My own take is that Dumbledore sent Snape to Hogsmeade with a Time-Turner. Snape could take a couple of turns back to the signal to assemble, then show up in Little Hangleton, his cover intact.
The nature of multi-cell underground organizations makes it possible to explain Snape not being in on the particular phase of the plot that involved luring Harry to the Department of Mysteries. It’s possible that Voldemort [thinks he] is using Snape in a “sleeper” mode, anyway.
I wonder if any American or even Canadian witches will surface.
We’ve seen English, Scottish, Russian ( presumably), French and Irish. But no North American Witches.
Curious.
Either it is our fault, due to that whole Salem thing, or there is an unmentioned american school.
I don’t have a copy of Goblet of Fire, but I seem to remember a few witches below a banner for a “Salem Educational Fund,” or something like that, who were from the US.
As for Canada, Quidditch Through the Ages mentions three Canadian teams, including (IIRC – I’ve loaned my copy out) “The Moosejaw Meteorites.” There are very few American teams because they invented a more violent, Quidditch-like sport.
Rowling tends to focus on Britian, because in a way, the books are about Britain – there’s a lot of British politics and history just under the surface of fantasy.
There was a delegation of Salem Witches at the World Cup in GoF IIRC.
I figured that Voldemort was refering to Snape as the one who is lost to him and will be punished, but that Snape later turned up with the reasonable excuse that he couldn’t Disapparate directly from Hogwarts, and got there as soon as he could. Big V may be evil, but he’s also intelligent, and he would probably recognize that as a reasonable excuse. Although of course, he may be more suspicious of Snape now, which is why Snape’s old job is more dangerous than ever.
As to the platonic trio, they’re teenagers, and they’ve been through a hell of a lot together. It would be exceedingly implausible if nothing romantic developed between them. You can debate, if you like, how long the Ron-Hermione relationship will last, or whether the nature of that relationship will change, but for now, it’s rather close to inevitable.
Is it just me, or does “the platonic trio” sound like a really weird team of superheroes put out by a Christian organization preaching abstinence-only sex ed? 
No, but I did once (in Catholic school) hear a talk by such an activist who referred to herself as a “chastitute”.
I guess I’m just getting sick of reading and watching stuff where there’s always a romance between two of the main characters. Always. I like to take a break from that once in a while. You’re right, though it’s inevitable now. The relationship will wreck havoc on the friendship between the three though, I have no doubt of that. I always got the feeling that Hermione was slightly outside, with Ron and Harry being a bit closer friends. If they do have a relationship, I think Harry is going to feel left out or even betrayed by Ron. And that’s my bet on what will happen, especially after the Prefect incident. I think JKR is setting up for that to happen–I’m guessing in the next book.
Neither this nor the time turner explanation strike me as plausible, but I can’t put my finger on exactly why: something perhaps, with the unlikihood of a completely off-page solution (not to mention the idea that Voldy would portentiously utter such a powerful invective “has left us forever” and then have it not amount to anything, and have all of that happen off page.
I think that Godric Gryffindor is the Half Blood Prince and that this was the foundation for the friendship-ending disagreement between Gryffindor and Slytherin. And it’s why Slytherin left the school. Other than that, I can’t wait to see what happens!
Rowling updated her site today. We now know:[ul][li]None of the characters have returned from the future. Therefore Dumbledore is not Ron’s future self.[/li][li]Flitwick is part Goblin (a distant ancestor). Hence his height.[/li][li]The chocolate frog cards are, apparently, canon.[/li][li]Nicholas Flamel is already dead.[/li][li]She’s not bothered by changes in the movie, but considers books a superior medium, so her expectations are lower.[/ul][/li]
Just now, I’m wondering about theme. I’ve come across this quote several times:
So I guess some measure of Christian allegory is inevitable, though I hope she keeps it subtle (like Tolkien) and not heavy-handed (like C.S. Lewis – and yes, I’m probably the only fantasy-reader in the world annoyed with Lewis). As long as she’s not hamfisted or distracting with it, it’s okay by me.
I think Harry’s chances of surviving book 7 just took a major hit 
Still, if anyone can make a self-sacrifice ending work, it’s Rowling. But if Harry dies, then that means that Voldemort lives. Perhaps Harry’s death would cause Voldemort to lose his powers. Or maybe he saves someone by causing a curse to reflect back on Voldemort (just like his mother did) and this curse somehow stops Voldemort.
Maybe in order to kill Voldemort Harry dies in the process?
She seems to want to dispel the notion that Hermione and Ron are becoming at item, too.
Nah. She’s just teasing her fans. That’s the literary equivalent of shouting “Hey, look at that!” and then running away while everyone’s back is turned.
Maybe. Rowling has hinted that the exact wording of the prophecy is important. The prophecy reads like this:
The only possibility that seems to be precluded is having both Harry and Voldemort survive.
I agree. I think she’s hinting at this pairing, though whether they’ll stay together or both survive is anyone’s guess.
So, it’s 99 days now to the book. Since we have all the Potter fans in one thread, I was just thinking we should decide what to do here when the book comes out. I was thinking we should just have one thread for all aspects of the book, to give the mods less of a headache.
(I seem to recall the last book kept spawning threads as soon as it came out – though maybe my memory’s faulty. It’s been known to happen :D)
Interesting discussion, as ever.
Random musing:[spoiler]If Snape put his Worst Memory into a Pensieve, would it still be available for use in a boggart attack? Might that be significant?
And I am still wondering if alliteration in character names is significant.
Shodan’s worthless predictions:
[ul][li]The Half Blood Prince is Godric Griffindor[/li][li]Hagrid dies in book six[/li][li]Harry survives the series and winds up an Auror[/li][li]Percy becomes a Death Eater[/li][li]Snape apparently returns to the Dark Side (note that I said “apparently”)[/li][li]The lion-like character is the new DADA teacher[/li][li]Shodan becomes a recluse the first three days after the book release cursing when every single one of his predictions are disproven within the first fifty pages[/ul][/spoiler][/li]
Regards,
Shodan
Hamish said,
Well, I for one think her beliefs are obvious from clues in her books - she’s a snake-handler. Look at the evidence: Harry’s a Parseltongue; Voldemort has taken on serpentine form, which would require deft and practiced handling of reptiles; etc.
Hmm … I wonder if Snape will be the criminal crucified to the left or the right-hand side? Left side because he detests Potter, right side because he has “repented” and gone over to the side of Good. Yes, I am implying that I think Snape will die before the end of the series, one way or another. (My apologies to all the SS/?? shippers, as well as all Alan Rickman groupies.)