Will Harry Potter Die?

Well, the wait is nearly over. In one month, the final Harry Potter book will be delivered to my doorstep, and I will finally know how the series concludes. I am really, really excited. I can guarantee that I will drop everything I'm doing to read that book as soon as I get it. Dishes will go neglected, my phone will be unanswered, and I'll probably forget to eat.

The rest of the world seems similarly excited. Many questions are being tossed around on the hundreds, probably thousands, of forums that are discussing this final book--Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Will Harry go back to Hogwarts? Who is R.A.B., the mysterious wizard who destroyed the Horcrux that Harry found the night Dumbledore died? Is Snape really evil, or is he part of a bigger plan for overall good?

The biggest questions, however, surround the question of who is going to die in this final installment. Rowling herself has said that two main characters will die in Deathly Hallows; fans of the series are beside themselves, wanting to know if Harry is one of these two. Rowling made a comment that added further fuel to the fire, saying, "I can completely understand, however, the mentality of an author who thinks, 'Well, I'm gonna kill them off because that means there can be no non-author-written sequels. So it will end with me, and after I'm dead and gone they won't be able to bring back the character'." I can certainly understand her sentiment--poor Margaret Mitchell is probably still rolling over in her grave because of the atrocious sequel to Gone with the Wind called Scarlett. But Rowling hasn't gone so far as to say whether or not Harry actual dies.

The general consensus seems to be that he will--British bookie William Hill has stopped taking bets on the question, since so many people have bet that Harry will die, that it would be like giving money away. Apparently, he is now taking bets on who will kill Harry.

As I suggested earlier on this blog, I don't agree with these people. I think Harry will live. I think Voldemort will die. And I'm more sure about the latter than the former. I'm 100% sure that Voldemort has to die, otherwise...well, otherwise the whole series will be about the ultimate triumph of evil over good. And that would undermine so much of what Rowling has included in her novels about how love is the most powerful kind of magic, that Voldemort has never understood love, and that Dumbledore will always be around for those who need him. Rowling has been building up to the ultimate triumph of good over evil throughout the entire series, and if she were to let Voldemort live, that would undermine the logical sense of the series.

I'm slightly less sure that Harry will live. Some people think that Harry is the final Horcrux, and that in order to destroy Voldemort, Harry will have to destroy himself first. This would be an interesting parallel to the first book, in which Ron uses the queen's sacrifice in the giant chess game, allowing Harry to get through to the Sorcerer's Stone and Voldemort. Although this time, Ron (or Hermione) would probably be the one who would defeat Voldemort. I think this theory has possibilities, but I'm pretty sure that Voldemort would want to make sure that he had all his Horcruxes firmly in place before going to kill "the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord." Also, I really don't want Harry to die. And I think that Rowling knows this--not about me personally, but about her readers. I'm not saying she'll sell out to her readers, but I wouldn't be surprised if the question of "What will happen if I kill off Harry?" crossed her mind while writing, and played into her ultimate decision.

I have several ideas of who the second person is who will end up dying. Snape seems like a good bet, since his death could be what ultimately shows his loyalty to the Order and to Dumbledore. I think there's still a lot we don't know about Snape--including why Dumbledore trusted him; Harry's explanation of this at the end of book 7 just doesn't hold water. His death for a greater cause--either good or evil--would help clear up these questions.

I also think that one of Harry's close friends could be the second major death. The reason this option seems the most likely is because it would allow the series to end on an ambiguously positive note without Harry dying. For example, if Ron were to sacrifice himself to save Harry, this would create all sorts of complicated emotions on Harry's part that would be in line with the developing emotional complexity of the series.

Regardless of what happens, I am extremely interested to see how Rowling resolves the series. I would love for an unequivocally happy ending, but I think that will be very difficult to pull off given the way each book develops the theme that Harry is a wizard set apart, a wizard with a terrible past and an uncertain future. Certainly, the book could just end with Voldemort and Draco dying, and nothing happening to the "good" side, but that wouldn't ring true with the world Rowling has created, in which both sides of the battle suffer losses. But on the other hand, she can't go too far in the other direction either, since, like I mentioned above, that wouldn't follow the logical progression of the rest of the series.

So, what do you all think? Does Harry die? How will the series end?