In case you hadn't heard ... (Harry Potter)

[clauclauclaudia]

I'm sure some people's friends lists are afire with the news, but amazingly few people have said anything on my f-list and besides, I wanna talk about it!

So. Harry Potter book 7's publication date has been announced: July 21, 2007. A mere fortnight after the rumored 7/7/7, but this way it comes out more than a week after movie 5 rather than several days before. I assume the movie side of things is just being inflexible. Oh well.

(But ya see, 21/7/7 = 3x7/7/7, which is equally nifty in its own way. See the 3, and the three sevens? Okay, I'll put the prime factoring subprocess back in de box for now. Don't be scared.)

I don't want to quote J.K. Rowling about what will or won't happen in the book. Go ahead and do that in comments if you like--I just don't follow her interviews closely, nor do I care to. I just read the books. And the fic. And play the RPGs*. ;-)

And I just want to talk about what I want to see, and what I think I'll see.

What I want:

• Harry lives.
• It is shown that Snape was working for Dumbledore all along, not just hedging his bets.
• Something dramatic "on screen" reveals this. (Okay, I think this is a pretty sure thing.)
• Harry goes "oh!" and realizes Snape was working for Dumbledore all along. (Ditto.)
• Snape lives. (oh hush--this is what I want)
• Precious little time devoted to any romances at all.
• Remus is gay! (All right, maybe not really. He's got metaphorical AIDS already--that might be laying it on a bit too thick. I'll settle for some sympathetic character being gay. This is actually not a huge deal for me, because the books are doing so much else more subtly regarding otherness. But as long as I'm making a wishlist.)
• Dumbledore is really dead. (Live with it!)
• Neville comes into his own.
• Draco... hrm. What do I want for Draco? That's a puzzler. I guess I want him redeemed. Not so much for his own sake (I do feel sorry for the boy we saw crying in the bathroom, but that only goes so far) as for Dumbledore's death to have redemptive power, not just strategic worth.
• Luna to play some really startling crucial role.

What I predict:

• Dumbledore is really dead.
• Someone close to Harry dies.
• Snape dies.

SOB

* Oh yeah, my RPG is still looking for a Bellatrix and other characters, though I know there are applications pending for some characters. Come play! Personally, I want to see more Death Eaters and more older characters, but the more the merrier! *bats eyes*

Comments

[lil-brown-bat.livejournal.com]

I think you're right. House-elves or centaurs or giants or... some non-human sentients are going to be very important. If she pulls it off well, that's better than the literal gay character. More thematically appropriate, at any rate.

Yeah, and she's been leading up to it: Harry's reaction to the fountain sculpture, all the references to the goblin wars, Hagrid's expedition to the giants, the centaurs, Lupin...it's going to be a big part of book 7 is my guess.

I was hoping Fudge was a non-entity by now. Maybe he's a sekrit Death Eater, that'd be okay.

Those five were actually kind of off the cuff, and this one was more...I wonder how the wizarding world is going to deal with the former fence-sitters and whatnot when push comes to shove?

And... okay, a Weasley can die. But not Ron and not one twin without the other. (Have you heard? Ron has to go back in time and become Dumbledore! Courtesy of archive.org: Weasley is our King! )

It'd be okay if Percy died. Okay, Percy prediction: either a)he comes running back to the fold early on, and finally stops being a weenie and redeems himself by doing something heroic-like, or b)sticky end.

I'm in favor of bringing back the phrase "sticky end", can you tell?

[clauclauclaudia]

Sticky sticky sticky.

Yes, Percy needs some clear resolution, but I find I don't much care which sort it is.