Random HP Speculation/Theories/Questions SPOILERY for HP VI *** I think that at least some of Book VII will take place at Hogwarts and Harry is not done with the school. Mostly because I don’t think that Voldermort is done with it.

I suspect that Ginny is also going to play a critical role and Harry’s hopes of keeping her on the sidelines and out of danger will be shattered. I also think she’s going to acquit herself nicely (although I have no idea if that means that she’ll survive).

I’m thinking that Zakarias Smith, a Hufflepuff, is a descendent of the Smith woman who unwisely showed Tom Riddle the cup and the locket. So, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him, either.

Dumbledore said that he was unaware of anything of the Founder Ravenclaw surviving. I bet something has and Voldermort knows of it or wants it. And I think Luna, a Ravenclaw, will play a role here in helping Harry deal with it.

Finally, doesn’t the barman at the Hogs Head have the same first name as Dumbledore’s brother? Is that the brother?

I think it's unspoilery of me to say that, yes, JKR has confirmed that the barman is Dumbledore's brother. I believe there was some hint earlier on in one of the books when Harry noticed he smelled of goats, and Dumbledore had made some rather disconcerting comment regarding his brother and goats at some point.

Narrator, your speculation about Smith made me wonder if we'll somehow get descendants of all four houses involved in the final showdown.

Narrator,

Dumbledore said that he was unaware of anything of the Founder Ravenclaw surviving. I bet something has and Voldermort knows of it or wants it. And I think Luna, a Ravenclaw, will play a role here in helping Harry deal with it.

I think it was actually nothing had survived from Gryffindor. But, I don't think we've seen the last of Luna. And, I thought the same thing about Z. Smith.

Okay, I'm reading random LJ commentary on HBP, and I have to ask -- were we meant to think that Ron and Hermione hooked up in a dating way? Because I didn't think that, at all. There was nothing specific enough to lead me to believe that.

Thoughts?

ChiKat, Anne -- for HP VI *** My original thought had been that Harry would need to have something from all 4 founders or that Voldermort is looking for something from all 4 founders -- not just to store his soul but to do something else.

Here are the items we know of to date: (1) Gryffindor's sword (Harry used it in the Chamber of Secrets); (2) Hufflepuff - the cup; (3) Slytherin - locket; (4) Ravenclaw -- ???

Luna strikes me as a bit of a packrat. I wouldn't be surprised if she or her family have something.

Teppy, I feel like the Ron/Hermione situation at the end was set up so that it could have been interpreted as hooked-up or just-friends depending on the reader.

I really want the next book right now. I did not feel this way after reading book 5, by the by.

HP VI *** I got a definite sense that Ron and Hermoine were becoming a romatic couple by the end of the book. I think JKR didn't make it formal then because the focus had to be on Harry, and his decision to "break up" with Ginny. Then again, who knows.

(HP VI) Speaking of the breakup w/ Ginny, I noticed that she didn't exactly flounce off and say "forget you!" I think she's got it in her mind that once this is all over, she's going to campaign but hard to get Harry back.

From part 2 of Mugglenet's interview with JKR, she says that she's been setting up Ron/Hermione for several books now. "I will say, that yes, I personally feel - well it's going to be clear once people have read book six. I mean, that’s it. It’s done, isn’t it? We know. Yes, we do now know that it's Ron and Hermione. I do feel that I have dropped heavy - hints. ANVIL-sized, actually, hints, prior to this point. I certainly think even if subtle clues hadn't been picked up by the end of “Azkaban,” that by the time we hit Krum in Goblet...[Ron] kind of needed to make himself worthy of Hermione. Now, that didn't mean necessarily physical experience but he had to grow up emotionally and now he's taken a big step up. Because he's had the meaningless physical experience - let’s face it, his emotions were never deeply engaged with Lavender - and he's realized that that is ultimately not what he wants, which takes him a huge emotional step forward."