Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Book 7 (2 Viewers)

[Marc Levin]

The bad guys made him swear to an unbreakable curse to kill Dumbledore, and he had to go throuogh with it, with Dumbledore's blessing, to keep his cover.

Another

 

[Das Boot]

The bad guys made him swear to an unbreakable curse to kill Dumbledore, and he had to go throuogh with it, with Dumbledore's blessing, to keep his cover.

Another

More likely, Snape knew he could safely swear to the unbreakable curse because Snape had already promised Dumbledore he would kill him when Dumbledore asked him to.And mudblood should be filtered here, it's a very impolite term.

The more polite term is muggle-born.

 

[Marc Levin]

The bad guys made him swear to an unbreakable curse to kill Dumbledore, and he had to go throuogh with it, with Dumbledore's blessing, to keep his cover.

Another

More likely, Snape knew he could safely swear to the unbreakable curse because Snape had already promised Dumbledore he would kill him when Dumbledore asked him to.And mudblood should be filtered here, it's a very impolite term.

The more polite term is muggle-born.

And all the

go

 

[Das Boot]

The bad guys made him swear to an unbreakable curse to kill Dumbledore, and he had to go throuogh with it, with Dumbledore's blessing, to keep his cover.

Another

More likely, Snape knew he could safely swear to the unbreakable curse because Snape had already promised Dumbledore he would kill him when Dumbledore asked him to.And mudblood should be filtered here, it's a very impolite term.

The more polite term is muggle-born.

And all the

go

Seriously, get ! right on filtering the M word.I'll bet the N word is filtered.

And should the not be recognized.

 

[Marc Levin]

I'll bet the N word is filtered.

It's not filtered, it's an emoticon:Some other "n" word you had in mind? Neville? Nymphadora?

 

[snorlax]

Full cover art of the final book.

Front cover of the final book.

UPDATE: Arthur Levine, the US Potter editor, spoke this morning on the TODAY show about the American cover:

"We're seeing Harry in a very interesting situation. Readers will find out exactly what the situation is.

"When I was reading it, I had both the excitement and the power of the book, and the plot, driving me forward. But I was also feeling a little sad. It's the last time."

When Levine admitted he "sobbed and sobbed" while reading Deathly Hallows, he was asked the following:

"That means someone we like dies, doesn't it?"

"Well, it means it is a very, very emotional book," he responded.

UK kids version of cover.UK adult version

I cant wait.

If you look at the the covers of the books, all of them have some bearing on the story. From looking at the cover of the kids version, Harry looks, well, like a man. He's no longer a boy it looks like. So maybe he's not just, "the boy who lived." Looks like he goes from adolescence to adulthood in the his final year at Hogworts.

Also, notice the sword behind Harry on the cover. That hand looks small and gray. Dobby's hand? And the sword would seem to be Giffyndor's sword. I'm rereading the series in anticipation of the last book and I just finished Chamber of Secrets. Griffyndor's sword had a red ruby the size of an egg at the base of the handle.

Also, what to make of the Arch behind them? Is that the same arch that Serius (sp?) went through? This last one is a reach, but it's just a thought.

And it looks like there is armor in with the gold and gems. A helmet in the bottom middle and a chest plate on the lower left.....

That arch definitely looks like a portal of some sort, and I agree that the scene depicted here is different from the scene on the US cover. You can see how they are all sliding into the arch, which would make sense if it were the veil in the Department of Mysteries, or whatever it's called. However, I don't recall there being piles of treasure in that room, which could be explained in a variety of ways. Here are some related mild spoilers regarding the veil:Here's a somewhat related spoiler, and it's the biggest one I can give. Don't read this if you don't want to know the most important death, other than possibly Voldemort:

mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("

I'm 90% certain of this based on what I have read. Alchemy holds the key to the major happenings of the final three Harry Potter books. Three important stages in some alchemical process are black, white, and red. If you'll notice that every name of every Harry Potter character has at least one significance, you'll see that Black=black, Albus=white, and Rubeus=red. Thus, as Sirius and Dumbledore were the two major deaths in the last two books, Hagrid will be the most notable death in the final book. In addition, part of this alchemical process is black's return during the third stage, which further substantiates the return of Sirius in this book. Those three names could also be explained in other ways: Sirius Black meaning basically "black dog," Albus (white) meaning pure, and Rubeus Hagrid being a reference to Hagrid Rubes, "Giant of the Jewels," a kind giant in ancient Greek mythology. Nevertheless, I think these color parallels with alchemy are too convenient to be ignored.

I read a really interesting article on alchemy in Harry Potter, but I haven't found it in a little searching this evening. I will post the link if I do find it.*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();

ETA: Here is the link I mentioned in my last spoiler:

 

[Das Boot]

Here's a somewhat related spoiler, and it's the biggest one I can give. Don't read this if you don't want to know the most important death, other than possibly Voldemort:

The 2nd Spoiler's contents are an example of the layers of depth to this book that probably 95% of the people reading them aren't aware of.Over time, as this depth of content and complexity becomes more widely recognized, these books will be given a tremendous amount of scholarly study and respect.

 

[oddball]

I got this email from the publisher the other day.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCHOLASTIC MAKES LARGEST EVER COMMITMENT TO

FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL CERTIFIED PAPER IN A SINGLE BOOK FOR HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS

65 percent of the 16,700 tons of paper to be used in U.S. first printing will be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council,

and all paper will contain at least 30 percent post-consumer waste fiber

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – March 20, 2007 -- Scholastic Inc., the global children’s publishing and media company, announced today that all 12 million copies of the U.S. edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be printed on paper that contains a minimum of 30% post-consumer waste (pcw) fiber. Moreover, 65% of the 16,700 tons of paper used in the U.S. first printing will be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the global standard-setter for responsible forest management. This historic commitment is the largest purchase of FSC certified paper to be used in the printing of a single book title.

In addition, the company announced that the deluxe edition of the book (100,000 copies) will be printed on text paper that is FSC certified and contains 100% post-consumer waste fiber. All jackets will be FSC certified and contain 30% post consumer waste and will be manufactured using energy generated from wind power. For future printings of all books in the Harry Potter series, Scholastic plans to use paper with a minimum content of 30% pcw, and that is FSC certified when available.

The vast amount of paper needed to print 12 million copies of the 784-page Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows makes the decision by Scholastic to invest in environmentally preferable paper a significant step in the company’s ongoing commitment to responsible environmental stewardship.

Scholastic worked with the Rainforest Alliance, an international non-profit conservation organization, in making its decision to use FSC certified paper and is continuing development of an environmentally and socially responsible paper procurement policy. FSC certification means the paper comes from forestlands that are managed responsibly and have met a host of criteria covering biodiversity conservation, worker and land-use rights, and compliance with laws and international treaties, among other things.

“We applaud Scholastic’s progressive and bold commitment to support responsible forestry practices by buying FSC certified and recycled papers,” said Liza Murphy, senior marketing manager in the Rainforest Alliance’s sustainable forestry program. “We hope that all businesses follow this lead by using paper that comes from forests that are managed in a way that protects soils and waterways and benefits local communities.”

-more-

Page 2

Lisa Holton , President of Scholastic Trade Publishing and Book Fairs, added, “Scholastic worked hard with our suppliers and the Rainforest Alliance to secure this extraordinary amount of recycled and FSC certified paper for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. As a company with an ongoing commitment to protecting the environment for this generation and generations to come, we believe producing this book and our future reprints of Harry Potter books with a minimum of 30% pcw recycled paper is an important publishing decision.”

About Rainforest Alliance

The Rainforest Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. Headquartered in New York City and with offices around the world, the Rainforest Alliance works hand-in-hand with land owners and businesses in the forestry, agricultural and tourism sectors to make their practices environmentally and socially responsible. The Rainforest Alliance is the world’s leading certifier of forestlands to the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council, which is the global standard-setter for responsible forest management. To learn more, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org

 

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

I've never read any of the Harry Potter books (I saw one of the movies). If I was gonna read the first one to my kid, how old should she be?

 

[Gordo]

I've never read any of the Harry Potter books (I saw one of the movies). If I was gonna read the first one to my kid, how old should she be?

Depending on the kid I would say between 8-10 is about the perfect age for starting the series.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Here's a somewhat related spoiler, and it's the biggest one I can give. Don't read this if you don't want to know the most important death, other than possibly Voldemort:

The 2nd Spoiler's contents are an example of the layers of depth to this book that probably 95% of the people reading them aren't aware of.Over time, as this depth of content and complexity becomes more widely recognized, these books will be given a tremendous amount of scholarly study and respect.

Very interesting. Never really thought of that death, although it makes sense. Although there is a lot of stuff like that in the books, a lot of the things that you hear are from the gallery that are looking for this stuff on every page, but maybe not something that she specifically intended. Of course I don't read a lot of interviews that JK has done, so maybe she mentions stuff like that when she is being interviewed??

 

[KarmaPolice]

I've never read any of the Harry Potter books (I saw one of the movies). If I was gonna read the first one to my kid, how old should she be?

Depending on the kid I would say between 8-10 is about the perfect age for starting the series.

I think the only thing to look out for is that the books get more and more adult as they go along, so if you plan on reading one after the other that might be something to think about.

 

[Joseph]

Here's a somewhat related spoiler, and it's the biggest one I can give. Don't read this if you don't want to know the most important death, other than possibly Voldemort:

The 2nd Spoiler's contents are an example of the layers of depth to this book that probably 95% of the people reading them aren't aware of.Over time, as this depth of content and complexity becomes more widely recognized, these books will be given a tremendous amount of scholarly study and respect.

Very interesting. Never really thought of that death, although it makes sense. Although there is a lot of stuff like that in the books, a lot of the things that you hear are from the gallery that are looking for this stuff on every page, but maybe not something that she specifically intended. Of course I don't read a lot of interviews that JK has done, so maybe she mentions stuff like that when she is being interviewed??

37 pages of harry potter ery to read this weekend...

 

[PIK95]

I am just finishing up OOTP for the seventeenth time. I also took off the week of July twenty first. I'm pretty excited and sad at the same time.

 

[xfactor99]

My wife is far, far too into this series, so I figured I'd share the pet theory of the rabid fangirls.On Rowling's web site, she has a section where she lists the birthdays of characters in the series. What's weird is that inconsequential characters' birthdays have been listed, but some BIG characters' birthdays (Dumbledore, Voldemort, Sirius Black) are not listed.Now, Rowling has also said that the Potter books are meant to take place in the recent past. Like the late 90s. The theory is that any major character that is not on the birthday list is either dead, evil, or both (at this time).Snape has a listed birthday. Draco does not.

Genius. With that I will have to rethink my conviction that Snape bites the dust, and that Draco redeems himself somewhat, even if he will never be the friend of the Gryffindors.My initial beliefs were that - Voldemort dead (Duh)Snape dead (I would not be surprised if he dies with his loyalties still highly ambiguous)Wormtail deadHagrid deadLupin & Tonks dead (When she mentioned the two characters she was forced to kill off these two immediately sprang to mind for me)Percy dead (We still need to know what is up with this guy)Mrs. Weasley dead (Just because I don't like her and a Weasley who we have a connection to other than Percy is very likely to be killed off)Fudge dead (Woohoo)And a few Death Eaters dead. Maybe Bellatrix, Lucius Malfoy. Would love to see Arthur vs. Lucius in a grandiose battle.I believe that Snape had feelings for Harry's mom. It may have been one of the, if not the reason he went over to Dumbledore. Dumbledore was clearly very restrained from telling Harry something just before they went off into The Cave, there's something big here that he didn't want to inform him of.As for whether Harry will die or not, I have always held the tentative belief that he'll survive, however I have no logistical basis for it. Pretty sure the Trio will survive, along with Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Neville will become a Herbology teacher at Hogwarts, Ron/Hermione will boink, so will Harry/Ginny after some typical heroic angst. Just getting my take in, because this will be the last time I can

 

[KarmaPolice]

My wife is far, far too into this series, so I figured I'd share the pet theory of the rabid fangirls.

On Rowling's web site, she has a section where she lists the birthdays of characters in the series. What's weird is that inconsequential characters' birthdays have been listed, but some BIG characters' birthdays (Dumbledore, Voldemort, Sirius Black) are not listed.

Now, Rowling has also said that the Potter books are meant to take place in the recent past. Like the late 90s. The theory is that any major character that is not on the birthday list is either dead, evil, or both (at this time).

Snape has a listed birthday. Draco does not.

Genius. With that I will have to rethink my conviction that Snape bites the dust, and that Draco redeems himself somewhat, even if he will never be the friend of the Gryffindors.My initial beliefs were that -

Voldemort dead (Duh)

Snape dead (I would not be surprised if he dies with his loyalties still highly ambiguous)

Wormtail dead

Hagrid dead

Lupin & Tonks dead (When she mentioned the two characters she was forced to kill off these two immediately sprang to mind for me)

Percy dead (We still need to know what is up with this guy)

Mrs. Weasley dead (Just because I don't like her and a Weasley who we have a connection to other than Percy is very likely to be killed off)

Fudge dead (Woohoo)

And a few Death Eaters dead. Maybe Bellatrix, Lucius Malfoy. Would love to see Arthur vs. Lucius in a grandiose battle.

I believe that Snape had feelings for Harry's mom. It may have been one of the, if not the reason he went over to Dumbledore. Dumbledore was clearly very restrained from telling Harry something just before they went off into The Cave, there's something big here that he didn't want to inform him of.

As for whether Harry will die or not, I have always held the tentative belief that he'll survive, however I have no logistical basis for it. Pretty sure the Trio will survive, along with Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Neville will become a Herbology teacher at Hogwarts, Ron/Hermione will boink, so will Harry/Ginny after some typical heroic angst.

Just getting my take in, because this will be the last time I can

 

[Das Boot]

My initial beliefs were that - Lupin & Tonks dead (When she mentioned the two characters she was forced to kill off these two immediately sprang to mind for me)

I am quite sure Lupin and Tonks will survive, that is a key part of the big amazing/twist ending to the series that I believe will be a mostly happy one.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I am interested in reading up on some of these interviews that JK is doing. Anybody have a link for some of them?

Maybe we should have a contest of predictions for Book 7??

One of the things I keep thinking about - Can Dumbledore still be in this book via the mirror, painting at Hogwarts, a ghost at Hogwarts, etc.? One of the things that I took from book 6 was how little magic Harry knows, so I think that Dumbledore will have to be in this book in some capacity.

2 characters that come to mind that she would have problems killing off would be Lupin and Hagrid. Just a gut feeling. I think I am going to have to go back and read books 5 and 6 again and really think about what might happen in 7.

ALSO - could she throw a curveball at us and do more books, or is she 100% done? Just seemed like there was a lot left to wrap up after HBP to fit into one book. And if Harry isn't going back to Hogwarts, there's not the schoolyear timeline to adhere to anymore....

 

[Marc Levin]

I hope she allows the "franchise" to continue even if she is not the author.

 

[iamsmilin]

I hope she allows the "franchise" to continue even if she is not the author.

I don't. I think it's best to leave to the individual imagination what happens in people's lives after the ended of such a read series. There is no way that anyone who writes a book, say about Neville's future will be able to please everyone. Also there will be so much lost in the understanding and writing the character. Although I think it would be bad ### to do a book showing the flip side of life at Hogwarts. Like a book from Malfoy's POV of some of the battles and major events in the series.

 

[Challenge Everything]

Although I think it would be bad ### to do a book showing the flip side of life at Hogwarts. Like a book from Malfoy's POV of some of the battles and major events in the series.

If any other books are written about, with, or using the Potter characters this idea would be the best one. We have seen the events take place from Harry's point of view i.e. Gryffindor's. Lets see the same events with some other points of view from the Hufflepuff's, Slytherin's, and/or Ravenclaw. This, like you said, would kick ###.

 

[Kumerica]

Although I think it would be bad ### to do a book showing the flip side of life at Hogwarts. Like a book from Malfoy's POV of some of the battles and major events in the series.

If any other books are written about, with, or using the Potter characters this idea would be the best one. We have seen the events take place from Harry's point of view i.e. Gryffindor's. Lets see the same events with some other points of view from the Hufflepuff's, Slytherin's, and/or Ravenclaw. This, like you said, would kick ###.

I'm quite positive she's already stated that she won't allow further franchising of any characters once she's done.

 

[Challenge Everything]

Although I think it would be bad ### to do a book showing the flip side of life at Hogwarts. Like a book from Malfoy's POV of some of the battles and major events in the series.

If any other books are written about, with, or using the Potter characters this idea would be the best one. We have seen the events take place from Harry's point of view i.e. Gryffindor's. Lets see the same events with some other points of view from the Hufflepuff's, Slytherin's, and/or Ravenclaw. This, like you said, would kick ###.

I'm quite positive she's already stated that she won't allow further franchising of any characters once she's done.

I understand that but if there is going to be any other books written I would rather see her do different perspectives from the different houses instead of Harry and co. 10 years later or near their death or stuff like that. I think the different perspective angle is something not many authors have ever done which would make these books that much better.

 

[-OZ-]

Although I think it would be bad ### to do a book showing the flip side of life at Hogwarts. Like a book from Malfoy's POV of some of the battles and major events in the series.

If any other books are written about, with, or using the Potter characters this idea would be the best one. We have seen the events take place from Harry's point of view i.e. Gryffindor's. Lets see the same events with some other points of view from the Hufflepuff's, Slytherin's, and/or Ravenclaw. This, like you said, would kick ###.

I'm quite positive she's already stated that she won't allow further franchising of any characters once she's done.

I understand that but if there is going to be any other books written I would rather see her do different perspectives from the different houses instead of Harry and co. 10 years later or near their death or stuff like that. I think the different perspective angle is something not many authors have ever done which would make these books that much better.

I'd use the other schools besides Hogwarts. The different houses could be interesting, but I'd think there would be more "artistic license" with Beaxbatons (Delacour) and Durmstrang (Krumm).

 

[KarmaPolice]

I hope she allows the "franchise" to continue even if she is not the author.

I would disagree. I love the books as much as the next guy, but if it turns into a Star Wars/Star Trek thing where there are 100s of books I think that it would take away from the original idea. I am sure that some of them would be good, but 90% of them would probably just be churned out to make money off the franchise.

 

[TheFanatic]

Although I think it would be bad ### to do a book showing the flip side of life at Hogwarts. Like a book from Malfoy's POV of some of the battles and major events in the series.

If any other books are written about, with, or using the Potter characters this idea would be the best one. We have seen the events take place from Harry's point of view i.e. Gryffindor's. Lets see the same events with some other points of view from the Hufflepuff's, Slytherin's, and/or Ravenclaw. This, like you said, would kick ###.

I'm quite positive she's already stated that she won't allow further franchising of any characters once she's done.

I understand that but if there is going to be any other books written I would rather see her do different perspectives from the different houses instead of Harry and co. 10 years later or near their death or stuff like that. I think the different perspective angle is something not many authors have ever done which would make these books that much better.

I'd use the other schools besides Hogwarts. The different houses could be interesting, but I'd think there would be more "artistic license" with Beaxbatons (Delacour) and Durmstrang (Krumm).

I've actually read most of the Star Wars books and have really enjoyed them. But I agree with you on this point. This series is a literature masterpiece. Star Wars were 3 movies that really only told a small part of a very large story. And then of course they did 3 more movies that gave a little more of a glimpse of that large story. Harry Potter is a very large story and universe that JK has almost completely developed. Sure there are going to be characters that we would like to know more about, but the main characters have been developed and now all we need is the final chapter, or book, in this case....

 

[TheFanatic]

My wife is far, far too into this series, so I figured I'd share the pet theory of the rabid fangirls.On Rowling's web site, she has a section where she lists the birthdays of characters in the series. What's weird is that inconsequential characters' birthdays have been listed, but some BIG characters' birthdays (Dumbledore, Voldemort, Sirius Black) are not listed.Now, Rowling has also said that the Potter books are meant to take place in the recent past. Like the late 90s. The theory is that any major character that is not on the birthday list is either dead, evil, or both (at this time).Snape has a listed birthday. Draco does not.

Genius. With that I will have to rethink my conviction that Snape bites the dust, and that Draco redeems himself somewhat, even if he will never be the friend of the Gryffindors.My initial beliefs were that - Voldemort dead (Duh)Snape dead (I would not be surprised if he dies with his loyalties still highly ambiguous)Wormtail deadHagrid deadLupin & Tonks dead (When she mentioned the two characters she was forced to kill off these two immediately sprang to mind for me)Percy dead (We still need to know what is up with this guy)Mrs. Weasley dead (Just because I don't like her and a Weasley who we have a connection to other than Percy is very likely to be killed off)Fudge dead (Woohoo)And a few Death Eaters dead. Maybe Bellatrix, Lucius Malfoy. Would love to see Arthur vs. Lucius in a grandiose battle.I believe that Snape had feelings for Harry's mom. It may have been one of the, if not the reason he went over to Dumbledore. Dumbledore was clearly very restrained from telling Harry something just before they went off into The Cave, there's something big here that he didn't want to inform him of.As for whether Harry will die or not, I have always held the tentative belief that he'll survive, however I have no logistical basis for it. Pretty sure the Trio will survive, along with Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Neville will become a Herbology teacher at Hogwarts, Ron/Hermione will boink, so will Harry/Ginny after some typical heroic angst. Just getting my take in, because this will be the last time I can

What's that 11 deaths in the final book? Way to go out on a limb there. Looks like it's Harry and Hermione left to repopulate the wizard world because everyone else died. No way this many people die.I would say the over/under on main characters dying is 4, excluding Voldemort because he has to die. I would be willing to bet that a bunch of the death eaters die as they would rather die than go back to azkabahn. But I don't consider them main characters at all. I would say main characters are: Weasely's, Hermione, Any of the teachers, Snape, Luscius and Draco Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, Neville, Lupin, Tonks, Mooney, Hagrid, Cho, The major DA class members (Harry's little Auror club will be part of this), Finch, The major oder onf the Phoneix memebers (haven't gotten back to that book just yet so I can't remember all the characters JK developed in that book), beyond that I can't remember. Out of that list I say no more than 4 die.

 

[KarmaPolice]

My wife is far, far too into this series, so I figured I'd share the pet theory of the rabid fangirls.On Rowling's web site, she has a section where she lists the birthdays of characters in the series. What's weird is that inconsequential characters' birthdays have been listed, but some BIG characters' birthdays (Dumbledore, Voldemort, Sirius Black) are not listed.Now, Rowling has also said that the Potter books are meant to take place in the recent past. Like the late 90s. The theory is that any major character that is not on the birthday list is either dead, evil, or both (at this time).Snape has a listed birthday. Draco does not.

Genius. With that I will have to rethink my conviction that Snape bites the dust, and that Draco redeems himself somewhat, even if he will never be the friend of the Gryffindors.My initial beliefs were that - Voldemort dead (Duh)Snape dead (I would not be surprised if he dies with his loyalties still highly ambiguous)Wormtail deadHagrid deadLupin & Tonks dead (When she mentioned the two characters she was forced to kill off these two immediately sprang to mind for me)Percy dead (We still need to know what is up with this guy)Mrs. Weasley dead (Just because I don't like her and a Weasley who we have a connection to other than Percy is very likely to be killed off)Fudge dead (Woohoo)And a few Death Eaters dead. Maybe Bellatrix, Lucius Malfoy. Would love to see Arthur vs. Lucius in a grandiose battle.I believe that Snape had feelings for Harry's mom. It may have been one of the, if not the reason he went over to Dumbledore. Dumbledore was clearly very restrained from telling Harry something just before they went off into The Cave, there's something big here that he didn't want to inform him of.As for whether Harry will die or not, I have always held the tentative belief that he'll survive, however I have no logistical basis for it. Pretty sure the Trio will survive, along with Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Neville will become a Herbology teacher at Hogwarts, Ron/Hermione will boink, so will Harry/Ginny after some typical heroic angst. Just getting my take in, because this will be the last time I can

What's that 11 deaths in the final book? Way to go out on a limb there. Looks like it's Harry and Hermione left to repopulate the wizard world because everyone else died. No way this many people die.I would say the over/under on main characters dying is 4, excluding Voldemort because he has to die. I would be willing to bet that a bunch of the death eaters die as they would rather die than go back to azkabahn. But I don't consider them main characters at all. I would say main characters are: Weasely's, Hermione, Any of the teachers, Snape, Luscius and Draco Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, Neville, Lupin, Tonks, Mooney, Hagrid, Cho, The major DA class members (Harry's little Auror club will be part of this), Finch, The major oder onf the Phoneix memebers (haven't gotten back to that book just yet so I can't remember all the characters JK developed in that book), beyond that I can't remember. Out of that list I say no more than 4 die.

Who's your guess of the 4 that will die?

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Isn't she on record that there are only two major deaths in the book?

For the record, my money is on Voldemort (obviously) and Hagrid.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Isn't she on record that there are only two major deaths in the book?For the record, my money is on Voldemort (obviously) and Hagrid.

i guess what defines a "major" death? would Arthur weasley, Lucius, etc.. count or just characters that readers would have a very strong attachment to?I thought that she said that there are 2 deaths that were very hard for her to write- I take that to mean 3 at least. I don't think killing Voldemort would be hard.

 

[kupcho1]

This series is a literature masterpiece.

 

[HarryManback]

This series is a literature masterpiece.

 

[kupcho1]

This series is a literature masterpiece.

I'm more laughing at the mangled phrasing rather than the fact that someone thinks The Harry Potter series is a literary masterpiece.Although that's hilarious as well.Don't get me wrong, I've read all of them. It's an enjoyable series.And Rowling has evolved to become quite the competent writer over the course of the series (which was certainly not the case in the first book). But to say she's produced a masterpiece, well, that's just ridiculous.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Reading through some of the quotes from JK on THIS site.

Here are a couple that I thought were interesting:

Cuaron "put things in the [PoA] film that, without knowing it, foreshadow things that are going to happen in the final two books."

JKR: "Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?" is an important question that no one has asked her ("NAQ")

When asked about Draco, Jo said that all of her main characters except for Voldemort can be considered redeemable.

The second question we should be asking is "why Dumbledore did not kill or try to kill Voldemort in the scene in the ministry." Dumbledore did not give the real reason.

 

[Sack-Religious]

I'm currently re-reading the series, and I think this might have been addressed in this thread previously, but I can't quite remember.

Anyway, I just finished The Prisoner Of Azkaban and I couldn't shake the feeling that Neville (regardless of what happened to his parents at the behest of Voldemort), ends up pulling a "Wormtail" and sells out his friends on his own, or through some subterfuge.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Cuaron "put things in the [PoA] film that, without knowing it, foreshadow things that are going to happen in the final two books."

This is the one that keeps bugging me. What was scenes were in the movie that weren't in the book??

 

[HarryManback]

This series is a literature masterpiece.

I'm more laughing at the mangled phrasing rather than the fact that someone thinks The Harry Potter series is a literary masterpiece.Although that's hilarious as well.Don't get me wrong, I've read all of them. It's an enjoyable series.And Rowling has evolved to become quite the competent writer over the course of the series (which was certainly not the case in the first book). But to say she's produced a masterpiece, well, that's just ridiculous.

Funny how it seems like the real 'masterpieces' are often only enjoyed by a select percentage of the population, whereas this book has more likely drawn in a bigger crowd than any recent series.What do you consider a masterpiece?

 

[TheFanatic]

My wife is far, far too into this series, so I figured I'd share the pet theory of the rabid fangirls.On Rowling's web site, she has a section where she lists the birthdays of characters in the series. What's weird is that inconsequential characters' birthdays have been listed, but some BIG characters' birthdays (Dumbledore, Voldemort, Sirius Black) are not listed.Now, Rowling has also said that the Potter books are meant to take place in the recent past. Like the late 90s. The theory is that any major character that is not on the birthday list is either dead, evil, or both (at this time).Snape has a listed birthday. Draco does not.

Genius. With that I will have to rethink my conviction that Snape bites the dust, and that Draco redeems himself somewhat, even if he will never be the friend of the Gryffindors.My initial beliefs were that - Voldemort dead (Duh)Snape dead (I would not be surprised if he dies with his loyalties still highly ambiguous)Wormtail deadHagrid deadLupin & Tonks dead (When she mentioned the two characters she was forced to kill off these two immediately sprang to mind for me)Percy dead (We still need to know what is up with this guy)Mrs. Weasley dead (Just because I don't like her and a Weasley who we have a connection to other than Percy is very likely to be killed off)Fudge dead (Woohoo)And a few Death Eaters dead. Maybe Bellatrix, Lucius Malfoy. Would love to see Arthur vs. Lucius in a grandiose battle.I believe that Snape had feelings for Harry's mom. It may have been one of the, if not the reason he went over to Dumbledore. Dumbledore was clearly very restrained from telling Harry something just before they went off into The Cave, there's something big here that he didn't want to inform him of.As for whether Harry will die or not, I have always held the tentative belief that he'll survive, however I have no logistical basis for it. Pretty sure the Trio will survive, along with Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Neville will become a Herbology teacher at Hogwarts, Ron/Hermione will boink, so will Harry/Ginny after some typical heroic angst. Just getting my take in, because this will be the last time I can

What's that 11 deaths in the final book? Way to go out on a limb there. Looks like it's Harry and Hermione left to repopulate the wizard world because everyone else died. No way this many people die.I would say the over/under on main characters dying is 4, excluding Voldemort because he has to die. I would be willing to bet that a bunch of the death eaters die as they would rather die than go back to azkabahn. But I don't consider them main characters at all. I would say main characters are: Weasely's, Hermione, Any of the teachers, Snape, Luscius and Draco Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, Neville, Lupin, Tonks, Mooney, Hagrid, Cho, The major DA class members (Harry's little Auror club will be part of this), Finch, The major oder onf the Phoneix memebers (haven't gotten back to that book just yet so I can't remember all the characters JK developed in that book), beyond that I can't remember. Out of that list I say no more than 4 die.

Who's your guess of the 4 that will die?

Outside of Voldemort, I think one of the twins will die. It will provide significant shock value and still not take too much away from the story as there is another twin. At least one of the Weasley's has to die. There's just to many of them. Other than that I'm not really sure. Everyone thinks Hagrid will die. I think he will too, but then that makes me think it's too obvious. I will say that Luscius Malfoy dies. With Luscius and Voldemort gone, Draco can get off the path he is on. Maybe even facilitate the death of both some how by helping Harry and his DA students in some way.I think Percy comes around when one of his siblings or parents dies and fights the good fight. As a former head boy he's gotta have some talent and may very well be bad ###...I think Mad Eye Mooney goes. He may go early too. He's pretty powerful with that eye and Voldemort may go after him right away to get to the rest. Oh, and I think that Snape is going to turn out to be good. He can be the ultimate mole. Voldemort will trust him completely now that he has killed Dumbledore. And Snape is a master of Legimancy (sp?) so Voldemort can't get into his head and find out he's not on his side....

 

[TheFanatic]

This series is a literature masterpiece.

I'm more laughing at the mangled phrasing rather than the fact that someone thinks The Harry Potter series is a literary masterpiece.Although that's hilarious as well.Don't get me wrong, I've read all of them. It's an enjoyable series.And Rowling has evolved to become quite the competent writer over the course of the series (which was certainly not the case in the first book). But to say she's produced a masterpiece, well, that's just ridiculous.

Oh, of course something with such main stream appeal can't be a masterpiece That's the same reason the academy always picks some piece of garbage as one of the movies of the year because they want to make it seem like they are above the masses...To take a series of books and write them progressively more complex as the age of main character advances is pretty flippin incredible. People mock the writing of the first book, but it was essentially a children's book. To go from there and progress from that to the 6th book is nothing short of remarkable. This is an extremely well thought out world and plot that spans seven books incredibly well. Well, at least 6 so far.Go ahead and mock. But that's like looking at chicks in the Babe Bracket and marking none of the above because they don't fit you grand standards. Back in reality with the rest of us and things look a little different. Go back to you supermodel wife, finish the sequel to the book that won you a Pulizter, while you bask in the glory of your Nobel Peace Prize for literature....the rest of us aren't in your class. We're just a bunch of geeks who are talking about Harry Potter on a Fantasy Football site in April....

 

[Das Boot]

JKR: "Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?" is an important question that no one has asked her ("NAQ")

When asked about Draco, Jo said that all of her main characters except for Voldemort can be considered redeemable.

The second question we should be asking is "why Dumbledore did not kill or try to kill Voldemort in the scene in the ministry." Dumbledore did not give the real reason.

I think it highly likely Draco will redeem himself in the final book, and help Harry and crew "defeat" Voldemort.I could say why I think Dumbledore had the invisibility cloak, but it would give away a MAJOR twist in the final book - PM me if you really want to know. But it's a major spoiler.

Dumbledore didn't try to kill Voldemort because he knew Voledmort could not be killed - the horcruxes protection was in effect.

I'm currently re-reading the series, and I think this might have been addressed in this thread previously, but I can't quite remember.

Anyway, I just finished The Prisoner Of Azkaban and I couldn't shake the feeling that Neville (regardless of what happened to his parents at the behest of Voldemort), ends up pulling a "Wormtail" and sells out his friends on his own, or through some subterfuge.

I feel very safe in saying Neville is 100% good and will be an important figure in helping to "defeat" Voldemort.

Outside of Voldemort, I think one of the twins will die. It will provide significant shock value and still not take too much away from the story as there is another twin. At least one of the Weasley's has to die. There's just to many of them.

I think Percy comes around when one of his siblings or parents dies and fights the good fight. As a former head boy he's gotta have some talent and may very well be bad ###...

There's been a lot of foreshadowing that a Weasley may die - my prediction is that Percy redeems himself and does something to save his family at the cost of his own life.

 

[Sack-Religious]

JKR: "Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?" is an important question that no one has asked her ("NAQ")

When asked about Draco, Jo said that all of her main characters except for Voldemort can be considered redeemable.

The second question we should be asking is "why Dumbledore did not kill or try to kill Voldemort in the scene in the ministry." Dumbledore did not give the real reason.

I think it highly likely Draco will redeem himself in the final book, and help Harry and crew "defeat" Voldemort.I could say why I think Dumbledore had the invisibility cloak, but it would give away a MAJOR twist in the final book - PM me if you really want to know. But it's a major spoiler.

Dumbledore didn't try to kill Voldemort because he knew Voledmort could not be killed - the horcruxes protection was in effect.

I'm currently re-reading the series, and I think this might have been addressed in this thread previously, but I can't quite remember.

Anyway, I just finished The Prisoner Of Azkaban and I couldn't shake the feeling that Neville (regardless of what happened to his parents at the behest of Voldemort), ends up pulling a "Wormtail" and sells out his friends on his own, or through some subterfuge.

I feel very safe in saying Neville is 100% good and will be an important figure in helping to "defeat" Voldemort.

Good point on the Horcruxes.You've got a lot of apparent inside information (how do you come by it?), so I'll take your word for it on Neville. Foreshadowing is a major part of the previous books, so I thought it somewhat logical.

I didn't want to convolute my previous post, but as others have thought, I also think that Neville may actually be the boy from the prophecy, rather than Harry.

I'm tempted to ask for some spoilers via PM, but I'd much prefer them to be a surprise while reading the book.

 

[KarmaPolice]

JKR: "Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?" is an important question that no one has asked her ("NAQ")

When asked about Draco, Jo said that all of her main characters except for Voldemort can be considered redeemable.

The second question we should be asking is "why Dumbledore did not kill or try to kill Voldemort in the scene in the ministry." Dumbledore did not give the real reason.

I think it highly likely Draco will redeem himself in the final book, and help Harry and crew "defeat" Voldemort.I could say why I think Dumbledore had the invisibility cloak, but it would give away a MAJOR twist in the final book - PM me if you really want to know. But it's a major spoiler.

Dumbledore didn't try to kill Voldemort because he knew Voledmort could not be killed - the horcruxes protection was in effect.

I'm currently re-reading the series, and I think this might have been addressed in this thread previously, but I can't quite remember.

Anyway, I just finished The Prisoner Of Azkaban and I couldn't shake the feeling that Neville (regardless of what happened to his parents at the behest of Voldemort), ends up pulling a "Wormtail" and sells out his friends on his own, or through some subterfuge.

I feel very safe in saying Neville is 100% good and will be an important figure in helping to "defeat" Voldemort.

Good point on the Horcruxes.You've got a lot of apparent inside information (how do you come by it?), so I'll take your word for it on Neville. Foreshadowing is a major part of the previous books, so I thought it somewhat logical.

I didn't want to convolute my previous post, but as others have thought, I also think that Neville may actually be the boy from the prophecy, rather than Harry.

I'm tempted to ask for some spoilers via PM, but I'd much prefer them to be a surprise while reading the book.

There's A LOT of stuff and theories online. There are also books like THIS one that are very in depth as to some of the possible clues/plot twists.

 

[snorlax]

JKR: "Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?" is an important question that no one has asked her ("NAQ")

When asked about Draco, Jo said that all of her main characters except for Voldemort can be considered redeemable.

The second question we should be asking is "why Dumbledore did not kill or try to kill Voldemort in the scene in the ministry." Dumbledore did not give the real reason.

I think it highly likely Draco will redeem himself in the final book, and help Harry and crew "defeat" Voldemort.I could say why I think Dumbledore had the invisibility cloak, but it would give away a MAJOR twist in the final book - PM me if you really want to know. But it's a major spoiler.

Dumbledore didn't try to kill Voldemort because he knew Voledmort could not be killed - the horcruxes protection was in effect.

I'm currently re-reading the series, and I think this might have been addressed in this thread previously, but I can't quite remember.

Anyway, I just finished The Prisoner Of Azkaban and I couldn't shake the feeling that Neville (regardless of what happened to his parents at the behest of Voldemort), ends up pulling a "Wormtail" and sells out his friends on his own, or through some subterfuge.

I feel very safe in saying Neville is 100% good and will be an important figure in helping to "defeat" Voldemort.

Outside of Voldemort, I think one of the twins will die. It will provide significant shock value and still not take too much away from the story as there is another twin. At least one of the Weasley's has to die. There's just to many of them.

I think Percy comes around when one of his siblings or parents dies and fights the good fight. As a former head boy he's gotta have some talent and may very well be bad ###...

There's been a lot of foreshadowing that a Weasley may die - my prediction is that Percy redeems himself and does something to save his family at the cost of his own life.

If anyone has the contents of this pm, post them here with spoiler tags and a warning like this:WARNING! SHOCKING INFO INSIDE!

Thanks.

 

[Das Boot]

Good point on the Horcruxes.

You've got a lot of apparent inside information (how do you come by it?), so I'll take your word for it on Neville. Foreshadowing is a major part of the previous books, so I thought it somewhat logical.

I didn't want to convolute my previous post, but as others have thought, I also think that Neville may actually be the boy from the prophecy, rather than Harry.

I'm tempted to ask for some spoilers via PM, but I'd much prefer them to be a surprise while reading the book.

I shouldn't have written my comments above like I knew what was going to happen, I don't of course.The way JK can create brand new characters, spells, back stories, etc... with the stroke of a pen makes it all but impossible to guess too much accurately. E.g., I seriously doubt that anyone anywhere guessed the story behind the name of the "Half Blooded Prince" book, and millions tried.

I have developed a theory about how I think the series is going to end, and to me it makes enough sense that I think it's fairly likely to happen that way. Who knows about all the details JK could come up with, but I have a theory about the overall ending, which in large part is a happy one, although of course there will be a lot of sorrow and pain in the final book as well.

There's A LOT of stuff and theories online. There are also books like THIS one that are very in depth as to some of the possible clues/plot twists.

Exactly, the book linked above is an EXCELLENT resource, filled with provocative theories and open ended questions that really make you think. HOWEVER, unless you are the type that likes spoilers, I wouldn't recommend reading it - especially now that the final book in the series is almost here. But absolutely read it once you've finished the series, I 100% guarantee that if you are an HP fan, reading this book will cause you to go back and reread the entire series with a much deeper level of appreciation.

As for online, this site is the gold standard for HP sites, it has more information than you could ever hope to read or digest. But it is top quality stuff, and it's where the most knowledgable HP fans in the world go to discuss the books, theories, questions, etc...

 

[Das Boot]

If anyone has the contents of this pm, post them here with spoiler tags and a warning like this:

WARNING! SHOCKING INFO INSIDE!

Thanks.

Very respectfully, I'd suggest creating a new thread just for spoiler discussion if people want to discuss HP theories.If spoilers get mixed into this thread, people end up using the spoiler box ok, but then there ends up being discussion of elements of the spoiler outside the box where everyone can see it, and the general tone of the spoilers tends to come through anyway.

I'm just very sensitive to people who don't want to read spoilers accidentally reading something they didn't want to.

 

[snorlax]

If anyone has the contents of this pm, post them here with spoiler tags and a warning like this:

WARNING! SHOCKING INFO INSIDE!

Thanks.

Very respectfully, I'd suggest creating a new thread just for spoiler discussion if people want to discuss HP theories.If spoilers get mixed into this thread, people end up using the spoiler box ok, but then there ends up being discussion of elements of the spoiler outside the box where everyone can see it, and the general tone of the spoilers tends to come through anyway.

I'm just very sensitive to people who don't want to read spoilers accidentally reading something they didn't want to.

You could respond to my pm at least?

 

[Das Boot]

If anyone has the contents of this pm, post them here with spoiler tags and a warning like this:

WARNING! SHOCKING INFO INSIDE!

Thanks.

Very respectfully, I'd suggest creating a new thread just for spoiler discussion if people want to discuss HP theories.If spoilers get mixed into this thread, people end up using the spoiler box ok, but then there ends up being discussion of elements of the spoiler outside the box where everyone can see it, and the general tone of the spoilers tends to come through anyway.

I'm just very sensitive to people who don't want to read spoilers accidentally reading something they didn't want to.

You could respond to my pm at least?

As soon as I hit send on this, just please don't post the PM contents here.

 

[snorlax]

That's fine.

 

[KarmaPolice]

If anyone has the contents of this pm, post them here with spoiler tags and a warning like this:

WARNING! SHOCKING INFO INSIDE!

Thanks.

Very respectfully, I'd suggest creating a new thread just for spoiler discussion if people want to discuss HP theories.If spoilers get mixed into this thread, people end up using the spoiler box ok, but then there ends up being discussion of elements of the spoiler outside the box where everyone can see it, and the general tone of the spoilers tends to come through anyway.

I'm just very sensitive to people who don't want to read spoilers accidentally reading something they didn't want to.

You could respond to my pm at least?

yeah - respond to mine too, dammit

 

[Das Boot]

If anyone has the contents of this pm, post them here with spoiler tags and a warning like this:

WARNING! SHOCKING INFO INSIDE!

Thanks.

Very respectfully, I'd suggest creating a new thread just for spoiler discussion if people want to discuss HP theories.If spoilers get mixed into this thread, people end up using the spoiler box ok, but then there ends up being discussion of elements of the spoiler outside the box where everyone can see it, and the general tone of the spoilers tends to come through anyway.

I'm just very sensitive to people who don't want to read spoilers accidentally reading something they didn't want to.

You could respond to my pm at least?

yeah - respond to mine too, dammit

Sorry, I missed your latest PM, working on taxes today. PM in a moment.