Countdown to Deathly Hallows
Jul. 20th, 2007 09:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crystalcazzieOnly a few hours to go until the apocalypse is upon us the last Harry Potter book is released. I've been avoiding most of the internet for a while since people seem determined to post spoilers everywhere, including places that have nothing to do with Potter.
So I've taken this opportunity to write down my predictions. They're just off the top of my head so I may be missing people or have forgotten previous events that make what I've said invalid but here goes.
Harry - I do not share the opinion that Harry has to die at the end of the series. I think the whole thing is too symbolic of good vs evil to kill off the hero. He needs to come out on top in the end. The series has a message and, if Harry dies, that message is going to be "life sucks and then you die." Which, true as it may be, is not something you expect in a children's book.
Ron and Hermione - Since it's the last book their survival is not as assured as it was in all the other ones. But again, I don't think they're going to die. If nothing else, their relationship has been building up for so long it requires a larger payoff than them getting together right before one or both of them dies. A marriage and babies type of payoff. Maybe Harry will die, thereby giving Ron and Hermione the inevitability of naming their first child after him.
Ginny - Will she give up her life fighting side by side with the man she loves? Or will she be left to carry on his legacyand love child. Woo, teen pregnancy! by herself. Or will she and Harry live happily ever after in their house next door to Ron and Hermione with the rest of their surviving friends along the same street? I say the last one.
Fred and George - She can't kill the comic relief! Or maybe she'll kill one and the other will be all adrift, no idea what to do as an individual in his own right until the constant unbearable solitude drives him to suicide.
Bill, Charlie and Fleur - Peripheral Weasleys (and almost-Weasley) I don't think they're important enough to die, but I suppose they might as a way of hurting the members of the family that we actually do care about. I don't think the entire Weasley clan can emerge from this unscathed. Which brings me to...
Percy - I think he's the most likely of the family to die considering his behaviour in the last few books. He'll realise what a fool he has been and sacrifice himself to save someone or to bring important life-saving information to the Order.
Arthur and Molly - Possible I suppose. It's the end of the series, time for the children to become adults and take their places in the magical world. On the other hand, Arthur and Molly need to stick around to dote on all the grandchildren they will undoubtedly end up with.
Snape - He's at the top of my list. I'm almost certain he's going to die. The ultimate act of redemption and all that. He sacrifices himself for the side of good to prove once and for all that he's truly reformed. (Yes, I still think he's a good guy.)
Draco - He'll probably die in a cowardly way, trying run away from the battle, and end up being killed by one of the bad guys.Except he totally has to live so he and Harry can live happily ever after together in their London flat
Remus - I stick by my assertion from last time that, after Sirius, killing Remus is redundant. They both fill pretty much the same role.
McGonagall - Again, after killing Dumbledore it's pretty redundant to kill her as well.
Tonks - Yes. The Sirius/Remus shippers will invade the book, resurrect Sirius and kill off the obstacle to their OTP.And I will be among them
Luna - I don't think so. She's kooky and weird and you can't kill someone like that! Ok, so you can but it would be mean.
Hagrid - He's kind, caring, fun and everyone loves him. I'd say that places him firmly in the danger zone. He's kind of a secondary main character, the main target for death in fiction. Causes an emotional reaction but isn't devastating. Is significant but not crippling to the story.
Neville - Quite possibly. Maybe it'll turn out that the prophecy really was about him all along. Even if it's not, I still think there's a good chance he'll die heroically and save the day. He's had a long journey throughout the books, developing from a fairly-useless laughing stock to a strong, braze wizard who has an important role to play in the final battle.
Lavender, Parvati, Dean, Seamus - Any of them could be collateral damage. We know them and kind of care about them but to be honest, they're not really important characters. More like foot-soldiers on the side of good.
Sirius - Yes, I know. He's already dead. But he fell through a freaking curtain! There HAS to be more to it than that. I'm certain his storyline isn't finished yet.
My top picks for death: Snape, Neville, Percy, Draco.
I didn't include Voldemort because I think it's a given that he's going to be defeated. Unless we're all wrong and, in order to defy all our expectations, JK is going to have evil win in the end. Voldemort will rule the magical world. All the good guys will die and the future will be bleak indeed.
So there we go. I'm probably completely wrong in everything I've said. We'll see soon.
So I've taken this opportunity to write down my predictions. They're just off the top of my head so I may be missing people or have forgotten previous events that make what I've said invalid but here goes.
Harry - I do not share the opinion that Harry has to die at the end of the series. I think the whole thing is too symbolic of good vs evil to kill off the hero. He needs to come out on top in the end. The series has a message and, if Harry dies, that message is going to be "life sucks and then you die." Which, true as it may be, is not something you expect in a children's book.
Ron and Hermione - Since it's the last book their survival is not as assured as it was in all the other ones. But again, I don't think they're going to die. If nothing else, their relationship has been building up for so long it requires a larger payoff than them getting together right before one or both of them dies. A marriage and babies type of payoff. Maybe Harry will die, thereby giving Ron and Hermione the inevitability of naming their first child after him.
Ginny - Will she give up her life fighting side by side with the man she loves? Or will she be left to carry on his legacy
Fred and George - She can't kill the comic relief! Or maybe she'll kill one and the other will be all adrift, no idea what to do as an individual in his own right until the constant unbearable solitude drives him to suicide.
Bill, Charlie and Fleur - Peripheral Weasleys (and almost-Weasley) I don't think they're important enough to die, but I suppose they might as a way of hurting the members of the family that we actually do care about. I don't think the entire Weasley clan can emerge from this unscathed. Which brings me to...
Percy - I think he's the most likely of the family to die considering his behaviour in the last few books. He'll realise what a fool he has been and sacrifice himself to save someone or to bring important life-saving information to the Order.
Arthur and Molly - Possible I suppose. It's the end of the series, time for the children to become adults and take their places in the magical world. On the other hand, Arthur and Molly need to stick around to dote on all the grandchildren they will undoubtedly end up with.
Snape - He's at the top of my list. I'm almost certain he's going to die. The ultimate act of redemption and all that. He sacrifices himself for the side of good to prove once and for all that he's truly reformed. (Yes, I still think he's a good guy.)
Draco - He'll probably die in a cowardly way, trying run away from the battle, and end up being killed by one of the bad guys.
Remus - I stick by my assertion from last time that, after Sirius, killing Remus is redundant. They both fill pretty much the same role.
McGonagall - Again, after killing Dumbledore it's pretty redundant to kill her as well.
Tonks - Yes. The Sirius/Remus shippers will invade the book, resurrect Sirius and kill off the obstacle to their OTP.
Luna - I don't think so. She's kooky and weird and you can't kill someone like that! Ok, so you can but it would be mean.
Hagrid - He's kind, caring, fun and everyone loves him. I'd say that places him firmly in the danger zone. He's kind of a secondary main character, the main target for death in fiction. Causes an emotional reaction but isn't devastating. Is significant but not crippling to the story.
Neville - Quite possibly. Maybe it'll turn out that the prophecy really was about him all along. Even if it's not, I still think there's a good chance he'll die heroically and save the day. He's had a long journey throughout the books, developing from a fairly-useless laughing stock to a strong, braze wizard who has an important role to play in the final battle.
Lavender, Parvati, Dean, Seamus - Any of them could be collateral damage. We know them and kind of care about them but to be honest, they're not really important characters. More like foot-soldiers on the side of good.
Sirius - Yes, I know. He's already dead. But he fell through a freaking curtain! There HAS to be more to it than that. I'm certain his storyline isn't finished yet.
My top picks for death: Snape, Neville, Percy, Draco.
I didn't include Voldemort because I think it's a given that he's going to be defeated. Unless we're all wrong and, in order to defy all our expectations, JK is going to have evil win in the end. Voldemort will rule the magical world. All the good guys will die and the future will be bleak indeed.
So there we go. I'm probably completely wrong in everything I've said. We'll see soon.
