Speculation abounds whether Harry Potter will live through J.K. Rowling’s seventh, and final, book in the spell-binding series.
According to Jim Dale, the voice for Harry in the US audio books, J.K. Rowling is sick of Harry and wants to kill him off.
I just saw the film-version of The Goblet of Fire (Book 4) last weekend with my daughter, and was nonplussed with the numerous discrepancies between the book and the film. (What the hell is Barty Crouch, Jr. doing in the Riddle mansion at the beginning of the film?! What about Mrs. Crouch’s involvement in helping her son escape from Azkaban? What about Madame Maxime and Hagrid’s shared ancestry, which is certainly relevant in the next book? And — HELLOOOO???? — What happened to Dobby and Winky!?? )
Frankly, even if Rowling kills Harry off in the next book, I’d be surprised if that made it to film.
Tuesday, December 6th, 2005, 4:44 pm | 
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December 6, 2005 at 10:02 pm
I’ve never been able to get into reading the Harry Potter books… but if I had – I’m quite sure I would not have liked the movies at all. Very few movies live up to the books they are based on. Then again I’m a “reader” as in… if there is a book and I’ve read it… the book is more real to me than the movie. I can’t think of a single exception to this.
December 6, 2005 at 10:07 pm
Harry who?
December 6, 2005 at 10:40 pm
I’m pretty sure that what will happen is that Harry will endup being the new Headmaster of Hogwarts. What remains to be seen is whether or not Harry will also live happily-ever-after with Hermione.
That’s what both our 13-year-old daughter, (the TeenWonk), and the WifeWonk thinks.
December 6, 2005 at 11:10 pm
My wife thinks Harry will win, but have to lose his magic powers in the process. Hermione ends up w/ Ron EdWonk!!! Ginny gets Harry!
December 6, 2005 at 11:28 pm
In the end Neville Longbottom defeats Voldemort, after a huge battle between Voldemort and Harry.
Harry becomes the defence against the dark arts instructor at Hogwarts.
Harry and Ginny couple, along with Ron and Hermione.
December 7, 2005 at 6:26 am
What I really enjoyed about the first two films was the distinct lack of obvious discrepancies. With the third it wasn’t so much discrepancies but rather not enough time to put everything into the film, understandable seeing as the books have progressively gotten longer (until this latest fiasco in print). This last one though, was as you said, “numerous discrepancies between the book and the film.” Quite a shame after such an excellent effort in the preceding films. My husband has countered my disappointment with his theory of when cuts in the story have to be made for the length of the film, they had to set up the whole Mad Eye Moody switch by creating the discrepancies. I counter that with the fact that I believe that Harry Potter fans are every bit as rabid as LOTR fans and would pay to sit through a three hour film in just as many numbers, if not more.
December 7, 2005 at 9:54 am
Will Harry come out of the closet???? Will Harriett defend Hermione from Voldemort. Will the feckless Ron survive to vanquish evil and be the only choice for Hermione??? Hmmmmm. Twisted endings are the best.
December 7, 2005 at 2:51 pm
**possible spoilers if you haven’t read book 6…**
Actually, having finished book 6, I think that Harry is a goner at the end of book 7. There’s a lot of speculation about what the final Horcrux is, and neither Dumbledore or Harry are able to come up with it. But think about it…if you’re the most powerful wizard in the world and very fond of living (to the point of killing other people to ensure you don’t kick the bucket any time soon), what better place to put something ensuring you live than in your mortal enemy?
I think the reason the bad guys haven’t been able to kill Harry is that the Dark Lord is playing his own game, which he hasn’t bothered telling any of his followers. He hasn’t killed Harry because he can’t…he hasn’t done it because he doesn’t really want to.
That’s my conspiracy theory, anyway. Sorry I couldn’t work in aliens or Large Mysterious Corporations.
December 7, 2005 at 3:25 pm
**MORE SPOILERS ON BOOK 7***
I agree that Harry is the final Horcrux.
I also think Dumbledore is still alive, and that in Book 7 when he asks Snape “Severus, please…” right before Snape appears to have killed him was actually a plea to Snape to follow through with a plan the two of them had already agreed upon. (Specifically, to fake Dumbledore’s death so the Headmaster would be free to operate against Voldemort in secret.) Remember, Dumbledore’s last line to Harry in Goblet gives a hint to whether Snape really killed him. As he told Harry, “The time is coming when people have to decide between doing what’s right and doing what’s easy.” If we assume that Snape’s redemption from the Death Eaters was valid, then what’s harder for him but to let everyone believe him to be evil — and to have killed Dumbledore — when, in fact, he did not.
Harry as Headmaster someday? I hadn’t given it much thought, although I do see him as the Defense Against Dark Arts Prof. If he is, indeed, the final Horcrux, I wonder whether he’d continue to have some taint from Voldemort even after the Dark Lord’s death?
I also think Harry will wind up with Ginny (anyone else notice the striking resemblence between Ginny and Harry’s mom???, and that Hermione will wind up with Ron.
I like Bob’s idea about Neville Longbottom ultimately defeating Voldemort. What poetic justice that would be! Were that to happen, I see Neville as being a perfect Minister of Magic down the road.
Most of all, I agree wholeheartedly with Chelle… Potter fans would’ve sat through a 3-hour Goblet if that’s what it took to stay true to the book.
I, for one, practically “see” the movie in my head as I read the books these days, which makes it all the more frustrating to sit through the real movie and see how much got left out.
December 8, 2005 at 9:35 am
I have to disagree with you on Dumbledore, Kate, for two reasons:
1) As we’re told over and over ad nauseum in every book, Harry’s the only person ever to have survived the Killing Curse. Mind you, I’m sure somebody as clever as Dumbledore could have figured out a counter, but he’s the type of guy that’d share it with everybody, not keep it to himself.
2) Snape swore an Unbreakable Vow at the beginning of Book 6 to kill Dumbledore if Draco failed. Once sworn, as we’re told, you break it, you buy…er..the farm, so to speak. Snape is last seen scurrying off into the woods with Draco…so….
I figured Harry’d end up with Ginny in Book 2, to tell you the truth. He saves her life, then she’s totally in the background for most of the rest of the series?
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December 6, 2005 at 11:51 pm