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Book 7 - Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows


ChasUFarley
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So,

theorizing and speculating time.

Who thinks Sirius Black died and who thinks he's still alive? [i'm going to say DEAD because of the conversation HP had with Nearly Headless Nick and because JKR has said she won't bring people back from the dead like some other authors have done.]

As far as the books go,

we know he was last seen in the Death Room of the Dept of Mysteries,

having passed thru the Veil/Arch.

He was hit with an unvocalized Stunner, and shoved thru the passage.

So, he was very much alive the instant before he went thru.

We know it was a Stunner because Harry was watching the scene, and

Harry's well aware of what a green spell means-only the AK has been

demonstrated to be green.

Bellatrix fires a red Stunner, misses, then fires another spell of unspecified

colour, which shoves Sirius.

Harry expected to see Sirius alive a moment later-and he knows full well

what a green spell-the AK-does.

If that really was the AK, and JKR NEGLECTED to give the colour and Harry's

response didn't reflect that, JKR made a mistake more fundamental than I'm

prepared to accept her making. She's mortal, but she's not moronic. Every

use of the AK is carefully placed in the series.

Would a single non-AK kill Sirius?

No. Sirius was in his 30s and in full health. He can weather one better than a

Muggle of similar age and health. McGonagall, at her advanced age,

takes 4 Stunners and needs medical attention-but that doesn't kill her either.

(Book 5, during the Astronomy OWL.)

So, he was alive unless the Arch/Veil killed him.

And if he's alive, he'll be seen again in Book 7.

(Otherwise, there's no point in him not dying.)

[What if he died to go on to protect Harry LATER as a ghost or some other form? Remember, HP hears voices on the other side of the veil. Where were they coming from and who was speaking? There is a steady theme of barriers between death/dying and the living, in the HP books. For example, Dd's white tomb that encases him as everyone is watching or the veil that separates the living from the dead in that arch. I would have thought that one of the aurors or "unspeakables" would be able to tell HP more about it.]

So, Sirius: alive or dead? Dead - but that's not to say HP won't TALK with him again! As far as we know, HP still has the mirror with him that Sirus gave him to communicate with.

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Ok,

without me influencing the discussion,

what do you think is the deal with the scar?

[Dd says that's it's not an ordinary scar. I believe it has something to do also with how everyone comments that HP has his mother's eyes. Since she died before Voldy tried to kill HP, I believe that those things are connected somehow. I am curious about what the old magic was that Lilly used that night - it's hard to say what it could be. I don't believe the scar is a horcrux because of what Dd says about using animals as horcrux, and look at what happened to Professor Quirrel when Voldy took up residence under his turban... ]

JKR said the lightning bolt was because that looks cool,

and that the shape was not the most important thing about it.

So, what's the deal with the scar itself?

[Lightening bolts are mentioned all through mythology - very common - also in Tarot cards and Runes. The AK spell is compared to lightning. The rune it's like is the one for Victory. Ruby, which is Griffindor's stone, is also a symbol of victory. I have heard that JKR says the last word in book 7 is the word 'scar'.]

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  • 2 weeks later...
So,

theorizing and speculating time.

Who thinks Sirius Black died and who thinks he's still alive?

As far as the books go,

we know he was last seen in the Death Room of the Dept of Mysteries,

having passed thru the Veil/Arch.

He was hit with an unvocalized Stunner, and shoved thru the passage.

So, he was very much alive the instant before he went thru.

We know it was a Stunner because Harry was watching the scene, and

Harry's well aware of what a green spell means-only the AK has been

demonstrated to be green.

Bellatrix fires a red Stunner, misses, then fires another spell of unspecified

colour, which shoves Sirius.

Harry expected to see Sirius alive a moment later-and he knows full well

what a green spell-the AK-does.

If that really was the AK, and JKR NEGLECTED to give the colour and Harry's

response didn't reflect that, JKR made a mistake more fundamental than I'm

prepared to accept her making. She's mortal, but she's not moronic. Every

use of the AK is carefully placed in the series.

Would a single non-AK kill Sirius?

No. Sirius was in his 30s and in full health. He can weather one better than a

Muggle of similar age and health. McGonagall, at her advanced age,

takes 4 Stunners and needs medical attention-but that doesn't kill her either.

(Book 5, during the Astronomy OWL.)

So, he was alive unless the Arch/Veil killed him.

And if he's alive, he'll be seen again in Book 7.

(Otherwise, there's no point in him not dying.)

So, Sirius: alive or dead?

Here's what I think.

(And this is coming from someone who had an elaborate theory that showed it was almost

obvious that Trevor was the Half-Blood Prince, so make of it what you will.)

Sirius Black went through a one-way portal to the Lands of the Dead, the Underworld, the

Netherworld, Erebus, Pluto's realm, etc.

Three characters were fascinated by that portal- Neville, Harry, Luna.

They're united by having all seen someone die-

and also by having been exposed to sap from Neville's mimbulus mimbletonia plant.

(The Hogwarts Express ride in, Book 5, just before Cho Chang walks in.)

There may be a link to either-or both-connections.

The characters all THINK Sirius died. However, none of them work in the Dept of Mysteries,

where this was being studied. Only Broderick Bode was an OotP member who DID work there,

and he "conveniently" dies in Book 5 (strangled by Devil's Snare in St Mungo's long-term care

ward, same area as the Longbottoms and Lockheart.) So, I don't consider them to be reliable

as to whether or not Sirius Black died upon passage through the Veil/Arch.

A lot of Harry's journey has paralleled the Hero's Journey of the monomyth.

In that journey, part of it includes the descent into the Netherworld to rescue a loved one.

Orpheus did it, Hercules did it, and so on. Harry hasn't done it-yet.

If Sirius IS alive, he's trapped and needs a rescue. (Otherwise, he'd have escaped already.)

If so, who would go, what would they need, and when would it happen?

Here's how I call it. (With a little help from a few friends also good at mythology.)

Obviously, it would be in Book 7. (I predicted that before Book 6 came out. Not enough suspense

is built up otherwise.)

Those who would go: Harry, of course, Neville, for reasons I'll explain in a moment, and

Luna Lovegood, who has no fear of death, and BLEW UP PLUTO in the Dept of Mysteries,

Book 5. (Coincidence? Maybe....) All 3 have seen someone die, were exposed to

mimbulus mimbletonia sap, and are underestimated.

When would it happen?

Any date when the barriers between the dead and the living are reputed to thin.

Could be Halloween-that's always significant in HP, and in Book 2, Harry crossed a veil

and interacted with the dead on Halloween. (Nearly-Headless Nick's Deathday Party.)

Could be New Year's Eve, the crossing of the year barrier.

I think it will be April 30, at dusk. That's Walpurgis Night. I know JKR knows the term, because

she once said the Death Eaters were originally known as the Knights of Walpurgis.

There's a number of legends concerning Walpurgisnacht, but the one she's probably most

familiar with is that the barrier between the dead and living falls from dusk to dawn.

That's mentioned in Bram Stoker's "Dracula's Guest", which I read as a kid, and I'm confident

she read it too-since she's Scottish, and so is Stoker. So, dusk to dawn, April 30-May 1.

Who goes? The 3 I mentioned. What do they need? Could be a few items.

Traditionally, a coin of the lowest denomination is needed, if Charon's Ferry is used.

(The lowest denomination because the rich and the poor all face death, and that's why

pennies were left on people's eyes.)

Whether or not it's needed, I expect 2 items to be absolutely needed.

JKR specified that Book 5 was so big because she needed to include things to be mentioned

later. Almost none of them were used in Book 6-therefore, they will be used in Book 7.

I say 2 items will be needed.

The broken mirror Harry was given by Sirius, and the mimbulus mimbletonia plant.

The broken mirror, because she promised it will be used, and be useful, but not like

it's expected. That suggests to me that it can't be used to communicate, but will be used.

I came across a reference that a broken mirror can be used to trap a soul, and I think it

will be used to "capture" Sirius to bring him back.

I say the mimbulus mimbletonia, because we're hit over the head with it all of Book 5.

It's the only Gryffindor password ALL YEAR.

It shows up in several scenes, and Neville's ALWAYS carrying it.

The 3 have been exposed to its sap.

It's from Assyria, same as the Gilgamesh legends, where a water-plant comes up in

Gilgamesh's searches for immortality.

It makes a crooning sound, and releases sap.

So, WHERE is it used?

Has to be someplace where there's a crossover into the lands of the dead, someplace

where there's a crossroads of some kind.

Could be Egypt, could be Assyria, could be someplace local.

Probably a cave-the crossroads of the surface world with underground.

So, is it a portal that's safe to use?

Well, I think it will be difficult to use. It will only open during specific times-

like the dates I mentioned, from dusk to dawn-

and only with the proper "key". That could be any item, but I think it will be a

SOUND-key, and thus the "crooning" of the mimbulus mimbletonia.

They'll have until the first rays of dawn to rescue Sirius, have an adventure,

Luna will stop pursuit, and there will be last-minute drama.

For all I know, they may end up on the same side of the barrier as

Wormtail, Severus Snape and Voldemort.

If so, there will be a fight, and both Wormtail and Severus Snape will have a

chance to discharge their debts to Harry by helping disable Voldemort,

leaving him trapped there when dawn begins.

That would leave Voldemort trapped and conscious in the lands of the dead,

possibly a prisoner. Personally, I see Harry and Voldy in a shoving match

at the portal just before the first rays of dawn strike, and Harry shoves

Voldy back in just as Harry's pulled clear by Wormtail and Severus.

That would fulfill The Prophecy, literally-

"either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..."

So Voldy would "die", literally at Harry's "hand".

Then again, it's possible the Voldy fight doesn't take place there at all.

Personally, when I found out that the term "Deathly Hallows" appeared in the

title of Book 7, I all but considered that CONFIRMATION.

It will either refer to a PLACE or a TIME. I expect either to refer to the place/time

I mentioned above. Oh, and Sirius will be fatigued from his experiences, and thus

not a factor until Voldy's defeated and we look to the future.

That's what I say.

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No way.

I've been watching JKR's comments about him since Book 5's release.

She's quick to confirm DD's death, but has absolutely refused to confirm Sirius' death-

and has done things like change the question she chose to answer-

"Is Sirius dead?" became "Do you like Sirius?"

and so on.

She's also gone out of her way to say that DD's death must be accepted and fans

must move on-

but she never volunteers anything about Sirius' "death" that isn't directly related to

the question- even if it means changing the question.....

Why the coyness- which is remarkable when contrasted with her candor concerning DD?

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The only catch is that I'm speculating some things we haven't seen yet-

a Netherworld in HP that can be entered like in mythology, and portals, even if they're almost-impossible to use.

Considering how obscure she went to include the Hand of Glory, though, this isn't a big jump.

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Hold on.

I'm laughing my a$$ off here about the Trevor as the Half-Blood Prince part... LOL!

Here's my thing about Sirus' "death", if you will...

Harry talking with Nearly Headless Nick about if Sirius is perhaps a ghost, which Nick denies immediately. He confirms that Sirius is gone - and says as much. I don't know how Sirius will come back or if he will come back, but somehow Nick knows this. Nick also says that he often is approached with this type of question but seems hardpressed to give any details whatsoafter about the afterlife.

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Hold on.

I'm laughing my a$$ off here about the Trevor as the Half-Blood Prince part... LOL!

A) JKR's mentioned that one of her favourite writers is Nesbitt. Nesbitt's specialty is rewriting

fairy tales. Like the Frog Prince. JKR mentioned that she liked Book 6, but not all the fans would-

which suggested to me that it might be a bit of "this is what I wanted to write, period",

and further might have been her own attempt to rewrite a fairy tale.

Trevor always seems to disappear or be around interesting places and events.

Apparently, it's all been a series of coincidences, but there's been speculation-

like Trevor being used as some sort of spying apparatus by Uncle Algie.

(Uncle Algie, if you recall, gave him the toad, and also was the guy who would have "accidentally"

killed Trevor if Trevor's own magickal nature hadn't saved him.)

What got me thinking of this was looking at a list of all the possible suspects for the

Half-Blood Prince- and the giant squid got a vote as well. When I saw Trevor's name, I wondered

to myself, "A Frog Prince?" and the rest of it came in a flash of inspiration.

It was WRONG, but it was an INTERESTING wrong.

My own speculation also expected JKR to use the HBP to tie in one of the other races of beings

into the war- merfolk, goblins, etc. Since she didn't, I'm almost disappointed.

Ok, other news.

Here's my thing about Sirus' "death", if you will...

Harry talking with Nearly Headless Nick about if Sirius is perhaps a ghost, which Nick denies immediately. He confirms that Sirius is gone - and says as much. I don't know how Sirius will come back or if he will come back, but somehow Nick knows this. Nick also says that he often is approached with this type of question but seems hardpressed to give any details whatsoafter about the afterlife.

I considered that a red herring. Harry was asking the wrong question, and thus went to the wrong person.

Harry presumed everyone was right, and Sirius was killed by the Veil/Arch.

Thus, he wanted to know if Sirius could become a ghost.

Nearly-Headless Nick can tell him of ghosts, but of nothing else concerning death-by his own admission, since he was

afraid to move on to whatever he should have moved on to.

Nick has heard that Sirius was killed, which Nick takes to be true.

Nick can confirm Sirius would not become a ghost, but has no ability to confirm the death report.

Notice how Nick can't tell us what might be faced by someone who reached any Netherworld....

could be another coincidence, could be very convenient, and planned...

Edited by WordWolf
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http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=181062007

===========

Finish or bust - JK Rowling's unlikely message in an Edinburgh hotel room

TIM CORNWELL ARTS CORRESPONDENT (tcornwell@scotsman.com)

SHE began her journey to literary fame by scribbling in cafés with a baby in a pram at her elbow, while living on benefits.

Twelve years and £600 million later, JK Rowling finished her Harry Potter series in a luxury room at one of Scotland's most famous hotels.

Click to learn more...

And the writer celebrated the completion of the seventh and final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in bizarre fashion, by signing a marble bust in her room.

"JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (652) on 11th Jan 2007," she wrote.

In the stroke of a marker pen she may have created the most valuable item of Potter memorabilia next to a signed copy of a first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

The bust was yesterday in the care of Debbie Taylor, general manager, of the Balmoral in Edinburgh.

The memorable image of Rowling's first steps on the road to fame is of an impoverished single mother escaping her freezing flat to write for hours in the warmth of a cafe with her baby in a pram beside her. Finding shelter in Edinburgh from a former husband, she would nurse one cup of coffee because she couldn't afford more.

Two famous and well-marked venues include Nicolson's restaurant, owned at the time by her brother-in-law and now replaced by a Chinese restaurant. Legend has it that much of the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was written there.

She was also a regular at the Elephant House café, on George IV Bridge, writing in long-hand and typing up the work at home on a manual typewriter.

The pressures on JK Rowling are very different now. Ten years after she published her first book, her baby daughter, Jessica, is now a teenager, and the concern is to keep a normal life with two other young children and her husband, Dr Neil Murray.

There are other Edinburgh cafés where she has written, well after her worldwide fame, keeping their names quiet to discourage tourist traffic. "She has just got into the habit of writing in places other than the house. Writers do need locations other than a bedroom," said a friend.

But while Edinburgh residents may respect her privacy, book collectors are not so polite. It has become increasingly difficult for her to be anywhere in public.

It remained a mystery yesterday why JK Rowling chose to scrawl on a statue in black marker pen, in an incident that had some hallmarks of a publicity stunt.

Her note was reportedly spotted by hotel staff.

A spokeswoman for the 188-room Balmoral, where rates run from £290 to £1,575 a night, said: "We can confirm that the author signed a bust, following a recent visit to the hotel."

But there are no plans, apparently, to turn the room into a tourist shrine.

"It was hotel property. We have many different antique artefacts within the hotel," said the spokeswoman. The bust was believed to be of the Greek god Hermes, not Emperor Hadrian as first thought.

A spokesman for the author said: "We can confirm that JK Rowling did write some of the book at the Balmoral last month and did complete the book at that hotel."

Rowling announced on Thursday that the seventh and final instalment in the series, which will follow Harry during his final year at Hogwarts, will be published on 21 July.

• MANY writers work from home, but regularly go in search of inspiration or escape from the pressures of family life. Sir Walter Scott began his early career as a writer in a summer cottage in Lasswade. Ernest Hemingway wrote anywhere he could.

Writer's retreats are always in demand. In the United States, the austere setting of the MacDowell writers' colony in New Hampshire, with 32 its cabin studios, has drawn the likes of Alice Sebold, writer of The Lovely Bones. Author Michel Chabon and his novelist wife Ayelet Waldman are also regular visitors.

In Scotland, one well-known writers' retreat is Hawthornden Castle near Roslin, owned by Drue Heinz. Scottish writers who win the Robert Louis Stevenson Award earn two months near the Forest of Foutainebleau, France, where writers and artists from across Europe converge to work.

The Isle of Jura whisky distiller, meanwhile, is now offering a month-long fellowship for an established writer to travel to Scotland and write and live on the island at the distillery lodge at Craighouse."

===========

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Okay, I've been quiet because I've been reading up on your veil theory, which I found interesting...

But I beg to differ...

The veils you mention at Nick's Death Day party are black curtains. There's mention of black tablecloths on the tables, with the rotten haggis. But I wouldn't think of curtains as veils - I imagined the veil of the arch to be wispy, raggy looking, and perhaps a little natty. Curtains I think of as a more solid and not tattered or wispy. In short, I think the curtains were just "trim" and not a clue. I don't think there's a clue in those trends.

Now, about Trevor's magical nature - I can't find record of that at all... I found where Uncle Algie (sp) had hung Neville out the window by his ankles and dropped him. Neville bounced, which proved his magical abilities. But nothing about Trevor.

Next, you talked about your disappointments with the 6th book... here's mine:

1) Hagrid & Olympia - I was hoping for more of a romance there or something.

2) Ginny & Harry - too predictable - especially when he broke up with her.

3) Harry - not just in the 6th book but in ALL of them - Harry is the most un-curious person in the world! It about kills me that he doesn't ask more about his family or his past or anything. We know so little about his parents or what they did for work or anything... scheesch!

4) Voldemort - not enough presence - he was mentioned, but never surfaced really. We did learn a lot about him and his past - more than I had imagined we would.

5) Horcruxes - not enough about HOW they work or HOW they are made.

6) Follow-up from the Dept. of Mysteries - no info. I mean, what was up with some of those rooms or like the brains in the tank... what was that all about? We hear about the damage, etc. but nothing more.

That's a few for now... wishing I didn't have so much work so that I could read more - great flights of fancy!

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Okay, I've been quiet because I've been reading up on your veil theory, which I found interesting...

But I beg to differ...

The veils you mention at Nick's Death Day party are black curtains. There's mention of black tablecloths on the tables, with the rotten haggis. But I wouldn't think of curtains as veils - I imagined the veil of the arch to be wispy, raggy looking, and perhaps a little natty. Curtains I think of as a more solid and not tattered or wispy. In short, I think the curtains were just "trim" and not a clue. I don't think there's a clue in those trends.

Opinions differ on that one.

There's allusions that are not precise forensic matches, and THAT's what I'm claiming that was.

Now, about Trevor's magical nature - I can't find record of that at all... I found where Uncle Algie (sp) had hung Neville out the window by his ankles and dropped him. Neville bounced, which proved his magical abilities. But nothing about Trevor.
*rolls eyes*

Well, obviously he wasn't the HBP.

However, mentions of him and where he keeps hopping off and has to be found keep popping up at

peculiar times and locations. Apparently they really WERE coincidences- but a peculiar SET of

coincidences.

After the "Mark Evans fiasco", we're aware that sometimes there ARE innocent coincidences

in the books that have NO other meaning.

Next, you talked about your disappointments with the 6th book... here's mine:

1) Hagrid & Olympia - I was hoping for more of a romance there or something.

2) Ginny & Harry - too predictable - especially when he broke up with her.

3) Harry - not just in the 6th book but in ALL of them - Harry is the most un-curious person in the world! It about kills me that he doesn't ask more about his family or his past or anything. We know so little about his parents or what they did for work or anything... scheesch!

4) Voldemort - not enough presence - he was mentioned, but never surfaced really. We did learn a lot about him and his past - more than I had imagined we would.

5) Horcruxes - not enough about HOW they work or HOW they are made.

6) Follow-up from the Dept. of Mysteries - no info. I mean, what was up with some of those rooms or like the brains in the tank... what was that all about? We hear about the damage, etc. but nothing more.

That's a few for now... wishing I didn't have so much work so that I could read more - great flights of fancy!

1) Not enough time-I expect we'll hear about that at the end of Book 7, presuming they both survive.

(Remember, the last chapter will be an Epilogue and "whatever happened to...")

2) Eh, whatever. Didn't feel anything either way.

3) The Dursleys, as JKR said, really crushed his curiousity. I would have asked a LOT more questions.

Then again, I'm more like a thoughtful Ravenclaw than a brash Gryffindor.

4) I liked the way Voldy did not appear, but was felt nonetheless.

5) Book 7, of course, will have more to say on this.

6) The Dept of Mysteries studies the great mysteries, the big questions, like Time, the Mind, Space, Death,

and Love. Ron was damaged by a "think-tank", obviously. :)

I personally wanted to hear any reference to the experience later, however. He was exposed to

raw thoughts, and my opinion is that it was a VERY traumatic or watershed experience,

even with that potion being administered as an antidote. Doesn't he still have scars from that,

physical if not mental?

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I don`t know about Trevor, but I have been thinking about Nevel. You know how great trauma affects the wizards powers, like merope being intimidated by her father, and when Tonks love was unrequitted etc.

I wonder if the trauma of his parents being insane and living with his Gran that intimidates him so, hasn`t been draining him of his natural abilities. That and he was required to use his Dad`s wand for sentimental reasons...Didn`t Olivander make a big deal about the wand needing to chose the wizard? Maybe he isn`t such a blundering, accident prone screw up.

Maybe now that he has his own wand, and his confidence is growing, we will see something extraordinary about him.

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I also wonder about Harry`s parents, his grandparents, his aunts uncles and cousins. The grandparents were both alive while his Dad was in school and afterwards because Serius was always welcome to sunday dinner at the potters (sr.)

So in the brief time between them leaving school and their death, not more than a few years....you have the death of both grandparents, at what seems a young age, and while we are at it, serius` horrible mom died too.

Ron doesn`t seem to have a grandparents. Maybe there just isn`t any room for all of the details....but it seems like there are a whole generation of folks that died early.

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I don`t know about Trevor, but I have been thinking about Nevel. You know how great trauma affects the wizards powers, like merope being intimidated by her father, and when Tonks love was unrequitted etc.

I wonder if the trauma of his parents being insane and living with his Gran that intimidates him so, hasn`t been draining him of his natural abilities. That and he was required to use his Dad`s wand for sentimental reasons...Didn`t Olivander make a big deal about the wand needing to chose the wizard? Maybe he isn`t such a blundering, accident prone screw up.

Maybe now that he has his own wand, and his confidence is growing, we will see something extraordinary about him.

On the one hand, yes, Ollivander gave specifics as to the wand and the wizard.

On the other hand, we've seen wands swapped, and the users seemed to do just fine.

The jury's out on that one.

Trevor, though, has been labouring under SOMETHING.

There's been speculations that-like Bertha Jorkins (mentioned in Book 4)

and Percy's boss (in Book 4), he's been fiddled with magickally, and that's why his

memory leaks like a sieve in the early books.

(See also the Muggle who runs the campsite for the Quidditch World Cup,

also in Book 4.)

Like Merope, he has been bullied (by Snape, if no one else.)

He's also had Gran waiting for him to become the next Merlin.

That's enough for "performance anxiety" right there.

He first started to come into his own with the DA's sessions in Book 5.

There's more to be seen from him in Book 7, I'd say...

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I also wonder about Harry`s parents, his grandparents, his aunts uncles and cousins. The grandparents were both alive while his Dad was in school and afterwards because Serius was always welcome to sunday dinner at the potters (sr.)

So in the brief time between them leaving school and their death, not more than a few years....you have the death of both grandparents, at what seems a young age, and while we are at it, serius` horrible mom died too.

Ron doesn`t seem to have a grandparents. Maybe there just isn`t any room for all of the details....but it seems like there are a whole generation of folks that died early.

Harry's family, well,

the tail wagged the dog here.

JKR needed his family gone, so, they died from some normal reason like illness.

James Potter's parents were on a bit in years before he was born,

and he was an only child, so he got all their money.

As to Ron's family, I think you're right about there being not enough time to include

EVERYTHING. Besides, it is not their story. There's a lot that we might want to see

that's not in there. (Like the US. Other than a sentence in Book 4, and a few teams

in "Quidditch Through the Ages", the US is outside the scope of the series.)

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http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories....9646&EDATE=

"NEW YORK, March 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Scholastic Inc., the global children's publishing and media company, announced today that all 12 million copies of the U.S. edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be printed on paper that contains a minimum of 30% post-consumer waste (pcw) fiber. Moreover, 65% of the 16,700 tons of paper used in the U.S. first printing will be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the global standard-setter for responsible forest management. This historic commitment is the largest purchase of FSC certified paper to be used in the printing of a single book title. In addition, the company announced that the deluxe edition of the book (100,000 copies) will be printed on text paper that is FSC certified and contains 100% post-consumer waste fiber. All jackets will be FSC certified and contain 30% post consumer waste and will be manufactured using energy generated from wind power. For future printings of all books in the Harry Potter series, Scholastic plans to use paper with a minimum content of 30% pcw, and that is FSC certified when available. The vast amount of paper needed to print 12 million copies of the 784-page Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows makes the decision by Scholastic to invest in environmentally preferable paper a significant step in the company's ongoing commitment to responsible environmental stewardship. "

That's 784 pages for Book 7.

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On the one hand, yes, Ollivander gave specifics as to the wand and the wizard.

On the other hand, we've seen wands swapped, and the users seemed to do just fine.

The jury's out on that one.

Trevor, though, has been labouring under SOMETHING.

There's been speculations that-like Bertha Jorkins (mentioned in Book 4)

and Percy's boss (in Book 4), he's been fiddled with magickally, and that's why his

memory leaks like a sieve in the early books.

(See also the Muggle who runs the campsite for the Quidditch World Cup,

also in Book 4.)

Like Merope, he has been bullied (by Snape, if no one else.)

He's also had Gran waiting for him to become the next Merlin.

That's enough for "performance anxiety" right there.

He first started to come into his own with the DA's sessions in Book 5.

There's more to be seen from him in Book 7, I'd say...

There's a rumor that you'll see a student become a teacher in the last book. My money is on Neville taking the place of Professor Sprout, just because Herbology has been Neville's only real strength but I also considered it could be Hermonie, just because it seems that Professor McGonagal (sp) would now be the headmaster.

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Check it out...the new cover! You can see it on mugglenet. The books editor says that it is depicting something very important.

He also said that he sobbed and sobbed all the way through the book....that it is very emotional. It has more pages than the goblet of fire...whew

The picture shows him in some kind of stone stadium there are people watching in the shadows...we are looking through tattered curtains or something...he and voldemort are both reaching for something.

If the arch that serius fell into wasn`t in a dungeon, I`d almost say that is what it looks like...but there is bright sky overhead. There is some kind of smoke or mist he is reaching towards.

He has something tied around his neck.

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There's a rumor that you'll see a student become a teacher in the last book. My money is on Neville taking the place of Professor Sprout, just because Herbology has been Neville's only real strength but I also considered it could be Hermonie, just because it seems that Professor McGonagal (sp) would now be the headmaster.

I'm thinking it's Neville.

You're forgetting that the last chapter of the last book-

like the first chapter of the first book-

is separated by time.

The last chapter will show us the survivors years later.

That's plenty of time for either student to return as a teacher,

or for Harry to be elected Minister of Magic,

and especially to raise a family with Ginny.

Check it out...the new cover! You can see it on mugglenet. The books editor says that it is depicting something very important.

He also said that he sobbed and sobbed all the way through the book....that it is very emotional. It has more pages than the goblet of fire...whew

The picture shows him in some kind of stone stadium there are people watching in the shadows...we are looking through tattered curtains or something...he and voldemort are both reaching for something.

If the arch that serius fell into wasn`t in a dungeon, I`d almost say that is what it looks like...but there is bright sky overhead. There is some kind of smoke or mist he is reaching towards.

He has something tied around his neck.

Unless we're looking thru the Veil and Arch into an entirely different land:

the Deathly Hallows.

And Voldemort followed him through.

Which, BTW, was one scenario I suspected.

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Here's what I have to say about Harry's Scar....

Here's what we KNOW about Harry's Scar...

JKR said its shape is not what's important about it.

(Which means it is important.)

It's allowed Harry to read Voldy's mind, and Voldy to read Harry's mind.

It's allowed Voldy to invent things and project them to Harry.

("He's got Padfoot in the place where it's hidden!")

Presumably,

it's also the specific means that was used to allow Harry to possess

Nagini while Voldy was doing the same (Book 5, the attack on Arthur

Weasley), and the means for Voldy to possess Harry

(Book 5, the duel with Dumbledore, "The Only One He Ever Feared."

Of course, Voldy possessed Nagini because SHE is a Horcrux.

What is the specific connection for Harry?

As evidence, I cite Book 6's warnings of all sorts of threats, including the

Imperius Curse- but there's NO mention of POSSESSION. Therefore,

the MoM does not expect that possession is a credible threat to the

public-they expect it can't be done.

We know-from Book 2's denoument-that Voldy put "part of himself"

in Harry, as confirmed by DD.

I'm still waiting for an explanation as to how that works. So far, in 6 books,

there's only one mechanism explained to do exactly that, and it was done

to Nagini.

We also know that Trelawney predicted Harry's birth as being in

MIDWINTER, when he was born at the end of July (as the seventh month

dies.) It's easy to just laugh that off and say Trelawney's incompetent,

but the truth is, she's often got SOME ability, but MISINTERPRETS what

she sees. (Black dog was Sirius, not The Grim, and she "saw" Harry

hiding from her in Book 6 but discounted it. And she saw disaster for

Hogwarts in Book 6-which was confirmed by the chapter name, named

after the card she saw.)

Was her prediction of Harry's birth just a wild guess? Possible, but then

it's a coincidence that she picked VOLDY's birth (during a snowstorm).

We know (from Book 6 and other places) that Voldy had stopped using

the name "Riddle" for some time, and only DD and possibly a few old

acquaintances still called him that-if they dared to name him at all.

However, in Book 2, Harry RECOGNIZES his name, as if he'd known

him when he was smaller.

Coincidence?

So far,

I've yet to hear any OTHER answer that explains what we know, and

what we can reasonably deduce, if not everything,

OTHER THAN "Horcrux."

People have speculated there is some other method to transfer part

of one's soul to another, that is completely unrelated to a Horcrux.

So far, there's nothing to support that in the books, making this a

guess at best.

Here's exactly what I think happened that night at Godric's Hollow...

Voldy and Wormtail arrive at the house. Wormtail stays outside.

Voldy-alone or with an assistant- enter the house and begin shooting it

up. James Potter tells Lily to escape with Harry, and gives his OWN

life to delay Voldy. (JKR's suggested this sacrifice carried NO mystical

implications, unlike Lily's sacrifice.)

Voldy killed James, and went straight for Harry, his wand in one hand,

and an item in the other, the potential Horcrux he intended to finish

any moment, but currently just an item.

Lily refused to step aside. Either automatically through her sacrifice,

or through the application of Love magic (studied in the Dept of

Mysteries, and I am making the complete guess she worked on that),

she used her love and her sacrifice to protect Harry.

Lily falls dead.

Voldy advances on baby Harry,

his wand in one hand, his item in the other hand.

Voldy points the wand at Harry's forehead.

Voldy, with practiced ease, begins pushing on his own soul so that he

can make the Horcrux more easily at the moment he wounds his soul.

Voldy says "Avada Kedavra!", pushing at his soul, while trying to kill Harry.

At the moment the AK hits The Scar, the AK REBOUNDS.

There's a moment where the AK connects Harry and Voldy.

Voldy's struck by his own AK.

Due to his own low percentage of soul left- plus the presence of his

PREVIOUS Horcruxes- it is unable to extinguish his soul in that instant.

Instead, it reacts as if he's inanimate, and just blows up his body,

leaving his soul (what's left of it) "intact."

If nothing else happened, this would just make "Vapormort".

However, the connection meant something else happened.

Voldy was TRYING to make a Horcrux at that instant.

Voldy was connected to Harry.

The transfer of a piece of his soul was complete.

Voldy was only connected to Harry's body.

A soul needs a body to be connected to. Voldy's was now gone.

Therefore, the soul-shard is "conducted" to the only soul in taction with

the now-appearing Vapormort. Voldy was TRYING to make a transfer

at that moment- and he succeeded-

but failed to make the INTENDED target a Horcrux.

Instead, the SCAR became one.

Ok, so some people offer "arguments" against this.

I'll address them here again.

1) "You can't make a Horcrux by accident!"

Voldy was TRYING to make one at the time.

We all know that, I think.

DD seemed clear about it.

2) "Making a Horcrux involves a complicated ritual and spells!"

Pure supposition.

The closest thing we have to an answer was Slughorn's comment.

"There is a spell, don't ask me, I DO NOT KNOW!"

So, we know Slughorn doesnt really know-or didn't provide any details.

(I lean towards the first.)

We suppose he was correct that "there is a spell."

We know Voldy used the Avada Kedavra to make Horcruxes.

Pending further information, I see no reason to suppose the AK is not

the spell Slughorn meant.

So, I say the only spell we KNOW is used is the AK, and it's not

unreasonable-pending more information-to suppose it's the ONLY one.

3) "Voldemort would never have tried to kill Harry if he knew Harry

(or his scar or his appendix) was one of his Horcruxes!"

SURE he would.

Voldy fears death more than anything.

He MUST kill Harry Potter to survive.

He made Horcruxes-6- to survive.

He would destroy 4 Horcruxes-leaving 2- to ensure his victory by

killing Harry. (If Harry's scar is not a Horcrux, and Harry was holding

one of them in each hand and one in his pocket, Voldy would destroy

him-even if it meant destroying the Horcruxes.

That's simple chess-you sacrifice what you can afford to succeed in what

you NEED.

We saw that at the end of Book 1's chess match.

4) "There was no death involved! A death HAD to take place to make

a Horcrux!"

There was indeed a death.

VOLDEMORT died.

Sounds ridiculous?

I've seen this SPECIFIC gambit used in other stories- how the caster

needs an injury or a death in payment or to fuel a spell,

and his OWN injury or death is used.

In all honesty, I saved that for last, since it's the only part that I

honestly consider SPECULATION.

My theory fits all the facts as known to the end of Book 6.

One last thing:

(yeah, me and Columbo...)

In Book 6, either this is true, or Dumbledore made a very elementary

mistake.

DD explained that Voldy intended to make a Horcrux with Harry's death,

and that Voldy has completed his set before Book 4,

and possibly, before Godric's Hollow.

(iwith Nagini as #6, which explains why he needs her to come back-

"It's time to milk Nagini again".)

Dumbledore knows EXACTLY how many Horcruxes there are: 6.

DD says Voldy intented to make "his final" Horcrux with Harry's

death.

DD says something VERY interesting.

DD, therefore, expected only ONE Horcrux to be left- made at

Godric's Hollow that night.

Knowing this, DD said that he thought Voldy was

"AT LEAST ONE SHORT OF HIS TOTAL OF SIX"

at Godric's Hollow.

Why can't he count all of a sudden?

6-1=5.

Voldy would be "EXACTLY SHORT OF HIS TOTAL OF SIX".

But the author has left it unclear if there was 4 or 5 completed.

Why?

Nagini plus one more makes for "at least one."

That would mean that the author allowed for one to be made at

Godric's Hollow, not counting Nagini.

That was a DELIBERATE note by JKR.

What other reasons does anyone see for this "mistake"?

If Harry's SCAR is a Horcrux, then DD was correct,

and JKR set the stage for it.

If it's not, then DD made an easily-correctible mistake.

(JKR can count to 6.)

So, that's what I have to say on the subject.

For me, this seems pretty open-and-shut,

"beyond a reasonable doubt."

We'll know for sure in July.

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OK...I was just looking at the newly released cover art for the british version of the deathly hallows....

It is completely different. Wooohoo ..more clues!!

What IS significant is that there is a stone arch prominent. Ron looks horrified....from the looks of his hair he is falling backwards..........hermiony has her arms reaching out screaming...Harry is reaching for something...

Harry and hermiony both have significant burns on their arms...and harrys sleeve is melted or charred....there is a fantastic looking suit of armor with a dragon on the helmet buried amongst lots and lots of Gold and treasure.

He might be reaching for a shiney green round thing....there is a small pale...dead looking hand on harry`s shoulder ...a bit of a head can be seen...(possibly a house elf?) it`s other hand is raised with a sword (griffindors?)........can`t tell if it is riding harrys back or trying to hold him back from what he is striving for.

The BIG thing is that the arch is prominently featured in both covers.

This would make sense since the arch was never really explained well in tooftp

Edited by rascal
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There's a few guesses on that.

My guess is that the Scholastic cover shows the view THROUGH the Veil-

Harry having passed through and entered the Deathly Hallows.

My guess is that the Bloomsbury kids' cover shows a chamber IN the

Deathly Hallows. The netherworld is supposed to be a place of riches.

(Precious metals and gems come from underground. The netherworld is

supposed to be underground.) The lord of the netherworld-

Hades, Pluto, etc- is supposed to be rich as a result.

That's why the name "Pluto" is used to mean riches-

as in "plutocracy", government by the rich.

Then again, this chamber could be somewhere else completely.

I personally was expecting LUNA and NEVILLE on the netherworld

quest, not Ron and Hermione even IF JKR accidentally guaranteed

they would live.

Luna because in the Space room in the Dept of Mysteries,

Luna blew up Pluto.

Neville because I expect his mimbulus mimbletonia plant to be critically important.

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Well to be honest wolf....Hermiony and Ron are in the back ground...each seemingly enacting different scenes. I don`t think that they are a part of what Harry is doing in the for front.

The american version shows harry and voldemort alone...except there are people on the other side of arches in the shadows....

Your scenario could still be essentially correct.

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