From the Rumor Quill…

Long Live “King” Harry!

June 2006 – During an interview with J.K. Rowling, she admitted that while one major Harry Potter character who was scheduled to die will now live, two other major characters’ spell casting days are numbered.

And the rumors abound!  Who are they? Is one of them HARRY?   Well, we won’t know until the last book has been delivered to our anxiously quaking hands, and we turn to the last page.  However, I do have my own theories about why or why not Harry will survive.

J.K. Rowling said that she could understand why authors kill off their protagonists so that they no longer have to write about their famous or infamous characters.  And she also implied that no other author could or would resurrect the character once they were done away with.  However, I have to disagree.  Case in point – Sherlock Holmes.  Granted, Arthur Conan Doyle did allegedly kill off the greatest sleuth of all time, albeit in a mysterious and inconclusive way.  We are told that Holmes and his nemesis plunged together to their deaths over Rickenbach Falls.  But the bodies were never found.  In this way, Mr. Holmes and Moriarty have returned courtesy of several authors, actors, and directors again and again in various forms (books, films, and plays) to once more delightfully entertain the world. 

So, unless Ms. Rowling has her protégé’s future, or lack of future, legally locked up and gagged, which I wouldn’t be surprised at one bit, I can’t imagine that Harry, if killed by his creator, will not be reincarnated and live several more lives via the pens other authors.

Do I think Harry will die?  Here are my pros and cons: 

Pro:  Harry is a beloved character and role model for children.  I would hate to think what psychological affect it would have upon children who have so whole-heartedly identified themselves with and even as Harry Potter if their hero is killed.  Maybe I’m being melodramatic, but I think it could be devastating for kids.  Better he lives and continues to be an inspiring adult hero than a teenage dead hero.  I think JKR would agree... I think.

Pro:  I remember the Biography Channel bio special on J.K. Rowling.  It was produced still early in Harry’s life.  They interviewed either JKR's agent, publisher or editor of Bloomsbury (I'll to verify who is was) who had read the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and had discussed the rest of the book series with JKR.  She apparently told him the entire scenario for all of the books… to the end.  So, he knew, before a price for the books was agreed upon what befalls Harry in the last chapter of book 7.  I find it hard to believe that he would buy the series for a children’s book line if the main character dies.   Once more, think of the children!

Pro:  Why kill Harry?  Once he has vanquished Voldemort, he will need to help build up the wizarding community again after it has been devastated.  He is a natural leader, and like Dumbledore who killed the evil wizard, Grindelwald, in 1945, and survived, I think Harry will follow in his mentors footsteps, defeat Voldemort, and continue to be a great wizard. 

Pro:  He has to marry Ginny…unless she is one of the main characters who now must die at the pen prick of her author. 

Con:  No matter what logic and hope the world has for Harry, his friends, and his enemies, Ms. Rowling will do as she pleases. 

Who will be the wizard with the new lucky-charmed life?  Neville Longbottom.

As a last thought, for now, who could the two new victims be, in my way of thinking? 

            1) Neville Longbottom.

            2) There are many Weasleys, and I fear one or two may fall. 

        3) I hate to think that Hagrid could be cut down to size, but he is truly a beloved character and that makes him highly vulnerable. 

            4) Possibly Flitwick.  Hmmm. 

**Update: And for those of you who are thinking Severus Snape... well, I've always had a feeling he'd never last , in the long run.   I don't know think he will get a reprieve and I don't think he is a recent addition to Jo's sacrifice list.  I think he's always been there from the get-go.  As far as who's side is he really on, and will he give up his life for someone else?  Hmmm.  Jo does keep me guessing and changing my mind so much that I'm quite dizzy from all the spinning going on inside my head!  However, for this moment, I can honestly say that I believe Snape will die...  I'll finish my thoughts and this sentence before book 7 apparates to the bookstores.