Harry Potter and the Last Book (Now with Discussion of Books 1-6!!)

There hasn't been a Harry Potter thread yet, so I thought it would be as good a time as ever.

Primarily though, I wanted to use this as a vehicle to put forth an oft-discussed possibility: what if J.K. Rowling dies before completing the last book? Are there any particular theories you've heard of or made that you favor in particular that you'll carry as your own personal ending for the series?

So yeah, discuss your thoughts on the series, but also what you think will happen in book 7!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by evergreen

Primarily though, I wanted to use this as a vehicle to put forth an oft-discussed possibility: what if J.K. Rowling dies before completing the last book?

This is an oft-discussed possibility?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I remember having this same hypothetical discussion about John Williams and whether he'd die before Episode III or the next Harry Potter. I for one find it a pointless thing to ask. What would happen? People would grieve. Then they would move on. Just like every other death for every single other person on the planet. We don't what-if them, do we?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by knkwzrd

This is an oft-discussed possibility?

I think he probably meant often discussed possibility.

Originally Posted by Zephos

I remember having this same hypothetical discussion about John Williams and whether he'd die before Episode III or the next Harry Potter. I for one find it a pointless thing to ask. What would happen? People would grieve. Then they would move on. Just like every other death for every single other person on the planet. We don't what-if them, do we?

John Williams dying is a little bit different than J.K Rowling dying. If you're going to liken it to anything from Star Wars, the only thing that would be adequate would be picking George Lucas, as it would have been much harder for Episode III to be made without him. Just like Harry Potter would obviously not be able to continue if Rowling dies.

On Potter, though. There isn't really too much to discuss, besides that W.O.M.B.A.T. test posted on her site the other day. Considering the book won't be out for another year at the least.

But hey, I'm all for theorizing if anyone wishes.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Zephos

I remember having this same hypothetical discussion about John Williams and whether he'd die before Episode III or the next Harry Potter.

Well he still didn't do the music for HP GoF.

I frankly am waiting in great earnest for the seventh book to come out. I greatly enjoyed the sixth book, and can't wait to see how it all ends. I have some theories, but i'll wait for more theoretical discussion to voice them.

As for the movies, i'm pleased with the latest installment, more so even than the book in some places. This director looks like a good choice, but if he does a ruddy job of number five, or doesn't continue for one reason or another, i'd like to see Terry Gilliam in the director's chair. I'm curious to see what he'd do with the serise, and i have faith in his abilities.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I can't wait for the last book, but I'm not even going to try and predict what happens, except for the blindingly obvious, of course! I've been fooled too many times by J.K Rowling...

I really enjoyed the last movie, much more than I thought I would - I thought it would seem too rushed, with the amount of material that had to be left out. Here's hoping they'll do a similarly good (or better!) job on the fifth one!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I'm actually in the middle of Half-Blood Prince right now. I figure I'm at the halfway point because it's Christmas and all that jazz.

So far I don't really get what all the big "this book sucks" talk was about. It's written in the same stlye as the other books so what's the big deal?

In regards to "snogging":

My only gripe with the book is the romantic "crush" parts. You know, Hermoine and Ron and Harry and who they like and who they don't and how they want to be in a relationship and whatever. It adds a dynamic to the story, sure, but it feels like it's forced in there. Although I suppose that real relationships are forced into everyday life as well...

FELIPE NO

She should write those crush parts more true to life and they should get boners and fap (or schlick) to the people they like. Then I could relate.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Maybe it's all written between the lines?

I remember one part where Hermoine went to bed "very early in the evening, at seven". Hmmmm...wonder what she was doing?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

If you're worried about awkward forced relationships, wait until the end. You'll really no what out of nowhere means.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by evergreen

Primarily though, I wanted to use this as a vehicle to put forth an oft-discussed possibility: what if J.K. Rowling dies before completing the last book?

My guess is that they'd do what they did when Douglas Adams died: go through her writing, find anything that's more or less finished, and publish what's there along with any other interesting odds and ends they find among her notes.

At the moment, I'm mostly speculating about whether (should we bother marking spoilers for book 6 any more? Oh well, whatever...)...

Spoiler:

...Harry is going to go back to Hogwarts in the fall or go off looking for those Horcruxes (sp?). It seems like things have gotten to the point where it's moved way beyond the scope of Hogwarts, and Dumbledore's death might have been symbolic of Hogwarts "dying" in the sense of being a central setting for the story. But then, maybe they'll have gathered most of the Horcruxes over the summer and he'll go back to school regardless. I'm not sure which one I'm hoping for at this point. The more I think about it the less it makes sense for him to spend the year at Hogwarts, but still... Off looking for magic items, possibly with his friends in tow? It'd be "Harry Potter and the RPG Quest".

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I say no spoilers for book six, either. But since someone above said he's still reading it, I'll do it.

Spoiler:

I don't know, either. It seems like there is so much that Jo would have to fit in the last book, that Harry might not have time to be back at Hogwarts.

Let me know if I am wrong. The horcruxes, as Dumbledore thought are:

The Diary
Marvolo's Ring
Slytherin's Locket
Hufflecup's Goblet
Something of Ravenclaw's
Something of Gryffindor's

Now, two of those (Ring and Diary) and possibly a third (Locket) are already taken care of. To me, it would seem like it would probably take a lot of work for Harry to find the goblet and figure out what the other two are. Considering Dumbledore hadn't been able to find them all the time that he was looking, I don't think Harry would be able to find them all by himself and go full time to school as well.

I don't like to think like that, though. It just wouldn't be the same without Hogwarts of some sort. Besides, what would Harry do if he didn't finish his schooling? Maybe we should take this as a hint that there won't be a need for the schooling...

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Spoiler:

I thought one of the Horcruxes was Nagini the snake.

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Oh yeah.

Spoiler:

Who do you think R.A.B. is?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

On the main forum page I saw "Harry Potter and the Last" and I thought the title of the book had been announced and would be "Harry Potter and the Last Crusade". Harry's going back in time to defeat the Nazis!

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by evergreen

Spoiler:

Who do you think R.A.B. is?

Spoiler:

I figured it was Regulus Black (Sirius' brother) as soon as i read it. Apperantly J.K. has said that is him, but i like to think i figured it out on my own.

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Originally Posted by Helloween

Spoiler:

I thought one of the Horcruxes was Nagini the snake.

Ah yes, you are correct.

Spoiler:

It was something from either gryffindor or ravenclaw and Nagini.

And yes, RAB is supposedly Regulus Black.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I posted this in the spoilers thread but I'll post it again just to make a point.

An aquaitence of mine has a theory:

It's Frankenstien:

He thinks that Dumbledore never died, that it was in fact Peter Petigrew. This being that he reasons Snape using the controlling curse on Petigrew. At the beginning, Petigrew was with Snape and seemed to be his servent. With the controlling curse, he was told to act just like Dumbledore and he used the Polyjuice potion. Not only that but when the tower scene happened, Dumbledore was pleading because when he was around Snape, he was normal. And that is why Dumbledore begged for his life.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Dekoa

I posted this in the spoilers thread but I'll post it again just to make a point.

An aquaitence of mine has a theory:

It's Frankenstien:

He thinks that Dumbledore never died, that it was in fact Peter Petigrew. This being that he reasons Snape using the controlling curse on Petigrew. At the beginning, Petigrew was with Snape and seemed to be his servent. With the controlling curse, he was told to act just like Dumbledore and he used the Polyjuice potion. Not only that but when the tower scene happened, Dumbledore was pleading because when he was around Snape, he was normal. And that is why Dumbledore begged for his life.

Spoiler:

just remember that Dumbledore never actually pleaded for his life. He said "Severus, please." and that was it. That could mean any number of things, like it was an elaborate plan, and Dumbledore was confident in Harry's ability to carry on on his own.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Spoiler:

Also remember all the things that happened leading up to the time that Harry and Dumbledore arrived on the Astronomy tower. Assuming that the only people to enter the cave besides Riddle and R.A.B., were Harry and Dumbledore, how could Pettigrew, or Snape controlling him, know how to get to the horcrux? Considering that it has been said that the only person that was thought to be more powerful than Riddle, at the peak of his power, was Dumbledore. I would think that no one would have been able to get past those protections besides Dumbledore. If it had to be Dumbledore in the cave with Harry and seeing as how they never left each others sight since they left the Castle, how could it have been Pettigrew? I don't think that theory makes much sense.

I am inclined to think that Dumbledore died on purpose, having told Snape to do what he had to do to stay undercover with Riddle. Nothing would help Riddle decide that Snape was really on his side like killing Dumbledore would. I think that Snape actually respected Dumbledore and it was terribly hard for him to do what he had to do, hence why Dumbledore was pleading for him to follow through with it. Also, the way that he gets very upset when Harry calls him a coward at the end is also highly suspicious. Why would Snape care so much if it had not pained him to do what he had just done? If it was not him tawho was being the bravest and had the hardest task assigned to him?

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by CloudNine

Spoiler:

Also remember all the things that happened leading up to the time that Harry and Dumbledore arrived on the Astronomy tower. Assuming that the only people to enter the cave besides Riddle and R.A.B., were Harry and Dumbledore, how could Pettigrew, or Snape controlling him, know how to get to the horcrux? Considering that it has been said that the only person that was thought to be more powerful than Riddle, at the peak of his power, was Dumbledore. I would think that no one would have been able to get past those protections besides Dumbledore. If it had to be Dumbledore in the cave with Harry and seeing as how they never left each others sight since they left the Castle, how could it have been Pettigrew? I don't think that theory makes much sense.

I am inclined to think that Dumbledore died on purpose, having told Snape to do what he had to do to stay undercover with Riddle. Nothing would help Riddle decide that Snape was really on his side like killing Dumbledore would. I think that Snape actually respected Dumbledore and it was terribly hard for him to do what he had to do, hence why Dumbledore was pleading for him to follow through with it. Also, the way that he gets very upset when Harry calls him a coward at the end is also highly suspicious. Why would Snape care so much if it had not pained him to do what he had just done? If it was not him tawho was being the bravest and had the hardest task assigned to him?

Yeah, I agree COMPLETELY. I've pretty much thought the same thing since the moments that I was reading the lines for the first time. Too bad my view is unpopular amongst my friends and family.

- WraithTwo -

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by CloudNine

Spoiler:

Also remember all the things that happened leading up to the time that Harry and Dumbledore arrived on the Astronomy tower. Assuming that the only people to enter the cave besides Riddle and R.A.B., were Harry and Dumbledore, how could Pettigrew, or Snape controlling him, know how to get to the horcrux? Considering that it has been said that the only person that was thought to be more powerful than Riddle, at the peak of his power, was Dumbledore. I would think that no one would have been able to get past those protections besides Dumbledore. If it had to be Dumbledore in the cave with Harry and seeing as how they never left each others sight since they left the Castle, how could it have been Pettigrew? I don't think that theory makes much sense.

Spoiler:

but remember that Snape is known for logic, as shown by his contribution to the protection of the Philosipher's stone in the first book. The challange that Voldemort had set up in the caves for them was in essence the same a Snapes challange when going for the philosipher's stone, only harder because of it's obvious simplicity. I think Snape would have been able to figure it out.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Helloween

Spoiler:

but remember that Snape is known for logic, as shown by his contribution to the protection of the Philosipher's stone in the first book. The challange that Voldemort had set up in the caves for them was in essence the same a Snapes challange when going for the philosipher's stone, only harder because of it's obvious simplicity. I think Snape would have been able to figure it out.

Spoiler:

Ok, let's say that Snape really could have the intelligence to get through it. That still leaves the problem of Dumbledore actually being Pettigrew. How did Snape replace him with Pettigrew? I would assume polyjuice potion and there in lies the fault. Polyjuice Potion only t an hour before the user turns back into the themselves. I would assume that in the time it took for them to:

Have their conversation before they left.
Go through the cave.
Fly back to the castle.
Have the conversation with Malfoy.
The entire fight with the Death Eaters after Dumbledore fell and was then discovered.

I would be inclined to think that more than an hour had passed. Also, if Dumbledore was still alive, what possible reason could he have had for faking his death and leaving everyone to fight and possibly die?

Also, why Pettigrew? Dumbledore doesn't seem like the person that allow illegal dark arts and the murder of a person like that. Also, both the Death Eaters (supposedly with the exception of Regulus) and the Order had no idea about the horcruxes/where Dumbledore was going, so we have no reason to believe Snape knew of the horcruxes existance in the first place. He, just like all the other Death Eaters were just as surprised when Riddle was able to come back alive.

How ya doing, buddy?

Right, right i even thought of the polyjuice thing.

Spoiler:

i figured that seeing as how they had a freaking funeral for him like an entire day after his death, that it wasn't polyjuice potion

As i was composing my above post, that point totally slipped my mind.

I'm totally with you now.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Spoiler:

You both FAIL. Two words: Unbreakable Vow. Snape had to prevent Draco from fucking up his mission (killing Dumbledore) and carrying it out for him if need be. How is Snape purposely killing the wrong person and letting Dumbledore live NOT failing to hold up the vow? Since Snape didn't die while fleeing Hogwarts, and presumeably afterwards, Snape had to have killed Dumbledore.

How ya doing, buddy?