lest we forget

July 31st is Harry Potter's birthday.

Some predictions:

1. Harry won't die. We'll know this before the book actually comes out, because the Rowling machine will be as prone to press leaks as Skywalker Ranch by that point.
2. Dumbledore will die, though I don't stand by this predicton because Dumbledore is always the one who provides The Explanation at the End of the Book that makes all the preceding events meaningful. However, if Rowling is following the Campbellian monomyth paradigm, then Dumbledore's got to go: the wisdom-figure whom the hero meets early on is always left behind or surpassed or lost in some way as part of the hero's coming into his own.
3. The Air Marshal's conjecture that Mr. Malfoy might turn against Draco will prove correct.
4. Hagrid won't die. Some of his pets might, though, such as Fang. So might his half-brother, Grawp.
5. Ron and Hermione will finally hook up.
6. Snape will die. I wonder if we're not seeing hints that he's being set up to be something of a tragic figure.
7. The giant squid will play a crucial role in Book 6 or 7.
8. Neville Longbottom will have his revenge, but it's likely that it'll happen inadvertently.
9. At least one Weasley family member will die. At a guess-- Percy, the expendable one who's disowned the family. Unless he's being set up for some soppy forgiveness-and-reconciliation scene. (Or, possibly, it'll be one of the parents who buys the farm.)
10. None of the above predictions will come true.

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