I do and don't want it to end, you know? I mean, I want to know what happens to Harry and everyone else, but at the same time, I've been living with this mystery for seven years now. It's become a friend, if you will. And in just 16 days, 1 hour, 54 minutes and 21, 20, 19 seconds, it will be gone.
With the advent of the residency fast approaching, I have been oscillating between doing homework and rereading HP. A little too much rereading and not enough hmwk, to be honest. Alas, it will all get done.
I've read 1-3 and then 6. I will re-read 4 and 5 after OotP comes out next week so that there's a little element of surprise when watching the movie from the details I've forgotten upon my first and second read throughs. I like to find what the movie missed by rereading after anyway.
I'd really like to do a movie marathon of 1-4 soon, too.
Here's so things I've observed and written to friends in the past few weeks, and some other people's observations as well:
First Kara wrote:I'm sure you've all heard about the Soprano's final moments now, if you cared about the show at all (I think Tony's dead, based on the flash-back to Bobby saying something like "when you get wacked, I bet it just all goes black"). So, Keith Olberman has put out his own spoiler as to how the Harry Potter book will end:
"Harry, Ron and Hermione enter a diner. They order Butter Beer and onion rings. Voldemort is sitting at the lunch counter, marking time. Outside, Ron’s sister, Ginny, is having a hell of a time parallel parking, even though she’s using her wand. And just then the door to the diner opens and Harry Potter looks up and—the last 11 pages of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” are freaking blank."
I was amused. I'm still banking on the new book being the highlight of my summer. Is Harry's scar the final horcurx? Will Harry have to give up his magical powers in order to survive (a nicer ending than just bumping both Harry and Voldemort), and in doing so, wipe out the powers of Voldemort? Did Dumbledore create his own horcurx, and will he show up in the final book afterall? Who knows, but we have less than a month to wait!
Then I wrote:
KB, those Harry predictions are interesting. I never thought of the scar being a horcrux. I don't think Dumbledore would make any horcruxes because they are dark magic.
One thing I was thinking about, though, was that "as long as there are people faithful to me at Hogwarts, I will always be around" or something like that from the 2nd book when Harry shows faith to Dumbledore and Fawkes and the sorting hat enter the Chamber.
Upon rereading the 2nd, I think that another one of the horcruxes will be the shield that Tom Riddle received for service to the school. It's written about so often and Jo (as we're advised to call her on her fan page) said that there are a lot of parts of 2 and 6 that go together. In fact, I noticed the twin cupboards that Malfoy uses to get to Knockturn Alley from Hogwarts is mentioned in 2.
THe other thing I've been thinking about is the prophecy. It doesn't make sense, semantically, or it doesn't necessarily mean what Harry thinks it means. "Neither can live while the other survives." Does it really mean that one has to kill the other? As it stands, neither are really "living" in the sense of having a normal life, while either of them are surviving. If it were "One can't live while the other survives," then that would mean one of them would have to die for the other to live. But "neither" confuses things greatly. I mean both are surviving right now and living. If we took the prophecy's reverse, if one of them stopped surviving, then either of them would live, and it would have to be the one who is still surviving--so does that mean Voldemort could live (and even be restored?) if he killed Harry? So Harry has to kill Voldemort and not get whacked, because if he is, that means Voldemort lives. And what the hell kind of ending is that?
And I'm still confounded by the "gleam of triumph" in Dumbledore's eye in #4 when harry tells him about the graveyard...Jo says that's a clue-ish type thing.
Also, the thing that Snape and Dumbledore were arguing about in the woods in #6 was never explained. Also, why Dumbledore trusts Snape was never explained. Also, how anyone (particularly Dumbledore) knows the details of the night Voldemort killed Lily and James still hasn't been revealed.
I would like the 7th to take us back to Lily and James for a while and have us see some dialog with them, like we've been able to see with Voldemort's past.
And was Lupin in love with Lily? I think he was.
I think that Harry is a descendant of Godric Griffindor, which is why the Potter's lived in Godric Hollow.
I think that Voldemort was influeced by events in the Muggle world, particularly Hitler.
I still think there are holes that need to be filled in #3, but I can't think of what they are right now. It's more about Lily and James and Sirius and Lupin, though.
Then Kara wrote:
You don't think that Dumbledore would venture into the Dark Arts, even to save the world? You're probably right, since he's the closest thing to a "Christ Figure" that this series has. He is the epitome of good in the battle of good vs. evil. Do you think there's such a thing as a good counterpart to a horcrux? Something that would make a soul whole again?
I too should start re-reading the series. I have heard that book 2 is much deeper that the original read-through showed it to be. At first, I thought it was the fluffiest of the books. But, if a lot of the items introduced in Book 2 start showing up in other books, then it's worth a read.
Didn't Fawkes bring Harry the hat so he could pull the sword out to kill the big snake thing? Then, Fawkes' tears healed his snake bite.
Then I wrote:
Yes, I didn't dislike 2 as much as I previously had. Before it all seemed far fetched, but then the way things are mapped out furhter along in the series, things like the sorting hat appearing when Harry shows real faith in Dumbledore and Fawkes and all that. I would like to know more about Dumbledore and Fawkes. Or how Dumbledore knew as much as he always seemed to know--whether it was the goings on at Hogwatrs or the things that happened then night Volde attacked Harry way back...
Then Rene said
As far as Harry P., I think he goes down. Not sure
about the details, but if she really never, ever wants
to write another HP book, then he has to die. Which
makes me sad.
Then Kara said
I think it's a possibility that Harry has all of his magical powers stripped from him, and in doing so, wipes out the powers of Voldemort. Harry will then be able to survive, but will have to live as a person, and not a wizard. Though, I'd be pissed if the whole series turns out to be the dream of a kid in a coma or something stupid like that.
To which I said
I'm not sure if the coma thing or the death thing would piss me off more, but both of them would.
Is there any incidence of a wizard becoming a Muggle?
I hope that more of those side books Jo wrote, like "Hogwarts, A History" or "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One" get published. I read the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through the Years." THey're fun little books.
Then there was a lull in emailing, during which i was reading more of #6. THen I wrote
I'm still not doing my homework in lieu of reading all the HPs before 7.21.07 and I just read about Merope Gaunt's (Voldemort's mom) losing her powers when she lost her husband (#6, p. 262) so Kara, there's a clue to sustain your theory. Also, in that same chapter, Dumbledore talked about how much Tom liked collecting trophies of his accomplishments, which is a hint to support my theory that the shield he won back when Hagrid got kicked out, as mention in #2, is a horcrux.
You know what else I was thinking about? The Sorting Hat. They're all supposed to be wary of things that can think without a brain and the hat is one of them. Since it's benevolent, maybe there is a non Dark Arts equivalent to horcruxes.
Also, I want to harry to grow up to be a DADA professor at Hogwarts.
Also, I wonder about Headmaster portraits coming to life and Dumbledore being in the next book trough that if he's trulyy most sincerely dead.
And finally, I bought a bag of Bertie Botts today. They have more flavors since the last time I tried them. THe rotten egg thing is THE WORST THING I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. It's really fun, though.
I have just finished #6 a few hours ago. I really really want to know why it is that Dumbledore trusted Snape so much.
I also want to know what that potion that Dumbledore had to drink to get the locket was. What was Dumbledore reliving? It seemed to me that it was the night of Harry's death that he was reliving. Why did he say: "It's all my fault?" and "No take me instead"?
I also want to know more about Snape's past. Why did Eileen Prince end up with the Muggle Tobias Snape? And he was mean, if I recall from 5's Pensieve romp during occlumency lessons.
I also wonder about this year that's not at Hogwarts. So far, everything Ron's seen about himself in the mirror of Erise has a way of almost coming true: he was a prefect, so he could become Head Boy. He did play Quidditch. Etc etc. So, I thought he and Hermione would end up going back this year to Hogwarts while Harry didn't.
Horcruxes:
- locket-destroyed by RAB (Regulus Black?)
- diary-destroyed by Harry
- ring-destroyed by Dumbledore--but we never learned the details of that. Should we be concerned, especially if Snape was supposedly helping him with destroying it?
- ?Hufflepuff Cup
- ?something of Ravenclaw or Gryffindor (my guess is Ravenclaw)
- ?Nagini-that was Dumbledore's guess
Now, that would leave off my theory about the shield, but maybe Nagini isn't, or mabye he never got a Ravenclaw or Gryffindor thing
Anyway, I'm glad that harry feels pity for Malfoy. I sort of do, too. He's got one crappy dad, that's for sure.
Next thing: I really can't wait to see more of the magic world outside of London, the Burrow, Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. Plus, I want to know what it will be like at the Dursley's if Ron and Hermione really do go to stay there with Harry.
And finally, who else will die? I wonder if it will be Ron or Hermione or Hagrid? How many more people can she kill off, that terrible old Jo?
We will all know in 16 days, 1 hour, 20 minutes and 16,15,14 seconds (Did I mention I have a countdown timer installed on my desktop?)
Good night all.
