Will Harry die in Deathly Hallows? v5

harry doesn't need to die for the story to end right he needs to defeat voldy and take down the deatheaters once and for all.i think if anyone will have to be sarcfriced it'll be snape or peter

I still believe he will die. In some twisted ironical way i think that will give his whole life and journey so far true meaning. I think both he and Voldermort will die and the ending will be bitter-sweet coz of that, with everyone at peace that voldermort is finally gone and trying to get over harry's death. The epilogue will be narrated from the author's point of view and will close up the series nicely.
Now i feel like jumping off a cliff.:sad:

when i started reading the harry potter books more than 6 years ago, i felt like harry has to die in the final book. i think he is the sort of hero who dies at the end. what should he do after he destroyed voldemorts power? theres nothing more to do for him.

he might die. i dont know, it would be a very sad ending if he did. it kinda makes the magic go away in the series, if you know what i mean.:grumble:

There is a big chance he will die but i jus dont like that. And the book can be continued with Harry living, he can finally become a head auror and settle down with Ginny and live a good ending but still mourning at the loss of DD,Sirius and whoever else may die. I don't think if they were to make a newer HP book that if lord Pollex (random name) rose to power and inflicted evil upon everyone it wouldnt have the same effect and i think it would have a small audience who would buy it.

when i started reading the harry potter books more than 6 years ago, i felt like harry has to die in the final book. i think he is the sort of hero who dies at the end. what should he do after he destroyed voldemorts power? theres nothing more to do for him.

On the contrary, there is everything more for him to do. He hasn't had a chance to live a normal life, ever. After he defeats Voldemort, he will have earned that right for himself.

no and voldemort will be vanquished

I have always felt that it's very likely that Harry is going to die in the end (no matter how much I don't want him to.)

HERO CYCLE
There are many things set against him. For one thing, JKR said in an interview ages ago that she is writing a hero story. In many 'hero' stories (esp. w/Greek heros) the hero either dies or wanders the world alone after they have done what they had meant to do in life- note, that like Harry, Greek heroes usually have a prophecy surrounding them as well. Many 'heroes' in more modern stories do the same: Frodo going to the Undying Lands is (basically) just dying; Neo dies at the end of the Matrix series.

PROPHECY
The prophecy is very vague, in a confusing and distressing sort of way. "neither can live while the other survives." It's possible that BOTH will die.

DEATH
Although my boyfriend says, "It's a children's book. JKR would'nt kill off the main character." I don't think that possibility should be ruled out. Not only has she said that she is writing a hero story, she has also said that one of the main themes of the books, is in fact, death and dealing with death. She has also said in an interview (man I wish I remember where the exact quotes are!!!) that she is going to end the series in a way where it cannot be picked up by another, which to me sounds quite ominous.

Sometimes sacrifices need to be made- Harry has yet to make the 'choice between what is right and what is easy.' Maybe what is 'right' is giving up his own life in order to save the world, evn if it is not the easiest thing to do. Dumbledore taught him about sacrifice.

I'm just hoping that I'm wrong. I'd really hate to see Harry go :-(

Not only has she said that she is writing a hero story, she has also said that one of the main themes of the books, is in fact, death and dealing with death.
I agree completely with this. In SS, Harry got to learn about Voldemort, and the lengths he had gone to to return (living a cursed life after drinking Unicorn blood, death would be preferable). In CoS, there was the temporary "deaths" when people were petrified. In PoA, there was the Dementors, who could suck your soul out, another fate worse than death. In GoF, an older Harry sees someone die (alright, he had his eyes closed, but afterwards) and he decides that he will die standing up, fighting. The same goes for OotP, where he loses Sirius and then wants to die just to get rid of Voldemort. In HBP, he meets the Inferies, and as he stumbles towards Snape, he's so full of rage that he don't care about what happens.

All of this has something to do with death. Harry could very well be going towards his own death, but if it saved everyone else, would he welcome it and throw himself into his fate? I think so.

No I don't think he will, i think he will survive but will lose some of his powers on the death of voldemort

I don't want Harry to die, but it is the hero story, and so far JKR has followed the proper pattern. Though, it is possible he dies more of a figurative death than a literal one.

JK Rowling said that it will end in a way that other writers could not continue the series. This makes some people think that Harry must die... However, I believe that When Harry defeats Voldemort, the powers that Harry received from him will be lost too. This would make Harry a normal wizard, and allow him to live out the normal life he never had. Also, this would solve the sequel problem because what's the point of writing a book about Harry with no special talents or purpose. Harry will not die(However I think that if anyone of the trio dies it will be Harry).

i totally agree, when harry defeats voldy, all of harrys special powers, such as pastletongue, are lost. but i also think that there is the possibility that harry must do a very hard and draining spell to properly defeat voldy and it either takes all of his powers and he becomes a muggle or he dies because of the strain on his magical ability.

I personally think that Harry will die in the end, because I think that Harr's scar is a horcrux. And Harry at the end will have destroyed all the other horcrux's and Voldemort now knowing that Harry's scar is a horcrux will try and posess Harry again, and Neville (perhaps someone else) and Harry will realize in order to kill Voldemort they need to kill Harry.

I'm not about to say I don't think he'll die, because I do, whether I like it or not! But that doesn't mean he's definitely going to.

I think if he died it would fit in well with the story overall, and he'd be reunited with all the loved ones he's lost and it would fit in with him being a horcrux (which I also believe, although I'm not going to rule out everything else). It would actually make a really good ending if he died, but that doesn't mean that I want him to die.

Harry could very well be going towards his own death, but if it saved everyone else, would he welcome it and throw himself into his fate? I think so.

Of course he would; he's demonstrated this countless times throughout the series. However, I think his willingness to sacrifice himself will be enough, and I hope he won't actually need to do it.

I completly agree! It would make Harry the tragic hero. It reminds me of LOTR when Frodo goes to the grey havens with Gandalf and the elves and Bilbo. There's been too much pain in Frodo's life and he needs something else... I think for Harry it could be the same thing...



I'm not about to say I don't think he'll die, because I do, whether I like it or not! But that doesn't mean he's definitely going to.

I think if he died it would fit in well with the story overall, and he'd be reunited with all the loved ones he's lost and it would fit in with him being a horcrux (which I also believe, although I'm not going to rule out everything else). It would actually make a really good ending if he died, but that doesn't mean that I want him to die.

I think he would be willing to sacrifice himself, however, I don't think that he would use the same rash actions that he has used throughout the series... I think that we would do it with a reason behind it, or at least a more mature manner in it... (hard for me to explain I suppose...)

Of course he would; he's demonstrated this countless times throughout the series. However, I think his willingness to sacrifice himself will be enough, and I hope he won't actually need to do it.

JK Rowling said that it will end in a way that other writers could not continue the series. This makes some people think that Harry must die... However, I believe that When Harry defeats Voldemort, the powers that Harry received from him will be lost too. This would make Harry a normal wizard, and allow him to live out the normal life he never had. Also, this would solve the sequel problem because what's the point of writing a book about Harry with no special talents or purpose. Harry will not die(However I think that if anyone of the trio dies it will be Harry).

JKR did not say that. If you read the interview carefully, she says she can understand why other authors would kill their hero to prevent others from writing fiture stories, but she never says she would do the same.

JKR has plenty of copyright protection to prevent anyone from continuing the story about Harry Potter. In addition, she outlined the whole story, and Harry's fate, five years before the first book was published. She would have had no idea there would be a need to prevent other authors from writing the further adventures of Harry Potter.

Agreed, she has definitely known since early stages of planning whether or not harry is going to die.

I agree... and I think that it would be rather shallow for J.K. to just kill off a character that she wasn't planning to kill in the first place just because she wouldn't want other authors copying her work... But I do think that he will nonetheless. But not for the reason of others copying her books.

Yeah I'm inclined to believe that he'll die. And I love your sig, not seen the Prince of Egypt in years, It was one of my favourite movies when I was younger!

But yes. I think it would make a better ending to the book if he died for a lot of reasons. Again, I don't want him to die but I think he will.

I hope Harry does not die. I can see why Jo would do it, but still, Jo, don't do it!

I hope Harry does not die. I can see why Jo would do it, but still, Jo, don't do it!

How can you see why Jo would do it? I don't understand what you mean.

Thanks for the compliment:) I love that movie to!! I thought about makeing the picture last night... I made it today... :) Thanks so much though!!! I think that you and I agree on a lot of the same things....

Yeah I'm inclined to believe that he'll die. And I love your sig, not seen the Prince of Egypt in years, It was one of my favourite movies when I was younger!

But yes. I think it would make a better ending to the book if he died for a lot of reasons. Again, I don't want him to die but I think he will.

I just don't know! Part of me thinks he will survive but part of me thinks he may make the ultimate sacrifce like his mother.

Thanks for the compliment:) I love that movie to!! I thought about makeing the picture last night... I made it today... :) Thanks so much though!!! I think that you and I agree on a lot of the same things....


Yay for agreement!

YEs I agree... he could survive... I just don't think he will...

I just don't know! Part of me thinks he will survive but part of me thinks he may make the ultimate sacrifce like his mother.

Harry won't die. well at least not after he killes voldermotrt. . But after that he might die. (Also i have another account but i forgot the screenname)

Jo's more clever than just making harry die to make it final... I think she will find another way to prevent people from continuing it... Anybody think of a book that is final but without any deaths?

i wouldnt really like him to live happily ever after
too disney movie for me
but i dont really want him to just drop dead somewhere
i want something interesting to happen to him
after the cover was released, someone said(well a lot of people) that they could be behind the veil
i was thinking
what if they both end up behind the veil
and harry kills voldemort
however harry cant get out of the veil, but will be with his family for eternity
i would realliy lke that i thiknk

ive said it before and ill say it again....
He wakes up in the end

I'm guessing then that you believe that the veil is another demension of death? Interesting theory... I wonder... have any of you heard of John Granger? He wrote "Looking for God in Harry Potter". And he and several other people have been analyzing the cover and it's relation to Alchamy (which the entire series is based upon). I mean the series of the book is in the last stage of alchamy (the red stage) the letters on the book are red, and then of course how Harry and Voldemort both do not have wands which is very odd. If you notice Voldemort is on the back cover kinda hidden, while Harry is out in the open while distant figures loom in the background... This shows that Harry may think that he's alone but he's not... Also in the lower right hand corner there is a broken plank of wood... this symbolic to... I can get more in depth with it... but I think I will just give links out:)

http://hogwartsprofessor.com/

i wouldnt really like him to live happily ever after
too disney movie for me
but i dont really want him to just drop dead somewhere
i want something interesting to happen to him
after the cover was released, someone said(well a lot of people) that they could be behind the veil
i was thinking
what if they both end up behind the veil
and harry kills voldemort
however harry cant get out of the veil, but will be with his family for eternity
i would realliy lke that i thiknk

ive said it before and ill say it again....
He wakes up in the end

I would hate that... And that doesn't make any sense... but yeah...

i think it would be pretty funny...it would be the largest 12 year old riot ever

It would be funny... Just.. it wouldn't make any sense...and I mean I would get pretty upset if that happend. I mean I waited all this time... And she makes this wonderful series that's so realistic and then she blows it all off with such a cliche ending as a dream? Kinda like a .gif I saw.... she ends the book by makeing rocks fall and everyone dies... it's kinda like an escape route....

i think it would be pretty funny...it would be the largest 12 year old riot ever

Mabey he won't die but he will be surounded by his freinds dead bodys.

Why?

Because JK has obviously set Harry up with a Savior archetype, and she wrote the story on a foundation of self-sacrifice. Both of those things point strongly to Harry having to die to defeat Voldemort.

YAY for agreement...! Even look at the position that Harry is in on the new cover.. the way his body is, is in a sacrafical gesture.

Because JK has obviously set Harry up with a Savior archetype, and she wrote the story on a foundation of self-sacrifice. Both of those things point strongly to Harry having to die to defeat Voldemort.

Jo's more clever than just making harry die to make it final... I think she will find another way to prevent people from continuing it... Anybody think of a book that is final but without any deaths?A bomb in the Death Eater headquarters in the annual Voldemort's birthday party. No Voldemort's follower ever dares to miss the party, so this should be a pretty clear ending.:p

YAY for agreement...! Even look at the position that Harry is in on the new cover.. the way his body is, is in a sacrafical gesture.

Yeah, I thought the same thing. My first thought in seeing that was how it reminded me of how Aslan died in LWW (Chronicles of Narnia). I'm not sure why, but it looks like Harry is about to give his life in a spell that will take out Voldy.

Of course he would; he's demonstrated this countless times throughout the series. However, I think his willingness to sacrifice himself will be enough, and I hope he won't actually need to do it.
I should have said that in another way, I should. You're right, of course he will. Is it wrong of me to hope that if someone must die, it will be Harry? I don't think he wants to (or can) handle another one sacrificing him or herself for him (a nagging feeling in my head tells me that Hermione will be the one to go, but I hope not).

I always have this feeling when I see stuff for Deathly Hallows that Harry dies though I wish for him not to die and I think JK's reasoning for killing him is stupid "so know one picks up the series later." I don't see it happening with the chronichles of Narnia or LotR's and plus there are ways of preventing this. But throughout what Harry's been through its almost as if everyone died for him now he must die for everyone. Or maybe they died to show if that death is not the end and that you should accept death as the next great journey...

If Harry dies, I'll probably never re-read the series nor even attempt to introduce it to anyone.

I always have this feeling when I see stuff for Deathly Hallows that Harry dies though I wish for him not to die and I think JK's reasoning for killing him is stupid "so know one picks up the series later." I don't see it happening with the chronichles of Narnia or LotR's and plus there are ways of preventing this. But throughout what Harry's been through its almost as if everyone died for him now he must die for everyone. Or maybe they died to show if that death is not the end and that you should accept death as the next great journey...

JKR is not using the line of reasoning that you're attributing to her. She has said she understands why other authors might want to take that route, but she's never said she would consider it for herself.

Harry has been given more reasons to live than to die. During books five and six JKR has been gradually turning Harry away from his past and toward his future. He's beginning to consider career options, he's made a family for himself, he's found someone to build a life with. Death is not the next great journey for Harry - rather it's learning to live a normal life. One of the great lessons of LOTR is that rebuilding a life after evil has been destroyed is very difficult to do, and everyone will have to adapt and begin to build a new life. Dying is a cop-out; it's a greater challenge for Harry to learn to live a life that isn't defined by Voldermort.

Well just joined, and haven't read the entire thread to see if anyone has posted anything similar, but heres my two cents.
Well I know its been said that 2 people will die and I think they will be Harry and Voldermort of course. I successfully predicted before book 6 that Dumbledore would be the one to die because his was the next logical death to occur. I was led to this because it is my belief that Harry Potter was born to be alone, he was born to live a hard life. This is why everyone who is closest to him has died. His parents were killed, Sirius was killed so the next step was for Dumbledore to die and that he did. It was also a necessity because without him dying Harry would have still have to rely too heavily on Dumbledore, it was time for him to finish this on he own. Harry Potter was born to live and die alone. Everyone around him dies and it will come full circle when he himself dies.
As far as him killing The Dark Lord, I don't think that he will actually do the deed. I don't think that J.K. will make Harry kill. It just wouldn't seem right no matter how bad Voldermort is and would be too out of character. It would just be wrong to make Harry commit the deed of murder. I think Voldermort will kill Harry and by my interpretation of the prophecy he himself will die.

Harry has been given more reasons to live than to die. During books five and six JKR has been gradually turning Harry away from his past and toward his future. He's beginning to consider career options, he's made a family for himself, he's found someone to build a life with.
I agree with what you said. The thing is, that all of this that Harry has found: Friends, family and a future. That is the things worth dying for. Not that I think Harry will go and die just because of it, but all of it will serve as a boost to Harry, and make him fear death even less than he does.

I agree with what you said. The thing is, that all of this that Harry has found: Friends, family and a future. That is the things worth dying for. Not that I think Harry will go and die just because of it, but all of it will serve as a boost to Harry, and make him fear death even less than he does.

I see this from a literary point of view. JKR has put Harry in a position where he wants to fight to keep what he has. While he's got the building blocks for a future, he hasn't been able to enjoy that yet. Harry's entire life has been defined by Voldermort and he's had no chance to experience a life without that. It doesn't make sense to me that JKR would give Harry those building blocks for a life after Voldermort and never let him use them because he dies.

I see this from a literary point of view. JKR has put Harry in a position where he wants to fight to keep what he has. While he's got the building blocks for a future, he hasn't been able to enjoy that yet. Harry's entire life has been defined by Voldermort and he's had no chance to experience a life without that. It doesn't make sense to me that JKR would give Harry those building blocks for a life after Voldermort and never let him use them because he dies.

Of course, I can understand that. The story is about Harry, and as you said, the things he was deprived of, is now waiting for him in the future. So why kill him? I don't know what reason she will use if he actually does die. Then again, from a non-literary point of view, it can be said about all the others as well. Harry is the maincharacter in the literary point of view, but not from the characters.

My point is, not that he will die for his values, but that he is fully ready to die for his values. The fact that he doesn't fear death, will give him another advantage over LV (the ability to love being the first one), at least I think so.

I see this from a literary point of view. JKR has put Harry in a position where he wants to fight to keep what he has. While he's got the building blocks for a future, he hasn't been able to enjoy that yet. Harry's entire life has been defined by Voldermort and he's had no chance to experience a life without that. It doesn't make sense to me that JKR would give Harry those building blocks for a life after Voldermort and never let him use them because he dies.

From a literary point of view it is very possible that dear Harry, with his "saving people thing," has very much been put in the position where he may die for his beliefs and to save everything he's worked so hard for (the lives of his friends, etc.).

While you're right that she's given him a good foundation for a future life, you're ignoring the fact that she had plans for Sirius as well and he died. And that every day people with just as much promise and just as many bright hopes for the future don't win. It doesn't seem fair, but just because Harry had a rotten childhood does not mean he has to live.

From a literary point of view it is very possible that dear Harry, with his "saving people thing," has very much been put in the position where he may die for his beliefs and to save everything he's worked so hard for (the lives of his friends, etc.).

While you're right that she's given him a good foundation for a future life, you're ignoring the fact that she had plans for Sirius as well and he died. And that every day people with just as much promise and just as many bright hopes for the future don't win. It doesn't seem fair, but just because Harry had a rotten childhood does not mean he has to live.

What plans for Sirius? As long as Peter was alive, Sirius had to remain in hiding. JKR has never indicated that Sirius was looking beyond his present situation and making plans for what would happen once he was freed. He didn't discuss his career plans or how he was going to fix up Grimmauld Place or when Harry was going to live with him.

If JKR was planning to kill Harry, I don't think she would have gone to the trouble to give Harry the building blocks for life after Voldermort. She's not going to waste page space for something she isn't going to use.

JKR introduced Harry's "saving people thing" to show that he's wrong to think he's responsible for saving others, not to foreshadow his sacrifice. His "saving people thing" leads him into trouble, so why would she contradict that by turning a fault into a virtue?

Are you suggesting that JKR has set Harry up to die because he thinks he's being noble even though everyone else knows he's wrong? Ick.

I am not linking my thoughts to any of the recent posts on this thread just FYI.

I think that this is on everyone's mind that absolutely loves Harry Potter. I'm sure that he will, I'm usually an optomistic person but really, Harry is strong and all but Voldemort is pretty much under control. You see, Hogwarts was a strongly secured school and even without spells I believe that no one could break in. But the Death Eaters who are under Voldie's control could. Plus, when the publisher of HP read it he cried. It may not be Harry but let's say that it was Harry's death.
If a grown man cried (we're saying he's not emotional right now) it must have been tragic or sudden and unexpectadly. Like, out of the blue Voldie shouting Avada Kedavra when Harry had his back turned. Or, (this seems stupid and it is) Harry commits suicide :sad: because of the pressure or the terrible state of the wizarding world.

And just to add to my last post, no one has really ever put much effert into trying to save someone from dieing.

And just to add to my last post, no one has really ever put much effert into trying to save someone from dieing.

I think that this is on everyone's mind that absolutely loves Harry Potter. I'm sure that he will, I'm usually an optomistic person but really, Harry is strong and all but Voldemort is pretty much under control. You see, Hogwarts was a strongly secured school and even without spells I believe that no one could break in. But the Death Eaters who are under Voldie's control could.

I think that there were special circumstances surrounding the break-in to Hogwarts. I also have another theory concerning 'LV's control'... I think that along with the protective spell being lifted when Harry turns seventeen, He might gain much more power than other wizards do when they come of age. He might double his power rather than barely increase it. Even if this does not occur, Voldemort doesn't know we know about the horcruxes. In the final battle I think there will be more 'ancient magic', namely love, that comes into play that spares Harry from having to kill Voldemort.

Everyone is forgetting the prophesy.

Saying something like "One must die so the other may live". The prophesy must come true as stated, this means that either Voldemort will live and become whole again if he kills Harry. I will also say that Harry will have a better life without the threat of he who must not be named hanging over him.

I don't believe that JKR would write a whole series of books to have the main hero character die in the end.

yay! first post.

no, i don't think it would, because that would be going against the theme that good always wins. and anyway, this is a kids book, so i think it would upset them if he did die.


I have two things I would like to point out. You said that it would be going against how the "good always wins". Harry can win AND die in Deathly Hallows. Also, I think Harry should die to show people that this ISN'T just a kid's book. I always thought of Harry Potter as something much more than that.

Yes, but I don't believe that Jo is out to prove anything, and I don't think a truly great author would ever let that drive one of his or her stories. I personally don't believe Harry will die, but if it fits in with the plot and conclusiveness of the series, along with Jo's moralistic threads in the story, then I will feel satisfied. I have no doubt that if Harry dies then so will Voldemort.

If JKR was planning to kill Harry, I don't think she would have gone to the trouble to give Harry the building blocks for life after Voldermort. She's not going to waste page space for something she isn't going to use.

What building blocks for life are you talking about? Becoming an Auror? Falling in love? Harry may be stronger and more powerful than before, but he's got nothing left to lose. He hasn't finished school, he broke up with his girlfriend, his godfather is dead- the promise of a new home or even a relationship with him is utterly gone as is that sympathetic connection to his parents, and soon he's going to lose the protection he had while living with the Dursleys. Harry's got nothing except hope, determination to see Voldemort dead, and his friends- and he keeps trying to leave them behind because he doesn't want them hurt.

JKR introduced Harry's "saving people thing" to show that he's wrong to think he's responsible for saving others, not to foreshadow his sacrifice. His "saving people thing" leads him into trouble, so why would she contradict that by turning a fault into a virtue?

Um. It is a virtue- don't you think? He's saved so many people from harm (and lost a few as well).

It's possible that he may have to sacrifice himself to save other people. Remember, he's determined to go it alone after he leaves the Burrow because he doesn't want anyone he loves hurt. He tells Ginny they can't be together because he knows Voldemort will use Ginny to get to him.

Are you suggesting that JKR has set Harry up to die because he thinks he's being noble even though everyone else knows he's wrong? Ick.

Ick yourself :p

He doesn't look at what he's doing as "noble," he's learned that people get hurt and die and he's not having any more of that. And I wouldn't say anyone thinks he's wrong- if you notice Ron and Hermione are determined to stick by him because they want to help him despite the fact that he seems equally determined to reject their help.

I think that the foundations for a life after the downfall of LV are present, but not all the components. Harry could still die in the end, but I believe the careful wording of the prophecy gives us strong indications that Harry will survive: 'neither can live while the other survives.' I believe that the 'live' part means living without an outside worry, like LV, and survives simply means what it does, being alive. It is possible that both will die, but if only one does then it will be LV.

Then again JK could kill Harry off to prevent tacky books about his life after Hogwarts from being written. I know I would be tempted to do this to protect my creation. However other spin-off books could be written about other characters too and this would also **** me off if I was JK. She may have to put a trademark protection thing on all of them all over the world - what a hassle to protect her creations from tacky books etc appearing after it's all over.

I hope not, but I think that Harry will die! :upset: Although Voldemort will go down with him, so that's sorta good I suppose. Harry will be known as a hero forever in the wizarding world and his name will go down in history as "The boy who lived" (Even though he died) or "The one who defeated He-who-must-not-be-named" or maybe just "The chosen One". I never used to think that Harry would die, but now I have this storng feeling that he will. Now this isn't the only reason, but here is a reason why Harry might die: If he doesn't people will write their own sequels of Harry's adult life. That's not how JKR wants it and she's too clever for that. Harry potter and the deathly Hallows is to be the final book about the adventures of Harry James Potter, and JKR will have it that way. Mark my words, she's got something up her sleeve...

"Death comes to all, but great achievements build a monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold." -Emerson Atleast if he does die it will be a beautiful death for a good cause. I would be very sad however; and would not re-read the 7th book.

I never used to think that Harry would die, but now I have this storng feeling that he will. Now this isn't the only reason, but here is a reason why Harry might die: If he doesn't people will write their own sequels of Harry's adult life. That's not how JKR wants it and she's too clever for that. Harry potter and the deathly Hallows is to be the final book about the adventures of Harry James Potter, and JKR will have it that way. Mark my words, she's got something up her sleeve...

Yes, but I don't believe that Jo is out to prove anything, and I don't think a truly great author would ever let that drive one of his or her stories. Jo is far too clever (as you say) to let anyone write stories about Harry after book seven. Her epilogue might even go up to the ends of the people's lives, conclusively preventing any spin-off stories. I personally don't believe Harry will die, but if it fits in with the plot and conclusiveness of the series, along with Jo's moralistic threads in the story, then I will feel satisfied. I, however, do not think that Harry wil die. I believe the trio are safe, but I believe that Ginny might be one who bites the dust. Hagrid I blelive will die because I buy into the 'alchemical process' theory. When looking at JKR's quote about the reprieve, I think that Lupin is the one who got the reprieve and Ginny is one who got a condemnation. I don't think Jo ever imagined this story selling this many books, and thus wouldn't have had a spin-off to worry about when writing the books years ago.

The thing is Jk created this character,made us love him so much and if its necesary for the plot,she will kill him,but i dont see where it becomes necesary for him to die,she could still have a great ending a allow him to live and be happy,but its her story ...she knows wahts shes doing ,im praying god gave her creativity to ficnish it without killing him off.

it would just be devastating to my mental health if she 'ld let him die and I honestly can't imagine a good reason why she 'ld kill him . I'm sure she's rich enough by now to provide legal protection against any autors who'ld like to write sequels or prequels for that matter ,all she has to da is to patent the character Harry Potter . and I'm sure she can hire an agency to reject all recuests to write the sequels so that she won't have to be bothered

It's really odd to see the series ending and with Harry dying it too . I have an 80 % belief that Harry will die in the last plot.
Because JKR in an interview said something like this :

"I don't want people to continue writing Harry Potter after my death".....

It's really odd to see the series ending and with Harry dying it too . I have an 80 % belief that Harry will die in the last plot.
Because JKR in an interview said something like this :

"I don't want people to continue writing Harry Potter after my death".....

I don't think she'll kill him off just because of that, but to serve her story- which she's had in mind since the creation of Harry back around 1990.

As for other folks writing about Harry, I doubt anyone would have the courage to do it without her approval. Except for fanfic authors, but that's different :D

You'd be surprised at the type and number of people who would try and cash in on the Harry Potter bandwagon. So many tacky stories and merchandise are lurking in the wings of JK Rowlings creation - just itching to get their grubby litle hands on any money they can make corrupting her (and our) ideas about Harry, his friends and their exploits.

No wonder the idea of killing him off his so attractive - I'd certainly be thinking along those ideas if I had created him. Anything rather than seeing him being the centre of some tacky story written by someone else who doesn't know him as well as JK does.

This is getting a smidge off topic...

You'd be surprised at the type and number of people who would try and cash in on the Harry Potter bandwagon. So many tacky stories and merchandise are lurking in the wings of JK Rowlings creation - just itching to get their grubby litle hands on any money they can make corrupting her (and our) ideas about Harry, his friends and their exploits.

No wonder the idea of killing him off his so attractive - I'd certainly be thinking along those ideas if I had created him. Anything rather than seeing him being the centre of some tacky story written by someone else who doesn't know him as well as JK does.

I don't doubt that people would do it, and I don't doubt that people would buy it, but what I'm saying is I seriously doubt that that would be her sole reason for killing him off. (And I've read quotes in which she says she hopes people won't be writing stories about Harry after she's gone, understands why authors kill of their main characters, etc.)

From an interview last June:

Rowling said she could understand why authors might want to finish off their main characters in order to ensure they could never be resurrected.

She would not say if this would be the case with Harry.

However, she admitted she had "never been tempted to kill him off before the final because I've always planned seven books, and I want to finish on seven books".

'Arrogant'

This approach had meant she had been "lambasted" by several people, she said.

"I think they thought it was very arrogant of me to write the end of my seven books series when I didn't have a publisher and no-one had heard of me."

The author also told the Channel 4 programme she didn't expect to create a character more successful than the teenage wizard.

"I don't think I'm ever going to have anything like Harry again. You just get one like Harry."

As for him being the center of some tacky story written by some rank amateur, well, that's for the consumer to decide. Since Rowling has made it abundantly clear that she will never write another story about Harry (though I hope she does write companion books about Hogwarts or Quidditch) I'm guessing any such work would have to carry some sort of warning that it's an unauthorized, and I'd personally be surprised if any publisher worth its salt would touch such a thing. The only folks who could authorize such a thing after her death- her publisher perhaps, her family, etc.- would not do so in a million years I'm sure.

There is a little matter called copyright that will effectively prevent people stealing Jo's characters and writing sequels! When Jo dies, the copyright will pass on to her heirs.

a particular jkr quote i came across recently asking if she would write more books about harry had her laughing and saying something along the lines of "like harry potter and the midlife crisis? no i think i'll leave him alone after book seven"

perhaps im reading to much into it but it seems that harry might have a chance of making it past book seven...

Don't jump on me for saying this because I'm sure those of you who think Harry will die have formed your opinions for a number of legitimate reasons and I am not trying to cut you down by saying this or to say you are wrong, because he could die (50-50 chance, right?)....However....

Being a psychology major I think you are trying to brace yourself just in case he DOES die. You can pretend you believed he was going to die all along to make it easier to deal with in case it happens. You have even come up with the greatest reasoning for his death...you've practically written and planned his whole death already! Do you believe you will be more prepared now that you have reconciled yourself to his death?

If I thought he was going to die I don't think I'd be so excited to read the last book. I mean, what would the point be? I think if I was JKR inventing her story the last thing I would do would be to plan my MAIN character's death while he was still young!

I believe he will live.

Well you can't please everyone and JK ultimately has to please herself. I hope none of the Stupendous Six (or the twins) dies but then we won't know until the final book comes out.

There is a little matter called copyright that will effectively prevent people stealing Jo's characters and writing sequels! When Jo dies, the copyright will pass on to her heirs.

Exactly! :lol:

Don't jump on me for saying this because I'm sure those of you who think Harry will die have formed your opinions for a number of legitimate reasons and I am not trying to cut you down by saying this or to say you are wrong, because he could die (50-50 chance, right?)....However....

Being a psychology major I think you are trying to brace yourself just in case he DOES die. You can pretend you believed he was going to die all along to make it easier to deal with in case it happens. You have even come up with the greatest reasoning for his death...you've practically written and planned his whole death already! Do you believe you will be more prepared now that you have reconciled yourself to his death?

If I thought he was going to die I don't think I'd be so excited to read the last book. I mean, what would the point be? I think if I was JKR inventing her story the last thing I would do would be to plan my MAIN character's death while he was still young!

I believe he will live.

Ooh, dangerous! A psych major. Do you know Legilimency? ;)

I can see where you're coming from- and yes, this thread is a form of preparation. We're fans and this is the hero of a series we've come to love, and it's impossible to know which way JKR will go and it's possible that Harry will, in fact, snuff it. I personally haven't written or planned it, I'm leaving that to JKR, but I'm also not closing myself off to the chance of it happening.

Personally, I hold to the possibility that he would die because having studied literature I can see JKR killing off her character. In fact, I see her thinking it from the beginning, and I find it amusing that I'm supposed to change my mind because he's young, the protagonist, beloved, etc. I would love to bring up examples, but the best one I can think of is that Harry dying would be real to JKR's world and it would be true to life. Every day young people die struggling for what they believe in, and as far as I'm concerned JKR has done a marvelous job of making Harry's world believable in terms of the way people's lives play out, so it would not surprise me. Besides which, hero though he be, Harry is flawed, human, and under no circumstances ready for what's to come. It would be sad if he died, but would I be completely shocked? Not really. Besides which, if he lives I seriously doubt given the way Harry's life has been going, that he won't lose someone close to him. Harry is not destined for a Disney ending.

As JKR herself (http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=060626232443.lhc6qc94&show_article=1) says:

"A price has to be paid, we are dealing with pure evil here. They don't target extras, do they? They go for the main characters -- well, I do."

As for being excited about reading the last book if I knew that he were to die, well, I can agree that said knowledge might cast a pall on the experience, but I would still read because I'd want to know how. I would read, hoping to learn that Harry died a noble death, his ideals uncompromised, and taking Voldemort down with him! :D

Edit: If Harry does live then naturally I'll be happy along with everyone else :p

Exactly! :lol:

As for being excited about reading the last book if I knew that he were to die, well, I can agree that said knowledge might cast a pall on the experience, but I would still read because I'd want to know how. I would read, hoping to learn that Harry died a noble death, his ideals uncompromised, and taking Voldemort down with him! :D

Edit: If Harry does live then naturally I'll be happy along with everyone else :p

I agree with you completely by the way. I would want to know how he dies if he does die, but I just can't see it happening. I don't think most people DO believe he will die, but just in case he will we are preparing. Even if we knew he was going to die I'd still read the book, I just would not be looking quite so forward to it.

The only books that I can remember reading where the main characters die are Anna Karenina (who dies at the end...she throws herself in front of a train) but she is by no means a heroine. Frodo doesn't exactly die, he just moves on to a better place.

If I were writing a book I don't think I'd have it in me to make Harry's character so important and so developed and know in the end I was just writing him to kill him. I believe what others on here have said...the first chapter of the first book says it all..."The Boy Who Lived"!!!!!!!!

Don't jump on me for saying this because I'm sure those of you who think Harry will die have formed your opinions for a number of legitimate reasons and I am not trying to cut you down by saying this or to say you are wrong, because he could die (50-50 chance, right?)....However....

Being a psychology major I think you are trying to brace yourself just in case he DOES die. You can pretend you believed he was going to die all along to make it easier to deal with in case it happens. You have even come up with the greatest reasoning for his death...you've practically written and planned his whole death already! Do you believe you will be more prepared now that you have reconciled yourself to his death?

If I thought he was going to die I don't think I'd be so excited to read the last book. I mean, what would the point be? I think if I was JKR inventing her story the last thing I would do would be to plan my MAIN character's death while he was still young!

I believe he will live.

I see where you're coming from, but I'm afraid I'm just someone who likes to kill off her favourite characters for the cause :p I guess I'm also a bit of an emotion junkie... I like to go on a full journey with books, you know? Of course, it's more than just how I feel... I do have proper thought out reasons for it (I gave them at the beginning of this thread; won't do it again, since I feel like I'm repeating myself :rolleyes:), but like I said, I do get what you mean.

Also, see, I can't help myself - I just don't think like that about death in general (you know, your third paragraph?), so that influences a lot of how I see the ending of the books.

Ah, so we have an accord ;)

The only books that I can remember reading where the main characters die are Anna Karenina (who dies at the end...she throws herself in front of a train) but she is by no means a heroine. Frodo doesn't exactly die, he just moves on to a better place.

Uh oh, the call of the OT is sounding again :blush:

But Anna is a heroine- though by most standards her actions seem less than noble, etc. Even freedictionary.com says that the heroine of a novel meets 3 main criteria. She is:

1. A woman noted for courage and daring action.
2. A woman noted for special achievement in a particular field.
3. The principal female character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.

While Anna doesn't meet criteria #2, but she does meet the first: she leaves her marriage to take up with Count Vronsky, risking expulsion from society- that's pretty daring- to follow her heart. And she definitely fits the third criteria- she's the principal character.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles is similar. Her behavior is less than honorable and she dies in the end, but she has a noble heart. And I just noticed the two main examples we've come up with together are women... Odd. :hmm:

My geek is showing. Yikes. ;)

So basically it is entirely possible that the hero can die. It's been done before.

I think one of the 2 couples (Ron and Hermione or Harry and Ginny) will have to survive and one pair die in order to continue the pattern of sacrifice leading to regeneration. Snape will try to destroy Harry; his hatred of James and Harry will become uncontrollable but he won't be able to do it as Harry has Lilly's eyes and he was in love with Lilly. Snape and Dumbledore seemed linked by guilt. Dumbledore (Bk 6 as he drains the potion) seems to suggest complicity in the death of Potters or the torturing of Neville's parents. Is this why he trusts Snape because they both know about each other's guilty secret? Harry will have to trust Snape at some point if he is to kill Voldemort. Snape 2 die saving Harry? Can Voldemort die unless Harry sacrifices his life to do so?

Thought I'd post my opinion as well...

Well, I'm 99.9% certain that Harry will live. The rest 0.1% is for "anything is possible". I just have this hugely convincing feeling that says he'll live. The books so far have been so sympathetic of Harry, so loving when describing him - it would way too cruel to kill him. A horrible ending that would be.

Don't jump on me for saying this because I'm sure those of you who think Harry will die have formed your opinions for a number of legitimate reasons and I am not trying to cut you down by saying this or to say you are wrong, because he could die (50-50 chance, right?)....However....

Being a psychology major I think you are trying to brace yourself just in case he DOES die. You can pretend you believed he was going to die all along to make it easier to deal with in case it happens. You have even come up with the greatest reasoning for his death...you've practically written and planned his whole death already! Do you believe you will be more prepared now that you have reconciled yourself to his death?
I suspect you may be right! I, however, refuse to prepare myself for Harry's death. These books are coming-of-age stories. We see Harry grow from a little boy with knobbly knees, who lives in a cupboard, to a fine young man with "the power to vanquish the Dark Lord". After all he's been through, he deserves a happy ending, and I believe he will succeed and survive.

Well I'm not really bracing myself for his death because after all it is the next great adventure and if he dies he'll be with who loved him. However if he lives and Ginny, Hermoine and Ron survive he'll still be with those he cares about and therefore both scenarios scould be construed as a win win situation I guess.

I really dont think that JKR would kill harry off just so people wouldnt take her story after shes gone. She has said many times before that ultimitaly you have to please yourself, and I think her worries of people taking her story wasnt an effect at all in how she decided Harrys fate.

Whatever happens im sure it will still be an amazing ending to the best story ever.

When has JKR ever let us down?

i always thought the only way for the ending to be effective in the least bit was for harry to die
however, now im thinking that Jo just might in fact be able to pull of any ending she choses
i wouldnt mind him living, as long as she ended unpredictable and strong

Well Harry just cant die because then according to the prophecy (neither can live while the other survives) Voldemort will continue which just cant happen.But there is still the possibility of Harry killing Voldy and then dying in some other way although I dont want that to happen.

Harry has to die to finally realize the Savior archetype he's been set up to be from the beginning.

We see Harry grow from a little boy with knobbly knees, who lives in a cupboard, to a fine young man with "the power to vanquish the Dark Lord". After all he's been through, he deserves a happy ending, and I believe he will succeed and survive.

:tu:

Well Harry just cant die because then according to the prophecy (neither can live while the other survives) Voldemort will continue which just cant happen.But there is still the possibility of Harry killing Voldy and then dying in some other way although I dont want that to happen.

No, the prophecy means that Harry and Voldemort can't both live - one of them has to die. It's entirely possible that both of them will die.

Harry will not die, that is my strongly confident opinion.

That's definitely the point I was always thinking about and I'm very excited to find out if Harry will die or not.

When I read the philosophers stone 7 years ago in the age of 13 I had the feeling that, at the end of the series, Harry has to die. I always thought that and I never changed my mind.

What should Harry do after killing Voldemort? Be an auror? Hmh... That would be too boring and all the people want to have another book. JKR always said there won't be an eighth book, so the best way to exclude (is this the right word?) that is to let Harry die.

Well, I'm happy with the ending if it's a good one (and worth to finish the series).

Aaaargh! July is just too far away! I have a feeling that Harry will die but everyone thinks that so we may all be wrong. Obviously, it is the last book because JK has said that she will not write any more Harry Potter stories but does that necessarily mean that he will die? I think the majority of people (myself included) have jumped to that conclusion.

There could be 2 other ways to end Harry without killing him off. Perhaps he will be admitted to St. Mungo's hospital for magical maladies as a result of evil magic at the hands of Voldemort. Either that or he could somehow get into trouble and be thrown into Azkaban if the dementors return.

I know I'm being very vague here but I'm trying to imagine scenarios where Harry does not die!

I suppose I will throw my opinion here into the official thread, just for the heck of it.

I'm 50/50 split. I can see reasons for him to die and not to die but I'm one of those who actually hope he does die.

It's not that I don't like his character, that has nothing to do with it. I just think that would be a great ending to the story.

I was watching PoA today and noticed something that could be an important clue. When they are in divination class not so far into the movie, and Harry and Ron are partners and have to tell each other's fortune based by looking at the tea cup, Ron says something along the lines of "He will suffer but he will be happy doing it". Can anyone remember any instance in which Harry suffered but was happy while doing it in the following books? Could this mean a future sacrifice?

If the centaurs prove correct then Harry will die. Back in Book one, when Harry was serving detention in the forbidden forest and he stumbled upon Voldemort feeding off of an unicorn and Firenze saved him. Bane was furious with Firenze for interferring.

Back at the castle Harry told Ron and Hermione. "Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so... Bane was furious...he was talking about interferring with what the planets say is going to happen.... they must show Voldemort coming back...Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me...I suppose that's written in the stars as well."

Firenze also told Harry, out in the forest, that the stars had been wrong before and he hoped this was one of those times.

I guess "Mars is bright tonight" means Voldemort is Mars, and he is gaining strength. I guess Harry is Venus. So Book Seven will be about Mars and Venus and who is the brightest.

The first chapter of the first book is titles "The boy who lived"
It would be poetic, I suppose, for the last chapter in the last book to be titled "The boy who died"

The first chapter of the first book is titles "The boy who lived"
It would be poetic, I suppose, for the last chapter in the last book to be titled "The boy who died"
Even more reason not to read the names of the chapters, as I usually did with the last books. It reveals too much sometimes.

I would agree with those who say 50/50.
Harry is going up against LV and his followers, something noone except Dumbledore has done and got away with it. The odds are clearly against Harry.

On the bright side, he has trusty friends, and we don't know what JKR has planned. LV and Harry are both at her mercy, as are we. :relax:

I guess "Mars is bright tonight" means Voldemort is Mars, and he is gaining strength. I guess Harry is Venus. So Book Seven will be about Mars and Venus and who is the brightest.
Wasn't Mars the god of war? I always thought what he meant was that the war was coming.

Wasn't Mars the god of war? I always thought what he meant was that the war was coming.
Yes, that's true. Firenze said that Mars, bringer of battle, told of a war coming.

But guys , all the Talking about Mars and Venus , that are realy cool thought ,
can't solve our question...
J.K.R is good at making us ask questions ...
i think that Harry and his friends will hunt down all of Voldemort Soul-Keepers (in hebrew it is called Horrorcrucks - smtng like that)... but when they will be about to finish the last one (make Voldemort himself an exeption) Voldemort will show and a battle will start , Harry will fight at last with Voldemort...
Harry will be on the edge of death when finaly Ron and Herm. will finish the last 1 and then both Harry and Voldemort will finish square (dead or beraly alive).

Ok, i don't want him to die

BUT: he might, for no other reason than ... it's the end. He has to go. That way there's no "write just one more" "what happens now?" "where does he go?" We know what happens to Harry, and the story line has finally come to a close.

Ok, i don't want him to die

BUT: he might, for no other reason than ... it's the end. He has to go. That way there's no "write just one more" "what happens now?" "where does he go?" We know what happens to Harry, and the story line has finally come to a close.

This is like the lazyest theory of all human-kind lolz!
it's easy to say that it will all end and harry dies...
but think about it... did u ever finish reading an HP book without eny questions? with no loose edges?
In my opinion .. As J.K did alot before .. she will end it as we will never figure out what happend next .. but will always ask.

I really don't like the idea of Harry dead after killing Voldemort. I believe that will be more than that and if Harry lives (what I hope so) there will be so many changes in the wizard world and in Harry himself that his life as we know it so far will change so much, meaning losts, pain and suffering and the end of Harry as he is - also a kind of death.

i got this JKR quote off of the wikipedia site about her:

"I am Christian and this seems to offend the religious right far worse than if I said I thought there was no God. Every time I've been asked if I believe in God, I've said, 'yes,' because I do. But no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that and, I have to say that does suit me...If I talk too freely about that, I think the intelligent reader -- whether 10 or 60 -- will be able to guess what is coming in the books."

WOW, that sounds like a huge hint. What is the most important aspect about Christian canon? Christ's self-sacrifice (via death) to save the people of the world, and redeem them of their sins, followed by his resurrection.

Given JKR's quote that Christianity plays such a large role, I think it could be very feasible that Harry could take the role of a Christ like figure. The muggles had their savior 2000 years ago, and now the wizards are getting their own savior (bearing with the fact that Harry is not of holy descent).

Now following this assumption i think we will see Harry die in a Christ-like sacrificial death followed by some sort of resurrection. No, Harry probably will not die on the cross or anything like that, but I would not be the least bit surprised if we see the ending of this book parallel the gospels.

i got this JKR quote off of the wikipedia site about her:

"I am Christian and this seems to offend the religious right far worse than if I said I thought there was no God. Every time I've been asked if I believe in God, I've said, 'yes,' because I do. But no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that and, I have to say that does suit me...If I talk too freely about that, I think the intelligent reader -- whether 10 or 60 -- will be able to guess what is coming in the books."

WOW, that sounds like a huge hint. What is the most important aspect about Christian canon? Christ's self-sacrifice (via death) to save the people of the world, and redeem them of their sins, followed by his resurrection.

Given JKR's quote that Christianity plays such a large role, I think it could be very feasible that Harry could take the role of a Christ like figure. The muggles had their savior 2000 years ago, and now the wizards are getting their own savior (bearing with the fact that Harry is not of holy descent).

Now following this assumption i think we will see Harry die in a Christ-like sacrificial death followed by some sort of resurrection. No, Harry probably will not die on the cross or anything like that, but I would not be the least bit surprised if we see the ending of this book parallel the gospels.

Wow man! ... The best post here i've read (and i've almost read it all).
you really made me think about all of this over and over again , and it just seems better from time to time.
I'm trying now to connect your assumption to what we know to be the last word in the book , "scar".
How can the word 'scar' describe your theory..?!.. that i still don't know :p

I've made the assertion here before, that the last book will end with an epiloge type of thing with Hermione and Ron sitting down with their kids to tell them about Harry Potter, their friend with the scar.

Change Ron and Hermione and really it can suit any ending theory for who lives and who dies.

But you're right, Frisco's post leads to some interesting questions.

Although I agree Harry might die theory I must contend that J.K Rowling inviting him to supper to say sorry about something need not be about killing him off, I mean Harry out of all the Hogwarts students has gone through tremendous pain and pyschological and physical suffering. She ( J.K) has taken away every single form of family Harry has ever know ie. His parents, his godfather Sirius and Dumbledore the other elder figure Harry looks for wisdom and comfort, Harry does have his 2 close friends but Dumbledore and Sirius where different to him. Either way J.k could kill him or not, from this point till the book gets released I think its going to be pure speculation, she has a knack for leaving clues for both sides of the argument

The first chapter of the first book is titles "The boy who lived"
It would be poetic, I suppose, for the last chapter in the last book to be titled "The boy who died"

Alternatively, the last chapter could also be titled "The Boy Who Lived", which itself would be a nice parallel, to draw the series to a close.


Now following this assumption i think we will see Harry die in a Christ-like sacrificial death followed by some sort of resurrection. No, Harry probably will not die on the cross or anything like that, but I would not be the least bit surprised if we see the ending of this book parallel the gospels.

It is possible. Certainly, some kind of self-sacrifice is inevitable on Harry's part, whether he actually dies or not. It's possible that in Harry's case, he takes Voldemort with him, but somehow finds a way back from the world beyond the Veil.

He has to. This will be the best possible ending to a tale as tragic as this one, and I will be disappointed if he doesn't. Voldemort may or may not die, but he will definitely be put at bay for another time, or turned back to Tom.

Although I agree Harry might die theory I must contend that J.K Rowling inviting him to supper to say sorry about something need not be about killing him off, I mean Harry out of all the Hogwarts students has gone through tremendous pain and pyschological and physical suffering. She ( J.K) has taken away every single form of family Harry has ever know ie. His parents, his godfather Sirius and Dumbledore the other elder figure Harry looks for wisdom and comfort, Harry does have his 2 close friends but Dumbledore and Sirius where different to him. Either way J.k could kill him or not, from this point till the book gets released I think its going to be pure speculation, she has a knack for leaving clues for both sides of the argument
I agree that Jo has plenty to apologize to Harry for, without having to kill him. I'm convinced he's going to survive, but that Jo keeps up the speculation deliberately to keep people interested. I just hope the media have enough respect for readers not to splash spoilers all over the papers next day with the two things non-fans seem to have picked up on: is Snape bad, and will Harry live!

I think Harry Potter will end similarly to Pan's Labyrinth. When I saw the ending, it seemed to really reflect how I believe Harry Potter will end. BTW If I'm not mistaken, doesn't JK Rowling love Guillmero del Torro's works?

Will Harry Die?

:hmm: I hope want & pray NO. I hope he's the one JKR gave a reprieve to. :relax:

But I'm scared for Ron and Hermione. I can see them saying "you have to go through us first" and Voldie saying "OK" & blasting his way through.

Will Harry as we know him survive?:no:

On a slightly different theoretical basis though, I can see Harry AS WE KNOW HIM not surviving.

Suppose...Harry, with a time turner, goes back and kills Voldie, or, as they do in hero land, "arranges for Voldemort to die...by the hand of another or by bizarre accident brought on by villian's own eviltude..."

This would change the time line, and Harry as we know him may disappear.

Unfortunately this would pave the way for a multitude of sequels.

If Harry dies, our window into Hogwarts & the magic world will close, and the series will be over.

We will long for the rest of our adult lives to return there.

Now that's a great end to a children's book series.

The End.

they destroyed all the timeturners in BOOK 5, so they cant go back in time

I've read a few theories here that predict a self-sacrifice death for Harry, as JK said something about her being a Christian affecting the story. My two cents though is that the death of Jesus was not the end of the story for Christianity, the rising from the dead was by far the more important part of the story. So dying a self-sacrificing death is quite possible for Harry, but I don't know how biblical it would be.

I was thinking though that if you want to get into biblical parallels, Dumbledore was betrayed by Snape, who was one of his own, and now Harry and the others are left with his work (destroying the Horcruxes) to carry out in the world. Just a thought.

But then again, if you consider that all Harry's family have passed on, for him it might feel like dying would be being born again in a better place.

i got this JKR quote off of the wikipedia site about her:

"I am Christian and this seems to offend the religious right far worse than if I said I thought there was no God. Every time I've been asked if I believe in God, I've said, 'yes,' because I do. But no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that and, I have to say that does suit me...If I talk too freely about that, I think the intelligent reader -- whether 10 or 60 -- will be able to guess what is coming in the books."

WOW, that sounds like a huge hint. What is the most important aspect about Christian canon? Christ's self-sacrifice (via death) to save the people of the world, and redeem them of their sins, followed by his resurrection.

Given JKR's quote that Christianity plays such a large role, I think it could be very feasible that Harry could take the role of a Christ like figure. The muggles had their savior 2000 years ago, and now the wizards are getting their own savior (bearing with the fact that Harry is not of holy descent).

Now following this assumption i think we will see Harry die in a Christ-like sacrificial death followed by some sort of resurrection. No, Harry probably will not die on the cross or anything like that, but I would not be the least bit surprised if we see the ending of this book parallel the gospels.

I really hope the series doesn't turn out this way. Very cliche, not to mention it would offend a large portion of the readers.

I really hope the series doesn't turn out this way. Very cliche, not to mention it would offend a large portion of the readers.
i don't know if i'd exactly find it offensive, since she's an author and can do whatever she wants, but i think harry sacrifcing himself in a jesus-ish way would be stupid and a cop out. firstly, it'd be super unoriginal. not only has it been done before, but its been done before in the best know book in the world. i think JKR can think of something more creative and different. also, harry doesn't have to die for him to have lost something, he's already lost his parents, his mentor, and his godfather/father figure.

no harry can not die!!! if he dies that would be bad bad bad!!!! cause it would be tragic for him to die!! voldemort needs to die but not harry! cause harry will kill voldemort cause he is cool like that!! yea HARRY ROX:rockon: !!!! VOLDEMORT DROOLS!!!:drool:

i don't know if i'd exactly find it offensive, since she's an author and can do whatever she wants, but i think harry sacrifcing himself in a jesus-ish way would be stupid and a cop out. firstly, it'd be super unoriginal. not only has it been done before, but its been done before in the best know book in the world. i think JKR can think of something more creative and different. also, harry doesn't have to die for him to have lost something, he's already lost his parents, his mentor, and his godfather/father figure.

Would be stupid, Voldy has to die and Harry has lto live, but with a serious sacrifice(Ron or Hermione?)

i don't know if i'd exactly find it offensive, since she's an author and can do whatever she wants, but i think harry sacrifcing himself in a jesus-ish way would be stupid and a cop out. firstly, it'd be super unoriginal. not only has it been done before, but its been done before in the best know book in the world. i think JKR can think of something more creative and different. also, harry doesn't have to die for him to have lost something, he's already lost his parents, his mentor, and his godfather/father figure.


That type of ending would be offensive to any readers who don't follow Christianity and I can't see JKR deliberately alienating so many people with a blatantly Christian ending. JKR hasn't shown Harry to be a jesus-type figure to this point, so it's unlikely she's going to change his character in the last book.

That type of ending would be offensive to any readers who don't follow Christianity and I can't see JKR deliberately alienating so many people with a blatantly Christian ending. JKR hasn't shown Harry to be a jesus-type figure to this point, so it's unlikely she's going to change his character in the last book.
Not all. I am definitly not christian, and in fact am a fairly conservative jew. This wouldn't offend me, it would just dissapoint me and, as you said, alienate me.

Wouldn't that be something if:

Harry goes thru the vail with voldemort, they battle and Harry defeats him. The Order members and Ron and Hermione are in the circular room, when Harry walks back out from behind the vail. He tells them all, that it's over, everyone is chearing and smiling, then Harry says he has to go back. He can't stay in there world. He crossed over and must return. Says his goodbuys, says everyone that he loved and lost are there waiting for him.
He turns and walks thru the vail.
The end.

Here's my two cents:
"Neither can live while the other survives" seems to imply that one or the other will have to die. We know that Voldemort can "survive" without being "alive" so, my feelings are, that this is where Jo was careful about her wording. It seems to me that if Harry dies, either sacrifices himself for a friend or just dies in battle, then the series has a very good chance of ending with Voldemort basically taking over the whole wizarding world. I don't think, or at least I don't want to believe, that Jo would do this...so, if someone is going to die, it won't be Harry (in my opinion, of course!)

Here's my two cents:
"Neither can live while the other survives" seems to imply that one or the other will have to die. We know that Voldemort can "survive" without being "alive" so, my feelings are, that this is where Jo was careful about her wording. It seems to me that if Harry dies, either sacrifices himself for a friend or just dies in battle, then the series has a very good chance of ending with Voldemort basically taking over the whole wizarding world. I don't think, or at least I don't want to believe, that Jo would do this...so, if someone is going to die, it won't be Harry (in my opinion, of course!)

Once Voldemort takes over the wizarding world, he will proceed to wipe out all of the muggles. If he even bothers to wait that long.

There is no way Jo can let Voldemort win the battle.

Now following this assumption i think we will see Harry die in a Christ-like sacrificial death followed by some sort of resurrection. No, Harry probably will not die on the cross or anything like that, but I would not be the least bit surprised if we see the ending of this book parallel the gospels.

Nice quote (I've never seen that before!). I don't think this means Harry will die, however, and I DO NOT think that she constructed her books to "parallel the gospels". JKR has said that she did not write the books with particular morals or lessons in mind to "teach"readers, and making some kind of Harry-sacrifice too Jesus-like would be horribly obvious and would, in my opinion, lessen the effect of the entire series (since there aren't any glaringly obvious parallels to Biblical themes in the series thus far).

This quote could simply have been referring to the ultimate defeat of evil (or hope for life free from evil) that would come from Voldemort's (obviously eminent) downfall.

I thought this some days ago. The right interpretation of the prophecy could be:
"Neither (nor Harry or Voldemort) can live, while the other (the other boy, the Not Chosen One, aka Neville) survives".
It isn't highly probable, I know. And I'm not sure it's correct in English. I'm Italian and the Italian version of the prophecy is:
"Nessuno dei due può vivere se l'altro sopravvive". I can re-translate the sentence this way: "Neither can live IF the other survives". But it isn't the same, is it? I mean, WHILE and IF aren't synonyms.
What do you think? Is my theory only a lot of junk? (I personally think it IS. Well, it's a theory of mine, but I've never said I believe it's true!)

I don't think she would dare kill of Harry.. However, it would prevent people from ragging on J.K. Rowling about writing an eighth book.
At this point, I have my idea on what's going to happen, but I highly doubt it's right ;).

JKR hasn't shown Harry to be a jesus-type figure to this point, so it's unlikely she's going to change his character in the last book.

One could argue differently but it's a stretch. From what little we know of Jesus' boyhood he was a bit of a mischief maker (ditching his folks on a family trip to Jerusalem to hang out with Temple scribes- that lil' imp!), but as I'm agnostic and that's not the topic of the thread, following this train of though is a little too OT even for me. :)

As for Harry's character changing, he already has- quite a bit in fact. In fact, I expect Harry will be a little less emotional and a little more settled in Book 7. He's been through a lot and come out the other end and that has got to show somewhere in his psychological/emotional makeup.

I thought this some days ago. The right interpretation of the prophecy could be:
"Neither (nor Harry or Voldemort) can live, while the other (the other boy, the Not Chosen One, aka Neville) survives".
It isn't highly probable, I know. And I'm not sure it's correct in English. I'm Italian and the Italian version of the prophecy is:
"Nessuno dei due può vivere se l'altro sopravvive". I can re-translate the sentence this way: "Neither can live IF the other survives". But it isn't the same, is it? I mean, WHILE and IF aren't synonyms.
What do you think? Is my theory only a lot of junk? (I personally think it IS. Well, it's a theory of mine, but I've never said I believe it's true!)

Wow. Now there's an interesting theory. So basically you're saying that either Harry or Neville will buy it- very "Highlander," that. But where does that leave Voldemort? If survival boils down to Harry or Neville and there's no mention of Voldemort then is LV nullified as a threat?

And no, not a lot of junk at all. Personally I just need a little more clarification on your part and it's a theory I'm willing to entertain. :)

As a 'born again pagan' I hope JK uses her imagination for the ending of her story while drawing from myths and legends which may not necessarily have christian overtones. That way no religious group can say that she was influenced by their creed. this should then satisfy most religous groups but unfortunately not all readers as some hope for his death while many hope for his future on earth.

I certainly hope not, however we have to think how J.K would think. Does she want to end the series like so many have beforee? The hero standing victorious as his enemy lies before him bloody and dead? Or would she go a new and interesting way, like Voldy dies but in a week or so Harry dies too? It would be a great ending! Harry would see how life is without the threat of someone coming at night to AK him. I would be saddened if it happened though, I mean we don't want him to die but if she goes the second route I'd understand, sure I'd bawl my little eyes out and hide in my room for a month like I did with (cough) but hey, it's a book and I'll move on. But yes I think he will die in the end.

Then again how does JK define death? Physical or mental etc???? Then there is the talk of vanquishment in this prophecy... Also the fact that the prophecy is mostly relevant to the person it refers to Voldie who interprets the other person as Harry. Now to Voldie death is physical but in reality his death to him is more relevant as a mental state of being because he is being obsessive about his physical survival. In other words he is not looking at death the way Albus is/was as being the next great adventure. The point I'm trying to make is that there are (as Albus once said) worse things than death and this could apply to Voldie and Harry could vanquish him to this state where Volie dies mentally and not physically so both survive physically and hopefully Harry also survives mentally and goes on to lead a normal (wizarding0 life while Voldie doesn't but then he also doesn't die physically but can't ever do anymore harm to anyone. This means Harry won't have to commit physical murder which I'm sure will satisfy Albus, his parents, Sirius and a lot of other characters in the book as well as many readers.

Then again how does JK define death? Physical or mental etc???? Then there is the talk of vanquishment in this prophecy... Also the fact that the prophecy is mostly relevant to the person it refers to Voldie who interprets the other person as Harry. Now to Voldie death is physical but in reality his death to him is more relevant as a mental state of being because he is being obsessive about his physical survival. In other words he is not looking at death the way Albus is/was as being the next great adventure. The point I'm trying to make is that there are (as Albus once said) worse things than death and this could apply to Voldie and Harry could vanquish him to this state where Volie dies mentally and not physically so both survive physically and hopefully Harry also survives mentally and goes on to lead a normal (wizarding0 life while Voldie doesn't but then he also doesn't die physically but can't ever do anymore harm to anyone. This means Harry won't have to commit physical murder which I'm sure will satisfy Albus, his parents, Sirius and a lot of other characters in the book as well as many readers.

You make alot of sense...really, you do...but I've got to ask...if Voldie is physically alive then isn't he still in a position to kill and make more Horcruxes and thereby place himself in a position to become immortal again?

Not if he has been vanquished into muggle-type mortallity.

Wouldn't it be divine justice to have to have him ending up as a cleaner of public lavatories for muggles in order to earn a living?
Voldie losing all his wizard powers and supporters and having to earn a living as muggle (and an ugly snake-featured one at that) and knowing he will die of old age - probably ridden with poor eyesight, poor hearing, arthritis, high blood pressure and having to watch his cholesterol - ie. having many of the problems most old aged people have to put up with- that would be a fitting punishment - even more so than dying by Harry's hand. This might make him more aware of his bigotted attitude towards muggles. I wouldn't have much sympathy for his plight I can assure you after all the pain and suffering he has caused. He would probably hate any pity from others anyway.

yes harry's going to die in the 7th book! if he doesn't people will keep on bugging JKR to write an 8th book and 9th and 10th etc. etc. and so on.
it has to happen

I think that Harry will survive but Ginny will die protecting him and her love will give him protection to kill Voldemort. He will survive but with a permanent scar ( emotional as well as physical.)

I think that Harry will survive but Ginny will die protecting him and her love will give him protection to kill Voldemort. He will survive but with a permanent scar ( emotional as well as physical.)

I can see what you mean, but I think Harry is more possible to go than Ginny. This might sound harsh or cold or even downright foolish, but I think Harry will be more affected in the long run, if Ginny was to die and he would survive, something he has constantly been worrying about. I don't doubt that Ginny would grieve or rage if Harry met his demise, but she would have her family (and I cannot possibly see Harry going to get comfort from mrs Weasley after that her daughter died).

Suffice to say, Ginnys death would give Harry yet another scar, one I'm not sure he would be able to heal (but who knows).

Well see harry will die im sure of it. Ron Hermione or ginny will be threatend to be killed by voldemort. Then harry will protect them with the power of love he will sacrifice himself in order to save them. then the spell will be reversed and kill voldy because he has no horcruxes remaining. he did not die the night of the accident because of his horcruxes.

I hope no one gets mad at me for this because what I'm stating is something that Jo has stated and not a fact from the books. I was looking on Jo's official site and noticed that when she updated it after finishing 'Deathly Hallows,' she states that book seven is "her favourite." Would it really be her favorite if Harry dies? Just a thought. :)

It's hard to say, I can't decide! I think there's a really good chance Harry isn't going to make it but then again I don't know how the book can possible end without him. I don't have any theories to support Harry living but I have my theories behind his death. Could JK do such a cruel thing though!?

I really don't know if Harry will live or die. There are great points by both sides and I really can't decide on a sure prediction. Since I'm feeling optimistic right now, I'll just put in a tentative no for Harry dying.

I can see what you mean, but I think Harry is more possible to go than Ginny. This might sound harsh or cold or even downright foolish, but I think Harry will be more affected in the long run, if Ginny was to die and he would survive, something he has constantly been worrying about. I don't doubt that Ginny would grieve or rage if Harry met his demise, but she would have her family (and I cannot possibly see Harry going to get comfort from mrs Weasley after that her daughter died).

Suffice to say, Ginnys death would give Harry yet another scar, one I'm not sure he would be able to heal (but who knows).

I agree that Harry is more likely to die than Ginny. If those two continue to further their feelings for each other, I see three outcomes:

1. Harry and Ginny both live; the Riding off into the Sunset and Happily Ever After Scenario
2. Harry and Ginny both die; Harry is dead but he will be with his parents, Godfather, mentor, and the love of his life
3. Harry dies but Ginny lives; Harry sacrifices himself so that his friends, family, and the wizarding world can live in peace.

I can't see Harry living if Ginny dies. The emotional and mental blow would be far too hard to handle.

I think that Harry's choice will be: Die for this cause, or die wishing I had. There are, unfortunately, good arguments for live and die. I will be heartbroken if he does die, but here are my arguments:
If he dies, it will be a very, VERY dramatic closing to the series. Also, with this huge tradgedy, Jo will most likely make everything else go smoothly. Harry can't die in vain! Then again..."only one can live while the other survives." Does this mean Voldy would live on?
If Harry lives, then he will have had to kill Voldy. The war will be over, and all will be at peace. Period. Unfortunately...What other great characters will perish?

no harry will not die! or else then it would be really really really bad! cause he rox and he must not die!!:no: :no: bye people :rockon: :relax: :drool: :p

To be honest, and I am not sure if anyone has already given this theory (I didn't have the time to really go through all 37 pages of this thread), but I think that both Voldemort AND Harry are going to die.

I don't have any real evidence to back this up, but I just think she would throw that in there. If Voldemort dies, then the entire wizarding world, with the exception of the remaining supporters of Voldemort, will be rejoycing and the world will become a happy place once again. *rolls eyes* Now if Harry dies, then the entire wizarding world, once again with the exception of the remaining supporters of Voldemort, will be mouring.

So I think that by killing them both off, there will be both and it will make for one hell of an ending. But that is just my opinion.

he will die:sad: because didnt jo say she couldnt imagine harry as an adult or it would ruin the plot, but i do not want harry to die

but hasn't jo said that harry will survive book 7 in the interview she did with Emerson and Melissa after HBP release??? Even if she afterwards said she changed her mind about the death of three (?) characters, I've always thought that it won't involve the most general plot and the end she has planned at the beginning...

Well, going by the prophecy, if Harry dies, then Voldemort lives. And if Voldemort dies, then Harry lives. Since this is a childrens book, i would assume the bad guy dies. JK Rowling probably made the prophecy so open like that to create suspense because after six books, fans could easily figure out the end.

but hasn't jo said that harry will survive book 7 in the interview she did with Emerson and Melissa after HBP release???

No, she has never (at least publicly) said that Harry will live or die.

I thought this some days ago. The right interpretation of the prophecy could be:
"Neither (nor Harry or Voldemort) can live, while the other (the other boy, the Not Chosen One, aka Neville) survives".
It isn't highly probable, I know.

I agree with you that that's unlikely, but sure, I guess it's possible. Although since there is no comma between "live" and "while" in the actual prophecy, I think it's probably a bit too...complicated...to be true.

And I'm not sure it's correct in English. I'm Italian and the Italian version of the prophecy is:
"Nessuno dei due può vivere se l'altro sopravvive". I can re-translate the sentence this way: "Neither can live IF the other survives". But it isn't the same, is it? I mean, WHILE and IF aren't synonyms.

The way I think of the prophecy, "Neither can live if the other survives" has almost the same meaning - the only difference is that "while" implies "at the same time", which "if" does not do. (Did any of that make any sense?)

he will die because didnt jo say she couldnt imagine harry as an adult or it would ruin the plot, but i do not want harry to die
When did she say that? :huh:

Harry WILL probably die sometime in book 7. However, not necessarily in the battle with Voldemort. I"m betting on the Epilougue, old age, lots of kids, famous, rich, DIE. The end.
Yeah, but seriously, I think its unlikely that Harry will die in the final battle(Or after for that matter) Just becasue I think he really deserves to finally be done with it, and be able to go lead a semi-normal life without Voldemort. Its the least he deserves.

I really hope the series doesn't turn out this way. Very cliche, not to mention it would offend a large portion of the readers.

i don't know if i'd exactly find it offensive, since she's an author and can do whatever she wants, but i think harry sacrifcing himself in a jesus-ish way would be stupid and a cop out. firstly, it'd be super unoriginal. not only has it been done before, but its been done before in the best know book in the world. i think JKR can think of something more creative and different. also, harry doesn't have to die for him to have lost something, he's already lost his parents, his mentor, and his godfather/father figure.

I have to agree, although, I don't know if it is important to her that people not be offened by the series ending. I do think it would be cliche' and it would be a fairly common way to end what has been a very original series. I recently read the quote that these comments are based on also and I thought at the time *sigh* one more religious allegory. :grumble:
Not that there is anything wrong with allegory...religious or otherwise but it would be a shame to have such a wonderful run of books end in such a commonplace-done-before kind of way.
I spent 5 years picking apart textbooks and now I am rereading a series that I read originally for enjoyment and find I am picking it apart as though it were an homework assignment. It almost takes the fun out of it for me. I do hope it won't end on the level of a lesson the author felt I needed to learn.
Mindless enjoyment is a good thing too.:p

he will die:sad: because didnt jo say she couldnt imagine harry as an adult or it would ruin the plot, but i do not want harry to die

Of course since she is not writing anymore books Harry won't ever get any older than he is at the end of book 7. He will be just one more boy in Neverland with Peter, Christopher Robin, and every other child of fiction that does not grow old in his book. So she doesn't have to picture Harry old all she has to do is not write him old.

well, I'm still sure Jo SOMEWHERE said that Harry will survive book7, a lot of time ago...

Hagrids Wench I would be interested to know your thoughts after your picking it apart exercise on the books as I am too lazy to embark on such an expedition.
My thoughts are that Harry whether living or dying places him in a win-win situation because if he lives he will be those he loves at present but if he dies he will be with thosse he loved in the past (or at least wanted to love) making either situation bearable. However many want him to live and find present love....

Here's what Jo said on August 15th, 2004 at the Edimburgh Book Festival:

In your stories, will Harry Potter ever grow up as a wizard?

Well, I don’t think it is giving too much away to say that he will survive to book seven, mainly because I do not want to be strangled by you lot, but I am not going to say whether he grows any older than that because I have never said that. You are good at putting me on the spot!

Does this mean that Harry was going to survive at the end of book6 or book7???

It means he will at least survive through books 1-6, and still be alive at the start of book 7.

It means he will at least survive through books 1-6, and still be alive at the start of book 7.

ohhh... so my poor english has made me think for 3 years that there will be an happy end... But that's not true!!! I'm really sad now!!!

i think harry will probably survive... he is the "hero" after all..
he may become "the-man-who-survived"...:)

hey if we are to agree that in DH it'll be clear that why some people who die come back as ghosts and why some don't it is quite possible that we get to find this out by experiencing what harry experiences ie he passes the death phase, is given the choice to coming back on earth as ghost or not and so on. Leastways we may only find this out AFTER Harry's death, meaning he does die in DH.
Dont want to believe it though. And you people dont start cursing me after this as it's just a theory.

ohhh... so my poor english has made me think for 3 years that there will be an happy end... But that's not true!!! I'm really sad now!!!
Don't give up hope yet! All it means is that she's not telling the ending. He still might make it through!

ETA: I feel very bad that I took your hope away. Please don't feel that way! I think he will survive too.

well, I'm still sure Jo SOMEWHERE said that Harry will survive book7, a lot of time ago...
I remember her talking about life after Hogwarts as if Harry would have one ... then suddenly remembering and saying "if he survives, that is" or words to that effect!

ohhh... so my poor english has made me think for 3 years that there will be an happy end... But that's not true!!! I'm really sad now!!!
Don't worry! I'm sure he'll survive and we'll have our happy ending!

I don't know. Dying would me the most realistic thing to occur but the fact is as much as I reality tells me Harry shoudl die, I don't want him to die. So I will take it no farther than that because I don't want to go mad trying to decide which I expect to happen.

Here's what Jo said on August 15th, 2004 at the Edimburgh Book Festival:

In your stories, will Harry Potter ever grow up as a wizard?

Well, I don’t think it is giving too much away to say that he will survive to book seven, mainly because I do not want to be strangled by you lot, but I am not going to say whether he grows any older than that because I have never said that. You are good at putting me on the spot!

Does this mean that Harry was going to survive at the end of book6 or book7???

Since JKR always said that she had planned 7 books couldn't this just mean that "duh" of course he is in book 7??? It doesn't mean that he starts off in the 7th and dies does it?

I feel like you Loris, kind of hopeless, I guess. I have actually had moments that I don't know if I am even going to read the last book. Bad enough it is the last of them. To think that she may kill Harry is too much I guess. Too many of these theories seem too probable and they are all unhappy ones. This thread is a depressing place.:no:

First off, Sorry if this has been discussed.

I was reading PS/SS the other day, and noticed something I never noticed before,

Chapter 16, Page 191 British Hardback Edition

"In years to come, Harry would never quite remember how he managed to get through his exams when he half expected Voldemort to come bursting through the door at any moment."

Now it could be nothing but I read and reread this and the more you think about the more it seems to foreshadow the fact that Harry WILL live at the end of Book 7.

First of all, in books 2-6 theres been no mention of him remembering his first year exams, and why would there be? He's much too concerned with Voldemort at the moment to reminisce.

It struck me that thats the sort of subject him, ron and hermione would talk about in the future, when they've left school and Voldemort is dead, it sort of seems the kind of thing you would look back on laugh about with your nearest and dearest.

E.g.

Hermione: "Remember those exams in first year...I was really nervous."
Ron: "Yeah, me too."
Harry: "I remember being preoccupied thinking that Voldemort was going to burst through the door at any moment."

They all laugh.

Granted thats not the best example but you get my meaning, it seems like they would sit around, maybe over a butterbeer, discussing school days.

Just a thought.

Comments? Theories?

I think it can be viewed both way so it doesn't offer specific proof. Certainly if Harry was to die it would not be considered inconsistent with what you just quoted.

J.K Rowling said that there was a character she was going to kill off, but they were going to get a reprieve, I think she was talking about Harry. And I don't think that Harry will die, J.K's much too good with plots, she'll shock us with something original. And if he does die (I HOPE NOT!) She will make it good and he'll die trying!

Wow. Now there's an interesting theory. So basically you're saying that either Harry or Neville will buy it- very "Highlander," that. But where does that leave Voldemort? If survival boils down to Harry or Neville and there's no mention of Voldemort then is LV nullified as a threat?

And no, not a lot of junk at all. Personally I just need a little more clarification on your part and it's a theory I'm willing to entertain. :)

In fact I meant this: Voldemort and Harry will both die, while Neville will survive. But, I repeat, it's just a (hardly) possible theory.
PLEASE, JO, PLEASE SPARE HARRY'S LIFE!
Do you think a "Let Harry live" petition would be of any use?

I don't think JKR could possibly let Harry die. My thoughts are based on the target audience rather than the story itself.

Although read by people of all ages the series is primarily written for children. JKR would have to bear in mind how children would feel if the person they had come to think of as a friend or even someone they aspired to be was killed.

Not to mention that it just isn't done to have the hero die when he has spent his life suffering and making sacrifices. An adult book could get away with it but not a kids book. I'm not sure I'd call it a moral lesson but it reinforces the idea that doing the right thing is best in the long run.

JKR is a Mother herself and I'm sure she will have taken this into account.

I
dont
want
him
to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Although read by people of all ages the series is primarily written for children. JKR would have to bear in mind how children would feel if the person they had come to think of as a friend or even someone they aspired to be was killed.

Not to mention that it just isn't done to have the hero die when he has spent his life suffering and making sacrifices. An adult book could get away with it but not a kids book. I'm not sure I'd call it a moral lesson but it reinforces the idea that doing the right thing is best in the long run.


I tend to agree with you. I mean, Amazon.co.uk has DH in the ages 5-8 category. Can you imagine being that age, and Sirius has died and Dumbledore has died and then Harry too? I'm well past 5 and up, and I'm even considering not reading it, for fear of being utterly traumatized. The only thing I want Harry to die from is old age, only after having lots of kids with Ginny.

I think the 5-8 age rating is horribly wrong. There is just so much more to this book... It easily a teenager book as well, even adult book. It's gotten so much more mature and darker over the years.

I think the 5-8 age rating is horribly wrong. There is just so much more to this book... It easily a teenager book as well, even adult book. It's gotten so much more mature and darker over the years.

I know, I was really surprised. I suppose any kids who started out reading the Philosopher's Stone at age six have matured along with it, but POA was the last of the books that I'd have considered giving to a child of that age.

Originally posted by grumpy7
Do you think a "Let Harry live" petition would be of any use?

I don't think so. JKR will write her own story the way she wants to, not the way her fans want to. Remember the whole 'H/Hr' thing? How some of the H/Hr fans thought that JKR went wrong in the writing of her story (see Emerson's Wall of Shame Special Edition). JKR knew that she would let some fans down by pairing Ron and Hermione, but that didn't stop her. She knew what her characters had been developed to do better than anybody, and she had developed the series in a way that brought Ron and Hermione together. So if Harry is meant to die, he will die, no matter what other people think she should do.

Which is exactly the way I think things should be.

I'd rather have Harry croak than Ron or Hermione. Sorry Harry, but they're just way cooler!:p

Do you think a "Let Harry live" petition would be of any use?
In a word: no.

I think the 5-8 age rating is horribly wrong. There is just so much more to this book... It easily a teenager book as well, even adult book. It's gotten so much more mature and darker over the years.
Are all the books rated that way? I know a (bright) 10 year old who gave up on GoF because it was too dark for her, and I'd say 5 is too young anyway.

J.K Rowling said that there was a character she was going to kill off, but they were going to get a reprieve, I think she was talking about Harry. And I don't think that Harry will die, J.K's much too good with plots, she'll shock us with something original. And if he does die (I HOPE NOT!) She will make it good and he'll die trying!

I don't think she could give Harry a reprieve on a whim, just like she couldn't for Ron or Hermione. He's the main character - it would take an insane amount of reshuffling to bring everything back together again, since she'd already written (at least a draft copy of) the ending. Plus, it's a big choice to make in a series like this, and I think you'd have to stick to your guns if you'd planned it from the start.

I don't think she could give Harry a reprieve on a whim, just like she couldn't for Ron or Hermione. He's the main character - it would take an insane amount of reshuffling to bring everything back together again, since she'd already written (at least a draft copy of) the ending. Plus, it's a big choice to make in a series like this, and I think you'd have to stick to your guns if you'd planned it from the start.

I agree, it was a major character, but she has had the series planned out for over 10 years, there is no reason to change Harry's fate at the end of everything. Harry is also involved in the ending of every book, and each ending is focused on the good in the world, centered on him:
SS:
"Oh, I will," said Harry, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over hi face. "They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home, I'm goin to have alot of fun with Dudley this summer..."
Harry is joyful, even with his return to the Dursleys' house.
CoS:
"Proud?" said Harry. "Are you crazy? All those times I could've died, and I didn't manage it? They'll be furious...." And together they walked back through the gateway to the Muggle World.
Harry is once again joking and in a good mood as the book ends. They are together.
PoA:
And, grinning broadly at the look of horror on Uncle Vernon's face, Harry set off toward the station exit, Hedwig rattling along in front of him, for what looked like a much better summer than the last.
Harry will once again be enjoying himself this summer, with an optimistic attitude.
GoF:
Harry winked at them, turned to Uncle vernon, and followed him silently from the station. There was no point in worrying yet, he told himself, as he got into the back of the Durseleys' car. As Hagrid had said, what would come, would come... and he would have to meet it when it did.
He is not as optimistic, but is not worrying.
Note: Harry had just given his gold to the Weasley twins, another contributor to a happy ending.
OotP:
Harry nodded. He somehow could not find words to tell them what it meant to him, to see them all ranged there, on his side. Instead he smiled, raised a hand in farewell, turned around, and led the way out of the station toward the sunlit street, with Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley hurrying along in his wake.
Harry is now supremely confident, with his 'family' hurrying along 'in his wake'. His pride is expressed.

HBP:
His hand colsed automatically around the fake Horcrux, but in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead for himself, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort he knew would come, whether in a month, in a year, or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermoine.
One last 'golden' day of peace. Once again, he is happy.

All of the books have ended in a happy way, a trend I believe will continue. Harry will most likely live, seeing as how his mood is also the focus of each ending. It seems that this pattern is going to continue. Since the book is from his point of view, except for a few random parts, he will most likely live. I will be happy with either death or life, since there are two different values that can be enforced.

Wow!!!! I actually never thought of the endings of the previous books like that!!!! I always thought Harry would live but now I believe it even more, if that's possible.:p You are right...It has always had a happy ending and why should it change now on the last book??

All of the books have ended in a happy way, a trend I believe will continue. Harry will most likely live, seeing as how his mood is also the focus of each ending. It seems that this pattern is going to continue. Since the book is from his point of view, except for a few random parts, he will most likely live. I will be happy with either death or life, since there are two different values that can be enforced.


Nice! I like the way you replied with the final lines from each book.

I still think he might die at the end, since as you say she's had a plan for many years and won't be changing it now (Edit: and she did say she wouldn't kill Harry off before Book 7). She wrote the final chapter before she finished all the books, after all, so it's conceivable that it might not appear to jibe with the other endings. That's not to say it won't be a happy ending (just not for Harry) but since he will likely be the cause of whatever ending it is, you're right that the pattern will likely continue in focusing on him to the last- the final word is 'scar,' after all.

We shall see! :)

Could Harry's death at Voldemort's hand have been foreshadowed in Book 1?

On page 260 of SS, right after Harry has come back from the Forbidden Forest, he is discussing with Ron and Hermoine his experience. He is telling them about his discussions with the centaurs, in particular Firenze's arguement with Bane.

About halfway down the page, Harry says, "Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me....I suppose that's written in the stars as well."

What if the fact that Voldemort is supposed to kill Harry was indeed written in the stars? McGonagal says that divination is the most imprecise branch of magic, and it seems reasonable that even diviners such as centaurs could have mixed up what the stars were saying, getting the date of Harry's death wrong by 5 or 6 years. This would explain why Bane was so mad; he saw Harry's death at Voldemort's hand in the stars and believed that Firenze had just tampered with the willings of fate, when the stars really said that Voldemort would kill Harry in 5 or 6 more years.

Of course, this is not concrete, but since Rowling rarely gives us concrete evidence, I believe it is a plausible theory.

I've been thinking really hard(no, I did not hurt my self!), and have thought of a very interesting theory. Supposing everyone that Voldemort killed don't really die, but end up in his wand? I find the basis of my theory in HPGOF at Prior Incantantem. Remeber when all the spirits of people Voldemort had killed came out? So the only way to free them would be to break Voldemort's wand, rendering him powerless. Although, I fear for Harry's life a lot. He's too nobale to do the unforgivable curses. I think that he could do it under pressure if he was given good reason to. Such as his friends. If they were in danger.

Another thought is if Harry does die, could Hermione and Ron go back in time using a time turner and save him? They would know exactly what to do because they'd already done it. Yes, I know that in OOTP all the time turners were broken, but what if Dumbledore always kept a spare. "Just in case" as he always put it. Please give me some feedback on what you think of this!

I've been thinking really hard(no, I did not hurt my self!), and have thought of a very interesting theory. Supposing everyone that Voldemort killed don't really die, but end up in his wand? I find the basis of my theory in HPGOF at Prior Incantantem. Remeber when all the spirits of people Voldemort had killed came out? So the only way to free them would be to break Voldemort's wand, rendering him powerless. Although, I fear for Harry's life a lot. He's too nobale to do the unforgivable curses. I think that he could do it under pressure if he was given good reason to. Such as his friends. If they were in danger.

I really think this is an interesting thought. So are you saying that instead of passing into whatever spirit world there is in the Harry potter world that the people he kills are sent into his wand?

I think it is a very good possibility that Harry will die at the end of Deathly Hallows. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that it will be "Avada Kedavra", the end. But it would make a very good emotional ending to the series, establishing Harry as a tragic hero. Although I'm sure all of us would like Harry and Ginny to live happily ever after (except maybe Dean), if in killing Voldemort Harry were to die, the series would end up having a profound message-that sometimes it is necessary to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect those we love.
Here's another thing, and I just thought of this as I was typing: Didn't Dumbledore die to protect Harry, just as his mother did? Wouldn't this give Harry an extra layer of protection, and possibly be the factor that keeps him from dying in the last book?

I also like how you pulled the ending of each book in for comparison. My thoughts on this last quote are opposite of yours though. "one last golden day" to me refers to the end. In all the other endings JKR never referenced and ending and certainly not "one last". I am very sad about it but I really think Harry will die. I am not comfortable with it, but perhaps it will grow on me over time so that when the book finally comes out it wont be such a shock if it does end that way. And, If he doesnt die the ending will be that much sweeter.

What if time travelling occurs in the ending? Maybe Harry lives but he lives again. He becomes "the boy who lived" once again...

I don't believe my idea, but here it is:

Harry gets most of his childhood back, except his parents will still have been murderd by you-know-who. Some other wizarding family will take him instead of the horrible Dursleys (maybe the Weasleys). Voldemort will be vanquished in this new time.
....when Harry goes back to the time where Voldemort's demise was in 1981...it will somehow be impossible for the Dark Lord to rise like he did in the graveyard. The time in the place where Harry goes back to, is still in effect. Meaning it's not like Voldemort was never born. Nor is it like all of what happened to Harry never occurred. Harry Potter will still have memories "as if from another lifetime" of when he defeated Voldemort in his other childhood. But he will become an infant again in this idea.

So in the end, 17-18 yr. old Harry travels back in time differently than the time-turner already in canon (don't ask me how)....becomes a baby again...and the last word is scar because the new baby harry won't have it anymore. I don't know...it's just a crazy idea and I know there is plenty of evidence that it's not true. But if somewhat right...wow! I wouldn't like this though....there will be fanfics on Harry's "new" childhood...

Whatever...the real ending I expect it to be complicated.....

nice idea, but i think a bit too rosy for JK to end with.

I think this is a good idea, but Jo would've introduced the time-turner object alreadyin the series i think. I also think Jo would make the ending less confusing. I like the idea that Harry gets a childhood with the Weasleys but I like the beginning as it is now.

I think this is a good idea, but Jo would've introduced the time-turner object alreadyin the series i think. I also think Jo would make the ending less confusing. I like the idea that Harry gets a childhood with the Weasleys but I like the beginning as it is now.

yeah...I know. I'm not a fan of my theory, but it unnerved when I thought of it while waiting for a bus.

There is another time-turner object very similar to what I'm proposing. That is the bell-jar in the Department of Mysteries. I was going to mention it in my previous post. So, this theory would be using similar magic to the bell jar because Harry would revert back to a baby again...and would grow back into adulthoood, just like the egg that kept hatching, growing up into a hummingbird, and dieing and being born.

The beginning as it is now, would not make sense with this theory. JK would have to explain how these two different planes of existence can exist. One where Harry defeated Voldemort and the other in his new life where there is no longer a prophecy on him to fulfill....because it already was.

the time travel does not have to be done through an object necessarily. Jo might have some other idea that is more abstract. Maybe employing magic like the bell-jar.

For a long time I was sure that Harry himself was a horcrux and would have to die as a sacrifice for everyone else. However there have been many factors that have changed my mind.

1. JK has made it clear she doesn't want Harry portrayed as a 'Christ' figure. Killing yourself in order to allow a new start for the rest of the wizarding population seems a little too close to call on.

2. Voldemort has spent the majority of is time attempting to kill and/or destroy Harry. If Harry were a Horcrux wouldn't Voldy be a bit more careful about where he is sticking his wand, if you know what I mean...

3. The majority of arguments that say Harry is going to be killed off are backed up by JK saying she doesn't want sequels or prequels. JK has enough power to put up a legal firewall type system that can stop any aspiring writers from taking over. Surely she doesnt have to kill Harry to close it off?

3. The majority of arguments that say Harry is going to be killed off are backed up by JK saying she doesn't want sequels or prequels. JK has enough power to put up a legal firewall type system that can stop any aspiring writers from taking over. Surely she doesnt have to kill Harry to close it off?

I definately agree with you. Just because the series is coming to an end does NOT mean that Harry has to die. Even if she wanted to prevent other people from writing sequels/prequels etc., she can definately copyright the material so that no one can.

I get incredibly angry when people use the "well it's the last book" excuse. Where does the support for this rationaliztion come from? Some authors choose to kill off their main characters to make a point. I don't see JKR as one of those authors. Killing Harry would be destroying what the whole series has stood for, and there is just no way JKR would let that happen.

Although it would definately end the series (no chance for sequels without the main character) I don't think JKR will kill Harry.

There is nothing I can say that hasn't been said before, but here is my opinion.

I believe Harry will live, and I'll go so far as to prove myself a crazy fangirl by saying that I plan on reading the end at the store before buying it and if he dies I won't be buying it. First, because I think it's a cop. Second, if I don't read the whole thing then it won't be as hard to pretend it didn't happen when I read fan-fiction. Lastly, I will be able to find out everything that happen on the internet rather than spend money on a book that I won't enjoy finishing. Should Harry be alive then I won't consider myself spoiled in the least, since it's the journey that's important.

That said and to stay on topic, here is why I don't think Harry is going to die, starting with debunking reasons he has to.

1. The 'so there can be no sequels if he dies' reason doesn't hold water. I can't count the number of fics I've seen where Harry dies only to be 'magically' brought back to life. When you are writing a series in a world of magic there are always ways around death. Even if JKR says dead means dead that doesn't mean someone trying to pick up her story would feel the same or respect that. Let's face it, if you steal someone else's work and try to make it your own, you are pretty short on respect to begin with.

2. JKR has made the afterlife a real and appealing place for Harry, what with having his family plus Dumbledore and Sirius waiting for him there to welcome him, and he doesn't fear death, ect... This one is probably the biggest problem for me. I see a huge difference between not fearing death and wanting to die. JKR couldn't let Harry fear death, lest he be just like Voldermort, so in turn she had to set up the afterlife as a place Harry wouldn't be afraid of. She gave her hero concrete proof that when his time comes his family will be there waiting to welcome him. More importantly though is that they will be waiting for him as long as it takes(they're dead- they don't have anywhere else to be), so there is no reason for him to check out without really getting to live first. His parents wouldn't want that for him, especially right after the threat to his life was removed and he would finally really be allowed to live.

3. JKR wants to show the importance/ beauty of sacrifice and Harry will be a tragic hero, ect... Isn't this what she did with Lily? We don't have to have Harry sacrifice his life to know that it can be an expression of the deepest love. That he is willing to should be enough and I believe that it is enough. And in my mind Harry already is a tragic hero. He has suffered and lost and suffered some more, and yet he hasn't given up. Yes, he's had his moments, but he's still out there determined to fight the good fight no matter the cost to himself. Let;s give the kid a break already.

4. Harry is a horocrux (accidental or not) so he has to die to finish off Voldemort. First let me say I don't think he is one, but if I did, I still wouldn't think he had to die. If Harry is one, then he would have to die before Voldemort because canon leads us to believe that the bit in Voldemort has to be destroyed last or else he can come back because of the anchor the remaining bit would provide. So how is Harry supposed to kill Voldemort like the prophesy says he must, if he is already dead? Also I don't believe Harry would have to die to destroy the soul bit in him, is this was the case. The diary was damaged to destroy the soul, but it still existed after and the same was true for the ring. I would go so far to say that if Nagini is a horocrux, there would be a way to remove the soul piece without killing her, only it is easier just to kill a giant poisonous snake and what needs to be done anyway.

Now, why I think he will live.

1. JKR has set up a life for him after Voldemort. It's no secret that I am all for OBHWF. It gives Harry a living family to be a part of and a way to start his own.

2. I don't think killing Harry sends the right message. What is JKR trying to say? You were made an orphan as an infant, mistreated/abused as a child, only to find you are a wizard, but there's a catch, the crazed madman who murdered your parents is trying to come back and kill you and all over something you have no choice about and there is nothing you can do but lay down and die or kill him, so sorry that no matter how hard you fight, how much good you do, or how much you've overcome to be a good person, you don't get to ever really live. Where is the beauty in that, the hope, the good triumphing over evil? Personally, I don't see it, but that's just me.

I also like how you pulled the ending of each book in for comparison. My thoughts on this last quote are opposite of yours though. "one last golden day" to me refers to the end. In all the other endings JKR never referenced and ending and certainly not "one last". I am very sad about it but I really think Harry will die. I am not comfortable with it, but perhaps it will grow on me over time so that when the book finally comes out it wont be such a shock if it does end that way. And, If he doesnt die the ending will be that much sweeter.

I def. thought of that when reading the ending again, but it just seemed to me that this quote was signifying a mindset of Harry, one of determination. One that was more like "I'm ready for this and we're gonna win", not like "o, darn, here we go again." Almost like "the war is officially 'on', cause you just killed DD." I'm not sure though... Another factor for me was the fact that most of us forsee an ending where the evil is vanquished, and the world, with or without Harry, will be semi-peaceful. If she was referring to the end, and no more peace, and not just to the immediate future, then I think she would've found another way to say it.

We will see though.

Although it would definately end the series (no chance for sequels without the main character) I don't think JKR will kill Harry.

Yes, having written the ending many, many years ago, I don't think Jo foresaw the series becoming quite this popular, and so the whole sequiel thing wouldve had no effect on her ending.

I'm just gonna say this, I love these forums, theres not many books out there that you can just jump into a conversation about online. I hope they stay open, even after DH has been out for awhile.

why jk rowling kill off her main character??? i dont think harry will die

why jk rowling kill off her main character??? i dont think harry will die

There are plenty of reasons, as were mentioned on the previous page... I don't think she will, but I would be fine if she did, because it has been a great series, and Jo owes it to herself and to us to finish it how she originally planned to.

I tend to agree with you. I mean, Amazon.co.uk has DH in the ages 5-8 category. Can you imagine being that age, and Sirius has died and Dumbledore has died and then Harry too? I'm well past 5 and up, and I'm even considering not reading it, for fear of being utterly traumatized. The only thing I want Harry to die from is old age, only after having lots of kids with Ginny.

I'm guessing the people at Amazon haven't read any of the other books if they're going to put the age range of 5-8 on it. The books contain swearing and I guess you could say adult themes (well, mentions os snogging).

I don't think JK will kill Harry off, after seven books to have our hero die at the end? It'd almost make the whole thing pointless, if that makes sense.

There's also plenty of reasons why she wouldn't kill off her main character.

I'm guessing the people at Amazon haven't read any of the other books if they're going to put the age range of 5-8 on it. The books contain swearing and I guess you could say adult themes (well, mentions os snogging).

I don't think JK will kill Harry off, after seven books to have our hero die at the end? It'd almost make the whole thing pointless, if that makes sense.

About the amazon.com thing, I think it is simply the vocabulary used, sure some names and magical topics have big names, but the everyday conversation and everything is at that level. The themes though, as you say, are definitely not at that level.

There are plenty of reasons.... see the quote on the previous page by inufan625, covers most of the theories.

theres way too many posts to read them all and i dont know if anyone has touched on this reason for why harry will indeed die so i will...
it comes down to trelawney... constantly she is making revelations that come true if you look through the books.. in book 3 about the grim, the great dog in harrys future...several in book 4, but how about her saying (and forgive me for not putting the page number up here) but how death was drawing nearer, foretelling cedrics death, then of course to the most recent book about her predictions regarding the tragedy on the north tower, dumbledores death...
there is plenty of her predictions that come true throughout the series and jk seems to put some importance on trelawney, or else why would all these instances with her even be in the books? that being said there are many predictions from her regarding harrys death, and once again her predictions will be right..

Yeah but she has only made 2 'real' predictions in her life. From what we've heard McGonagall say, she has predicted the death of a student each year and none of them have dropped dead.

I don't think Harry will die in the book 7 main time line but he may be dead by the end of the book if they go into an epilogue and he died later in life. That wouldn't be so bad for me.

Yeah but she has only made 2 'real' predictions in her life. From what we've heard McGonagall say, she has predicted the death of a student each year and none of them have dropped dead.

I don't think Harry will die in the book 7 main time line but he may be dead by the end of the book if they go into an epilogue and he died later in life. That wouldn't be so bad for me.

See, now I like this idea alot! I don't want Harry to die, especially not at the hands of LV or even in order for LV to die, but if JKR must kill him off I like the idea of doing it in the epilogue. This way we can imagine him having a long happy life with a family and then dying from old age. Okay, maybe too much to ask...but I can still hold out hope. Good post!:tu:

I just want to say that the great literary scholar that JKR is, she has supplied us with many hints and clues as to her finale. I believe our greatest foreshadowing comes from Dumbledore. His life as we know it was a great and glorious life, awfully troubling though it may have been. We know at some point he suffered terribly (as revealed by the effects of the potion in HBP) and that he fought and defeated the greatest dark wizard up to that time. He defeated him, and lived on to tell his tale and teach others his wisdom. I think we would be awfully ignorant if we could not see the obvious parallels between Dumbledore's early life and Harry's. If we look to this, Dumbledore's story of bravado and wisdom and strength we can see Harry's future. I firmly believe that Harry will come out on top and will be there to impart his wisdom on the younger generation, to help them conquor evil should it ever rise again. Harry is destined for more than one battle, I think his life is arranged to be an unending battle against all evil. In this way, he cannot die for with the defeat of Voldemort, his battle, his life quest, will have just begun.

[QUOTE=grumpy7;4447393]I thought this some days ago. The right interpretation of the prophecy could be:
"Neither (nor Harry or Voldemort) can live, while the other (the other boy, the Not Chosen One, aka Neville) survives".
It isn't highly probable, I know. And I'm not sure it's correct in English. I'm Italian and the Italian version of the prophecy is:
QUOTE]


Wow...I never thought of this, and I think its a really good line of reasoning. Even if it doesn't mean Neville, there might be an "other" that we haven't thought of yet. Its a very spinx-like twist to the riddle that I think Jo might just throw in...especially since she's always said she was careful about the wording!

I don't know if this has been said, but if it has, I'm sorry.

I don't think Harry will die simply because Professor Trelawney says that he will. Whenever the Divination teacher is mentioned, so is her undying faith to the fact that she thinks that Harry will die. I, for one, know that Trelawney is a loony when she isn't in one of her trances. If I'm correct, she doesn't say that Harry will die in any of the trances that we have seen. According to the "Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Myseries of Harry Potter" by Galadriel Waters, when JK Rowling reinforces something, she means it. I like to call this technique Rowling Repetition. I've learned that, other than during a trance, Trelawney is a loony. I will be worried if she stops worrying about his lifespan.

I also think Trelawney is somewhat a light relief to the story but with occaisional overtones of seriousness thrown in.

That said we really need to know if the books were intended all along for children or if Jo altered her plotline to grow in age with her main characters.

Perhaps she will make the ending bittersweet with the death of either Ginny, Hermione or Ron. I often wonder who her husband was tallking about when he apparently said of someone she killied off in the story 'not that one'. Was this character one of the ones she killed off in exchange for someone else to live - I wonder.....

1. The 'so there can be no sequels if he dies' reason doesn't hold water. I can't count the number of fics I've seen where Harry dies only to be 'magically' brought back to life. When you are writing a series in a world of magic there are always ways around death. Even if JKR says dead means dead that doesn't mean someone trying to pick up her story would feel the same or respect that. Let's face it, if you steal someone else's work and try to make it your own, you are pretty short on respect to begin with.

:love:

2. JKR has made the afterlife a real and appealing place for Harry, what with having his family plus Dumbledore and Sirius waiting for him there to welcome him, and he doesn't fear death, ect... This one is probably the biggest problem for me. I see a huge difference between not fearing death and wanting to die. JKR couldn't let Harry fear death, lest he be just like Voldermort, so in turn she had to set up the afterlife as a place Harry wouldn't be afraid of. She gave her hero concrete proof that when his time comes his family will be there waiting to welcome him. More importantly though is that they will be waiting for him as long as it takes(they're dead- they don't have anywhere else to be), so there is no reason for him to check out without really getting to live first. His parents wouldn't want that for him, especially right after the threat to his life was removed and he would finally really be allowed to live.

:love: :love:

3. JKR wants to show the importance/ beauty of sacrifice and Harry will be a tragic hero, ect... Isn't this what she did with Lily? We don't have to have Harry sacrifice his life to know that it can be an expression of the deepest love. That he is willing to should be enough and I believe that it is enough. And in my mind Harry already is a tragic hero. He has suffered and lost and suffered some more, and yet he hasn't given up. Yes, he's had his moments, but he's still out there determined to fight the good fight no matter the cost to himself. Let;s give the kid a break already.

:love: :love: :love:

4. Harry is a horocrux (accidental or not) so he has to die to finish off Voldemort. First let me say I don't think he is one, but if I did, I still wouldn't think he had to die. If Harry is one, then he would have to die before Voldemort because canon leads us to believe that the bit in Voldemort has to be destroyed last or else he can come back because of the anchor the remaining bit would provide. So how is Harry supposed to kill Voldemort like the prophesy says he must, if he is already dead? Also I don't believe Harry would have to die to destroy the soul bit in him, is this was the case. The diary was damaged to destroy the soul, but it still existed after and the same was true for the ring. I would go so far to say that if Nagini is a horocrux, there would be a way to remove the soul piece without killing her, only it is easier just to kill a giant poisonous snake and what needs to be done anyway.

:love: :love: :love: :love:

1. JKR has set up a life for him after Voldemort. It's no secret that I am all for OBHWF. It gives Harry a living family to be a part of and a way to start his own.

2. I don't think killing Harry sends the right message. What is JKR trying to say? You were made an orphan as an infant, mistreated/abused as a child, only to find you are a wizard, but there's a catch, the crazed madman who murdered your parents is trying to come back and kill you and all over something you have no choice about and there is nothing you can do but lay down and die or kill him, so sorry that no matter how hard you fight, how much good you do, or how much you've overcome to be a good person, you don't get to ever really live. Where is the beauty in that, the hope, the good triumphing over evil? Personally, I don't see it, but that's just me.

:love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love:
:rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

In other words...yeah. What she said!

I often wonder who her husband was tallking about when he apparently said of someone she killied off in the story 'not that one'. Was this character one of the ones she killed off in exchange for someone else to live - I wonder.....

I'm pretty sure this was Dumbledore, while she was still writing HBP.

I completely agree with inufan625. :) Harry doesn't need to die.

I think this happened after HBP and while writing the last book as I only read about it last year and HBP was already out. No I'm Quie sure it is a character in DH and perhaps it's Hagrid? I doubt it would have been Harry as I think his fate whether alive or dead had already been sealed by Jo long before this.

There is nothing I can say that hasn't been said before, but here is my opinion.

I believe Harry will live, and I'll go so far as to prove myself a crazy fangirl by saying that I plan on reading the end at the store before buying it and if he dies I won't be buying it. First, because I think it's a cop. Second, if I don't read the whole thing then it won't be as hard to pretend it didn't happen when I read fan-fiction. Lastly, I will be able to find out everything that happen on the internet rather than spend money on a book that I won't enjoy finishing. Should Harry be alive then I won't consider myself spoiled in the least, since it's the journey that's important.

That said and to stay on topic, here is why I don't think Harry is going to die, starting with debunking reasons he has to.

1. The 'so there can be no sequels if he dies' reason doesn't hold water. I can't count the number of fics I've seen where Harry dies only to be 'magically' brought back to life. When you are writing a series in a world of magic there are always ways around death. Even if JKR says dead means dead that doesn't mean someone trying to pick up her story would feel the same or respect that. Let's face it, if you steal someone else's work and try to make it your own, you are pretty short on respect to begin with.

2. JKR has made the afterlife a real and appealing place for Harry, what with having his family plus Dumbledore and Sirius waiting for him there to welcome him, and he doesn't fear death, ect... This one is probably the biggest problem for me. I see a huge difference between not fearing death and wanting to die. JKR couldn't let Harry fear death, lest he be just like Voldermort, so in turn she had to set up the afterlife as a place Harry wouldn't be afraid of. She gave her hero concrete proof that when his time comes his family will be there waiting to welcome him. More importantly though is that they will be waiting for him as long as it takes(they're dead- they don't have anywhere else to be), so there is no reason for him to check out without really getting to live first. His parents wouldn't want that for him, especially right after the threat to his life was removed and he would finally really be allowed to live.

3. JKR wants to show the importance/ beauty of sacrifice and Harry will be a tragic hero, ect... Isn't this what she did with Lily? We don't have to have Harry sacrifice his life to know that it can be an expression of the deepest love. That he is willing to should be enough and I believe that it is enough. And in my mind Harry already is a tragic hero. He has suffered and lost and suffered some more, and yet he hasn't given up. Yes, he's had his moments, but he's still out there determined to fight the good fight no matter the cost to himself. Let;s give the kid a break already.

4. Harry is a horocrux (accidental or not) so he has to die to finish off Voldemort. First let me say I don't think he is one, but if I did, I still wouldn't think he had to die. If Harry is one, then he would have to die before Voldemort because canon leads us to believe that the bit in Voldemort has to be destroyed last or else he can come back because of the anchor the remaining bit would provide. So how is Harry supposed to kill Voldemort like the prophesy says he must, if he is already dead? Also I don't believe Harry would have to die to destroy the soul bit in him, is this was the case. The diary was damaged to destroy the soul, but it still existed after and the same was true for the ring. I would go so far to say that if Nagini is a horocrux, there would be a way to remove the soul piece without killing her, only it is easier just to kill a giant poisonous snake and what needs to be done anyway.

Now, why I think he will live.

1. JKR has set up a life for him after Voldemort. It's no secret that I am all for OBHWF. It gives Harry a living family to be a part of and a way to start his own.

2. I don't think killing Harry sends the right message. What is JKR trying to say? You were made an orphan as an infant, mistreated/abused as a child, only to find you are a wizard, but there's a catch, the crazed madman who murdered your parents is trying to come back and kill you and all over something you have no choice about and there is nothing you can do but lay down and die or kill him, so sorry that no matter how hard you fight, how much good you do, or how much you've overcome to be a good person, you don't get to ever really live. Where is the beauty in that, the hope, the good triumphing over evil? Personally, I don't see it, but that's just me.

Completely agree and very nicely put! Harry's sole purpose in life was not to suffer one terrible fate after another. His mother's sacrifice, his father, Sirius and Dumbledore's deaths would be in vain if he meets his end whilst vanquishing Voldemort because the pupose of their deaths was for Harry to live a long and healthy life, something that any parent, guardian and people who care would do. Their deaths would be devoid of meaning if Harry died in the hands of the very person who has been wanting to kill him ever since he was an infant. The depth and the message of the story would be lost if anything like that happens.

NO,
but I think his victory will be tragic.
Ginny and Harry's relationship was only starting to develope at
the end of HBP. We know that Voldemort would use Harry's loved
ones against him.
In the final battle, I would expect that Harry would be on the verge
of being killed when Ginny interferes, being killed as a result. Harry's anger
would then allow him to kill Voldemort.
In OOTP, during the battle at the ministry, Beletrix Lestrange tells Harry that
for an unforgivable curse to work, you really have to mean it.
It is not enough that Har ry is battling the Dark One, but that he truely must be prepared to kill him.

I don't think that Harry would die in a noble way to make sure that the world would be a better place (ie. If he's a Horcrux). That would link him too closely to Jesus dying for our sins, and I don't think that JK Rowling is trying to put that message across. It just doesn't fit with the rest of the story.