Alas, earwax!
Harry Potter Seven. Final Book. Twitch. I have a new icon just for the occasion!
I'm a Ravenclaw, through and through, so bear with me as I speculate the fuck out of the book. And so, with 10 hours left, I warn you I am out of my mind. Enjoy!
Snape and Lily
Hokay. So. I've jumped on the Snape Is Good bandwagon, and for good reason. Snape was in love with Lily Potter. It's been said that James wasn't the only one with feelings for Lily, and it's logical to rule out Sirius, Remus, and Peter (as if any of them would touch his best mate's girl). The only other characters we have solid knowledge were at Hogwarts at the same time were Frank Longbottom and Severeus Snape. Judging from his behaviour in the pensieve scene, Snape could easily be hiding feelings for Lily, which only feeds his resentment of the overly confident James. We we're supposed to find out something very significant about Lily in the seventh book, and were supposed to find out something significant in the fifth book about her, as well. The ONLY thing we discover about Lily in OOTP was that she stood up for Snape against her future husband. This would explain James' seemingly random hatred for Snape, but it doesn't explain Sirius' (though it's likely he was just supportive of his best friend). In the same scene, Snape is shaking with anger and speaks bitterly about James, but never says a single word about Lily. This theory is vaguely continued under 'Horcruxes.'
Life Debts
Moving on! My biggest conspiracy theory has to do with life-debts in the series. You've got James saving Snape's life and incurring a debt (unknown action), Snape saving Harry' life to pay back that debt (SS) Snape saving Dumbledore's life and incurring a debt (the poison in the ring Horcrux), Dumbledore conceivably saving Snape's life to repay that debt (saving Snape from the Unbreakable Vow), and Harry saving Pettigrew's life (POA). So, the biggest kink in all of this is Snape not being able to save James Potters' life before he died, and so repaying the debt by saving Harry's. If Snape truly resented James as much as he did, and had he been morally hardened from years of being a Death Eater, it's surprising to me that he could just put aside years of bitterness to save Harry's life. It's too pat. And we all know about the Unbreakable Vow, right? I'm going to assume there's a REASON it's unbreakable, as in the consequences for breaking it have to be dire. Like, DEATH, dire. So what if the ramifications for breaking a life-debt are just as severe. Is there something besides just good will propelling the payback?
If we stay on that track, then we have one debt that's yet to be repaid. JK Rowling said it herself in an interview: Voldemort isn't going to be pleased that one of his closest servants owes Harry Potter his life. This would explain why Pettigrew, at the beginning of HBP, was being 'guarded' by Snape, one of Voldemort's most trusted, and most powerful followers. If Peter is in a battle with Harry at any point, I really can't see fanatical Peter pausing to consider how nice it would be of him to spare Harry's life and disobey the Dark Lord. So what if Pettigrew were to die before a Potter confrontation? Since Snape couldn't pay his debt to James before he died, he had to save his flesh and blood, instead. Rowling said no new characters will be introduced in this book, so Pettigrew doesn't have any children. Who else has Pettigrew's flesh and blood but Voldemort himself? Wouldn't this mean the magical debt would pass into him?
RAB
And there's the matter of RAB. Everyone's fairly certain it's Regalus Black, yes? It COULD NOT have been Regalus Black alone. He would have had to go through the same life-threatening process Dumbledore and Harry did to get to the Horcrux, which Dumbledore confirmed could not have been done alone. While he had to have had someone else there, Black's helper would have to be underage, or otherwise able to diffuse his magical abilities to seem less powerful in order to get on the boat. Kreacher, perhaps? Kreacher would have to obey everything Regalus told him, and a 'mysterious locket' turned up during the scouring of Grimmauld Place, which would have been kept in Kreacher's possession this entire time. But this presents another problem. If Regalus explicitly told Kreacher, as Dumbledore did, 'no matter what I may say later, you must give me the potion,' Kreacher would have been in a dilemna. While Harry, unbound to Dumbledore except by human loyalty, could use his brain and force Dumbledore to keep drinking, Kreacher is MAGICALLY bound to the house of Black. Even if Regalus told him not to listen to him, wouldn't be obligated to obey his later orders of 'stop making me drink this?'
There's another problem with RAB, as pointed out by Porter. According to the Black family tree, Regalus was eighteen when he died. Barely legal. How could such a young man be capable of destroying a Horcrux when it virtually killed Dumbledore, and how could he be high up enough in the ranks of the Death Eaters to find out about the Horcrux to begin with?
Harry's Fate
As for Harry? I'm torn. Rowling's either going to take a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle path, and NOT kill her cash cow baby, (Sherlock Holmes appeared to die in an epic battle with his arch enemy, but mysteriously survived), or she's going to follow in the footsteps of Agatha Christie and end the series finitely, destroying all chance at a sequel fifty years later (Hercule Poirot was killed at the end of the series). I think Keith Olbermann had a really interesting point. What if Harry's scar is a Horcrux? This has been discussed in depth before, but consider: if it IS, than Harry would have to kill himself. What if, as Harry points his wand to his forehead, ready to off himself, Snape or some other significant canon character, tells him there's another way? (This is all BLATANTLY stolen from Countdown, by the way) That the Horcrux can be destroyed, but with it will go all over Harry's magical abilities? Or his memories? OR WHAT IF HE WILL SINK INTO AN IRREVERSIBLE COMA?! *cue soap music*
Luna, Ollivander, and Florean
There are also some obscure little things that have been poking at me for a while. One is Luna Lovegood. Rowling proved with Draco (and Hagrid, for that matter) that she's not about to leave any characters two-dimensional. I find it hard to believe that Luna's just going to be left as Loony forever. She can see thestrals, she was in the battle in the DOM, and, as Tyler noted, she demonstrates behavior that could be seen as either eerily foreshadowing, or psychic. Luna's mother died because of 'an experiment,' when she was nine, and we're expected just to accept that? It seems like a bit out of character for Rowling to mention something casually and NOT have it turn up as a big plot point later on (chocolate frog cards, the chap who sold Hagrid Norbert, Ginny's weird behaviour, Moody's hip flask, etc..)
I think the disappearances of Ollivander and Florean have to be really significant. It's easy to assume Voldemort wants Ollivander for his powerful magical abilities, but then why would be kidnap an ice cream man? Does Voldie really want a fudgsicle THAT badly? Ollivander's Wands has been open since 382 BC, and Florean knew a lot about medieval times. Could they both be giving Voldemort some sort of information? Or perhaps they have Horcruxes of their own? Harry described Ollivanders' store as 'tingling with some secret magic,' and Ollivander has silvery, orb-like eyes that aren't quite human. Slughorn said that very few people choose to use Horcruxes, so Voldemort can't be the only one with them in the Wizarding world. If Ollivander and Florean both have them, it would allow them to have supernaturally long life spans, like since 382 BC? Perhaps Voldemort is realizing that his Horcruxes are being hunted, and needs information on them from fellow soul-splitters?
Deaths
I think that, since we know two major characters are going to die, one of them has to be Hagrid. Hagrid has been with us since the very, very beginning, and has constantly proven himself to be courageous and useful in his own ways throughout. Unfortunately, he's also more than willing to put himself on the front line in battle, as seen at the end of HBP, and this could easily lead to his demise.
I don't think JK could really kill Ron, he's just too...Ron. Hermione, however, while playing a significant role in the books, seems more expendable than Ron, somehow. While I don't think she'll go through with it, I think Rowling's more likely to off Hermione than Ron.
Bellatrix offed by Neville would be beautiful. Speaking of Bellatrix, shouldn't SHE be the rightful master of Kreacher, not Harry? What if Kreacher's been faking Harry's orders all along, on Bella's orders? Nothing Harry told him to do was that terribly difficult to obey, or to PRETEND to obey, for that matter. But I digress.
I sort of want Pettigrew to die. And while it kills my life debt theory, it would shut all the Marauder Suethors up about how they 'couldn't trust him from the start, I always kneewww! omgzlol!' Maybe he'll die while protecting Harry, thus fulfilling his life debt, and living up to his status as both a Marauder, and a Gryffindor.
Dumbledore isn't coming back. Sirius isn't coming back, but the veil is. I don't feel the need to delve into this, really.
Horcruxes
1. Diary Destroyed in COS
2. The Ring of Gaunt Taken by Dumbledore in HBP, whereabouts unknown
3. Hufflepuff's Cup Whereabouts unknown
4. Something of Ravenclaw's Speculated by Dumbledore
5. Something of Gryffindor's Speculated by Dumbldefore
6. Snake Speculated by Dumbledore, with Voldemort
7. Slytherin's locket Whereabouts unknown
I don't believe that Nagini is a Horcrux. It doesn't seem logical for Voldemort to keep a part of his soul so dangerously close to him, and send it out to kill Arthur Weasley. Voldemort is overly cautious, keep in mind, look at all the protection the locket gets. But, on the other hand, look at all the protection the diary got. How did Lucious get it, anyways? Voldemort couldn't have just left it lying in Flourish and Blotts, could he?
As far as the locket goes, I think it was being kept in Grimmauld Place, then stolen by Mundungus Fletcher, then taken by Aberforth Dumbledore (barkeep at the Hog's Head <-- unconfirmed, but highly, highly likely and recognized by most fans as true). As Harry, Ron, and Hermione approached Mundungus' stand in Hogsmeade, Harry recognized the barkeep from the Hog's Head walking away just as they walked up. He clutched his cloak tighter around his NECK, specifically. I think Aberforth has the locket with him right now.
I think the Dementors could possibly have a significant role in dealing with the Horcruxes. It's been beaten into our heads that Dementors suck the soul from people, so why couldn't they suck the soul from a Horcrux? If Harry IS a Horcrux (which presents problems of its own, mainly why Voldemort would spend six books trying to destroy a part of his own soul, unless he only needs Harry's bones, or some similar inanimate appendage), Voldemort's soul could potentially be extracted from him without harming Harry, though this seems like a long shot.
Something else that's been irking me about the Dementors is Petunia's knowledge of them. She knows they guard the Wizarding Prison, but what else does she know about them? In OOTP, Petunia said she heard 'that horrible boy' telling Lily about them. Since I doubt very much Petunia was at Hogwarts at any point for a nice visit, this exchange about Dementors would have to had taken place in the muggle world, likely at the Evans' household. Now, we know that Lily only started seeing James in their seventh year, so they'd be out of Hogwarts at Lily's house when they were overheard by Petunia. Lily was a smart witch, I don't believe she went through seven years of school without knowing the basic purpose of Dementors. So why were her and James discussing them? Unless 'that horrible boy' wasn't James at all. What if he was Snape, who was even then greasy and unkempt, which certainly wouldn't have appealed to Petunia? Or Regalus Black, who certainly would have known Lily as the love interest of his brother's best friend? Or even as a 'dab hand' at potions? Either way, that whole thing seems really weird to me.
Miscellaneous Questions
We know that one of Harry's friends, 'not necessarily who we think,' will become a professor at Hogwarts, eventually. This means that Hogwarts is not gone for good, though I'm still not positive it will be open this coming year. I think a delightful person to be a new teacher would be Neville teaching Herbology. It's just cute.
What did Dumbledore see in the Mirror of Erised, really? And for that matter, we're supposed to find out what Dudley saw during the Dementor attack, what could sheltered, cocky Dudley honestly have to fear?
JK has confirmed that we will be seeing Viktor Krum, Rita Skeeter, Umbridge, Norbert, Nagini, Fawkes, and Grawp again. In what capacity? Is the Hermione/Krum factor going to play into the imminent Ron/Hermione hookup? Is Rita Skeeter going to actually have some purpose besides convenient gossip? What side is Umbridge on? That alone brings up the matter of what the hell the Ministry's doing. Rufus Scrimgeour, for being played up so much in the buildup to HBP, didn't actually DO all that much. While Fudge was a bumbling moron, he wasn't too entirely dangerous, and we knew about all of his actions. We don't know squat about what Rufus is up to, and what he HAS been up to in the sixth book, apart from distributing pamphlets. Nagini I don't think is a Horcrux, but the webmaster of Veritaserum brought up the possibility of Nagini being the snake Harry freed during SS. While this seems far-fetched, it brings in yet another debt that a servant of Voldemort may have to Harry, could Nagini free Harry at some point? (although it seems slightly odd, it's fun to ponder). Harry is confirmed to be getting a new pet, and I feel it's safe to assume it's Fawkes. Grawp? Sigh. Screw Grawp, I didn't care all too much for him.
Oh, Gods, this is the last chance I'm ever going to get to wonder. It's going to kill me to finish this series, I swear.
;Kileigh
I'm a Ravenclaw, through and through, so bear with me as I speculate the fuck out of the book. And so, with 10 hours left, I warn you I am out of my mind. Enjoy!
Snape and Lily
Hokay. So. I've jumped on the Snape Is Good bandwagon, and for good reason. Snape was in love with Lily Potter. It's been said that James wasn't the only one with feelings for Lily, and it's logical to rule out Sirius, Remus, and Peter (as if any of them would touch his best mate's girl). The only other characters we have solid knowledge were at Hogwarts at the same time were Frank Longbottom and Severeus Snape. Judging from his behaviour in the pensieve scene, Snape could easily be hiding feelings for Lily, which only feeds his resentment of the overly confident James. We we're supposed to find out something very significant about Lily in the seventh book, and were supposed to find out something significant in the fifth book about her, as well. The ONLY thing we discover about Lily in OOTP was that she stood up for Snape against her future husband. This would explain James' seemingly random hatred for Snape, but it doesn't explain Sirius' (though it's likely he was just supportive of his best friend). In the same scene, Snape is shaking with anger and speaks bitterly about James, but never says a single word about Lily. This theory is vaguely continued under 'Horcruxes.'
Life Debts
Moving on! My biggest conspiracy theory has to do with life-debts in the series. You've got James saving Snape's life and incurring a debt (unknown action), Snape saving Harry' life to pay back that debt (SS) Snape saving Dumbledore's life and incurring a debt (the poison in the ring Horcrux), Dumbledore conceivably saving Snape's life to repay that debt (saving Snape from the Unbreakable Vow), and Harry saving Pettigrew's life (POA). So, the biggest kink in all of this is Snape not being able to save James Potters' life before he died, and so repaying the debt by saving Harry's. If Snape truly resented James as much as he did, and had he been morally hardened from years of being a Death Eater, it's surprising to me that he could just put aside years of bitterness to save Harry's life. It's too pat. And we all know about the Unbreakable Vow, right? I'm going to assume there's a REASON it's unbreakable, as in the consequences for breaking it have to be dire. Like, DEATH, dire. So what if the ramifications for breaking a life-debt are just as severe. Is there something besides just good will propelling the payback?
If we stay on that track, then we have one debt that's yet to be repaid. JK Rowling said it herself in an interview: Voldemort isn't going to be pleased that one of his closest servants owes Harry Potter his life. This would explain why Pettigrew, at the beginning of HBP, was being 'guarded' by Snape, one of Voldemort's most trusted, and most powerful followers. If Peter is in a battle with Harry at any point, I really can't see fanatical Peter pausing to consider how nice it would be of him to spare Harry's life and disobey the Dark Lord. So what if Pettigrew were to die before a Potter confrontation? Since Snape couldn't pay his debt to James before he died, he had to save his flesh and blood, instead. Rowling said no new characters will be introduced in this book, so Pettigrew doesn't have any children. Who else has Pettigrew's flesh and blood but Voldemort himself? Wouldn't this mean the magical debt would pass into him?
RAB
And there's the matter of RAB. Everyone's fairly certain it's Regalus Black, yes? It COULD NOT have been Regalus Black alone. He would have had to go through the same life-threatening process Dumbledore and Harry did to get to the Horcrux, which Dumbledore confirmed could not have been done alone. While he had to have had someone else there, Black's helper would have to be underage, or otherwise able to diffuse his magical abilities to seem less powerful in order to get on the boat. Kreacher, perhaps? Kreacher would have to obey everything Regalus told him, and a 'mysterious locket' turned up during the scouring of Grimmauld Place, which would have been kept in Kreacher's possession this entire time. But this presents another problem. If Regalus explicitly told Kreacher, as Dumbledore did, 'no matter what I may say later, you must give me the potion,' Kreacher would have been in a dilemna. While Harry, unbound to Dumbledore except by human loyalty, could use his brain and force Dumbledore to keep drinking, Kreacher is MAGICALLY bound to the house of Black. Even if Regalus told him not to listen to him, wouldn't be obligated to obey his later orders of 'stop making me drink this?'
There's another problem with RAB, as pointed out by Porter. According to the Black family tree, Regalus was eighteen when he died. Barely legal. How could such a young man be capable of destroying a Horcrux when it virtually killed Dumbledore, and how could he be high up enough in the ranks of the Death Eaters to find out about the Horcrux to begin with?
Harry's Fate
As for Harry? I'm torn. Rowling's either going to take a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle path, and NOT kill her cash cow baby, (Sherlock Holmes appeared to die in an epic battle with his arch enemy, but mysteriously survived), or she's going to follow in the footsteps of Agatha Christie and end the series finitely, destroying all chance at a sequel fifty years later (Hercule Poirot was killed at the end of the series). I think Keith Olbermann had a really interesting point. What if Harry's scar is a Horcrux? This has been discussed in depth before, but consider: if it IS, than Harry would have to kill himself. What if, as Harry points his wand to his forehead, ready to off himself, Snape or some other significant canon character, tells him there's another way? (This is all BLATANTLY stolen from Countdown, by the way) That the Horcrux can be destroyed, but with it will go all over Harry's magical abilities? Or his memories? OR WHAT IF HE WILL SINK INTO AN IRREVERSIBLE COMA?! *cue soap music*
Luna, Ollivander, and Florean
There are also some obscure little things that have been poking at me for a while. One is Luna Lovegood. Rowling proved with Draco (and Hagrid, for that matter) that she's not about to leave any characters two-dimensional. I find it hard to believe that Luna's just going to be left as Loony forever. She can see thestrals, she was in the battle in the DOM, and, as Tyler noted, she demonstrates behavior that could be seen as either eerily foreshadowing, or psychic. Luna's mother died because of 'an experiment,' when she was nine, and we're expected just to accept that? It seems like a bit out of character for Rowling to mention something casually and NOT have it turn up as a big plot point later on (chocolate frog cards, the chap who sold Hagrid Norbert, Ginny's weird behaviour, Moody's hip flask, etc..)
I think the disappearances of Ollivander and Florean have to be really significant. It's easy to assume Voldemort wants Ollivander for his powerful magical abilities, but then why would be kidnap an ice cream man? Does Voldie really want a fudgsicle THAT badly? Ollivander's Wands has been open since 382 BC, and Florean knew a lot about medieval times. Could they both be giving Voldemort some sort of information? Or perhaps they have Horcruxes of their own? Harry described Ollivanders' store as 'tingling with some secret magic,' and Ollivander has silvery, orb-like eyes that aren't quite human. Slughorn said that very few people choose to use Horcruxes, so Voldemort can't be the only one with them in the Wizarding world. If Ollivander and Florean both have them, it would allow them to have supernaturally long life spans, like since 382 BC? Perhaps Voldemort is realizing that his Horcruxes are being hunted, and needs information on them from fellow soul-splitters?
Deaths
I think that, since we know two major characters are going to die, one of them has to be Hagrid. Hagrid has been with us since the very, very beginning, and has constantly proven himself to be courageous and useful in his own ways throughout. Unfortunately, he's also more than willing to put himself on the front line in battle, as seen at the end of HBP, and this could easily lead to his demise.
I don't think JK could really kill Ron, he's just too...Ron. Hermione, however, while playing a significant role in the books, seems more expendable than Ron, somehow. While I don't think she'll go through with it, I think Rowling's more likely to off Hermione than Ron.
Bellatrix offed by Neville would be beautiful. Speaking of Bellatrix, shouldn't SHE be the rightful master of Kreacher, not Harry? What if Kreacher's been faking Harry's orders all along, on Bella's orders? Nothing Harry told him to do was that terribly difficult to obey, or to PRETEND to obey, for that matter. But I digress.
I sort of want Pettigrew to die. And while it kills my life debt theory, it would shut all the Marauder Suethors up about how they 'couldn't trust him from the start, I always kneewww! omgzlol!' Maybe he'll die while protecting Harry, thus fulfilling his life debt, and living up to his status as both a Marauder, and a Gryffindor.
Dumbledore isn't coming back. Sirius isn't coming back, but the veil is. I don't feel the need to delve into this, really.
Horcruxes
1. Diary Destroyed in COS
2. The Ring of Gaunt Taken by Dumbledore in HBP, whereabouts unknown
3. Hufflepuff's Cup Whereabouts unknown
4. Something of Ravenclaw's Speculated by Dumbledore
5. Something of Gryffindor's Speculated by Dumbldefore
6. Snake Speculated by Dumbledore, with Voldemort
7. Slytherin's locket Whereabouts unknown
I don't believe that Nagini is a Horcrux. It doesn't seem logical for Voldemort to keep a part of his soul so dangerously close to him, and send it out to kill Arthur Weasley. Voldemort is overly cautious, keep in mind, look at all the protection the locket gets. But, on the other hand, look at all the protection the diary got. How did Lucious get it, anyways? Voldemort couldn't have just left it lying in Flourish and Blotts, could he?
As far as the locket goes, I think it was being kept in Grimmauld Place, then stolen by Mundungus Fletcher, then taken by Aberforth Dumbledore (barkeep at the Hog's Head <-- unconfirmed, but highly, highly likely and recognized by most fans as true). As Harry, Ron, and Hermione approached Mundungus' stand in Hogsmeade, Harry recognized the barkeep from the Hog's Head walking away just as they walked up. He clutched his cloak tighter around his NECK, specifically. I think Aberforth has the locket with him right now.
I think the Dementors could possibly have a significant role in dealing with the Horcruxes. It's been beaten into our heads that Dementors suck the soul from people, so why couldn't they suck the soul from a Horcrux? If Harry IS a Horcrux (which presents problems of its own, mainly why Voldemort would spend six books trying to destroy a part of his own soul, unless he only needs Harry's bones, or some similar inanimate appendage), Voldemort's soul could potentially be extracted from him without harming Harry, though this seems like a long shot.
Something else that's been irking me about the Dementors is Petunia's knowledge of them. She knows they guard the Wizarding Prison, but what else does she know about them? In OOTP, Petunia said she heard 'that horrible boy' telling Lily about them. Since I doubt very much Petunia was at Hogwarts at any point for a nice visit, this exchange about Dementors would have to had taken place in the muggle world, likely at the Evans' household. Now, we know that Lily only started seeing James in their seventh year, so they'd be out of Hogwarts at Lily's house when they were overheard by Petunia. Lily was a smart witch, I don't believe she went through seven years of school without knowing the basic purpose of Dementors. So why were her and James discussing them? Unless 'that horrible boy' wasn't James at all. What if he was Snape, who was even then greasy and unkempt, which certainly wouldn't have appealed to Petunia? Or Regalus Black, who certainly would have known Lily as the love interest of his brother's best friend? Or even as a 'dab hand' at potions? Either way, that whole thing seems really weird to me.
Miscellaneous Questions
We know that one of Harry's friends, 'not necessarily who we think,' will become a professor at Hogwarts, eventually. This means that Hogwarts is not gone for good, though I'm still not positive it will be open this coming year. I think a delightful person to be a new teacher would be Neville teaching Herbology. It's just cute.
What did Dumbledore see in the Mirror of Erised, really? And for that matter, we're supposed to find out what Dudley saw during the Dementor attack, what could sheltered, cocky Dudley honestly have to fear?
JK has confirmed that we will be seeing Viktor Krum, Rita Skeeter, Umbridge, Norbert, Nagini, Fawkes, and Grawp again. In what capacity? Is the Hermione/Krum factor going to play into the imminent Ron/Hermione hookup? Is Rita Skeeter going to actually have some purpose besides convenient gossip? What side is Umbridge on? That alone brings up the matter of what the hell the Ministry's doing. Rufus Scrimgeour, for being played up so much in the buildup to HBP, didn't actually DO all that much. While Fudge was a bumbling moron, he wasn't too entirely dangerous, and we knew about all of his actions. We don't know squat about what Rufus is up to, and what he HAS been up to in the sixth book, apart from distributing pamphlets. Nagini I don't think is a Horcrux, but the webmaster of Veritaserum brought up the possibility of Nagini being the snake Harry freed during SS. While this seems far-fetched, it brings in yet another debt that a servant of Voldemort may have to Harry, could Nagini free Harry at some point? (although it seems slightly odd, it's fun to ponder). Harry is confirmed to be getting a new pet, and I feel it's safe to assume it's Fawkes. Grawp? Sigh. Screw Grawp, I didn't care all too much for him.
Oh, Gods, this is the last chance I'm ever going to get to wonder. It's going to kill me to finish this series, I swear.
;Kileigh