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Xixox · 07-22-2005, 09:21 PM

Extreme spoilers here. Even possible spoilers for Book 7, though all speculation here.

Do not proceed unless you want to be spoiled.

Seriously. I mean it.

Still with me? Ok. First, I believe Dumbledore was aware that he had to die, as others have said, so that Harry would be prodded on to finishing off LV. I also believe that he trusted Snape to be the one to finish him off. I think when Snape entered into the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa, he told DD about it. He was forced to protect Draco and, if necessary, complete Draco's task. I think DD trusts Snape implicitly because he has also entered into an Unbreakable Vow with him.

Going way back in time, here. 17-18 years ago, Snape gave LV the partial prophecy which led to Harry's parents' deaths. He did not know whom the prophecy would lead LV to. I believe that Snape had feelings for Lily (Potter) Evans while in school, because she, a mudblood of all people, defended him when he was being picked on by James. I think his worst memory is of one such occasion when, after she stood up for him, he turned on her & called her a mudblood, betraying the one person at the school he could possibly have gotten along with.

So LV slays James & Lily, and then Snape, racked with guilt, turns himself in to Dumbledore. DD has Snape enter an Unbreakable Vow to follow his orders and remain loyal to the Order of the Phoenix. Hey, maybe Albus's brother Aberforth did the honors of casting the spell in the same room of the Hog's Head where DD heard the prophesy. BTW, my favorite theory is that Aberforth is the bartender at the Hog's Head... he was rumored to be outcast due to something involving goats, and the Hog's Head Inn was said to smell like goats. And Harry has thought him to be familiar. I think it'd be a nice touch, anyway.

So, we have Snape in an Unbreakable Vow to Dumbledore, and then coerced into another Unbreakable Vow to protect Draco. I believe that at the top of the tower, there was a little Legilimancy going on between DD and Snape, where DD was telling Snape that he must kill him. Killing DD saves Draco from having to do it - keeping Draco's soul from being damaged - and it earns Snape endless credibility with the Death Eaters, which, as we see in Spinner's End, has been slipping steadily.

Snape's mastery of Occlumency prevents LV from knowing of his arrangement with DD, but he has to remain vile against Harry so that Harry won't unintentionally blow his cover.

Secondly, Draco. I don't believe he is redeemed. He's a self-serving coward, through & through. He is always haughty when he feels he is in control, but as soon as the tables are turned, he becomes a whiny little bitch. I don't believe he is going to die in book 7, but I don't think he will become a good guy.

Third, the lovey-dovey behavior from the scooby gang. I enjoyed it, as sickeningly sweet as it was. Lavender was completely overboard, but hey, I've known girls like that at that age. I think there's something behind the hormonal jolt experienced by H,HR and Ron in this book. Remember their first day of Potions? They were getting lots of fumes from the love potion there. I don't think it's entirely to blame, but I think it got the juices going a bit. I also think the Harry/Ginny breakup was a bit Spidermanly, but that's really an age-old plot device.

Fourth, Hogwarts. I think they have to go back to school. They will probably start with every intention of not returning to school, but there is a lot left to do there. We have yet to see the houses unite, y'know?

Fifth, Horcruxes. I'm betting there are five left. DD destroyed the ring, Harry destroyed the book. I think the necklace was brought to Grimauld Place by Regulus. I'd bet it was the one mentioned during the big housecleaning project -- perhaps it was sold by Mundungus? It'll have to be found & destroyed. That covers Slytherin, leaving something from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and/or Gryffindor (wouldn't it be a twist if it was the sword?), and then the snake. I like the theory that Harry is a horcrux... maybe not Harry so much as his scar. The AK curse is said not to leave any mark behind, so something is unique about Harry's scar. It could be that LV was going to make a horcrux using Harry's death as his 7th soul-split but, when the spell went awry, the horcrux was created in the middle of Harry's forehead.

Sixth, some spoilery speculation. Maybe big spoilers if I'm right, but this is entirely guesswork. I think Hagrid's a goner in book 7. From what I've gathered from random posts about alchemy, there are several steps to the finished product in alchemy. #5 is black, #6 is white, and #7 is red. Book 5, Sirius Black dies. Book 6, Albus (White) Dumbledore dies. Book 7... Rubeus (Ruby) Hagrid? That or/and the red-headed Ronald Weasley? JKR has said that a lot is revealed in the first book, and Ron does do the whole heroic sacrifice thing on the chessboard. I'll be really sad if any of that is true, though. I really want Neville to open up a can o' whoopass now that he's got his new wand. I'd also really like to see Luna charging into battle riding on a crumple-horned snorkack, hehe. Lastly, I hope we see a bit more of Harry's mastery of magic revealed. Like, I want other wizards to find out he could cast Lumos without holding his wand and be totally amazed. Also, when he kills Voldemort, I want it to be with something simple, yet twisted. "Accio HEART!" has a great feel to it. *muhaha*

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It was a huge relief after the angst-fest that was Harry in OoTP. Harry's starting to express the things he used to bottle up ("You don't need to call me sir, Professor," LOL) and he's no longer letting others use him. The book did lack some of the wonderment that the first books had, but I think a lot of it is in the story being told from Harry's perspective. As he has grown, his view of the wizarding world has as well. I think JKR kept a good tension going even behind the light-hearted bits, with occasional inferences to the deaths of prominent wizards. The book felt a little thin, but it's purpose really is just to set up the scene for Book 7. It's the Empire Strikes Back of the series, y'know.

07-22-2005, 09:21 PM	#42 (permalink)
Xixox Crazy Location: MN-WI	Extreme spoilers here. Even possible spoilers for Book 7, though all speculation here. Do not proceed unless you want to be spoiled. Seriously. I mean it. Still with me? Ok. First, I believe Dumbledore was aware that he had to die, as others have said, so that Harry would be prodded on to finishing off LV. I also believe that he trusted Snape to be the one to finish him off. I think when Snape entered into the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa, he told DD about it. He was forced to protect Draco and, if necessary, complete Draco's task. I think DD trusts Snape implicitly because he has also entered into an Unbreakable Vow with him. Going way back in time, here. 17-18 years ago, Snape gave LV the partial prophecy which led to Harry's parents' deaths. He did not know whom the prophecy would lead LV to. I believe that Snape had feelings for Lily (Potter) Evans while in school, because she, a mudblood of all people, defended him when he was being picked on by James. I think his worst memory is of one such occasion when, after she stood up for him, he turned on her & called her a mudblood, betraying the one person at the school he could possibly have gotten along with. So LV slays James & Lily, and then Snape, racked with guilt, turns himself in to Dumbledore. DD has Snape enter an Unbreakable Vow to follow his orders and remain loyal to the Order of the Phoenix. Hey, maybe Albus's brother Aberforth did the honors of casting the spell in the same room of the Hog's Head where DD heard the prophesy. BTW, my favorite theory is that Aberforth is the bartender at the Hog's Head... he was rumored to be outcast due to something involving goats, and the Hog's Head Inn was said to smell like goats. And Harry has thought him to be familiar. I think it'd be a nice touch, anyway. So, we have Snape in an Unbreakable Vow to Dumbledore, and then coerced into another Unbreakable Vow to protect Draco. I believe that at the top of the tower, there was a little Legilimancy going on between DD and Snape, where DD was telling Snape that he must kill him. Killing DD saves Draco from having to do it - keeping Draco's soul from being damaged - and it earns Snape endless credibility with the Death Eaters, which, as we see in Spinner's End, has been slipping steadily. Snape's mastery of Occlumency prevents LV from knowing of his arrangement with DD, but he has to remain vile against Harry so that Harry won't unintentionally blow his cover. Secondly, Draco. I don't believe he is redeemed. He's a self-serving coward, through & through. He is always haughty when he feels he is in control, but as soon as the tables are turned, he becomes a whiny little bitch. I don't believe he is going to die in book 7, but I don't think he will become a good guy. Third, the lovey-dovey behavior from the scooby gang. I enjoyed it, as sickeningly sweet as it was. Lavender was completely overboard, but hey, I've known girls like that at that age. I think there's something behind the hormonal jolt experienced by H,HR and Ron in this book. Remember their first day of Potions? They were getting lots of fumes from the love potion there. I don't think it's entirely to blame, but I think it got the juices going a bit. I also think the Harry/Ginny breakup was a bit Spidermanly, but that's really an age-old plot device. Fourth, Hogwarts. I think they have to go back to school. They will probably start with every intention of not returning to school, but there is a lot left to do there. We have yet to see the houses unite, y'know? Fifth, Horcruxes. I'm betting there are five left. DD destroyed the ring, Harry destroyed the book. I think the necklace was brought to Grimauld Place by Regulus. I'd bet it was the one mentioned during the big housecleaning project -- perhaps it was sold by Mundungus? It'll have to be found & destroyed. That covers Slytherin, leaving something from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and/or Gryffindor (wouldn't it be a twist if it was the sword?), and then the snake. I like the theory that Harry is a horcrux... maybe not Harry so much as his scar. The AK curse is said not to leave any mark behind, so something is unique about Harry's scar. It could be that LV was going to make a horcrux using Harry's death as his 7th soul-split but, when the spell went awry, the horcrux was created in the middle of Harry's forehead. Sixth, some spoilery speculation. Maybe big spoilers if I'm right, but this is entirely guesswork. I think Hagrid's a goner in book 7. From what I've gathered from random posts about alchemy, there are several steps to the finished product in alchemy. #5 is black, #6 is white, and #7 is red. Book 5, Sirius Black dies. Book 6, Albus (White) Dumbledore dies. Book 7... Rubeus (Ruby) Hagrid? That or/and the red-headed Ronald Weasley? JKR has said that a lot is revealed in the first book, and Ron does do the whole heroic sacrifice thing on the chessboard. I'll be really sad if any of that is true, though. I really want Neville to open up a can o' whoopass now that he's got his new wand. I'd also really like to see Luna charging into battle riding on a crumple-horned snorkack, hehe. Lastly, I hope we see a bit more of Harry's mastery of magic revealed. Like, I want other wizards to find out he could cast Lumos without holding his wand and be totally amazed. Also, when he kills Voldemort, I want it to be with something simple, yet twisted. "Accio HEART!" has a great feel to it. muhaha Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It was a huge relief after the angst-fest that was Harry in OoTP. Harry's starting to express the things he used to bottle up ("You don't need to call me sir, Professor," LOL) and he's no longer letting others use him. The book did lack some of the wonderment that the first books had, but I think a lot of it is in the story being told from Harry's perspective. As he has grown, his view of the wizarding world has as well. I think JKR kept a good tension going even behind the light-hearted bits, with occasional inferences to the deaths of prominent wizards. The book felt a little thin, but it's purpose really is just to set up the scene for Book 7. It's the Empire Strikes Back of the series, y'know.