piasharn | More Harry Potter Theories

With the release of the seventh, and final(!), book drawing nigh, I figure that I ought to jot these down now.

Where to start? Well, I can't see Harry going back to Hogwarts for his seventh year. Quite frankly, he simply has too much to do. Two of the horcruxes have been destroyed, leaving four to go. He has to find the real locket, something of Ravenclaw's, Nagini, and the final object.

Speaking of the locket, I do think that R. A. B. was Regulus Black. I haven't had any luck in matching up the initials to any other characters, and Regulus makes the most sense. He was a Death Eater, and thus would have been close enough to Voldemort to discover the existence and locations of some of the horcruxes. We also know that he left the Death Eaters and was subsequently killed. Admittedly, Sirius claimed that his desertion was due to his inability to follow through with his orders, but chances are Sirius never knew the truth of what really happened.

Oh, I think the term "deathly hollows" refers either to the horcruxes themselves or to their locations.

I have doubts about Hogwarts even reopening for this book. Too many parents would be too scared to let their children return. Besides, that would give Ron and Hermione the opportunity to accompany Harry.

Ultimately, Harry will defeat Voldemort. I think that's a given. I was going back and forth on whether or not Harry would live, but then I read some old interviews with JKR (before she got so secretive) and found that all three would survive.

I'd put money on Snape dying, though. I do think that he is on the Order's side, and that his murder of Dumbledore was part of some insanely intricate plot to insure that he would have Voldemort's full support.

I also think that Pettigrew may manage to redeem himself in some form. Although he'll probably end up dead too.

Draco seems to be having a change of heart due to his worry for his parents. I admit, I prefer this honest change over the portrayal of Draco I have seen in the fandom. You know the ones... the fans who insist that he is really a good, sweet boy who actually likes Harry but doesn't know how to show it. Gods, I hate that. It reminds me of the fans who insist on drawing Snape as handsome or downright pretty. Look, there's nothing wrong with liking a character who is spoiled or ugly, but I digress.

I used to think that Remus would kick the bucket by the end of the series, but now I'm not so sure. I think JKR may actually be setting him up for a happy ending. He and Tonks will probably get married and start a family. For that matter, my money is on Tonks catching the bouquet at Bill and Fleur's wedding.

I hope we'll see more of Remus than we have in the past couple of books. Of course, with both OotP and HBP, it seemed logical to me that he would have played a larger role. Not as large of one as he did in PoA, but more than what we got. Again, it seems as though we should see more of him, although since Harry is keeping the information about the horcruxes between himself, Ron, and Hermione, it is probably just wishful thinking again.

Will things work out between Ron and Hermione or Harry and Ginny? *shrugs* I really can't say. Personally, I think they're all too young to have found their One True Love, but I'm cynical like that.

I get the feeling that a lot of this book will be spent learning about the past... We know that we'll learn something important about Lily. JKR also promised us that we'll learn why Sirius sent Snape through the Whomping Willow while Remus was transformed. We may see Sirius again in some form... maybe a shadow like those we saw at the end of GoF. He's obviously not a ghost, although a pensieve or memory may not be out of the question.

Also, here's a discarded theory that I never got around to posting, and was tossed out after I read Half-Blood Prince.

I can't remember exactly how this idea came about. I was thinking about the words "Death Eaters" and I was reminded of something called a sin eater. Essentially, a piece of bread is placed on the body of a dead or dying person. The sin eater eats the bread and thus takes in the dead/dying person's sins.

I first encountered the term in a book titled The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick. (A dark, nihilistic, industrial fantasy that I didn't like when I first read it years ago but have appreciated more and more as I've matured.) In this novel, the consort of the Wicker Queen (a girl in high school like the Homecoming Queen, except she's burned alive as a sacrifice on Samhain) acts as her sin eater. By slicing runes into his skin, she transfers her aches and pains, her hangovers and drug withdrawls into him.

I began to wonder if there was a similarity to the Death Eaters. Perhaps the name was a literal description of what they did... By having his mark tattooed on them, they each ate a part of Voldemort's mortality. Thus, as long as at least one of his followers was alive, he could not die.

Of course, there are flaws with this theory. Namely, that Voldemort would be placing his immortality in the hands of others. Should they all die, he would follow. Besides, he doesn't seem the sort to trust others, even his most loyal followers, enough to put his life in their hands.