Discuss:
hereRowling offers hints about final Harry Potter book
Author J.K. Rowling drops a few hints about what's in store for fans in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'
In her six previous Harry Potter novels, author J.K. Rowling has
conjured up some real toe-curlers: an evil wizard who takes up
residence on the back of turbaned underlings' heads, cloaked figures
drinking unicorn blood and robed dementors who extract their victims'
happy memories like soul-sucking Electroluxes.
But off the page, what Joanne Kathleen Rowling says gives her "cold
shivers" is something far more prosaic: When someone on one of the
umpteen Harry Potter fan sites "guesses at something that's very close"
to the denouement of her wizarding epic, which culminates with the July
21 release of the seventh and final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows."
Although the fate of boy wizard Harry Potter in his metaphysical battle
with magical-meanie extraordinaire
Lord Voldemort is a secret Rowling
guards more closely than the goblin bank Gringotts does its gold, "I
love the theories more than I can possibly say," she has admitted. "I
take it as the highest compliment that people analyze the books so much
and think about what might happen next so much."
Now, in the home stretch before the book's bow - as well as the debut
of the fifth
movie, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" on
July11 - the theorizing has reached a fevered pitch. "What Will Happen
in Harry Potter 7?" derived from the endless rehashing of what fans
reverently call "
canon" on mugglenet.com, has sold some 300,000 copies.
Even Rowling herself has been hard-pressed to stay silent over the
years, dropping hints in
cyberspace or squashing theories in the
occasional BBC sitdown.
Here, then, are comments Rowling herself has made about what "Deathly
Hallows" holds. Culled from media
interviews, fan sites and her
official Web site, they offer tantalizing clues - as well as some
definitive debunkings.
Is Dumbledore really dead?
Yes. The genial
magician and headmaster of Hogwarts wizarding school,
who perished in the penultimate "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince," will not "do a Gandalf" and come back to life, Rowling has
said. (Even DumbledoreIsNotDead.com has given up - or is that embraced?
- the ghost.)
But "wizards have ways of making sure their voices are heard from
beyond the grave," Rowling added, hinting that his phoenix Fawkes may
have a role in "Deathly Hallows."
Speaking of Dumbledore, Rowling has formally quashed rumors that he is
Harry's grandfather. Nor is Dumbledore really Ron or Harry popping in
from the future. Nor is Harry a time-traveling son of Ron and Hermione.
In fact, Rowling has said none of her characters has returned from the
future.
What's Voldemort's real connection to Harry?
It's not familial, despite rumors that Harry is Voldemort's son. "No,
no, no, no, no," Rowling protested to fans. "You lot have been watching
much too much 'Star Wars.'"
Though the bond between Harry and Voldemort is not "biological,"
Rowling has refused to elaborate, because it "goes right to the heart
of the series" and "touches way too closely on book 7." What she has
said is that the two morally opposed wizards will not "merge" to become
a single entity. And you can forget about Voldie, as we insouciants
like to call him, getting
religion: Of all her main characters, Rowling
has said, only Voldemort is beyond redemption.
What are the final Horcruxes?
For those who have been hiding under a whomping willow all this time, a
Horcrux is a receptacle in which a dark wizard hides a fragment of his
soul to gain immortality. Voldemort has six, two of which - Marvolo
Gaunt's
ring and Tom Riddle's diary - have already been destroyed.
Harry's search for the remaining four - then his final showdown with
Voldemort - is a big part of book 7.
Harry already knows about two Horcruxes - Slytherin's locket and
Hufflepuff's cup - though not their whereabouts. (Some theorize the
locket was stashed at 12 Grimmauld Place, which Harry inherited from
his godfather, Sirius Black. A permutation of this: That pipe-puffing
wizard Mundungus Fletcher nabbed it and passed it on to Dumbledore's
brother, Aberforth.) As for the other two Horcruxes, take your pick: It
could be something from the two Hogwarts founders Ravenclaw or
Gryffindor. It could be Nagini the snake. It might even be Harry
himself, or his scar.
What it definitely is not, according to Rowling, is the glib Sorting
Hat that places Hogwarts students in their respective houses.
"Horcruxes do not draw attention to themselves by singing
songs in
front of large audiences," she huffed.
What does the title of the final book mean?
Rowling has demurred on this, saying that "any clarification of the
meaning of 'Hallows' would give away too much of the story." For what
it's worth, the French translation is titled "Harry Potter et les
Reliques de la Mort," or "Relics of Death."
In light of all the Horcrux talk, some fans see a parallel with the
Four Hallows of the Holy Grail. Since Rowling has borrowed liberally
from other medieval legends, why should
King Arthur and the Round Table
boys be exempt?
And because a picture is supposedly worth a thousand words, consider
deconstructing the covers of the book's various editions.
Who is R.A.B.?
In "Half-Blood Prince," Harry and Dumbledore travel to a cave in the
hopes of finding a Horcrux; instead, they recover a locket and a note
to Voldemort indicating that the real Horcrux has been stolen and will
be destroyed. It is signed, "R.A.B.," which many think is Regulus
Alphard Black, brother of Harry's godfather, Sirius - an interpretation
that Rowling has called "a fine guess." Whoever he is, R.A.B. is a
character we have already met; Rowling has promised not to introduce
any major new players in the final book.
Does Sirius' mirror still work?
Rowling has been coy about the two-way mirror that Harry got as a gift
from Sirius, who used it to speak to Harry's late father James when the
two were in detention at Hogwarts. "The mirror that Harry got from
Sirius might not have helped as much as you think but, on the other
hand, will help more than you think," she told fans on her Web site.
"Neither can live while the other survives" - does that prophecy mean Nelville Longbottom has to die?
Nope.
Careful readers of the Potter plot know that Voldemort had a choice of
two
infant wizards to kill to defy the prophecy, which foretold the
July birth of a boy whose parents had defied Voldemort three times. The
choice, Rowling has said, was entirely arbitrary, and, like Macbeth,
Voldemort sealed his fate by believing it was decided in the first
place.
Harry and nerdy Neville have no mystic connection, according to
Rowling. "Of course, none of this should be taken to mean that Neville
does not have a significant part to play in the last two novels, or the
fight against Voldemort," Rowling has said. "As for the prophecy
itself, it remains ambiguous, not only to readers, but to my
characters."
Indeed, the final words of the prophecy could very well be taken to
mean that both Harry and Voldemort are fated to die together. On that
score, Rowling will only say both she and divination teacher Madam
Trelawney, who uttered the prophecy, worded it "extremely carefully."
Is Snape good or evil?
Fans have speculated wildly about whether headmaster Dumbledore's death
at the hands of skeevy professor Severus Snape in "Half-Blood Prince"
was pre-arranged between the two. The closest Rowling has come to
commenting is to endorse Salman Rushdie's opinion (you never know who
reads her books) that the question of whether Snape is on the side of
good or evil is pivotal, and that "everything follows from it."
If Hogwarts reopens in the new book, who is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?
One recurring feature of each Potter installment has been the non-recurrence of its "DADA" teacher, who's replaced each year.
Although Rowling has not said who the new instructor will be, she has
been clear about who it won't be: Former instructor Remus Lupin will
not return, "prejudice against werewolves" being what it is. You can
also forget Snape reupping.
What's up with Aunt Petunia?
Potterphiles might be inclined to dismiss Harry's non-magical aunt,
Petunia Dursley, whose role in the books so far is to treat him like an
alley cat. Although Rowling has confirmed her muggle status - "Aunt
Petunia has never performed magic, and will never be able to do so" -
Aunt Petunia clearly knows more than she lets on, from her being "oddly
flushed" when hearing that Harry would be returning to her home at
Privet Drive only once more, and her knowledge of dementors and other
things wizardly. "There is a little more to Aunt Petunia than meets the
eye," Rowling has winked.
Are there going to be love connections?
"Shippers" - short for "relationshippers" - have wasted obscene amounts
of Internet bandwidth conjecturing about the romantic liaisons that
will be cemented in "Deathly Hallows."
One that Rowling has nixed outright is Neville and dotty Luna Lovegood.
While both are misfits, it's not enough to base a relationship on,
Rowling has pointed out.
As for Hermione and Ron, or Harry and Ron's sister, Ginny, Rowling has
all but said, "Duh." If, that is, they survive, which brings us to ...
Who dies?
Spend enough time on fan sites, and you will find a theory for the
demise of virtually every one of the book's characters, from Ron (was
his death foreshadowed in the chess scene in the first book?) to Snape
(even if he is a good guy, nobody likes him anyway) to Harry himself
(probably not likely, though Rowling has gone out of her way to fuel
speculation).
Rowling has said that in "Deathly Hallows," "a couple of characters I
expected to survive have died and one character got a reprieve," though
- natch - she's not specifying.
She has said, though, that she understands the temptation to kill off
Harry before the end of the final book, to forestall others from
writing sequels.
What's the significance of Lily Potter?
Rowling has said emphatically that the reason Harry survived
Voldemort's Avada Kedavra killing curse is because his mother, Lily,
would not step aside. But she has refused to elaborate on why
Voldemort, not known for his fits of compassion, gave her multiple
chances to do so. (Theory alert: Maybe a smitten Snape interceded for
her.) Finally, Rowling has said that the fact that Harry "has his
mother's eyes" will be important to the plot.
What about the "gleam of triumph"?
At the end of "Goblet of Fire," Dumbledore has a "gleam of triumph" in
his eyes when he learns that Voldemort used Harry's blood to regenerate
himself. This fact is "enormously significant," Rowling has said,
leading fans to suspect that Voldemort made a fatal error in using
Harry as a blood donor.
What's in the final chapter?
Rowling has said she wrote it in 1990, with some "small tweaks to it in
the intervening years." Before she embarked on writing "Deathly
Hallows," the final chapter ended in the word "scar," though she said
that could change.
"The final chapter ... really relates to what happens to the people who
survive the story, after the end of the story," she said, though she
will "probably leave some loose ends hanging."
How about a Book 8?
No, "even though I get a lot of really big puppy-dog eyes," Rowling has insisted.
Rowling has said she might write an encyclopedia that includes the
definitive biographies of the Harry Potter characters, with proceeds
benefiting charity. Rowling did this in 2001 when she published two
Hogwarts "schoolbooks": "Quidditch Through the Ages" and "Fantastic
Beasts and Where to Find Them."
Harry Potter fans wield their questions like some aurors do their
wands, and over the years Rowling has dropped hints about what's in
store -- or not -- in the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows." Among her revelations:
Quidditch matches
They are over, much to Rowling's relief. "To be honest with you,
Quidditch matches have been the bane of my life in the Harry Potter
books," she has said. "They are necessary in that people expect Harry
to play Quidditch, but there is a limit to how many ways you can have
them play Quidditch together and for something new to happen."
Dumbledore's relatives
Rowling has hinted that perusing the great wizard's family tree might
be "fruitful." Lots of fans take this to be a reference to his brother
Aberforth. The bartender at the Hog's Head Tavern, where he presumably
overhears lots of tidbits that he passes on to his sibling, Aberforth
was once prosecuted for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat. Ahem.
Speaking of Dumbledore, Rowling has said that the scar on his knee,
which is in the shape of the London Underground, might make an
appearance in book 7.
The candy connection
Every detail does not a plot device make. To that end, Rowling has
scuttled "out there" theories that insane, institutionalized Alice
Longbottom has been passing secret messages to her son, Neville, on
discarded bubble-gum wrappers.
Instead, Rowling said, the bittersweet gesture was inspired by a story
she heard about someone whose Alzheimer-stricken mother no longer
recognized him; he nonetheless visited faithfully and brought her
sweets. "That was their point of connection; she had a sweet tooth, she
recognized him as the sweet-giver," Rowling has said. "That was very
poignant to me."
No comment
There have been numerous questions that Rowling has demurred in
answering, and the refusals alone should make fans sit up and take
notice. Among the unanswered: What were the professions of the late
Lily and James Potter? Other than oven cleaner, what are the 12 uses of
dragon's blood? And who was at Godric's Hollow besides Voldemort?
Rowling also said she will likely continue to answer questions about
her novels on her Web site, even after the final book's publication.
And - move over, Mouse - a 20-acre Harry Potter theme park is expected to bow at Florida's Universal Orlando Resort in 2009.
Source: https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/ny-ffhar5272175jul01,0, 2478870.story?coll=ny-entertainment-promo
comment:
p_commentcount