These are my theories, predictions, and expectations regarding the events and revelations in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, to be released on July 21st, 2007. Scroll down for spoilers.
Snape’s Alegiance
One of the most contested issues is also the one that I’m most certain about: the allegiance of Severus Snape. Since the end of the first book, nothing has shaken my belief that Snape is on the good side, a spy against Voldemort and bound to protect Harry. Both characters and readers take his killing Dumbledore as proof positive that he is either loyal to Voldemort or only out for his own benefit. They mistake Dumbledore’s final pleas to be for his own life, when in reality Dumbledore knew of Snape’s vow, and was sacrificing himself to save both Snape and Draco, and enable Snape to continue pretending to be loyal to Voldemort. They misunderstand Snape’s expressed reluctance, assuming that he is reluctant to continue serving Dumbledore. In fact, he is reluctant to take the one action that can ensure that he can continue to serve the cause: to kill the only person in the world who trusts and believes in him. He would rather have let the Unbreakable Vow take his life, but Dumbledore begged him to follow through. It was an act of bravery and loyalty beyond what anyone would expect of a Slytherin.
Take another look at the scene in which Snape makes the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy. Pay close attention to his body language. If he was not loyal to Dumbledore, why would he have hesitated to say “I will”?
I believe that Dumbledore, though admittedly mistaken in some of his choices, could not have been so unshakenly trusting of Snape if there was not some irrefutable proof of his loyalty. That irrefutable proof may be the magic holding him to his life-debt to James Potter, or something else that Dumbledore has not seen fit to divulge.
Whatever the proof, one thing I am certain of beyond any doubt is that it is NOT, as some so-called experts have claimed, that Dumbledore made Snape take an Unbreakable Vow. Such a spell would go against everything Dumbledore believes, and would not fit his character at all. Dumbledore knows that death is not the worst thing that could happen to a person, and therefore knows very well that an Unbreakable Vow is indeed breakable, and not to be trusted. All it takes is for a person’s desire to break the vow to outweigh their desire to continue living, and considering the life Snape has lived, that wouldn’t take much.
Harry’s Allies
While Voldemort gains followers through threats and empty promises, Harry gains allies through kindness and bravery. He gained Hermione’s friendship by helping to save her from a troll. People like Neville and Luna became assets to their side after Harry showed them kindness and acceptance. Dobby became a powerful ally after Harry freed him from the Malfoys, and though he is not magically bound to Harry, has a bond of loyalty and love which is stronger than the magic that tied him to his house as a slave. Therefore, the potential Dobby has to serve the cause against Voldemort is mind-blowing; his elf magic could provide a huge boost to the effort. I do believe that it is Dobby clinging to Harry’s back in the British cover art, weilding Gryffindor’s sword.
Kreacher is another possibility, but because he is unwillingly bound to Harry and too corrupt to trust, he will not be nearly as useful as Dobby.
Another ally yet to join forces with Harry and the Order, but whom I think is inevitably going to help out, is the Brazillian boa constrictor that Harry freed from the zoo before even knowing that he was a wizard. The boa owes a debt to Harry, and the idea of Harry having a giant snake friend to match Voldemort’s Nagini is simply too beautiful to pass up.
I expect a very dramatic entrance for the boa constrictor, probably in a place packed with good wizards, possibly at Bill and Fleur’s wedding. He’ll cause a huge panic by slithering through the crowd straight toward Harry, then rearing up to eye level and addressing his old friend in Parseltongue, which, of course, nobody else will understand. Harry would have to explain to his friends that this is a friendly snake, and not sent by Voldemort.
Keeping up the theme of symmetry between the sides, since Voldemort apparently has giants doing his bidding, I think it's quite natural that Hagrid, Grawp, and Madame Maxime will join in the fight as well. Their presence on the good side might also help to convince a few of the giants to turn against Voldemort before the fight is over.
Harry may also have help from the portrait of Dumbledore that now hangs in the Headmaster’s office, but I think Dumbledore’s posthumous assistance is more likely to come from the pensieve, which Harry will have to use to view his own and other people’s memories in the effort to deduct the wherabouts of the remaining Horcruxes, and the manner of their disposal.
Dumbledore’s influence also lingers in Fawks. His assertion from book 2 that “I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me” still applies, and Fawks will show up at some crucial time when Harry has shown loyalty to the dearly departed headmaster, and his help will be enough to turn the tide of battle.
There is also the matter of Wormtail’s debt to Harry, which he has not shown much intention of paying. However, the magic that binds him to Harry is too strong to ignore, and he will eventually be forced to act against his master.
In addition to these individuals, Harry will of course have Ron and Hermione, the members of the DA and the Order of the Phoenix, and the influences of his parents whether direct or indirect. However, as always, Harry will have to face the final trial alone.
Sectumsempra
Sectumsempra means "cut forever," but the visible effects of the spell (the cuts that appeared on Draco's body when Harry cast it) did not last forever; that effect was immediately negated by Snape's counterspell. Therefore, I doubt those cuts were the entire effect of that spell, and considering the amount of attention payed to the division of souls in that book, I fear sectumsempra might have done some irreparable damage to Draco's soul. Whatever it is, something about Draco was cut that can never be put back together. What this means for him and for the story, I am not sure.
R.A.B.
I have believed ever since hearing the initials that R.A.B. was Regulus Black. The only evidence against it is Sirius Black’s claims that his brother was a coward, and never close enough to Voldemort to be trusted with anything as important as a Horcrux, and frankly, Sirius has never been very good at putting aside his biases in favor of reason. He doesn’t like anyone in his family, so nothing could have convinced him that Regulus would do anything useful for the good side. Whether Regulus is dead or alive is uncertain.
Voldemort’s Powers, and How They Can Be Used Against Him
Since book 2 we have been told that Voldemort transferred some of his powers to Harry during the curse that failed to kill him. The first example was Parseltongue, which Harry has already used to his advantage. But what else was transferred?
During his post-resurection speech to the Death Eaters, Voldemort described what happened after that curse: “Only one power remained to me. I could possess the bodies of others.” (Emphasis mine) This means that the power of possession was one he had before his first defeat, perhaps even inborn like Parseltongue.
He used this power after his resurection to possess Nagini, and also Harry at the end of book 5. The experience was painful to both of them, but because of the Harry’s love of Sirius, Voldemort could not stand it. He was forced to release Harry. What if Voldemort hadn’t been in control, had been unable to terminate their connection to save himself? Such would have been the case if Harry had been the one possessing Voldemort, and if possession was one of the latent abilities transferred to him by the failed curse, then he could use it to finally defeat Voldemort. Of course, possessing his enemy would be incredibly painful to Harry, but he would be strengthened by the thought of the people he loves whom he would be saving, and the very feelings that strengthen Harry will make the experience more excruciating for Voldemort.
The Department of Mysteries
The rooms in the Department of Mysteries correspond to those areas of thought that cannot be known for sure: time, death, thought, love, the cosmos, et cetera. Obviously the room containing time-turners, and the magical bell jar with the hummingbird egg, is where the DoM wizards study time. It was probably after much research in this area that they developed the time-turners themselves.
I believe the room with the tank of brains is where wizards study the phenomenon of human thought and memory; I believe the invention of the Pensieve was a result of this research, just as the time-turner was invented in the Time room. Obviously, coming into contact with thoughts in the Pensieve is not nearly as dangerous as tangling with the “raw” thoughts swimming in the tank; the purpose of the Pensieve is not simply to allow the thoughts to be seen, but to allow them to be seen safely.
Some fans think the final battle between Harry and Voldemort will take place either in the veil room in the DoM, or even in the world behind the veil itself. I won’t rule out the veil room as a possible locale in the last book, but I don’t think it’s likely to be the setting of the climax. I also don’t think Harry will go through the veil at all during the book, as going through the veil means death, death is forever, and Harry will not die prematurely.
Horcruxes
Known horcruxes are the Ring, the Locket, the Cup, and the Diary, and there should be two more. The Ring and the Diary have been destroyed. The Locket may have been destroyed, as claimed in the note from R.A.B., but we don’t know if R.A.B. might have been prevented from carrying out the task. I think the heavy locket that was found in 12 Grimauld Place in the beginning of book 5 is indeed Slytherin’s locket, which Voldemort made into a Horcrux and which was taken from the cave by R.A.B. Whether it’s still a Horcrux is unknown. It may still be at Grimauld Place, or it may have been stolen by Mundungus Fletcher; if the later is true, Harry will have a job trying to track it down.
I think Harry will realize the locket was at Grimauld Place while perusing his own memories of cleaning the house in Dumbledore's pensieve. I think it will take him completely by surprise, like his sudden realization in book 5 that the corridor in his dreams is the Department of Mysteries; it's just a matter of noticing that he's seen the same thing in two different places.
Dumbledore speculated that Nagini is a horcrux. I think it’s possible, though some people think that theory is a red herring. I think either could be true.
As for locations of the horcruxes, there are a lot of important locales in Voldemort’s life that could be good candidates. I'm betting at least one is in Albania, especially after seeing the delux edition US cover. I believe the trio will visit Romania to visit Charlie Weasley and borrow an Antipodian Opaleye Dragon from him, and ride it to Albania where they will find one of the Horcruxes and probably meet Voldemort himself, in the greek-looking collumn-lined arena shown in the US cover (remember, Albania is very close to Greece). Since Bulgaria is in that area too, I'm willing to bet they'll visit Viktor Krum as well.
Who Kills Whom?
That there will be deaths is unquestionable, but whose?
First of all, Voldemort will die, and Harry will live. Ron and Hermione will also live. Of this I am as certain as I am that Snape is on the good side.
I believe one of the Weasley parents will die, and it probably won’t be Molly. I don’t think it’s likely any other Weasleys will die, though all of them are in terrible danger; they’re a huge target for many reasons.
I believe Mad-Eye Moody will be killed by Fenrir Greyback, and that Greyback will be killed as well, possibly by one or more of his victims. I don’t think Remus Lupin would be the one to “pull the trigger,” so to speak, but he could help.
Bellatrix Lestrange will be defeated, not necessarily killed, by Neville.
Dumbledore is dead and will remain dead forever, as is Sirius. People who might not be dead are Regulus Black, Olivander, and Florean Fortescue, whose knowledge of history might be important in the search
What Happens To Them?
I think Harry's definitely being set up to be an Auror. In fact, I'm sure that after all this is over he'll be allowed into the Auror training without finishing his NEWTS; an exception will be made. He might even skip most of the training and go straight into work. I think his involvement with the DA also suggests he has a future as a Hogwarts teacher; maybe after Voldemort's defeated there will be a chance for a DADA teacher to last more than a year.
Hermione's probably an activist at heart, and might even make a full-time gig of SPEW, or else broaden her scope to advocate the rights of all non-humans and part-humans, including Werewolves. I think she and Rita Skeeter might maintain a precarious alliance, and Rita might continue to be Hermione's journalistic contact, making sure the stories she thinks are important reach the press.
Though Neville has in recent times shown his usefulness in battle, I think he will not follow in his father's footsteps and become an auror; the theme in his life seems to be that he must discover himself as distinct from his father, and prove that he is his own person and just as good even if not at the same things. He will continue to study herbology and find his niche there.
I think Ernie MacMillan has a future in politics, and will eventually become Minister of Magic. He would make an excellent peacetime leader.
Other than that, I don't have much of an idea for the future careers of the minor characters.
