The requisite Harry Potter Post
So, the last book will be out tomorrow and I couldn't resist posting. One should think I had better things to do, like looking for a new apartment and job, getting things ready for another interview on Monday, but no... all I worry about is when exactly they'll deliver my copy and whether I'll manage to have it read by Sunday morning 10 a.m., when a long-time-no-see-friend will come over for breakfast.
As for the supposedly leaked copy, I'm still not sure I buy it. In any case, I have so far managed to remain absolutely unspoiled and I plan to keep it that way. Where would be the fun in it, anyway?
#1: Harry won't die. I might be naive, but to me it seems rather absurd to believe JKR would kill him off. After all, the books were originally planned to be for children. And what kind of message would that convey to the readers anyway? That the bad ultimately always wins? I know that's oversimplifying things a lot, but really, what "good" would it do to kill off Harry in the grand scheme of things, other than that no one truly believed it would happen and therefore it would be a surprise ending? Also, JKR said the last word would be 'scar'. Why would Harry's scar still be of any importance if he were dead? I mean, who would care?
#2: Hermione won't die. I have seen people state as reason for this that Hermione was JKR's alter ego and she wouldn't kill off herself. That might be true, and it sounds plausible. However, I believe there's another reason: If JKR really wants to kill one of the trio, then my bets would be on Ron. Ron and Harry always seemed to share the closer connection. Ron would be the one whose loss would be much harder to take - no offense to Hermione fans. The whole Weasley clan would be devastated AND Harry would lose his best friend. Whereas with Hermione, they'd surely all mourn her, too- but her family would do so more or less off-stage, being muggle, and Harry, while having lost a good friend, would still have his best friend Ron to lean on to. I might be completely wrong about the dynamics of the trio, but I always felt Ron and Harry were much closer, and not only because of the second task in GoF. Which is why...
#3: Ron will die. That is, only if JKR really wants to kill off one of the trio, which could be the case. After all, she said that two major characters would die.
#4: Voldemort will snuff it. Duh. Now, does he count as a major character? I guess JKR meant "major characters on the good side". Otherwise, would we care about their deaths?
#5: Remus and Tonks won't die. What would be the point, after Remus finally found some happiness in the last book? He was miserable long enough. Also, I believe JKR is much too fond of Nymphadora as a character. Which is also true of...
#6: Luna, who won't die, either. See ^Tonks.
#7: Neville will die. Just a feeling, but somehow I see Harry tell him about the prophecy and him being another candidate for the Boy who lived - and then he will snuff it, after having killed Bellatrix.
#8: If Ron doesn't die, another Weasley will. There are simply too many to choose from. It won't be Ginny (not Harry's true love, no!) or Bill (who has already suffered enough, I suppose). My bets are on one of the twins, Arthur, or Percy.
And that's that. What do you think?
As for the supposedly leaked copy, I'm still not sure I buy it. In any case, I have so far managed to remain absolutely unspoiled and I plan to keep it that way. Where would be the fun in it, anyway?
#1: Harry won't die. I might be naive, but to me it seems rather absurd to believe JKR would kill him off. After all, the books were originally planned to be for children. And what kind of message would that convey to the readers anyway? That the bad ultimately always wins? I know that's oversimplifying things a lot, but really, what "good" would it do to kill off Harry in the grand scheme of things, other than that no one truly believed it would happen and therefore it would be a surprise ending? Also, JKR said the last word would be 'scar'. Why would Harry's scar still be of any importance if he were dead? I mean, who would care?
#2: Hermione won't die. I have seen people state as reason for this that Hermione was JKR's alter ego and she wouldn't kill off herself. That might be true, and it sounds plausible. However, I believe there's another reason: If JKR really wants to kill one of the trio, then my bets would be on Ron. Ron and Harry always seemed to share the closer connection. Ron would be the one whose loss would be much harder to take - no offense to Hermione fans. The whole Weasley clan would be devastated AND Harry would lose his best friend. Whereas with Hermione, they'd surely all mourn her, too- but her family would do so more or less off-stage, being muggle, and Harry, while having lost a good friend, would still have his best friend Ron to lean on to. I might be completely wrong about the dynamics of the trio, but I always felt Ron and Harry were much closer, and not only because of the second task in GoF. Which is why...
#3: Ron will die. That is, only if JKR really wants to kill off one of the trio, which could be the case. After all, she said that two major characters would die.
#4: Voldemort will snuff it. Duh. Now, does he count as a major character? I guess JKR meant "major characters on the good side". Otherwise, would we care about their deaths?
#5: Remus and Tonks won't die. What would be the point, after Remus finally found some happiness in the last book? He was miserable long enough. Also, I believe JKR is much too fond of Nymphadora as a character. Which is also true of...
#6: Luna, who won't die, either. See ^Tonks.
#7: Neville will die. Just a feeling, but somehow I see Harry tell him about the prophecy and him being another candidate for the Boy who lived - and then he will snuff it, after having killed Bellatrix.
#8: If Ron doesn't die, another Weasley will. There are simply too many to choose from. It won't be Ginny (not Harry's true love, no!) or Bill (who has already suffered enough, I suppose). My bets are on one of the twins, Arthur, or Percy.
And that's that. What do you think?