Deathly Hallows - Guesses

[WayneLigon]

Probable
Voldemort perishes, probably at Harry's hand.

Neville or Harry dies; whichever doesn't die goes on to Auror Training.

McGonnagle becomes Headmistress of Hogwarts.

Hermione and Ron declare they love each other.

Ron's Dad becomes Minister of Magic

The Ministry is shown to have a much larger and darker hand in events than has been shown so far.

Harry makes some kind of peace with Snape, or Snape comes to respect him in some fashion. Or Harry blows his head off. If not, Snape becomes the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Epilog:
Eventually, Hermione and Ron marry and have a passle of Ronlets. Ron succeeds his father as Minister of Magic after having been Head of Muggle Affairs.

Hermione goes on to become a teacher and researcher, eventually succeeding McGonnagle as Headmistress.

Improbable
Voldemort dies at Harry's hand, Harry becomes a Muggle since all of his power came from his connection to Voldemort, and so has to have his mind wiped of all the events he's been a part to. Or, he's given some special position at the Department of Muggle Affairs.

Very Improbable
Voldemort dies. Harry and Neville and Hermione die defeating him with Snape's 'help'; he destroys them along with his master.

The Ministry shows it's hand as a pawn of Voldemort and installs Snape as Headmaster at Hogwarts.

Snape straightens his tie, hides the lighting bolt scar at his throat, him having absorbed all of Voldemorts power (and Voldemort actually lives on through him).

Cracktastic
Voldemort switches bodies with Harry at the last instant, living on in Harry's body. He destroys Ron and Neville and Hermione and makes the Dursley's hang themselves whilst declaring 'It's all for you, Harry!'. He seduces Draco and makes him a Death-Eater slave.


Neville destroys Harry in a spectacular battle atop Big Ben. He kicks Harry's blackened corpse over the edge with a final 'suck it, bee-yatch' as he breaks Harry's wand and goes to report to the Minister of Magic that both

threats to the Realm have finally been dealt with.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Cracktastic
Voldemort switches bodies with Harry at the last instant...

But.. Wha....

So what happened to the “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” ending?

 

[Randolpho]

Harry makes some kind of peace with Snape, or Snape comes to respect him in some fashion.

Ever since the pensive scene in Order of the Phoenix, I've been expecting this to happen. *Willing* it to happen. I have been foiled twice. Third time's' charm?

Still, the more I think about it, the more I think maybe not. Snape has always been a tragic character... I think he will end up dead, and only after he's dead (either by Harry's hand or by some noble sacrifice he makes) will Harry discover (perhaps from Dumbledore's journal or Headmaster portrait) that Snape was acting on Dumbledore's request when he killed him. If Harry never discovers this he will simply never forgive Snape.

In the unlikely event that Snape lives, he would *have* to go to jail -- he *did* off Dumbledore, after all. Good or bad, he's in over his head.

Ultimately, however, I think the peace or understanding between former enemies will be between Harry and Draco. Harry will not forget that Draco couldn't kill Dumbledore, and I think that, more than anything, will lead to truce between them.


Regarding horcruxes, Harry is definitely *not* a horcrux. He was the death that would have *made* a horcrux, not the horcrux himself.


I will be very surprised indeed if Harry dies. With the exception of one or two introductory scenes per book, the entire series takes place from Harry's point of view. It never jumps to Ron and his thoughts, or Hermione's -- it's always centered on Harry. How would she go about describing Harry's death?

No, more likely, it's Ginny that dies.


A few "ultimate" fates:

Harry: Defeats Voldemort, but at what cost! He never marries after the death of Ginny, and in fact disappears for more than a decade after the events of Deathly Gallows. It takes him a *long* time to get over her death. But... he eventually accepts it, and asks Headmistress McGonagall for a job as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Eventually he becomes Headmaster himself, living longer and happier (if that's possible) than Dumbledore.

Ron: Marries Hermione, but they have a very rocky relationship, and Victor Krum comes up more than once in their arguments. Flunks out of Auror training, but eventually becomes a famous Quidditch player (MVP of the Chudley Cannons), leading them to their first league championship in a hundred years, and eventually to the World Cup.

Hermione: Marries Ron, but rocky relationship, blah, blah blah. She takes SPEW one step further and works as a lobbyist for magical creature's rights, becoming a defacto ambassador between the ministry and elves, goblins, centaurs, and numerous other magical yet sentient creatures.

Draco: Becomes Minister of Magic.

 

[Chimera]

Reading some of that last bit, I'm thinking that maybe, if one of the students has to die, that it will be Draco Malfoy.

Think about what a disappointment he's got to be to his father. A failure and a weakling to Dad and the Dark Lord.

No turn to the good side possible in his eyes, because he'd be a total outcast and enemy to his extended family.

But if he dies...

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Stephen Colbert, on the Colbert Report, has a copy. He said it turns out Hermione is a Dude. But he may have been fibbing.

 

[Randolpho]

Stephen Colbert, on the Colbert Report, has a copy. He said it turns out Hermione is a Dude. But he may have been fibbing.

He would never do that!

 

[Raven Crowking]

Harry wakes up and it was all a dream.........

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Stephen Colbert, on the Colbert Report, has a copy. He said it turns out Hermione is a Dude. But he may have been fibbing.

You take that back! You take that back RIGHT NOW!

Colbert would NEVER EVER FIB!

 

[billd91]

My speculative reader senses are tingling...

I think Ollivander, the wand maker, will play a role in the next book. Remember that he has disappeared. My bet is that Voldemort has 'commissioned' him to make a new wand so Harry can't do that priori incantatem trick again. I'm also thinking that Ollivander might also make another brother wand secretly and try to find a way to get it out to Harry. That might be a good role for Draco Malfoy.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

My speculative reader senses are tingling...

I think Ollivander, the wand maker, will play a role in the next book. Remember that he has disappeared. My bet is that Voldemort has 'commissioned' him to make a new wand so Harry can't do that priori incantatem trick again. I'm also thinking that Ollivander might also make another brother wand secretly and try to find a way to get it out to Harry. That might be a good role for Draco Malfoy.

That's a very good idea.

There's no actual support for it, other than the "he went missing" thing, but that doesn't hurt it at all.

Brad