As the next Harry Potter book that is making its way to my house right now in some mail bag, somewhere between the Amazon UK storage buildings and Ostend, I think it might be a good idea to make some predictions regarding its content.
Dumbledore is really dead, and won’t be coming back, Rowlings said. But what about Snape? He spoke the curse that killed Dumbledore, and as such, people think he never gave up being a Death-Eater. I’m still ambiguous about that. On the one hand Harry always mistrusted Snape, and we have the Unbreakable Vow he spoke to Narcissa and Bellatrix. But Dumbledore always trusted Snape. And I am not conviced that Dumbledore didn’t give his life so Snape could get close to Voldemort and play a signifiant part in his downfall in the last book. We do know that Snape is a superb occlumens, as both sides think he’s on their side. So the coin could fall either side. But, on the chance of being completely wrong, I make the claim that Snape really turned over to the good side, and did what he had to do, with Dumbledore’s knowledge and consent, to keep his cover intact. In the end he will help to take down Voldemort.
Who dies? The prophecy uttered by Trelawney says that at least either Harry or Voldemort must die. It’s not excluded they both die, and I seriously doubt the series will end while they both live. Since his coming of age, and the loss of the ancient protection his mother gave him, Harry can be killed by Voldemort. The series started out as a tale for children, but as the series evolved the tone darkened (e.g., Dumbledore dies). If it had not evolved in this way, I’d wager on a happy ending. Now, I’m now so sure. Both Harry living and Harry dying appeal to me. Of course, given that the tale spins on in the now, and that the wizard world is hidden from us, it would be bad if Voldemort won, since this would mean the death of a lot of Muggles. So, the claim I make is that both Harry and Voldemort die.
