Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

With the long-awaited (and long overdue) release of the 7^th and final Harry Potter title emerging last month, eager Wizarding fans are fairly drooling with anticipation over Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Anticipation, as we all know, breeds rumors from the realistic to the fantastic. While many would-be Potter enthusiasts have made predictions with zeal, only true fans can be trusted to make accurate and probable hypotheses as to the outcome of Harry's teenage years.

For those of us who need a refresher course in Potter trivia, let us briefly re-examine the loose ends left to us in the sixth novel. At the close of The Half-Blood Prince, we are left with an imminent battle approaching in which our main character may sacrifice himself to save the rest of wizard-kind, a possibility that the school will close, at least 3 parts of Voldemort's soul to destroy, and, most intriguing to me, a raging debate as to where Snape's true allegiance lies. Of course, there are more trivial aspects of the novels on which we could focus, such as the whisperings of an engagement between Ron and Hermione, but frankly, such rumor-mongering is trite in light of the more pressing matters mentioned above.

While many well-meaning followers have predicted that the grim title may foretell our hero's demise, rest assured that, though J.K. Rowling has been known to kill off our more likeable characters in the past, she has hinted in several interviews (see www.jkrowling.net) that Harry will survive the series at least partially intact. Due to the nature of the books, which emphasize the struggle between good and evil, and to her target audience of teenagers, Rowling may not in good conscience be able to off our dashing young man. This would create juxtaposition between her message and the outcome of the aforementioned struggle.