Christmas in July
It's 1:40 CDT, and my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows still hasn't arrived on the UPS truck from Amazon.com.
A few days ago, I felt like I used to feel at Christmas when I was a kid--that cool feeling of knowing you're getting presents, the pleasant speculation of looking at the stuff Mom and Dad have already put under the tree and wondering what's in there, and the anticipation of knowing there will be more presents on Christmas morning. (For the record, there never were any more presents; my mother told me that she always piled all the presents neatly under the tree beforehand, and merely spread them out on Christmas Eve / morning once my brother and I finally managed to fall asleep.)
However, on Christmas, I know when I get to open the presents. I was never sitting there Christmas morning, waiting for Santa and his blasted reindeer to arrive.
I suppose this gives me extra speculation time. The short version:
MUST DIE: Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange.
PROBABLY WILL DIE: Peter Pettigrew, Fred and George Weasley, Sybil Trelawney.
MAY DIE: (My 50-50 category, depending on plot developments) Severus Snape, Harry Potter, Percy Weasley, Lucius Malfoy, Ollivander and Fortescue (from Diagon Alley), and Viktor Krum.
PROBABLY WILL NOT DIE: Hagrid (too hard to kill); Draco Malfoy (will be redeemed); Mad-Eye Moody; Minerva McGonnegal; Molly Weasley (we've already had one mother die for her kid); Neville Longbottom (though he may take Harry's place).
PROBABLY WILL LIVE: Arthur, Ginny, Ron, and Bill Weasley (have already survived mortal attacks by Voldemort and minions, and no Weasley has ever received 2 mortal attacks); Luna Lovegood.
MUST LIVE: Fawkes (Voldemort's already killed him once; didn't work) and Hermione Granger (to write the history).
NOT SURE: Horace Slughorn, Rufus Scrimgeor, Cornelius Fudge, Dolores Umbridge, Rita Skeeter, the Dursleys, Arabella Figg and Argus Filch; various secondary student characters such as Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, the Patil twins, Ernie Macmillan, Susan Bones, Zacharias Smith, Crabbe and Goyle, etc.
A few days ago, I felt like I used to feel at Christmas when I was a kid--that cool feeling of knowing you're getting presents, the pleasant speculation of looking at the stuff Mom and Dad have already put under the tree and wondering what's in there, and the anticipation of knowing there will be more presents on Christmas morning. (For the record, there never were any more presents; my mother told me that she always piled all the presents neatly under the tree beforehand, and merely spread them out on Christmas Eve / morning once my brother and I finally managed to fall asleep.)
However, on Christmas, I know when I get to open the presents. I was never sitting there Christmas morning, waiting for Santa and his blasted reindeer to arrive.
I suppose this gives me extra speculation time. The short version:
MUST DIE: Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange.
PROBABLY WILL DIE: Peter Pettigrew, Fred and George Weasley, Sybil Trelawney.
MAY DIE: (My 50-50 category, depending on plot developments) Severus Snape, Harry Potter, Percy Weasley, Lucius Malfoy, Ollivander and Fortescue (from Diagon Alley), and Viktor Krum.
PROBABLY WILL NOT DIE: Hagrid (too hard to kill); Draco Malfoy (will be redeemed); Mad-Eye Moody; Minerva McGonnegal; Molly Weasley (we've already had one mother die for her kid); Neville Longbottom (though he may take Harry's place).
PROBABLY WILL LIVE: Arthur, Ginny, Ron, and Bill Weasley (have already survived mortal attacks by Voldemort and minions, and no Weasley has ever received 2 mortal attacks); Luna Lovegood.
MUST LIVE: Fawkes (Voldemort's already killed him once; didn't work) and Hermione Granger (to write the history).
NOT SURE: Horace Slughorn, Rufus Scrimgeor, Cornelius Fudge, Dolores Umbridge, Rita Skeeter, the Dursleys, Arabella Figg and Argus Filch; various secondary student characters such as Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, the Patil twins, Ernie Macmillan, Susan Bones, Zacharias Smith, Crabbe and Goyle, etc.