Posted on 06/26/2006 5:25:47 PM PDT by freepatriot32
4 hours ago
LONDON - Author J.K. Rowling said two characters will die in the last installment of her boy wizard series, and she hinted Harry Potter might not survive either.
"I have never been tempted to kill him off before the final because I've always planned seven books, and I want to finish on seven books," Rowling said on Monday's "Richard and Judy" television show.
"I can completely understand, however, the mentality of an author who thinks, `Well, I'm gonna kill them off because that means there can be no non-author written sequels. So it will end with me, and after I'm dead and gone they won't be able to bring back the character'."
Rowling declined to commit herself about Harry, saying she doesn't want to receive hate mail.
"The last book is not finished. But I'm well into it now. I wrote the final chapter in something like 1990, so I've known exactly how the series is going to end," she said.
Rowling said people are sometimes shocked to hear that she wrote the end of book seven before she had a publisher for the first book in the series.
"The final chapter is hidden away, although it's now changed very slightly. One character got a reprieve. But I have to say two die that I didn't intend to die," she said. "A price has to be paid. We are dealing with pure evil here. They don't target extras do they? They go for the main characters. Well, I do."
Rowling is the richest woman in Britain _ wealthier than even the queen _ with a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine last year at more than $1 billion.
Whatever she writes next, Rowling is sure of one thing: It won't be as successful as Harry Potter.
"I don't think I'm ever going to have anything like Harry again. You just get one like Harry."
I agree, and it was a real surprise. I thought she'd dump him; she very insistently didn't. And that's when she and Molly really bonded -- which is why all the predictions of a Molly/Fluer dust-up at the wedding are wide of the mark.
Dan
I've always though that to be a reference to Revelation, e.g., beginning at Revelation 12.
If you start there, you'll find a lot of very interesting parallels to the HP stories (always taking into account, of course, the JKR is writing a novel).
I found him after reading THBP - I just couldn't believe that Snape was a bad guy! But now I've got to go through and read the books again because I read them as children's books and totally skipped over all the clues.
You mean RUBEUS Hagrid? :)
I like the "Snape's in it for himself" theory -- which probably makes him the most dangerous character of the entire book.
Looking back, we see that Snape has been threading a course between good and evil throughout the series, and even before the series began.
We see in Snape a direct comparison to Pettigrew: they play the same role, but on different sides. Pettigrew pretended loyalty to Dumbledore; Snape pretends loyalty to Voldemort; and both come down on the side that best serves their interests.
Pettigrew was eventually forced to made his choice, which he did, and which gave us the entire basis for the HP series.
Snape's test comes at the end. His loyalties will be strained to the limit in book 7 -- between the forces of Good (embodied in Harry, who has his mother's eyes), and Evil (embodied in Voldemort). Snape has now reached the same point of having to make a decision. His struggle to decide will undoubtedly drive the ending of Book 7.
That being the case, it puts the prophecy in a completely different light. "The other" in the prophecy refers not to Harry or Voldemort, but rather to Snape.... Either Harry or Voldemort must die at the hands of The Other (Snape_, and Neither of them can live while The Other (Snape) survives.
Thus we see the outlines of the ending. Snape will die in the process of killing either Harry or Voldemort. Since JKR has hinted that a look at her faith will give away the ending, we know that a Voldemort victory cannot occur.
Thus, it's clear to me that Snape will kill Voldemort and die in the process. He'll be redeemed, Harry's soul will remain untorn by killing Voldemort, and Good triumphs.
IMHO....
I would be very surprised, given Dumbledore's association with the Phoenix if he didn't come back in the last book. His unshakable confidence in Snape leads me to believe that he deliberately stalled Draco until Snape appeared on the scene to "kill" him. And if Dumbledore can come back, why not Harry? Harry may indeed be a horcrux, but perhaps a dip in the dirt can purge him of that.
The way he screamed at Harry after Harry's name came out of the Goblet was absolutely ridiculous. It is totally out of character. I can't believe the director allowed it.
Anyone notice that they had Parvati and Padma BOTH in Gryffindor? Padma is supposed to be in Ravenclaw.
Um...yeah, that's it. I was just pre-screening for my four children......
*Blush*
Maybe Aunt Petunia will finally out herself as a witch. Heehehee
Ooops, guess I'm not the only one tuned into the part about the Phoenix. Good work folks.
I think the thing he is most lacking is the kindness that Richard Harris had shining from his eyes. His Dumbledore looked the characters in the eyes, and there was a spark of warmth that is so lacking in Gambon.
I miss Richard Harris so!
"Magic cannot bring dead people back to life…. Once you’re dead, you’re dead."
While I waver on whether D. is really dead, if he wasn't actually KILLED, he wouldn't be coming back from the dead.
Magic could easily fake a death.
A few others have mentioned the possibility of Harry, or even just Harry's scar, being a horcrux, but I'm not sold. When could LV have accomplished this? I'm working on the assumption that creating a horcrux is a very difficult task, and that the object to be enchanted must be present when the spell is cast. (Could I sound like a bigger dork?) Additionally, the spell has to be cast around the time that a murder is committed, right? Well, maybe not, but that's the impression I get. I just don't see when LV could have accomplished it, and it can't be done by another wizard on his behalf. Drat! I hate waiting to be right, haha
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...
To me that means Harry cannot truly live because he is Voldemort's seventh horcrux. Voldemort can't truly live without his soul being completely intact. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord I think is Neville.
Either way, it sure is fun to speculate and debate.
Could you please add me to your HP ping list? Thank you.
I think I know a great title for book 7: Harry Potter and the Seventh Horcrux. What do you think?
ooooh thats good.. I was looking for some loophole in the wording~!
Very good spelling and grammar for an eight year old. Congratulations. :)
Maybe I will have to create an account for my three year old.
And we know (because she told us so) that JKR was very careful of the wording of the prophecy. If we've learned nothing else from the books, the "obvious" answers to her mysteries are never the right ones.
The "obvious" view is that the prophecy applies to two people -- Harry and Voldemort. But why would JKR have to be so careful about the wording of that? It's so obvious that everybody would nod and say, "well, of course." The whole tension of the series would come down to Harry setting up his big fight with Voldemort ....yawwwwnnnnnn.....
No, she had to be careful about the wording of the prophecy because it does not mean the obvious thing. It means something unexpected.
You could be right when you say it'll be Neville, but I don't think so. I think Neville dies as Voldemort goes for the twofer: making sure that the prophecy really didn't apply to Neville, and also continuing the strategy of getting at Harry via his friends. Alternatively, Neville's increasingly impressive record of reckless bravery will prove to be his undoing, as he charges in to save Harry in a bad spot. Either way, poor Neville's a goner.
One of Fred and George probably die also -- at the wedding, probably. Ron was no doubt slated for death (playing the same role as Neville) but I think that with Neville dying, Ron gets a reprieve.
And yes, we finished it. We read a huge amount of it on a recent trip to the Sierra. Certainly made the time fly by. I was gasping, and trying to be sure to concentrate on driving at the same time. But it's nice not to have to guard myself constantly anymore -- because, apart from Rowling, nobody REALLY knows more than I do!
(c:
Dan
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