I’m betting Penelope Clearwater will be one of the first Muggle-borns to die after the war breaks out, bringing Percy firmly back into the fold.
I also think either Harry or Ron will die in the final battle, but my money’s on Ron, because that chess game in Book One looks like massive foreshadowing. However, I could also see Harry buying it (taking Voldemort down with him, of course) and Ron and Hermione riding off into the sunset.
I don’t think there will be any more major couples among the kiddies besides Ron and Hermione. It would seem far and away too pat if everybody paired up at seventeen.
Oh yeah, and Peter Pettigrew will go out in some massively redeeming and self-sacrificing way. At least, I will be very disappointed if he doesn’t.
But seriously, I’ll be most upset if Luna and Harry end up romantically affiliated. For the first four books, every single Ravenclaw we met existed primarily as a love interest for someone or another. Percy’s girlfriend was a Ravenclaw. Cho Chang: Ravenclaw. Padma Patil, who did nothing in the series but go to the dance with (Ron or Harry, can’t remember): Ravenclaw. The unimportant dude who ends up going to the dance with Fleur: Ravenclaw. The only other folks who are even mentioned as Ravenclaws up to that point are Sorted in Philosopher’s Stone and never heard from since. It was refreshing, in Order of the Phoenix, to finally see a significant Ravenclaw character who isn’t a love interest, and she ought to stay that way.
I’ll agree that Ron and Hermione are becoming an item, and it’s not even a secret to them any more. Unless British culture is a lot more different than I realize, a teenage guy doesn’t give a girl perfume for Christmas unless there’s some interest there. I also think that ultimately, Harry and Ginny will end up together: Ginny has never failed to accomplish anything, once she’s set her mind to it, and in Chamber of Secrets, she set her mind to Harry. She’s willing to bide her time, but sooner or later, Harry will be hers, and I’m not sure he’s going to have much say in the matter. Neville does fancy Ginny, but there’s no indication it’s mutual. I do suspect, though, that if/when Neville’s heroic sacrifice does come, it’ll be protecting Ginny in some way. My guess is that he intercepts an Avada Kedavra from Bellatrix, in much the same way that Harry’s mom did for him.
It’s a dramatic necessity that Dumbledore will die, sometime before the final battle, but I think it’ll be in book 7, not 6. My take is that Harry finally realizes he should get Dumbledore involved at the beginning of a problem, not the end, and goes rushing to his office, just in time to discover him dead on the carpet.
It’s mostly that I believe that someone in the Order will be a traitor, and she seems the most likely. She just seems a little too flighty, and not particularly suited to the cause. The way she was written in #5, she seemed like a character that JKR introduced with the intention of doing something specific with her in #6 or 7; since she’s already got plenty of beloved characters that could easily be killed and cause more anguish, I figured she was put in for some nefarious purpose.
Also - I forgot earlier, but I think Draco Malfoy ends up as a Snape-like character; that is, he starts out evil but ends up on the side of good, probably because of some big disillusionment, like his father being capriciously killed by Voldemort. (I suspect something similar happened years earlier to cause Snape to turn away from being a Death Eater.)
I’m hoping that the Weasley twins come in, kick ass, take names and leave good-looking corpses - their enemy’s corpses, of course. Is that too much to ask? I LOVED the scene where they leave school - one of the best written parts of all the Harry Potter books, but I was so sad to see them go!
Well, I can think of two not-so-nefarious purposes that Tonks already serves:
– Fun, non-parental grown-up friend – in the career Harry aspires to, no less. (Possibly Bill or Charlie could step into this role, but they’re not Aurors and therefore can’t do as much mentoring.)
– Metamorphagus; and more to the point, nonthreatening character who casually introduces Harry to the concept of Metamorphagi, much as McGonagall does for Animagi. How much do you want to bet we see an evil one in the next couple of books? (My money’s on Narcissa Malfoy; she’s a close relative of Tonks, and it’s interesting that she doesn’t look anything like her other Black relatives.)
Hmmmm. It would be tidy if, in book 7, Snape finally gets the DAtDA job–and then dies. In a heroic way, for once. Lupin has been the best of the Dark Arts bunch, and his appointment caused an awful lot of controversy. Perhaps, if Snape dies a heroic death while at the job, it will break the DAtDA curse–leaving it clear for Harry.
I guess I’m in the minority but I don’t see any of them having careers right after leaving Hogwarts. Auror training takes 3 yrs (if I remember correctly) and I imagine Hermione will go on to higher education. If any of them did want to become teachers I would imagine they would need some sort of certification. I do see romance blossoming ( Ron/Hermione and Harry/Ginny) but no marriage or engagements at such young ages. Personally I wouldn’t want things to be tied up too neatly.
Rowling has said in an interview that one of Harry’s classmates will become a teacher at Hogwarts, but it won’t be Harry himself (and she’s strongly hinted that it won’t be Hermione, either). I have a completely batty idea that the token redeemed Slytherin – whoever it may be – will take over the History of Magic job from Binns, but it’s a likelier bet that it’s Neville Longbottom and Herbology.
Anyway, Lupin SO needs to get the DADA job back at the end of the series. I will be greatly annoyed with Rowling if he doesn’t get a decently happy ending.
He marries you and you live happily ever after together. OK? Is that what you wanted to hear? {OK, I’m wildly misquoting J K Rowling on The Simpsons from memory, but you get the idea}
I doubt Voldemort’s defeat will bring an end to Dark Wizards always and everywhere. Remember, he’s only “the most powerful dark wizard in a century.” that means there have been worse than Voldemort.
Rowling’s nixed the idea of Harry becoming a teacher. She says she only sees him in an “action-oriented” career, not academia.
I only predict that all my predictions will be wrong. Rowling’s too fast for me, and I’ve never predicted one of her twist endings. I’m hoping for some kind of a happy ending – or at least a job – for my favourite character Lupin, but who knows?
Rowling has said there are no surprises coming about Dudley – “Dudley is just Dudley.” We already know everything about him.
However, she has hinted that there’s something up with Petunia. When someone asked her if Petunia was a squib, she said no (because both of their parents were Muggles), but suggested that we were right to wonder about Petunia.
She also said recently on her website that Petunia got letters from Dumbledore before Harry’s parents were killed, leading many to speculate that Petunia is a witch who refused to go to Hogwarts, and always regretted the decision.
Yup. Go to the first headline of the newspaper at her website (not the tabloid), and it’s somewhere in there, about 1/4 of the way down – the brief mention that there’s something about Petunia.
For the stuff about the letters from Dumbledore, go to FAQ (the paper clips), and click on “FAQ polls.” She mentions it in the text about the recent winner.
For the chapter titles, you have to go to the Room of Requirement (the black hairband – the circle in the middle), and go to the locked door. Turn out the light, and wait. If you wait long enough, something willhappen, and that’s all I’m saying
Which translates to “lucky cat”. I would imagine that that would be Crookshanks, but considering that Godric Griffindor or a decendant of his is suspected to be significant in this one, it might well also be a lion.
Let’s not go there.