Wild specualtion notwithstanding, I’b noticed that every title of the books has had less and less to do with the actual plot contained within it. Hence the titular Deathly Hallows will be a tiny, one-off note almost totallly ungermain to the story. 
I thought Dobby ended up with all the hats because none of the other house-elves wanted to be free, and they refused to clean the Gryffindor common room because they found the hats insulting?
I think Deathly Hallows probably refers to the Halloween night Harry’s parents were killed, and we’re going to find out a LOT more about what happened that night – through Pensieves, time travel, or possibly just good old-fashioned research.
I’m also betting that Nymphadora Tonks is not the only Metamorphmagus in the Black / Malfoy / Lestrange clan.
I think Harry will die in the end, but still manage to kill Lord Voldemort.
I just know Harry has to die. Otherwise readers will be begging J.K. Rowling for a sequel for the rest of her life.
I believe that the locket was not stolen by Mundungus, because it had already been stolen by Kreacher, and ferreted away in his “bed” under the boiler. The other crap was taken, but the locket will stay in the Order’s possession because of the actions of a houe-elf who thought he was defying them.
[SPOILER]I remember Rowlings mentioning that a Hogwarts student would become a teacher. Initially I wanted to guess Tonks or another OotP member playing DotDA prof to keep an eye on things, but it sounded like Rowlings meant that someone who is **currently **a student would take up teaching.
With that in mind, even though Hermione is the most natural choice, I’m guessing that Neville will end up being stuck as the Herbology prof.
It seems appropriate, somehow.[/SPOILER]
Also, allow me to propose a really awful way Dumbledore could’ve vastly simplified things back around book 3.
As Prisoner of Azkaban draws to a close, we’ve established two important things:
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Time travel exists
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The universe seems to auto-correct for paradox. This is demonstrated by the fact that after Harry and Hermione buggered up the timeline, it stayed well and good buggered back in the present.
Given that, let’s say you’re Dumbledore. You know that there are evil wizards trying to assassinate a bunch of adolescents. It’s in your best interests for the adolescents to stay alive.
So. You pick the 20 best kids of Harry’s year from Gryffindor/Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff (it’s so considerate of them to put all the evil wizards in one place). You secretly have all twenty gather in a bigass deserted cave after the school year ends. You stock said cave with a bunch of food, books, and whatever other supplies you’ll need. You and a few select teachers who you trust teleport the whole group ten years back in time. You then spend said ten years in isolation with the kids, teaching them everything you know about war wizardry.
Fast forward back to the present, when the entire group exits the cave after judicious application of Polyjuice Potion all around.
Now, the assassins are under the impression that they’re targeting thirteen year olds who are really lucky. What they fail to realize is that as the fourth year begins, they’re now targeting 24 year old wizards who are probably extremely competent, owing to ten years of drill, and extremely crazy, owing to ten years of isolation.
Then you just watch back and smile. 
So then Lord Voldemort gathers all his Death Eaters and goes back 18 years in time and makes sure John Connor was never born with the strategic application of a Contraceptus spell.
Wait…something’s not right there.
I recently re-read Half-Blood Prince, and, due to all of the speculation concerning Snape, kept an especially close eye on everything he did and said. As a result, I am absolutely, without-a-doubt convinced that Snape is not working for Voldemort. I am also nearly as convinced that Snape is not working for Dumbledore. Snape is, I think, working for Snape. He believes that Harry is the only one who can defeat Voldemort, and he needs Voldemort out of the way so he can take his place, so he is helping Harry, to an extent. But he doesn’t actually want Harry to win; he just wants Voldemort to lose.
I agree with the hypothesis that Harry will have to give up his magic. It fits very well, I think, with the hypothesis of Harry as Horcrux, which I also agree with.
With McGonagall becoming Headmistress, there’s now a vacancy for the position of head of Griffindor. There’s only one other confirmed Griffindor on the faculty, and he was one of the ones McGonagall consulted at the end about whether to close the school. Therefore, we can conclude that Hagrid is the next head of Griffindor.
Like Guinastasia, I would not be at all surprised if all the socks we hear about end up being significant, but I’m not betting on it. I am, however, betting that Chocolate Frog cards will end up being very important. Remember, when Dumbledore was stripped of all his honors (High Mugwump, etc.), he said that he didn’t care, as long as they didn’t take him off the Chocolate Frog cards. He had a flair for use of artwork in magic, and he’s got a portrait of himself in the pocket of half the student body. Coincidence? I think not.
Omi no Kami, I doubt there’s a wizard alive capable of casting a time-travel spell. The only time travel mechanism we’ve seen is only good for one hour at a time, and twenty years is a lot of hours. And even those seem to be extremely difficult to make: The Ministry is stated to have not replaced any of Time-Turners broken in the Battle of Mysteries.
That and when Harry used the time turner in Book 3, he found that HE had already conjured the Patronus-he couldn’t change THAT.
I can’t think about that too hard, it makes my head hurt…
I agree with** Chronos** re Snape. But I also think that Snape in his way has tried to help Harry–even at the end of book 6 while running across the grounds. Snape is playing a deep game.
Rowling has said that Snape does not suffer from unrequited love for Lily. Then again, I think he might have some admiration for her potions ability…
Tonks, Lupin, Draco and his mother and Bellatrix will all play huge parts. As will Neville and Luna.
I think Crookshanks, while not an animagus, does have some type of powers. Rita will also be back–and like Snape, Rita is only out for Rita.
Crookshanks is part kneazle, so we know he has powers.
I think that Harry will officially marry Ginny, and she’ll die to save his life - thus providing him protection from Voldemort’s next attempt to kill him, which will rebound like his first, but this time, he’ll actually die, as his Horcruxes will have been found and destroyed.
I can’t imagine JKR being so cruel to Harry as to kill off Ginny. Harry’s lost just about everyone he’s ever loved(Ron and Hermione being the only real exceptions to date), so I can’t see her killing off the character she’s set up as the love of his life.
I see that from your link, but I don’t remember where it is in the books. Can you point me to the right place? (Yes, I am re-reading them all in preparation for the July release! Unfortunately, I’ve timed it poorly and I’ll be done with HBP by the middle of next week. 
)
I don’t remember that either, Whynot. It may just be one of those tidbits of information JKR lets drop to tease our hunger.
I believe you are correct in that, Inner Stickler. In the novels (exclusive of extras such as *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), the only mention of the word “kneazle” is when Hagrid mentions that there wasn’t enough room to swing one in the cave where the fugitive giants were hiding out following the battle that effectively put an end to his and Madame Maxime’s mission (in OotP).
Re Dumbledore, one of my friends is convinced that Dumbledore is not dead.
I, as, well, not a true fan, think that this would make Book 7 and the final confrontation entirely too easy.
Her reasoning:
- Avada Kedavra has never behaved as it did when it struck Dumbledore. Everything else has simply crumpled up and died, it’s very efficient. This starts out as extremely fishy.
but her main opinion: Dumbledore is a phoenix animagus, and will therefore be ressurected.
- Order of the Phoenix, which Dumbledore is head of, and secret keeper for (how is this to be passed on, except, maybe, if the members knew Dumbledore couldn’t die?)
- Dumbledore is wicked old
- Fire symbolism at Dumbledore’s funeral
- conjecture that the phoenix that delivered the sword to HP in the caverns was actually Dumbledore, not Fawkes.
I believe she had some additional backup, but that’s all I can recall off the top of my head. Personally, like I said, it’s not my preferred theory, but it is an interesting one.
With the exception of the beginnings of #1 & #6, the entire book, the story is told through Harry.
If he dies, then it would end like, "AVAKEDAv…errrrrrgh!"thud.
What about the gum wrappers Neville’s mother keeps giving him when he goes to visit her at St. Mungo’s? Yeah, maybe he keeps them out for sentimental value, but maybe there’s another clue there?
Rowling is on record as saying that’s not a plot point, but a poignant bit of realism about the kind of thing that one might have to go through when a loved one is stricken with dementia.