I want Harry to spend a few years chasing down evil, then take over as headmaster of Hogwarts. Not gonna happen, but that is my wish.
Oh, yeah, baby, it's snakalicious in here.
Xander ,'Empty Places'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Scrappy - Jun 27, 2006 8:16:32 am PDT #768 of 28067
Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
Polter-Cow - Jun 27, 2006 8:17:55 am PDT #769 of 28067
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
Well, he does want to be an Auror. It's his calling!
Although it would be funny if he defeated Voldemort, all evil was vanquished, and there was no more need for Aurors. So he sells hot dogs.
Kathy A - Jun 27, 2006 8:18:38 am PDT #770 of 28067
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
Forget chasing down evil--I want him to have fun for a change! Maybe professional Quidditch player. Then he can be the first multi-year DADA professor since Tom Riddle cursed the position, and eventually become Headmaster.
§ ita § - Jun 27, 2006 8:18:49 am PDT #771 of 28067
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
How would you make sense of the narrative?
I can't answer the question. I'd make sense of the narrative because I see no intrinsic disconnect between the narrative to date and Harry dying to save the world. There wouldn't have to be any heavy lifting on my part.
Katerina Bee - Jun 27, 2006 8:28:42 am PDT #772 of 28067
Herding cats for fun
I have a secret wish for Harry to end up starring in "Welcome Back, Potter" and teaching at Hogwarts. That plot tickled me on SNL.
erikaj - Jun 27, 2006 8:39:00 am PDT #773 of 28067
Always Anti-fascist!
Aw, yeah.
Vonnie K - Jun 27, 2006 8:40:59 am PDT #774 of 28067
Kiss me, my girl, before I'm sick.
This whole discussion reminds me of the LJ entry in which someone speculated on the possiblity of death on each of the major character. Let me see if I can find the link.
Ahh, found it. [link]
I agree with her, for the most parts. I don't think Harry will die, but I wouldn't be surprised if JKR went there, and I would find it narratively-satisfying, depending on how she handles it. I've also read a theory that a triumph over Voldermort would rob Harry of his magic, and for some reason, that possibility saddens me more than Harry's death.
I think Snape is most certainly dead, must as I love the nasty bastard. My other picks would be Ron and/or Neville. I don't think JKR would kill Hermione, which would be like Joss killing Xander or Wash and... oh, wait a minute...
I don't think I could handle one of the twins dying.
Topic!Cindy - Jun 27, 2006 8:42:36 am PDT #775 of 28067
What is even happening?
I think there's a difference between a meaningless story and a meaningless death. I understood Cindy to mean that while Harry could die in a dramatic or sacrificial or whatever way, that death could also render the whole story meaningless.
Raq, your comment helped me clarify (to me) why I think it wouldn't be the right ending for this story. While I do understand ita's point here:
If Harry's just been fighting for himself this whole time (pauses to consider the books to date), then it's all so much smaller.I guess I see it differently than either-cause-or-self. He is fighting for the cause, but on another level of the story, he is the cause, or emblematic of it. I see Harry Potter, the boy, as a warrior for good. But then on another layer, I seem him as the avatar of good.
How would people feel if the series ended not unlike Buffy. What if to defeat the badness, the power had to be released, and Muggles were empowered, as well?
Jessica - Jun 27, 2006 8:46:55 am PDT #776 of 28067
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?
(The cynic in me is also dying to point out that Hermione and the Very Sad Funeral would be a terrible title for book 8, should she decide at a later date that she didn't want to end the series after all.)
§ ita § - Jun 27, 2006 9:37:40 am PDT #777 of 28067
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I guess I see it differently than either-cause-or-self. He is fighting for the cause, but on another level of the story, he is the cause, or emblematic of it. I see Harry Potter, the boy, as a warrior for good. But then on another layer, I seem him as the avatar of good.
None of this requires his survival to me.
What if to defeat the badness, the power had to be released, and Muggles were empowered, as well?
That would irritate me.