of Voldemort could be in Harry without anyone (Harry himself or at least Dumbledore) realizing it.

Will Hogwarts close?
Mugglenet says: No, but Harry probably won't spend much time there in book 7.

I say: The school year has formed the structure each book, and the seven years of education has formed the structure of the entire series. I think Harry's going back to Hogwarts. He may have to travel around a lot to find Horcruxes and whatnot, but he'll still spend a lot of time there and finish his education. Otherwise, what's he going to do? Get the wizarding equivalent of the GED? No way.

Snape--good or bad?
Mugglenet says: He's good. They think he was carrying a torch for Lily Potter and his knowledge that he was the cause of her death (by telling Voldemort of the prophesy) was what made him turn over to the good side. Snape took an Unbreakable Vow to "carry out the deed [kill Dumbledore] that the Dark Lord has ordered Draco to perform." They think that Dumbledore and Snape had an agreement that he should kill him if it became necessary. He was old; he'd trained Harry as best he could and now it was up to the rest of them.

I say: Eh, I don't know! I was firmly in the "Snape is eeeee-vil" camp, but they make a good argument. Rowling has said that we find out more about Lily in book 7, and what else could it be? But on the other hand, HE KILLED DUMBLEDORE. People argue that he had to do it in order to not be found out as a spy, but I say what's the point of him still being a spy if he's just killed Dumbledore? Dumbledore was the only person who trusted Snape. Snape could come back to the Order of the Phoenix and give them step-by-step, easy instructions of how to destroy Voldemort and they wouldn't believe him. They'd probably kill him.

Which characters aren't going to make it out alive?
We know Rowling's not afraid to kill important characters. I was shocked when Dumbledore was killed. At first I thought, NO WAY! Then I cried. Rowling has said there will be deaths in 7---they are at war. She also said in an interview that in writing book 7, "One character got a reprieve, but I have to say two die that I didn't intend to die."
Mugglenet says: Characters most likely to get the ax--Voldemort (obviously), Bellatrix, Pettigrew, Draco, Molly and Arthur Weasley, Hagrid, Snape, and probably Lupin.

I say: Noooo, not Lupin! I love Lupin, and he's just found Tonks. He is doing a dangerous job and he leads a rather cursed existence anyway, but I really hope he makes it out alive. I also think that Draco will survive (see below). I wish all the Weasleys would survive, but that's probably too much to hope for. And I've never been a big fan of Hagrid, so I won't be upset if he dies. And as they say, his role in the books has been getting smaller with each one.

The Ultimate Showdown
Mugglenet says: Snape will sacrifice himself to help Harry kill Voldemort.

I say: I still think Snape is bad. (Maybe? AHH! I don't know.) I think that Draco will have a change of heart and end up helping Harry. (Mugglenet surmises that he will run back to the Death Eaters and be killed.) There was all that talk in GoF of the four houses working together--Harry may have to be the one to kill Voldemort, but I think there is going to be an upsurge of help from all the rest of the students to help him get to that point. Maybe I am being overly optimistic, but I hope that's the way it happens. People working together and being able to change and all that--a good message to end the series with.



Okay, this turned really long. Sorry. I can get a little carried away. Because I loves the Harry Potter soooo much. I'm going to start rereading the series now so that I finish HBP right before #7 comes out. In only 76 days!!

9 comments:

Annie said...

Isn't it all so exciting?

I missed out on a lot of the early Harry Potter mania and have never lined up for one of the books. I can't imagine not lining up this time.

Right now I can't decide which is worse: the wait, or the fact that it's all nearly over.

P.S. Trust Snape!

Anonymous said...

I've just finished a reread of book 1 through 6, though I may have to do it again before July.

The horcruxes - my daughter came up with the Harry-as-Horcrux theory after reading book 6, and I'm sure it's right.
We know four horcruxes - diary, ring, locket (don't you think Mundungus might have stolen that?) and Voldemort's surviving soul.
That leaves three. However, if Dumbledore's theory that Lord V. was going to make a horcrux when he killed Harry is right - then there's an object that V. intended for a horcrux, but didn't get to use. So the golden cup may never have become a horcrux - something didn't anyway.
I like Harry as horcrux because it works - it allows Harry to genuinely believe he has to die to kill Voldemort, and allows the reader to think the same. He won't die, but I think Rowling has really worked to suggest he might, the better to terrify small children. Don't think Nagini's a horcrux, I think that was an attempt to fudge the numbers, so that it was less obvious that Harry could be a horcrux.

Equally, I'm sure Snape is - if not good - at least on the side of the angels. He was upset after killing Dumbledore, not triumphant. There's a snatch of overheard conversation in Book 6 where S. and D. are arguing - I think D. was making Snape promise to kill him.

As to which characters die - Percy has a lot of back story that doesn't currently go anywhere. Both he and Neville are very fleshed out characters - they must be important to the plot at some point, but arguably they haven't played crucial roles yet, so perhaps they're pivotal in book 7. (I'm really hoping Neville was the character who was going to die but doesn't.)

However, as a friend of mine said to me 'It's just a children's book' so I should probably start pretending that I haven't thought about it quite that much.

Devon said...

I agree with Marianne about Snape. I think that Dumbledore had a plan or something. I'm in the Snape is good camp.

Not sure about the other stuff. Not a big fan of Harry/Ginny though. I think it's because (I'm ashamed to admit this), I went through a Ginny/Draco fanfic reading phase, and I liked it! I'm hoping for a Draco redemption, as well as a Snape, because I'm dorky.

Anonymous said...

While on a trip and bookless, my curiosity got the better of me. I bought a copy of The Great Snape Debate. I've written in it, I'm afraid. But if you're interested, I'll send it your way :)

Jennie said...

Annie--I know, it will be sooo sad when it's all over! I just hope that it all turns out the way I want it to. I think it will. ;)

Marianne--On Harry dying: Rowling has really worked to suggest he might, the better to terrify small children. LOL. You're so right--I'm sure she's not going to kill him off. It would just be too awful and upsetting. There would probably be rioting around her castle or wherever she lives these days.

Your daughter is a smart cookie to think up Harry as a horcrux. It does make sense. But then how is Harry going to get the horcrux out of him without dying??

Devon--Ginny and Draco!!! No, no, no!! Sorry. LOL. I just can't imagine. I love Ginny, and she's just like his mum--redhead, bright, vivacious, loving. It's true love! Yes, I'm a little crazy. Don't mind me.

But I am hoping for a Draco redemption too.

JMC--Ah! I don't know if I can take a whole book about the Snape question. LOL. I'm going to reread the series and see if I have any epiphanies. Probably not, but it'll be fun anyway. ;)

Jennie said...

Zeek--I think (though I can't remember now where I read this) that Rowling has said that there is an epilogue of sorts, so that we see at least what the three end up doing career-wise (and relationship-wise too, I think). Makes sense since there's been so much focus in the recent books about what they want to do when they grow up. Harry'll be an Auror and Hermione a teacher, I bet. :)

I love the Weasleys too. I'll cry if any of them die--except Percy. He's a twit, but it would be taking the easy way out if he were the only one to die. LOL.

Andrea said...

I have to agree with a lot of your thinking. Though I'm still a firm believer that Snape is good. He's an ass but he's ultimately good, even if it seems begrudgingly.

You've made me want to reread the series myself and I have no time! Grr!! :D

Lily Potter said...

It's not Regulus.

http://www.jamesandlilypotterlive.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I realize this post is really, REALLY a long time ago, but I wanted to pitch in on Snape. I think he is neither good nor bad-he is on the side that does the most for him. Voldemort killed Lily, so Snape was against him from there on. He helped Dumbledore with taking Voldemort down, which would, in a way, revenge Lily.
Make sense? lol
that's what, to me, makes him such an interesting character, because he isn't just black or white, he's more complex than that.
whew...
and mugglenet guessed all the secrets revealed in the last book, so I'm glad I didn't stumble on their site :)