Oh, I forgot to add:
- At a crucial moment in the battle with Voldemort, it’ll look like the end for Harry- until it turns out that someone slipped Voldemort one of Fred & George’s novelty fake wands.
Harry will die at the hand of voldemort.
AND COME BACK!
I’ve heard so many news clips about a “major character” dying, that I think it has to be either Ron or Hermione.
Pfffft. None of the Trifecta will die, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dumbledore survive through Book 7, if it ever gets written.
Snape dying to save Harry is a good possibility. Rowling will need to go through some interesting hoops to explain why he’s allied with Dumbledore when he appears to have no other good in him at all.
My thoughts exactly. Not sure if would be appropriate for the pre-teen age group, but I personally would like to see an entire book devoted to Harry going over to the Dark Side, with the denouement of that particular story line being delayed until the following book. I think it would be interesting to see what Rowling came up with for Harry’s motivation for that type of plot line. I suspect that she could do a very good job of it if she decided to take it in that direction.
I think Draco vs. Neville is a very likely showdown, although Neville may play an even bigger role, getting revenge for what was done to his parents.
I have to disagree with this and side with KKBattousai: Draco’s actions (well, words anyway) on the last page of Book 4 put him way beyond obnoxious git-hood and well into true evil. I see a new crop of Death Eaters forming at Hogwarts, with him as the leader.
Too bad about Cho, though. I would’ve liked to have seen Harry’s romance form with someone who wasn’t directly linked to one of the main characters, but her heart’s elsewhere. What about Parvati?
I meant to add to my bit about Draco: he may change sides, but I think it will be through a change of heart rather than selfishness.
Who knows, he may stay evil but inadvertantly cause Voldemort’s downfall. Becoming too confident of his own abilities and too eager for power, he attempts to usurp the Dark Lord’s authority. The brief conflict between the two opens a moment of weakness which Harry seizes to strike the fatal blow against Voldemort.
Dumbledore’s later life has been devoted to the sole purpose of getting Harry ready, emotionally as well as magically, to permanently defeat Voldemort. He’ll give his life at a key point in the final fight.
Final scene: Dumbledore’s ghost joins those of James and Lily, Nicolas Flumel, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and perhaps Sirius in the big celebration in the Great Hall. A parade of dancing Ewoks awards Harry 100 points, and the Cup once again, while Draco goes off to plot how to get that wascally wabbit.
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I don’t think we’ll see any of the Big Three die during the series. If Ron or Hermione were killed by Voldemort because Harry couldn’t stop it from happening, I think that would change his character for the worst. He doesn’t need another reason to hate Voldemort. I don’t think Harry will die simply because he is The Boy Who Lived. If Voldy couldn’t kill him as a defenseless infant, he probably can’t kill him as a young man (as we saw in GoF).
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I do think that Snape is going to die trying to take down You Know Who.
First of all, Snape didn’t get along with James Potter, Sirius and Lupin. They (and Pettigrew as well) weren’t very nice to him during their time at Hogwarts, as stated in PoA. Snape left Hogwarts a bitter man, and eventually became a Death Eater (as we learned in GoF).
I think that maybe Snape isn’t as evil as he wanted to be. Always the outcast, he joined Voldemort just to be accepted by someone. As a Death Eater, he was finally part of a crowd, he was accepted. He was also in the position to earn a lot of power (and maybe even revenge on those who made him an outcast), if he could get on Voldy’s good side.
What we don’t know (yet) is what caused Snape to go against Voldemort and become a spy for Dumbledore. It could have been because that even as mean and bitter as he is, deep down he knew he was on the wrong side. Or, like others have said, perhaps Voldy had him do something horrible to prove his loyalty. Dumbledore wouldn’t have given Snape a second chance if he didn’t see goodness inside of him. But, I also don’t think that it was all about sunshine and lollipops, either.
It was said at the end of GoF that Snape turned on Voldemort before he fell from power, so it wasn’t just because he knew of the plan to kill James and Lily or because he had a sudden burst of conscience. I think that maybe he felt that if he were the one to bring about the fall of Voldemort, he’d be the legendary hero, showing up all those who made his life miserable (Lupin, James, Pettigrew, Sirius).
He didn’t get the chance to do that because Harry beat him to it (or so everyone thought).
I believe Snape wanted glory, even if it meant “great personal risk” to himself. Harry Potter ruined that for him, and he had no choice but to return to Hogwarts after the Fall of Voldemort to protect himself from persecution for being a Death Eater. Dumbledore (and maybe the rest of The Order of the Phoenix) was the only one who knew Snape was a mole.
At the end of GoF, Voldemort is back and Dumbly sends Snape off to (presumably) stop him. I doubt he’ll be around to teach Potions for Book 5, so I think we’ll see a substitute teacher for that class. Mad Eye Moody never got a chance to actually teach DADA, so I think he may stick around for Year 5.
Now, since Snape is Potions Master, it is concievable that he could whip up some Polyjuice Potion, turn himself into Crouch Jr and return to Voldy that way, since Voldy already knows Snape is on Dumbledore’s side but doesn’t know Crouch Jr got the Dementor’s Kiss. Voldy promised death to Snape in GoF.
I’m sure Voldy will keep his word and kill Snape (maybe not in Book 5, but before the series ends) and Snape will die a hero saving Harry and finally getting the glory he’s wanted for so long, just not the way he wanted it. -
I’m sure Crookshanks is an Animagus, put in place by Dumbledore to protect the Big Three. I just have no idea who he is, yet.
I think this is long enough.
I wonder if Dumbledore will simply die of Old Age. It may seem unlikely, but what better way to go? Sometimes life just isn’t convinient, and that means dying when there is so much work to be done.
I, too wonder if Draco might change his allegiance - he may well dislike his father as much as anyone. I can’t imagine Lucius Malfoy giving out a whole lot of love in his household.
I wonder if Harry even can kill Voldemort. I don’t mean that Voldemort will win, but rather that they are opposite and equal. It simple doesn’t fit as well for Harry to finish off the Dark Lord in one final battle. The ending will directly tie into the strange relationship between the two of them. They seem to be identical in many ways. Voldemorte is Harry’s dark mirror. I’ve always preferred the theme of salvation myself. Perhaps even the most bitter shade might be redeemed. Harry, after all, is the one person aside from Dumbledore that “He Who Must Not Be Named” respected.
Yep – I agree. Otherwise, he would just end up being “The Boy Who Lived… For a Little While”. 
I still think, even with the stuff he does in book 4, that he’s not really all that evil. He’s not the imbodiment of pure evil that some people like to paint him as. (On the flip side, he also does not secretly love bunnies and rainbows) I still read it mostly as he’s a complete bastard. Not a nice guy at all. But not necessarily evil…yet. I don’t think he will necessarily become a Death Eater, though it is also entirely possible. Maybe he’ll try just because he thinks that’s what he’s supposed to do. Or maybe because it’ll hurt Harry. But I don’t think he really means all of it yet.
He wants to get a rise out of the trio with that last bit and does so quite successfully. He’s done it before when Harry’s done something; it’s just this time, he’s got something that’s infinitely more hurtful than anything he’s said before. I still don’t think he really knows what he’s saying. He’s 14 in that book, certainly still young enough to parrot back what your father has been saying all your life without really understanding what it means.
Draco could easily go either way in my view of him. After all, you don’t have to be evil to be mean. Rowling makes that point well enough with Snape.
The one thing I’m sure is going to happen that no one’s mentioned so far is that
Overcome by jealousy, Ron is going to betray Harry…or come very, very close to it.
Rowling’s been setting that up since the first book, in the Mirror of Erised chapter.
It will be revealed that St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies is a front for a cell of Death Eaters (at least, the ward where Mr. and Mrs Longbottom are being “treated” is). Should the forces of Good manage to retake the facility, the Longbottoms’ chances for full recovery will be pretty good.
I vote for Ron. Hermione is just not the type who cares about winning macho, mano a mano showdowns. I think that she will be part of what sets it off. Draco will threaten/insult Hermione and Ron will defend/save her.
Neville is my second choice for this showdown, but I think his big moment will involve bravery against the pain curse in a fight against Wormtail.
There are so many characters who would be great for this showdown. I also think Mr. Weasley is right for this. He may be something of a bumbling husband, but I don’t think he has ever been shown to be weak magically. He is my vote. What’s his first name?
Arthur.
I think Hermione will end up with a reformed Draco after Ron is killed after turning on Harry but then saving him.
My big theory has always been that somehow Tom Riddle/Voldemort and Harry are related. CHAMBER addressed their physical resemblance, their wands were made from the same phoenix’s tailfeathers, there is some reason that he was unable to destroy him, and some reason that Harry knows nothing of the Potters. (Perhaps Voldemort’s witch mother was a Potter.)
If there is a connection, Riddle doesn’t know it. Oddest theory I have: Voldemort and Harry are the same person due to an altered timeline.
Since I haven’t seen anyone mention it yet: Mr. Weasley will almost certainly be the next Minister of Magic.
Count me in on the deaths of Dumbledore and Snape (the latter saving Harry’s life, I betcha), the fake wand thing happening somewhere (probably to Wormtail, the goofball), and Hermione and Ron getting down to some serious dating. Harry might end up with Fleur, at least for a while, although she’s an underdeveloped character thus far so it’s hard to tell.
And kaylasdad: I had wondered whether there was any significance to the donations previously mentioned; your theory is truly intriguing…
That’s actually a really good theory, I think. Voldemort getting some of Harry’s blood could somehow work into that too.
I share the feeling the V. and Harry are related somehow, though neither is aware of it. I also think (hope) that it won’t end up being that V. is Harry’s mysterious father/brother/uncle, whatever. I like the altered timeline/mirror-self idea, though. Harry and Voldemort could be the same person, but from different timelines or causalities. Hmm. I like it. Has a very “Books of Magic” feel to it.
I agree that Dumbledore will probably die, and that Snape will die defending him or trying to avenge his death. It’s clear that Snape doesn’t like Harry, but has a great deal of respect/allegiance for Dumbledore.
For the final book, my best guess is that, since Hogwarts can’t seem to hold onto a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for more than a year, the position will finally be filled by the person most successful at it: Harry Potter.
Many thoughts here. I’m not using spoiler text since this is speculation, but just in case, it is SPOILER-TYPE speculation, and includes references to PLOT POINTS FROM BOOKS I-IV.
I ditto the Draco and Hermione possibility. Left field, definately, but Rowling is big on left field surprises, and there’s definately something to the way they interact: one of those I hate you so much I love you.
Rowling also said that they had done things in the first movie characterwise that she hadn’t put in the first book so as to set up things for later: things so subtle that no one would notice until later. There has been some speculation that Draco’s casting looks at Hermione in that movie are foreshadowing of that: maybe his hatred is bourne of the fact that he fancies her, even though she’s a mudblood, and that conflict fuels his Hermione-centered tantrums.
It would also be a little bland if Draco was simply the next generation of his father (especially since his father is something of a loser in the Death-Eater scene), and so much more delicious if he had some real development as a character. I’m betting the next book we’ll start to see at least SOMETHING new in Draco by the end, some new conflict or issue.
WHAT WE KNOW FOR THE NEXT BOOK only:
We know there will be deaths, which isn’t surprising with Voldy on the prowl. My bet is Collin Greevy, to begin with, then one more big death near the end.
My real question is whether or not the major characters who were sent off at the end of the last book will be back at the school by the start of the new year and the school operating mostly as normal. Will Hagrid be back? Snape? We know that we’ll see the real Moody, but we also know that he wont be the next DADA: Rowling has already said that the position will be filled by a woman (and some speculate that it is the mysterious “Aunt” referenced early on way back in the first book). I can’t imagine that the year will be anything like the previous four: this is war.
But what will happen? Will Dumby die in THIS book? If I were Rowling, I’d definately kill him off now: we’ve had four books under his watchful eye, and it’s beginning to feel like a re-tread. His death, more than anything, would shake things up (especially to make us readers suffer while we wait for the next book). Book seven is definately too late for this event, and I almost feel as if waiting for Book 6 would be stalling. I wouldn’t be surprised if Voldemort’s major plot in Book 5 will revolve around taking Dumbledore out of the picture somehow: it’s the next logical step, especially since Dumbledore is already plotting to take Voldemort down. Book 5 will definately be a more Dumbledore-centric book to begin with, given that the Pheonix order is almost certainly his order. So we’ll probably learn lots more about him and his past, and then lose him somehow (with some revelations about him saved for later).
Also, we don’t know that Harry will see his scar fade: all we know is that the last word of the last book is “scar.”