Potterstakes

Published 12 July 07 03:58 PM

In the spirit of the Popestakes, I bring you Potterstakes! JK Rowling has proclaimed that two important characters die in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (released in 9 more sleeps, or so my Dymocks bookmark says): who will they be? Nominate your picks for dead characters below, and I will award the winner with chocolate!

My picks are:

1. Dumbledore (back from the dead, then dead again)

2. Neville Longbottom (though I hope not, I like Neville)

(I would like Lindt creme brulee chocolate) 

by Karen.Hall
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# Tama said on July 12, 2007 4:18 PM:

1. Hermione (saving Ron)

2. Hagrid (defending, if not saving, Harry)

# Sanna said on July 13, 2007 12:44 PM:

1. Snape (having redeemed himself to the good side)

(nooooooooooooooooo!)

2. Molly Weasley

(Logic: the whole family can't be left unscathed at the end. The older brothers have either suffered enough or are too peripheral, the twins can't die because that would be repeating history a bit too much, Ginny has already had her near-death experience, as has Arthur. Gut feeling tells me one of the core trio would have to go, i.e. Ron, although more people depend on Molly and her death would be felt more. And because the Ginny/Harry pairing has been split up for now, I don't think the same would happen to Ron/Hermione. So I say Molly Weasley dies.)

Ferrero Rocher, please.

***

Don't worry Karen: Neville won't die - he'll avenge his parents in an epic battle, regain his confidence and eventually become Professor of Herbology.

Ron becomes a househusband while Hermione goes and makes a great career for herself (perhaps as a research witch?), eventually becoming Minister of Magic.

Harry and Ginny will marry, have a couple of kids, but the marriage goes sour once Ginny realises Harry has taken to the bottle because he can't handle not being famous anymore. He doesn't spend enough time with their kids, Neville becomes a surrogate father figure and eventually Ginny leaves Harry for him. Harry finally pulls himself together when their teenage daughter gets knocked up by Draco, so he has to confront his childhood enemy and come to terms with being an adult.

Oh yes, I spent far too much time thinking about this.

# Karen.Hall said on July 13, 2007 2:21 PM:

You spent too much time... do you want to hear my elaborate justifications for why other people aren't on my list?

Harry can't die - far too obvious - and I agree with you on him not handling life post-school and fame; if I was writing the books, Voldemort wouldn't die either, as the sheer density of magic used to keep bringing him back can't all be erased - instead he can be transfigured into a rock and apparated deep into the earth's core; Snape - I think the redemption narrative needs him to live (and I agree with your cheer-squading for Snape nookie in book 7) and ditto Draco, who I think will also be redeemed; Molly could die - I agree that it would be dramatically interesting - and I think one of the twins might too (I'm not counting them as major enough for my list); if Hermione dies I'll be really annoyed (killing off female characters when they start being heroic being one of my rant buttons) and I think she should combine being Minister of Magic and Muggle PM. Okay stopping now and backing away from the computer...

# Sanna said on July 13, 2007 2:41 PM:

Oooh, I like the Magic/Muggle double portfolio! I think we've just solved what it would take for me to watch Question Time!

The one thing that really bothered me about the Potterverse was that all the grown-ups seemed to have married their high school sweethearts, like there was no great character-building experience beyond Hogwarts. Did they not meet new people at university, or their first jobs? And isn't it convenient they all ended up having children at the same time (oh look we're friends 'cause our parents were friends at school and we're enemies with that guy because his dad didn't like my dad and we can't possibly like that teacher because he may have fancied my mother thirty years ago)?

The twins won't die - one of them has already mentioned (I think) a Muggle girl in a magic shop. Cue more babies.

Do witches and wizards who shack up with Muggles end up having marital problems if their children don't have magical powers?

# Karen.Hall said on July 13, 2007 5:00 PM:

"The twins won't die - one of them has already mentioned (I think) a Muggle girl in a magic shop. Cue more babies."

Bringing out pictures of the sweetheart at home is never a good move in a war story! Cue ominous but moving music right now :)

# Sanna said on July 13, 2007 6:36 PM:

Good point. :-) Still, I can't see it happening - the joke shop boys? Come on. It would be like saying "sure, we defeated evil, but there is no more happiness in the world, either, so suck that, mankind".

# Tama said on July 23, 2007 7:33 AM:

No cookie for me, it seems.

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About Karen.Hall

I've recently submitted my PhD thesis, titled 'Discovering the Lost Race Story: Writing Science Fiction, Writing Temporality', for examination. In the meantime, I'm teaching in the discipline of Communication Studies at UWA and starting a new project on medievalism and media through a Whitfeld Fellowship.