This thread is a focused discussion group. Please see the first post below for the current topic and upcoming book discussions. While natter will inevitably happen, we encourage you to treat this like a virtual book club and try to keep your posts in that spirit.
By consensus, this thread is reopened specifically to discuss Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It will be closed again once that discussion has run its course.
***SPOILER ALERT***
- **Spoilers for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows lie here. Read at your own risk***
I think it would be cheating for DD not to be dead. I realize that there's a mention of the phoenix at his funeral, but I think (hope) that this is not some clue that DD will come back. Plus, DD has said in the past that he does not fear death (I think he said: "to the organized mind, death is the next great adventure") and him coming back would undermine that lesson.
I do wonder just how interactive his portrait will be. I also wonder who the new head will be -- I think it's possible that the Ministry will want someone more loyal to it than McDonagall -- and how DD's portrait will "serve" the new headmaster/mistress as it is bound to do.
I also think that some of HPVII will be at the Ministry -- in that room with the veil that Sirius fell into. It seems like such an odd way to kill someone without some further payoff.
I also think that some of HPVII will be at the Ministry -- in that room with the veil that Sirius fell into. It seems like such an odd way to kill someone without some further payoff.
Ugh, I'm still angry. Most anti-climactic death since Kirk fell down and went boom in GENERATIONS.
Even if DD is alive, she won't bring him back until the very, very end. So in either case, Harry's going to be operating without a net in HP7. I also think that despite all the talk about no Hogwarts, there will be school and Harry will pull a Buffy and not show up for a few weeks and then someone will drag him in.
I'd love for that someone to be Molly.
Somewhat random question: have we ever seen any indication of what sort of education wizard kids get before age 11? They clearly all come to Hogwarts knowing how to read and write, but without much exposure to the Muggle world, so they can't have just been going to local elementary schools. Are there a bunch of small wizard elementary schools all over the place? Are they all just taught at home? I can see problems with either of those setups.
No, Hil, we haven't. I've had those questions, too. Because we haven't been told, I've assumed teaching/absoption of knowledge at home.
Lucky for you, Hil, I just read JKR's FAQ on Sunday.
[link]
I would love for Harry not to go back to school, because I think that school matters less as we age and mature. But I believe that so much of our understanding of the Magic world is rooted in Hogwarts that it makes it necessary for some of the book to be set there.
I would like to see Harry/Hermione/Ron NOT go back to attend classes, but to still be part of Hogwarts some how.
Are there Wizarding universities?
re: the veil, I'm expecting Harry to drag Voldemort through it--or Snape, if we want to have an interesting extra-planar adventure. Dumbledore is, I believe, dead dead deadski, but Sirius could come back. Though Tonks might object.
I would like to see a Superman II moment where Harry is nearly killed by Voldemort, but in front of the amassed witches and wizards for some reason. They all get pissed and do a collective spell that shows that together they are stronger than the evil that is the former Tom Riddle.
But then, I'm a sap.
