Nine Predictions for the 7th Book
Good evening, folks!
I've been seeing people fearlessly post their predictions, theories and thoughts about book 7 around lately and I've decided, on a dull Sunday night, to risk being proved totally wrong, wrong, wrong too.
God knows, I don't remember ever being as astonished by a plot twist as I was when I realized Scabbers had been Peter Pettigrew all along. That's one of the beauties of HP; there's something very satisfying about reading six novels out of a proposed seven novel series and still having to guess how it's all going to end up - especially when a lot of novelists can't keep ya guessing through the whole of one novel. And it's wonderful to be in a fandom where everyone is thinking and pondering and coming up w/ one ingenious theory after another; I've certainly incorporated different elements from the theories of others into my own theories, and although it's sometimes hard to say where one first encountered the "R.A.B.-is-Regulus" theory, etc, I'm hardly the first to think of some of the ideas I'll be mentioning.
So, all that being said, here are my amaaaaazing predictions, all publicly posted to be laughed at down the road!
(Or, you know, laughed at now if that seems more appropriate - I'll welcome debate)
- The Meaning of Harry's Dream
Snape was there at GH. Harry saw him, and dreamed about it ten years later, in PS (Scholastic Edition, Chapter 7, page 130). So, yeah, no Invisibility Cloak, or Harry could not have seen him. LV, of course, was also there, according to Harry's dream, and so, I think, was Lucius Malfoy, though Harry confused him with his son Draco in his nightmare. And Harry actually may be carrying a portion of LV's soul (making him, in effect, a horcrux-by-mistake) since in this dream, Harry thought he was wearing Quirrel's turban (which, in fact, contained Voldemort) and the turban was telling him his destiny was in Slytherin. The turban started to tighten and hurt as Harry's dream went on, which may be a dream-memory of the infliction of the scar wound, and Harry could not dislodge it from his head. But, have no fear, I don't think Harry will have to die to get rid of this piece of LV's soul. See below.
- Snape Killed James
While he was there that night, Snape somehow ran afoul of James. My personal opinion is that Snape inadvertently dealt James a mortal wound, which did not kill him instantly. Snape may have hated James, but I doubt he wanted him dead, and according to DD, Snape has already started working against LV at this time, so I think Snape was horrified by what he'd accidentally done. James' last words to Snape were probably "protect my family" - and Snape felt compelled, by honor if not by magic, to do just that. There may even have been an UV with James, which would be a dramatic payoff to the introduction of the concept of an UV in HBP. Whatever the specifics, this could explain why Snape has always tried to protect Harry, though he despises him, it goes a ways toward explaining why Snape hates Harry, and it provides an explanation for why DD was so secretive about his reasons for trusting Snape. If Snape killed Harry's dad, DD simply could not have asked people like Harry or Sirius or anyone, really, to trust Snape; they'd all have been screaming for his blood. I do know that LV has said directly that he killed James, but I think he's either mistaken or lying. So, it's not Snape's connection to Lily, but rather his connection to James that is significant here.
- Harry's Mercy
Harry will discover this deep secret, and achieve his own redemption, plus, indirectly, that of the generation before him, by finding a way to have mercy for Snape, just as he did for Peter in the SS. The memory of Sirius and/or James may help him do this, and Remus could help too, since Sirius and Remus both once stayed their hands and showed Peter mercy at Harry's request. So, Harry could conceivably be persuaded that he owes them a similar debt of mercy. Peter also, who owes a life-debt to Harry and who was last seen in proximity to Snape, may discharge his debt by somehow inspiring Harry's mercy for Snape. Also, here is where the memory of Lily could play a role, since I do think that a social connection to Lily is being set up w/ Snape, vis-a-vis the Slug Club, the mutual interest in Potions, and so on. Lily and Snape might have been friends, and Snape could have turned against LV because Lily asked him to help protect her family. I do not, however, think Snape was ever in love with Lily. In any case, if Harry can be persuaded to see Snape through Lily's eyes, the cycle of vengeance and hate that is so much a part of the Marauder's saga will end with Harry.
- Padfoot Returns Again
Sirius is going to reappear as Padfoot in book 7, which is one reason why he seemed to be so "forgotten" in HBP. I think JKR was doing a bit of misdirection to heighten the surprise when he does appear. A "Padfoot" (or a Grim, for that matter) is a large, black, spectral dog, and one of the traditional mythological properties of such dog-apparitions is to guard the crossroads between life and death. The Veil, I believe, is such a crossroads. I think Sirius is once again going to do something that is believed to be impossible, because that's a consistent characterization for him, for one thing, and because he is also Padfoot, uniquely suited to go into the Veil but not pass though it. Padfoot is still inside the Veil, neither passing back into life nor passing on into death, guarding the crossroads. He's waiting to perform one final task before he moves on, as Sirius, to wizarding afterlife.
- Harry Goes Through the Veil
Harry will be passing into the Veil himself (at least as a consciousness if not in the flesh), and so will LV. Harry also has a history of being the only known wizard to do something impossible, and he has gone through metaphorical death-resurrection ordeals in each book. I believe he will go into the Veil, and yet not die. How? I predict that Harry, in the end, will discover that LV's ability to possess him can work in the other direction, and I think Harry will possess LV long enough to cause him to throw himself into the Veil, taking his own physical body and Harry's consciousness with him. Even if Harry will not have discovered and destroyed all of the LV's horcruxes (I'm predicting, in fact, that he won't) sending LV through the Veil will effectively take him out of the mortal world forever, even if he goes through alive, just like Sirius did before him (a good structural reason for Sirius' death, btw, as a model of what happens to those who go thru alive). Thus, Harry uses his one advantage over LV, his lack of fear of death, makes the ultimate sacrifice, and gets rid of LV w/o becoming a murderer himself. He also finally ditches the piece of LV's soul that he's been carrying, while in the limbo of the Veil. But now Harry, or his soul at least, is on the wrong side of the Veil. How can he get back?
- Padfoot as the Guardian of the Crossroads
Padfoot! LV has nothing on the other side of life but an army of his own victims. But Harry has Padfoot, who has been waiting at this crossroads for just this purpose. Padfoot will guide Harry, or Harry's soul, back to the side of the living, and then, purpose discharged at last, move on to join James and Lily and DD and all of Harry's loved ones in the afterlife himself. LV, because he still has horcruxes in the natural world, will be unable to move out of the limbo of the crossroads at all - unable to go back and unable to go forward. He will be trapped for eternity, neither living nor dead, immortal in a way, condemned to the most ironic fate imaginable, by his own fear and arrogance.
- Who Will Die, Who Won't?
Though Snape looks like a goner, he may well survive. If the "Harry's Mercy" plot line materializes, he will have to live on, plus, Snape is the pain-in-the-hero's-neck character who just won't go away, isn't he? At least one representative of the MWPP generation has to survive, I think, and it could be either Snape or Lupin or both. Hagrid is likely to die. Grawp, I fear, will survive, and may take up Hagrid's old post at Hogwarts or be integrated into the WW in some way. Tonks may die as a Big Loss in the present generation, and I think Moody is marked for death, but McGonagall will probably live. None of the trio will be killed, because Harry's final death-resurrection cycle (like the phoenix, now I think about it) will serve the same purpose plot-wise that killing any of them off would. Bella, Peter, and probably Lucius will be major casualties in the DE camp, but Draco will survive, because bigoted little purebloods like him are still part of the WW, and he will be needed to help rebuild the world.
- Who is R.A.B?
R.A.B. is definitely Regulus. But the potion in the cave was the real horcrux, and all that locket mumbo-jumbo was DD's sleight-of-hand to get Harry to go along with a method of destroying a horcrux that would be fatal to whoever undertook it. Regulus did discover and destroy the locket-horcrux, but he was never in the cave at all, and nor was the locket, until DD brought the fake locket in himself. I think DD knew he was dying due to his injuries from destroying the ring, and as such, knew that this was the time to destroy the potion-horcrux - a horcrux that could only be destroyed by drinking it, and then destroying the drinker. DD had drafted an unwilling Snape to take part in this scheme of DD's, and that is why Snape killed him on the Tower. To destroy the horcrux inside DD. (see synaesthete 's theory here: http://synaesthete7.livejournal.com/169704.html)
- The Missing Father, Found
I think Ginny has to survive, and I believe Harry must marry her. Harry's deepest, most consistent wish throughout the saga has been to have a family, and this saga is also a coming-of-age story. How do adults express their desire for family connections? By creating families of their own. Harry will resolve the constant leitmotif of the missing father in the story by becoming a father himself. And it won't be the first time that Harry has "channeled" his dad; in JKR's universe, "the ones who love us never really leave us" not only because they live on in our memories, but also because they live on in their descendents. I've rarely seen a story that dealt so closely with the legacies of previous generations.
So, that's it! I may have more predictions later, but these are my main ones for now. And have a great Sunday and a Happy Halloween!