HP7
Have about an hour before I head out for HP7 - nothing fancy, just joining the mob at Wal-Mart. No spoilers yet, and will be avoiding my flist after this until I'm done, 'cause even without saying anything, I'll be spoiled by "person A is happy so I will be, too" or "person B is pissed, so I'll be happy" or whatever.
So, just so I have it on the record, my theories.
Harry will not die. I know that many people think/worry that he will, and if it were being written by many of the people reading this, he would. But I don't think so. JKR first conceived of this whole thing as a children's story, and I don't think she went into it planning to kill the hero. While many of her ideas may have changed over the years, I just don't see it happening.
As for it being the "definite end" of the series? I think that's based on her insistence that 7 is all she's writing (although I had seen rumors that she is/was tossing around the idea of another, whether those are true or not). And, it can end definitively without Harry's death. I think it will end with him defeating V and his scar disappearing, therefore making him able to live a relatively peaceful, obscure life. People will know that Harry Potter is the guy who beat V, but he won't be instantly recognized as that person everywhere he goes anymore. So in that sense, HP as a Walking Poster Boy for Good *will* die.
So who will die in the traditional sense? Theoretically there are 2, although I'm sure a lot more people (semi-major characters included) will. Voldemort will be one. I'm guessing the other will be either Snape or Draco, in an act of redemption - because again, it's a children's story. I'm sure some of the other Death Eaters will die, whether it's someone as "big" as Lucius or Bellatrix (kind of betting on her, actually) or just the minor ones. If a Weasley dies, I'm betting it would be Percy, who manages a last-breath apology to his parents for not believing them. I can see kids dying, at least the ones Harry's age, but either in battle or Horcrux hunting, not because the Death Eaters have picked them off. Not Harry, not Ron, not Hermione, not Ginny, not Neville, not Luna. Not the twins. Not Seamus and Dean, but potentially one or the other - not both. Maybe possibly Charlie, but unlikely since they messed up Bill in the last book. Not McGonagall, but Hagrid's a possibility, especially with the opportunity for Grawp to go ballistic if it happens.
Snape evil? I think it'll be revealed that he was working with Dumbledore, it was all planned, blah blah blah. Draco will probably have an Act of Redemption, whether it ends in his death or not. Honestly, I can see V killing L for screwing something up, D attacking V in response (perhaps weakening him a smidgen) and getting himself killed over it. I can see him being redeemy out of a way to get back at V moreso than a moral enlightenment. Although I would really, really like to see Bad Characters who are not the main evil *stay* bad, without being told I have to feel sorry for them, or that they're just pretending, or that they've seen the error of their ways, because sometimes Bad People have simply chosen to be Bad People and don't see a problem with that. But, I think that's the one area where I'll definitely be disappointed.
I wouldn't be surprised if Sirius or Dumbledore come back. If nothing else, I think one or the other will show up in some sort of Priori Incantatum/"Use the Force, Luke" capacity. I doubt both will, and I lean more toward D than S, because S was more of the "couldn't adjust to the modern, non-Azkaban world" tragic character.
Yes, I see a happy ending, because again - it's a children's story. And I don't know that you invest so many years, 7 books, and everything that's gone with it (ie, this is what I'll be known for forever) in a story with a sad, 'sorry but he doesn't live happily ever after' ending. I think she'll choose a small fraction of people upset by what they consider literary cowardice over huge masses upset that she killed their hero. While people are openly stating that they're worried that she's going to kill Harry, I think most of them are hoping she doesn't.
And if I'm totally wrong, well, I'll close the book, put it on my shelf, print out one of the billion fics that will inevitably spring up starting Monday, wrap the dustjacket around it, and consider that the Real End to the Story. I have no problem with that.
Comments are off 'cause I don't want to stumble on any reactions/debate/whatever that may be spoilery.
So, just so I have it on the record, my theories.
Harry will not die. I know that many people think/worry that he will, and if it were being written by many of the people reading this, he would. But I don't think so. JKR first conceived of this whole thing as a children's story, and I don't think she went into it planning to kill the hero. While many of her ideas may have changed over the years, I just don't see it happening.
As for it being the "definite end" of the series? I think that's based on her insistence that 7 is all she's writing (although I had seen rumors that she is/was tossing around the idea of another, whether those are true or not). And, it can end definitively without Harry's death. I think it will end with him defeating V and his scar disappearing, therefore making him able to live a relatively peaceful, obscure life. People will know that Harry Potter is the guy who beat V, but he won't be instantly recognized as that person everywhere he goes anymore. So in that sense, HP as a Walking Poster Boy for Good *will* die.
So who will die in the traditional sense? Theoretically there are 2, although I'm sure a lot more people (semi-major characters included) will. Voldemort will be one. I'm guessing the other will be either Snape or Draco, in an act of redemption - because again, it's a children's story. I'm sure some of the other Death Eaters will die, whether it's someone as "big" as Lucius or Bellatrix (kind of betting on her, actually) or just the minor ones. If a Weasley dies, I'm betting it would be Percy, who manages a last-breath apology to his parents for not believing them. I can see kids dying, at least the ones Harry's age, but either in battle or Horcrux hunting, not because the Death Eaters have picked them off. Not Harry, not Ron, not Hermione, not Ginny, not Neville, not Luna. Not the twins. Not Seamus and Dean, but potentially one or the other - not both. Maybe possibly Charlie, but unlikely since they messed up Bill in the last book. Not McGonagall, but Hagrid's a possibility, especially with the opportunity for Grawp to go ballistic if it happens.
Snape evil? I think it'll be revealed that he was working with Dumbledore, it was all planned, blah blah blah. Draco will probably have an Act of Redemption, whether it ends in his death or not. Honestly, I can see V killing L for screwing something up, D attacking V in response (perhaps weakening him a smidgen) and getting himself killed over it. I can see him being redeemy out of a way to get back at V moreso than a moral enlightenment. Although I would really, really like to see Bad Characters who are not the main evil *stay* bad, without being told I have to feel sorry for them, or that they're just pretending, or that they've seen the error of their ways, because sometimes Bad People have simply chosen to be Bad People and don't see a problem with that. But, I think that's the one area where I'll definitely be disappointed.
I wouldn't be surprised if Sirius or Dumbledore come back. If nothing else, I think one or the other will show up in some sort of Priori Incantatum/"Use the Force, Luke" capacity. I doubt both will, and I lean more toward D than S, because S was more of the "couldn't adjust to the modern, non-Azkaban world" tragic character.
Yes, I see a happy ending, because again - it's a children's story. And I don't know that you invest so many years, 7 books, and everything that's gone with it (ie, this is what I'll be known for forever) in a story with a sad, 'sorry but he doesn't live happily ever after' ending. I think she'll choose a small fraction of people upset by what they consider literary cowardice over huge masses upset that she killed their hero. While people are openly stating that they're worried that she's going to kill Harry, I think most of them are hoping she doesn't.
And if I'm totally wrong, well, I'll close the book, put it on my shelf, print out one of the billion fics that will inevitably spring up starting Monday, wrap the dustjacket around it, and consider that the Real End to the Story. I have no problem with that.
Comments are off 'cause I don't want to stumble on any reactions/debate/whatever that may be spoilery.