I'm counting the days. I've got Amazon day-of-pub delivery, tho I'm having company that day so will have to wait to dive in.

I'm voting for Snape as a good-guy, tho I think he is one of the ones who will die. That's my prediction.

And I wouldn't bet that we'll never see another book about this wizard world from JK Rowling, tho Harry may not be the focus. Give her five or ten years and I bet she won't be able to stay away from it.

I'm re-reading The Half-Blood Prince in anticipation of the last book. I've always believed that deep down Snape was a good guy, but now I'm not so sure. He is the most complex of Rowling's characters, and I no longer know WHAT to think about him.

I do, however, firmly believe that Rowling won't kill off Harry, Ron or Hermione. Who would read the books in the future if any of the three died in the end, particularly Harry? However, I wouldn't put it past her to kill Neville or Hagrid or even Ginny, which would be nearly as bad. I'll probably need a box of kleenex for this final book.

Does anyone else think Neville is the real threat to Voldemort, not Harry (this despite Voldy "choosing" Harry and accidentally empowering him to be his enemy)? And if Neville isn't the sleeper hero, I'm betting he will at least get one glorious moment to blast Bellatrix Lestrange to smithereens.

Although I don't think JKR will kill Harry, two possibilities have been niggling at my brain over the past week. If Harry does die, perhaps he'll wind up in some alternate Wizard dimension, sort of a Grey Havens if you will, one in which he'll be reunited with his parents and Dumbledore and Cedric Diggory and the rest, perhaps with the ability to still communicate with his friends in the regular wizarding world. Or else she'll kill him, but be able somehow to bring him back. Neville might play a role in that, given the prophesy. Geez, can you tell how much I DON'T want Harry to die?

It's going to be a l-o-n-g week and half to wait!

What i think is going to happen in the book, is very sad. i think that harry will live in the end. although the same can not be said for ron. i think that his is one the characters that will die in the book. he will be protecting harry or his family when it happens. as for the other, i think it will be hagrid who dies trying to save harry as well.

snape will turn out to be a good guy, that only killed dumbledore as he was ordered. in the chapter of HBP snape was in my opinion being watched by wormtail when narcissa and bellatrix were there. he was listening at the door for the whole conversation, and i bet voldemort had him there to find out. he had more than once chance to kill harry, but he didnt. and i think that is because that he was in love with lilly, and that is the reason he despised james as much as he did. so he is a possibility to die as well.

wormtail owes harry his life. dumbledore said that he didnt think that voldemort would want someone as one of his followers that owed a lifedebt to the person he was trying to kill.

as for the horcruxes, we know there are 6 of them. the diary, the ring and the locket we know are half of them. so what are the other 3? well, it could be the cup that belonged to hufflepuff, and nagini would be the fifth, but what about the last one? its not harry, that much is clear to me. why would voldemort transfer a piece of his soul to the boy that he thought he had to kill that night? doesnt make sense to me. he marked him as his equal, and transfered powers yes, but not his soul. so the 6th and final horcrux is a mystery to me. we know from what dumbledore says that the 7th and final piece for harry to kill is voldemort himself. all i can guess is that the sorting hat and the sword are not one of them.

i think that harry having his mothers eyes is going to play the biggest role of the book. it is mentioned over and over in the previous books, so there must be something significant there right? could it possibly be something like celtic magic?

i think that draco will turn on voldemort and realize the errors of his ways. he couldnt go through with killing dumbledore, he was scared and couldnt do it. he knew what had to be done as ordered by voldemort and still couldnt do it. he will not die, but will turn out to be a teacher at hogwarts at the end of the book.

someone will find a cure for lupin and he and tonks will end up living a very happy life together.
with ron dying, that opens the possibility of harry hermione getting together. and personally, that would make more sense then hermione and ron. bill and fleur will get married at the beginning of the book. mcgonagal will become headmistress at hogwarts, hagrid will become head of Gryffindor, slughorn will remain as potions teacher, and head of slytherin, and someone new will teach transfiguration. not sure about DADA class. someone new will probably be introduced.

i believe that filch will...

I just had another thought about Snape. He is the one who told Voldemort about the prophecy. I think he only told him that it was Harry so Voldemort would kill James and spare Lily so she could be with him. And after they had both died, he went to Dumbledore and told him what he had done and how sorry he was. That would explain why he treats Harry like he does. He despised his dad, and was in love with his mom, and the site of him reminds him of James physically, and his eyes are exactly like his mothers.

Ugh, I don't care if Snape is a good guy or not, I don't like him! JKR has done a great job with his character - I feel more strongly about Snape than I do most other characters in the books.

I'm trying not to think too much about what will happen ... I'd hate to be right about something then be disappointed when it actually happens in the book.

I frankly think the most important (tho not the only) reason Snape is so fascinating is because of the actor who plays him in the movies. Alan Rickman makes a good part truly great.

And has anyone noticed that Sigfried from "All Creatures Great and Small" is the Minister of Magic? The cast is what will make the movies live on, aside from the saga itself. Truly British all-stars.

Spawn, that's an interesting theory and makes good sense. There's definitely something to do with Lily at the bottom of all this. Perhaps Petunia knows? But I do think (hope??) Snape did more than just confess telling the prophecy to Voldemort and begging for mercy to convince Dumbledore of his sincerity. That seems a pretty flimsy basis on which to trust Snape so completely. After all, Snape IS a master of occulumency (sp?), could he have fooled Dumbledore?

I saw the OOP movie yesterday and thought it was very well done. All the important points were clearly conveyed, with just enough Harry-angst to make me forget the pages and pages and pages of misery that went on seemingly forever in the book. I thought Imelda Staunton did a very good job as Umbridge, too, though IMO she could have stood to look a little more toad-like. (MINOR MOVIE SPOILER AHEAD) One touch I really liked: In the movie her office was plastered with china cat plates, and like all the paintings at Hogwarts, the cats were moving, meowing, grooming and dashing out of the plates through cat doors -- very clever.

Ginny, Alan Rickman really does bring Snape to life, he's a terrific actor. The whole cast has been really great.

Harry Potter's Death and Funeral March

from Potterdämmerung