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Old July 7th, 2007, 09:49 PM
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Anxious for the Next harry Potter Book!

I know I am late getting to this but here it is - the Harry Potter book thread. When I have time - which means not this week, lol - I have been rereading the last few HP books before the new ones comes along. I thought I had recalled most of the details but there are minor issues you forget. While I know JK Rowling has stated that she believes children need to understand death - and I agree with her there (alas, I work wit kids who face their own mortality and do it with adult sized courage and resilience) - I really wander if Snape actually killed Aldus Dombledore. Yes, Snape did use that awful curse and certainly when you know who used it on Cedric Diggery in the TriWizard tournament, he died but Dumdledore is no ordinary wizard! I know the actor died but these are books first and foremost (I mean, if there can be a new "Derwood" (I know, I know I just prefer to use the mil's name) on Bewitched (the TV show in reruns, not the movie) , there can also be a new Dumbledore. Of course, even if he is dead, he is still there to dispense advice since all the Headmasters and Mistresses are there in the office - even if it is in their portraits. (and I think McG would make a wonderful HeadMistress- anyone who turns into a cat has got to be good, right!)

Someone else has pointed out that no body was seen per se at the funeral - Hagrid brought something wrapped up. So whether in the flesh or not, Dumldeore will be back. There is something about Snape and as much as we learn to see him thru Harry's eyes, I really wonder if he and D had some sort
of plan to fool the evildoers?

So, anyone else have any theories? I do think Harry will become an Auror (He really already has proven he can do the job!) but I wish they;d still have Hogwarts to protect them tho I know it wold not be the same without Dumbedore.

btw, did anyone read today's Globe & Mail - I briefly saw the article that claimed the books are sexist! I think that's ridiculous! They may not be pc but I actually believe she does an excellent parody of a class society and even of some of the issues involving our society post 9/11. Good versus evil and all that. The evildoers rise up and the forces for good take them on. Plus, how can she be sexist - sure, the Headmaster was male but there are some very strong women characters in the book - and in Quittich, players are both male AND female. (unlike say our own major sports - tho I know it is more representative of European football or what we in North America call soccer.)

Anyway - I will be interested to hear what others think!!
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Old July 7th, 2007, 09:55 PM
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I've only read the first 3 books. Started the fourth one that my sister lend me. Read it for an hour , put it on the coffee table and never touched it again. It's hard to get into a book with 3-4 dogs around me , asking for treats , or to go outside, or to play , or to get petted ....
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Old July 7th, 2007, 10:04 PM
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I am going to read over the last book before I get to the new one, so I am hoping to start that within the next week or so. But between my research and work research I find it hard reading anything for fun. I always feel guilty that I should be reading a journal article instead

But I do love reading

Anyways...I find it hard to believe that Dumbledore will really be dead but then again like you said the headmasters portraits remain, so it may not be that big of a deal.

I can't buy into Snape being good in the end. I know that we are getting Harry's feelings, but I just can't buy into it at all. If he do end up turning good, it will take some crazy writing for it to be something that I will enjoy.
I do like the idea of Dumbledore and Snape working out something "behind the scenes" in order to fool Voldemort into thinking that he may have a chance.

I know I am forgetting a lot of things from the last book, so as I reread that one I will probably have more to add
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Old July 7th, 2007, 10:30 PM
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Frenchy, Wikipedia has an overview of all the books and Sparks Notes (sort of today's version of Cole's Notes) has a chapter by chapter synopsis and you do not have to read the entire book if you do not have time.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/harrypotter/

I am not a fan of Snape either but somehow, I think there may be some deal between him and Dumbledore but who knows! I do not like him for all the mean and nasty things he has done or said to harry, Ron, Hermoine and Neville etal.

I asked one of my patients who this morning complained of being bored- she just had a bone marrow transplant so cannot go anywhere, ie not even leave her room just yet - to think up a Harry Potter quiz and maybe we could post it online. Kids have some great ideas - tho they see it in a much more innocent way than we do. I do too much analysis for my own good, lol I really think Rowling is a good satirist in the way she regards society and there is a meaning behind much of her work. Like Hermoine's campaign for the elves (reminds me of slavery - and I have seen the slave trade in women and young girls alive and well in some countries; one woman I know who works to free young women from a life in a brothel "paid off" one fellow only to discover when she returned there a yr later, the girl (maybe 13-14) had returned because it was what she knew and she was addicted to various drugs, sigh!!. The last time, it was her parents who sold her. Eeeeeek!!! For any teacher, it is a great way to discuss slavery in our own past history. And how Dudley and the Dursley's treat Harry is a way to talk about bullying. There are many themes in these books.

I was astounded a few summers ago when a former babysitter of mine came to visit and while I really like her - and she'd had a bit of a tough life herself until she was adopted by friends of my parents - they were her foster parents when she was 15 but they adopted her the next year - she and her new husband have become involved in a fundamentalist religion and she talked of Harry Potter as teaching children about the devil.

I do not agree with that at all but these are her values and I did not want the short visit I had with her to be a debate so I changed the subject. It's sad to see that though - knowing her own children won't have the chance to read the books, unless they sneak around to do it. (Actually, she may be encouraging them to read them all the more!) I have had a few patients who come from that milieu as well so I am just cautious what I say in that instance. But I think the HP books teach valuable lessons to kids and are not that much different that our watching Star Trek and Bewitched or going to magic shows and Halloween - though some of those religions also do not participate in that either. Prob a little darker than Bewitched for sure but you know what I mean!
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Old July 8th, 2007, 02:07 AM
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I've only read the first 3 books. Started the fourth one that my sister lend me. Read it for an hour , put it on the coffee table and never touched it again. It's hard to get into a book with 3-4 dogs around me , asking for treats , or to go outside, or to play , or to get petted ....
I agree with that. One of my neighbours lent me "Marley and Me" to read a couple of weeks ago. I've read maybe three chapters so far.
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Old July 8th, 2007, 08:11 AM
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I can't wait for the next book. I've had it on order for months now. 13 days and counting!!!!!
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Old July 8th, 2007, 09:10 AM
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I can't see Snape being totally evil though....I also believe that Snape killed Dumbledore to have the "Unbreakable Vow" come to pass (ie. its no longer in effect?). I think Snape and Dumbledore do have something going on in the background (along with everyone else it seems ).

I think that maybe Snape's heart is in the right place (on the good side) however his methods are much more abrasive because of the life he has had. He was constantly teased as a kid at Hogwarts by James Potter and from the sounds of it since James was popular chances are he wasn't well liked with the rest of the school. I think he does what he has to to survive, and in the case of Dumbledore's death it would be used as leverage to be more trusted within the Death Eaters (especially since he's been "in Dumbledore's pocket" for 15 years).

I think Dumbledore is dead. The freezing charm put on Harry would only be released by Dumbledore saying as much or his death. Dumbledore would NOT have invested in Horcruxes and unless there is another way to keep yourself alive without splitting your soul....what I WOULD like to know is what happens to Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix. He DID come to Harry's aid in the second book so will he make yet another appearance now that Dumbledore's gone?


mugglenet.com has a list of things Rowling should be revealing in the last book and some bits and pieces that Rowling's mentioned will happen. Has a bunch of other things on there too.

Megan
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Old July 8th, 2007, 06:52 PM
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I know, I've been trying to stay away from the sites that have spoilers tho they are really guessing - unless they have info from a publisher but I doubt it. I too wonder about Fawkes - he has to have some role in the next book - and I do think whether it is through his presence in a picture in what is now McG's office or or some other deal between him and Snape (and yes, Snape had little choice but to agree to that spell but there may be a counter spell to that that we do not know of. After all, Rowling is rather famous for characters not being who they said they are. Like Lockhart's body being used in Book 2 and then Mad Eye Moody spending all that time locked up in HP and the Goblet of Fire. So, is it possible - and I am just thinking and typing out loud here, lol - that the person killed was not really Dumbledore. I also think tho, so many of us do not want him dead that we are trying to find ways to make him come back. It may well be up to Harry to find the horcruxes - and I think he will somehow return to that place Tom Riddle was at when the orphanage took him and others and he had that fake horcrux there - and who has the real one? It seems as tho one is in Ireland and will Seamus help with that? But where are the others?

I too preordered several copies (I want some for the oncology unit as well as for my office.) And I will prob read it as soon as it arrived. (Make no appts- I HAVE to read this book, lol)
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Old July 10th, 2007, 10:52 AM
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i can't wait!! soooo excited and a little sad:sad:
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Old July 10th, 2007, 02:37 PM
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I know, I've been trying to stay away from the sites that have spoilers tho they are really guessing - unless they have info from a publisher but I doubt it.
Ahh well the site I mentioned doesn't HAVE spoilers on it. They have a no spoiler policy (well ok you can't help to have spoilers from the later books if you haven't read them but that's a bit of a no duh!).

So the stuff I've been most interested in were the loose ends that have to be tied up. Stuff that you may have forgotten/are totally off the wall are in there too. No spoilers just "what about Fawkes? Is there a connection between X and Y?" kind of stuff

They've made some arguments about who R.A.B. could be....they've made arguments on Snape being "good" or "evil"....but its all sectioned out

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Old July 10th, 2007, 03:33 PM
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I refuse to read the spoilers but I have read some interesting stuff that sort of leads me to get over my grief and realize Dumbledore really IS dead. Plus, now that I reread the older books, it brings back to me the fact that the former Headmasters can come and go as they like in their portraits. Recall in HP and the Order of Phoenix that at least two of them go to find out what's wrong when Harry has the vision of Mr. Weasley being attacked by a snake. So Minerva will have Dumdledore in his various portraits (surely there will be more of him, one at Hogwarts, one in Sirius' home and elsewhere) so that he can still give advice to harry. Dumbdleore himself states past Headmasters are "honour bound to give service to the present Headmaster of Hogwarts." So, that means he will help Minerva and one assumes, Harry (Page 48 - Cdn edition)

I would like to know what happened to Fawkes though since one of his fathers is in Harry's wand? I do think it interesting that we will learn more of Lilly and her sister (Petunia) - Petunia is not a squib, as someone pointed out but maybe we will discover that she knows magic but is hiding it from her husband? Or maybe she is on the Dark side - how could she have treated Harry so badly and been on the good side? That I am anxious to know! (even if she is a wizard - JK Rowling has said in an interview that we will lean something about her.)

I forgot about that horrible (hem hem) Delores Umbridge. She apparently makes a return in the last book too - presumably as a Ministry official. I was rather hoping we'd seen the last of that - witch!! (Tho witch is too good a word for her. A witch is a good thing in Harry Potter.)

It is unlikely,also on 2nd thought, Harry will become an auror because as Minerva explains to him - it takes 3 years. But he will certainly be acting like one, taking on You Know Who!

I won't repeat any other rumours I have head - I try not to read them and then patients tell me various "stuff" they have heard, sigh! I hope some are wrong and some I hope are correct, lol One of them told me she'd read some good stuff on MuggleNet tho one thing made her sad. I think I am staying away from it, lol

And yesterday - at the dentist - the dental hygienist - who is older than me- said "you know there are only 12 days left before the book is out." -and she is older than me so there, lol Now of course, it is 11!
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Old July 10th, 2007, 03:33 PM
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I know I am late getting to this but here it is - the Harry Potter book thread.
What's it about!!!???

Seriously, haven't touched the books, haven't seen the movies.

I did have a 69 year-old client tell me he's fascinated by the books though.

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Old July 10th, 2007, 03:36 PM
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I am still unsure about Snape - I think there is a case to be made for both opinions. Sometimes, I think he is a double agent - looking out for himself, the rest of the magical world be darned - and others I think he is evil and a spy for V and others again I think he is good but is playing a part for them - yet he certainly hates James Potter and his perspective of James (as seen by harry in Snape's pensive) is not a good one. I wonder what happened to the pensives James and Lilly had if they owned them.

Anyway - I guess we'll know in 11 days plus a few hrs of reading ,lol
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Old July 10th, 2007, 04:28 PM
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The is the confirmed information that JK Rowling's actually gone and said will happen....If you don't want to read it then don't....highlight it to see it.. Again this is CONFIRMED by her...not just speculation

Character Information

* We will find out something "incredibly important" about Lily Potter.
* R.A.B's identity will be revealed.
* We will discover more about Dumbledore's past.
* We will learn with whom Snape's loyalties lie.
* Something will be revealed about Petunia Dursley, although we already know that she is not a Squib.
* Viktor Krum will return (World Book Day, 2004 interview).
* We will see a reappearance of Dolores Umbridge: "It's too much fun to torture her not to have another little bit more before I finish." (MuggleNet/Leaky Interview)
* JKR has said "There is a character who does manage, in desperate circumstances, to do magic quite late in life, but that is very rare..."

Plot Information

* Harry will face Voldemort for the final time.
* Harry will be attempting to find and destroy Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes.
* Harry will return to the Dursleys' during the school vacation, but the magical protection Dumbledore arranged will expire when Harry comes of age on his 17th birthday.
* Harry will go to Godric's Hollow.
* The two-way mirror will make a reappearance.
* Fleur and Bill's wedding will occur.li>
* The fact that Harry "has his mother's eyes" will prove to be an important plot point.
* At least one character will die.

Other

* The last word is expected to be "scar," but may change.
* We will learn the exact reason why some people become ghosts when they die and others do not.
* The final chapter, which has already been written, will detail what happens to the surviving characters.
* There will be no more Quidditch matches


Some of the debunked rumours are amusing though...they've been debunked by either Rowling or her official sources

Character Information

* Dumbledore is really dead. He is not in hiding and is not coming back.
* There will be no character named "Icicle," and JKR said she didn't recall saying there ever would be.
* Dumbledore is not related to Harry
* . Harry is not related to Voldemort, and he is not related to Salazar Slytherin.
* Lily Potter is not alive.
* Lily was not a Death Eater
* Crookshanks is not an Animagus.
* Neville is not Peter Pettigrew's son.
* Remus Lupin does not have a twin brother.
* Petunia is not a Squib.
* Dumbledore is not Harry/Ron from the future.
* Mrs. Norris/Crookshanks is not an Animagus.

Plot Information

* Harry will not become Minister of Magic.
* Peter Pettigrew’s silver hand will not kill Lupin.
* Lupin will not return as a DADA professor.
* The prophecy refers to Harry, and not in any way to Neville.
* The final part of the prophecy does not mean Harry has to kill Neville, or vice versa

Other

* The title of the book will not be "Harry Potter and the Pyramids of Furmat."
* No prequel books (books that take place before Harry's time at Hogwarts) are planned.
* "Keeper of the Keys" has no secret meaning.
* The Sorting Hat is not a horcrux

This part here is all the loose ends that Rowling should be tying up in this book:

http://www.mugglenet.com/books/futur...ooseends.shtml

Some of them are good...
Who is R.A.B.?

Others it doesn't sound like she'd tie up...
Are we going to see the Ford Anglia in the Forbidden Forest again?

Others just seem totally off the wall...
Are we going to see SPEW again? Will the house-elves' rights be improved by the end of the series? And what will become of all of the house-elves that we know so far in the series?

Now WHY oh WHY would that matter? O.o

Megan
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Old July 10th, 2007, 09:44 PM
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I am so impatient for the last book to come out!! My fear is that all the stores will be sold out and I won't be able to get a copy the first day. (Should've pre-ordered a copy!)

I didn't even hear about the books until after the 3rd one was published (guess I was living under a rock. ), when my uncle asked me a question about the books and I said that I hadn't read them, he was shocked and lent me his copies. I've read all the books and seen all the movies so far...I'm seeing the 5th movie this weekend if all goes well. It will be odd to read the last book and have it all be over, and all my questions answered at last!
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Old July 11th, 2007, 10:11 AM
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I am so impatient for the last book to come out!! My fear is that all the stores will be sold out and I won't be able to get a copy the first day. (Should've pre-ordered a copy!)
I wouldn't worry too much about that...the last book that came out there were still a TON on the shelves at the Walmart near my house...I hit the Zellers too and there were still tons there too.

I know that our library in Guelph here has ordered something like 15 copies to put out and I also know that as soon as the craze is over they'll be selling them off for cheap (and usually in good condition).

The other option is to try and see if there's a midnight madness kind of thing going on at your local chapters and fight through those crowds of pyschos in witch hats and costumes for one . Actually I went to one at one point (I had just come out of a movie and noticed Chapters was open past midnight) and it wasn't too too bad . Many many copies still on the shelves.

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Old July 11th, 2007, 11:05 PM
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Alright so how many of us crazy pet people went on opening night to the movie?

I can't go till next week when my parents are willing to shell out the money (well ok to be fair, mom is still away and dad hasn't got the money so we have to wait for her )

Gah I almost went to see it without the 'rents but I figure if its a free ten bucks....lol

Can't wait for the book still.....ooooooh re read the HBP a few weeks ago and I was so disappointed to find out that the next book isn't out till the middle/end of July....I was surprised there was a copy LEFT in the library

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Old July 12th, 2007, 06:20 AM
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I wouldn't go to opening night. Too many people and line ups for me. I am hoping to go next week, depending on the crowds again
I am really looking forward to it though
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Old July 12th, 2007, 01:06 PM
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I am admittedly much more interested in the books than the movies - I downloaded the first one and have yet to see the others tho I did dl them and have them. I just think the books are so much better than the movies- you never get it all from a movie! (and this thread is about the book, )

One of my patients had those comments by JK Rowling dtbmnec so I have heard those rumours - hard to say - I have been rereading the books and I think the one about the Order of the Phoenix holds more clues than the most recent one - except for the info about the Horcruxes. The part about the Prophecy is essential of course - I suspect these first 6 books have been anti climatic to the ending one (I hope, lol) since it will be all out war in the last one. Those dementors are the spookiest things I have read about in a long time (Not sure I want to see them on screen to be honest!) but it will be interesting to put it mildly - am intrigued to see what role petunia will have now that we know she is not a squib???

Anyway - back to work!
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Old July 12th, 2007, 10:42 PM
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I was going to see the movie this weekend...unfortunately I only have $1 in cash. Yeah, 1 dollar. I can't get to the bank until next week....I'm hoping I can convince my friend to buy me a ticket, so I can still see it this weekend.

With the 6th book, my local bookstore ordered tons of copies, and there were plenty left when I got there, I don't know why I'm so worried this time! There is going to be a midnight party at the bookstore I think, but I don't think I could stay up that late.
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Old July 13th, 2007, 01:04 AM
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We actually went to see the movie the first day. Didn`t plan to, but happened to be in the area & there wasn`t much of a line. Empty seats too in the theater we were in. What they left in was done pretty well, but there was so much left out and many scenes just felt too rushed. I guess as a book person I`m never going to be completely happy with a movie adaptation. We are anxiously awaiting the new book here too!
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Old July 13th, 2007, 06:19 AM
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I am admittedly much more interested in the books than the movies - I downloaded the first one and have yet to see the others tho I did dl them and have them. I just think the books are so much better than the movies- you never get it all from a movie! (and this thread is about the book, )
I agree the books have always been so much better than the movie. I guess it was brought up because it is all happening at the same time
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Old July 17th, 2007, 06:05 PM
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I am reading THE book NOW

I am providing chapter one of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (which I managed to obtain a copy of - the manuscript is available in the publishing world after all and Rainforest books people have shared it!.) and I simply could not wait until Satursday so I began reading it as soon as I arrived home.

So if you do not want surprises and want to wait until Saturday, here is chapter one:


I have it in pdf, doc and txt (no .lit for those of you like me who like MS Reader on your Blackberry or Pocket PC)


So be forewarned.....
Major Spoilers Ahead!!!


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Old July 17th, 2007, 06:12 PM
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2000 words of chapter one

Chapter One



Secrets Unraveled



Harry slowly raised his head and stared morosely at the familiar visage
of number four, Privet Drive. What had already been a horrible day was
rapidly getting worse. Not only did he have to appear unannounced on
the Dursleys’ doorstep (something he knew they’d have no problem
expressing their displeasure over), but he’d also have to tell them
that two other freaks would be joining him this afternoon. The corner
of Harry’s mouth twitched humorlessly as he envisioned how they’d take
the news.



He’d left Ron and Hermione at King’s Cross station a little over an
hour ago. They were each going to make quick stops at their respective
homes before Apparating to Privet Drive. Harry smiled fondly,
remembering their show of solidarity. He hadn’t been expecting it; he’d
thought he’d be going on alone. Although he was desperately worried
about them and the remainder of their quest, he had to admit that the
thought of some support while facing his relatives was quite nice
indeed.




Harry had thought it would be better – or at least less embarrassing –
if he arrived at Privet Drive first and prepared his relatives for
their arrival. He’d wanted to get away from the Hogwarts Express and
the other students as quickly as possible…before he ran into Ginny.



Ginny.



Harry quickly shook his head – he couldn’t afford to think about Ginny.
He still didn’t think his resolve was strong enough to hold.



Since he wasn’t yet of age, he’d quickly slipped away without speaking
to any of the crowd at King’s Cross and taken the train to Privet
Drive. The long, hot journey had left him irritable. It didn’t bode
well for the coming reunion. He’d considered just Apparating back from
Hogsmeade to avoid the Hogwarts Express altogether. So what if the
Ministry chucked him out of Hogwarts now? He wasn’t going back, anyway.



Hermione, always the voice of reason, reminded him that there was no
need to give the Ministry an excuse to break his wand, and Harry had to
admit that she had a point.



Rufus Scrimgeour wanted Harry under his control, and Harry wouldn’t put
it past the man to make life difficult in an effort to force Harry to
comply. Harry had no patience for the man or his politicking. Still,
recklessly using underage magic for the sake of mere convenience was a
risk not worth taking.



He hated when Hermione was right.



So, he’d sat in a compartment with Ron and Hermione and tried to ignore
the hole in his heart that Ginny’s absence created. He hadn’t seen her
the entire journey home and wondered which compartment she’d sat on the
train. Neither Ron nor Hermione had asked him where she was, but he’d
caught Hermione staring at him speculatively on several occasions.


Harry had been steadfast in avoiding her gaze. He’d stared out the
window miserably, his thoughts focused on happier days…



Ginny.



Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans and squaring his
shoulders, Harry trudged across the street towards the immaculately
pruned garden of number four, Privet Drive. He’d promised Dumbledore
that he’d return one more time before his birthday, and he intended to
keep that pledge. Harry’s chest tightened as he thought of his
headmaster, but he blinked the moisture from his eyes and continued
forward. This was what Dumbledore had wanted, and this was what he was
going to do.



Still, knowing what he had to do didn’t make doing it any easier. He
wasn’t in the mood to deal with the Dursleys’ nonsense. He had no
patience for their petty bigotry…he had bigger challenges to face. The
days when Vernon Dursley’s purple face could make him cower were long
past. He wondered what he could expect when they opened the door to
find him standing there after his eventful departure last summer.



All in all, he supposed it could be worse. He’d rather face the
Dursleys’ ire than Molly Weasley’s fury when Ron informed her of his
plans to ditch the Burrow this summer and head straight into the war
that she’d been so adamantly attempting to shield him from.



Oh, no, Harry mused, he got off far easier in only having to face the
Dursleys.



He wondered if Ron would have dropped his little bombshell while still
at King’s Cross, or if he would have waited until arriving at the
Burrow. Harry could picture Ron in the kitchen trying to reason with
his mum, and Ginny would be there…



Ginny.



Harry’s heart constricted at the mere thought of her, and he pressed
his eyelids together as if to squeeze her from his thoughts. Everything
had seemed so simple and straightforward in his mind when he’d made his
decision. He couldn’t put Ginny in danger. He’d never survive if he
lost her, too.



But he had something he had to do, and he couldn’t afford any
distractions while he was searching for the Horcruxes. Breaking it off
had been the right thing to do. There was no reason that she should
have to put her life on hold just because he did. It could take years
to find them all.



At the time, it had seemed the perfectly logical thing to do. But now,
away from Hogwarts and facing the unknown…now, nothing was clear. He
didn’t know how he’d be able to function with this pain tearing such a
hole in his heart. He felt as if he were bleeding continually from an
invisible wound.



One thing he did know for certain: she could distract him with a simple
smile, and he couldn’t afford to be distracted. He had too much that he
had to do.




As for what did come next…that’s where Harry faltered. He knew what it
was he had to do, he just wasn’t certain about how to do it. How could
he find the remaining four Horcruxes? Where did he start? And how did
he keep himself – or worse, Ron and Hermione – from suffering the same
fate Dumbledore did when he’d located the last two Horcruxes? Or what
he’d thought was a Horcrux, anyway…



R.A.B. How was he to find R.A.B.? Where did he begin?



The locket, the cup, the snake, and something of Gryffindor or
Ravenclaw…



It seemed hopeless and overwhelming as a whole, so he’d have to start
in pieces and work from there. He fingered the cold, hard metal of the
fake Horcrux that he still kept in his pocket. Harry had found himself
using it as some sort of talisman, holding onto it whenever the stress
started to build. There had to be a way, and he was going to find it.



The first step would be Godric’s Hollow. He wasn’t certain what he
expected to find there, it just seemed important that he go.



Scratch that. The first step would be getting through his last
confinement with the Dursleys, and the sooner he started enduring that,
the sooner he could move forward.



While he’d been lost in thought, Harry’s feet had carried him to the
front door. Taking a deep breath, he tapped the knocker three times.



Here we go.



It took only a few moments before he heard footsteps approaching the
door. It opened slightly, and Aunt Petunia’s horsy face peered through
the crack. He watched as her eyes widened in surprise before the door
swung open wide, and she yanked him inside by the collar of his shirt.



“What are you doing here?” Aunt Petunia demanded, her long neck craning
from side to side to ensure none of the neighbors were out and about
and watching Harry being manhandled by his aunt. “Why are you back here
so soon? Did those freaks at that school of yours finally decide they
didn’t want you either and throw you out? Did you think you could just
show up here unannounced?”



“Hello, Aunt Petunia. It’s nice to see you, too,” Harry said
pleasantly, pulling back from her grip and readjusting his collar. He
spared a quick glance at the parlor, noting that nothing had really
changed, although there were some crumpled sweet wrappers on an end
table, which was unusual for Aunt Petunia.



“Don’t you ‘hello’ me,” his aunt snapped, dragging his attention back
to her aggravated face. “I asked you what you are doing here? Term
still has several weeks remaining.”



Harry shrugged and dropped his gaze to the floor. “We were released
early this year,” he said vaguely, not wanting to discuss Dumbledore’s
death with her quite so soon. He wasn’t ready.




Before she could reply, the kitchen door swung open, and Harry’s cousin
Dudley lumbered into the room. He was even larger than Harry
remembered, and his face looked tired and drawn. His eyes opened wide
with shock upon seeing Harry, and he began gaping like a fish.



“What’s he doing here?” Dudley demanded, pointing a porky finger at
Harry. Harry was pleased to notice the slight tremor in Dudley’s hand.
After years of being the victim of Dudley’s bullying behavior, it was
nice to have the shoe on the other foot, so to speak.



“Hey, Duds,” Harry said, grinning widely. “You’re home from school
early, too. Did they chuck you out?” Harry asked, throwing Aunt
Petunia’s taunt back at his cousin.



Harry was surprised when Dudley ignored Harry completely and turned his
panic-stricken eyes upon his mother. “Thought you’d get him to look me
over, did you? Trying to compare and see if he’s infected me? It’s all
his fault, anyway. You know that. Him and that freak of an old man who
took him the last time – they did this to me. You know they did
something. He threatened you, I heard him.”



“Now, now, Popkin,” Aunt Petunia said soothingly, but Harry couldn’t
help but notice the tremor in her voice. “Don’t get yourself upset. You
know what happens when you get too fussed.”



Dudley’s eyes nearly bulged out of the sockets, and he grasped his
mother’s forearms with enough force to leave red marks. “Mummy! Don’t
let it happen again,” he whimpered.



Aunt Petunia pulled her arm away and began patting Dudley on the back
and cooing softly as she led him into the parlor. Once she sat him on
the couch and calmed him down, she turned back towards Harry. Her eyes
were filled with such intense loathing that Harry found himself taking
a step back involuntarily. What was going on here?



“Sit down and don’t dirty the sofa. I’m going to get Duddy a glass of
lemonade,” she hissed, scurrying from the room. “Don’t upset him.”



Harry looked over at Dudley and furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s got your
knickers in such a twist, Dud?”



“What are you doing here? Did they ask you to come look at me? I won’t
have you or any of your freak friends pawing at me. Don’t think I can’t
get that ruddy thing away from you, and when I do…” Dudley’s face
matched the purple color that Harry usually associated with Uncle
Vernon.



“Take it easy, Dud. You’re going to burst something. Why don’t you tell
me what’s going on here? What is this all about?” Harry asked.



His mind was racing, trying to remember all the details from his last
trip to Privet Drive. It seemed like another lifetime ago. Professor
Dumbledore had been pleasant, even though it was obvious to Harry that
he had been upset by the way that the Dursleys had treated Harry.
Still, he didn’t think that was something the Dursleys would have
picked up. Harry’s comfort and well-being had never been one of their
considerations.




Dudley appeared to be under the impression that Professor Dumbledore
had threatened them, however. How would Dudley’s mind have formed that
idea? Of course, being the bully he was, Dudley probably assumed
everyone was threatening him, since he spent most of his time
threatening others. Still, Harry tried to recall the conversation from
the previous year to work out what had wound up his relatives so much.



Staring at Dudley sitting crouched into himself on the couch brought
Dumbledore’s words back into Harry’s mind. He had said something about
leaving a note for the Dursleys when he’d dropped Harry on their
doorstep all those years ago.



“You did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a son. He
has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. The best
that can be said is that he has at least escaped the appalling damage
you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you.”



Was that what Dudley thought was a threat? How could it be, though?
Another memory arose in Harry’s mind of a Howler sent to Aunt Petunia
after the Dementor attack on Harry and Dudley in the alley before his
fifth year.



“Remember my last.”



The last must have been this same letter. Harry was burning with
curiosity to know exactly what the letter had said. He held little hope
that Aunt Petunia would tell him, however. Why is she so worried about
Dudley being upset, anyway? Not that she ever likes to see her little
popkin upset, Harry thought with a grimace.



Only one thing to do for it, then.



“So what’s this about Professor Dumbledore doing something to you last
time, Duds? Are you sprouting a tail again? I didn’t even see him do
it. Of course, he has no problem with non-verbal spells, so you never
know what he could have been up to,” Harry said casually, forcing down
the painful lump that lodged itself in his throat when speaking as if
Professor Dumbledore were still alive.



Dudley cowered away from Harry and scrambled off the couch faster than
his bulk should have allowed. His hands instinctively searching his
massive behind for, Harry assumed, the return of a pig’s tail. “Stay
away from me! I mean it…you stay away!”



Harry stood up and began walking towards Dudley with a determined
stride. “What’s wrong, Dud? Why are you so skittish all of a sudden?
Lost your nerve, have you? Is this what’s got you acting like such a
little girl?” Harry asked, drawing his wand from his sleeve.



“Put it away,” Dudley screeched, backing into a corner. Harry would
have laughed if it weren’t so pathetic. This was the great git of a
bully who had regularly made Harry’s life a living hell when he was
small?



“I mean it, Potter, put that thing away,” Dudley growled.




“Or what, Dud? What are you going to do?” Harry couldn’t help his
morbid fascination, wondering how far he could push before Dudley would
strike back.



Before Dudley could answer him, however, the vase on the table next to
him started shaking violently. It rattled on the table as it moved
closer to the edge. Harry stared at it in surprise. He really wasn’t
that upset, not about this, anyway. Why was his magic reacting so
strongly?



“Oh, no,” Dudley moaned before the vase flew from the table and went
careening towards Harry’s head.



Harry was so shocked that he never had time to move. The heavy ceramic
vase slammed into the side of his face with enough force to knock him
from his feet. The vase and Harry both landed on the floor with a heavy
thud, the vase shattering in several large chunks.



Alerted by the noise, Aunt Petunia hurried back into the room and
screeched at the destruction. “What have you done?” she spat, stepping
over Harry to retrieve the broken pieces of her vase.



“It happened again, Mummy,” Dudley wailed. “He did it! I know he did.”



Aunt Petunia leapt to her feet and hurried over to Dudley. “There,
there, now, sweetums. Mummy’s here. Everything will be all right. Come
into the kitchen, and I’ll make you a nice snack. I’ll take care of
everything.”



As she ushered Dudley from the room, she turned back towards Harry, who
was still struggling to rise from the floor. “Stay here. I’ll be right
back. I warned you not to upset him,” she hissed, her eyes nearly
glowing with a burning intensity.



Harry groaned as he sat up and put a hand to his throbbing cheekbone.
What is going on here? He pulled himself to his feet unsteadily and
shook his head in an attempt to clear it.



Bad idea.



The entire room swam before his eyes, and he had to grasp the arm of
the couch to remain upright. He tentatively moved his jaw from side to
side, testing how much damage had been done to his face. He didn’t
think anything was broken, but the pain was enough to make him wish for
one of Madam Pomfrey’s potions.



This would be no ordinary stay at Privet Drive.



He’d done accidental magic before, but not in a long time. He didn’t
remember ever hurting himself with it before, either. Something wasn’t
right. He glanced out the window apprehensively, wondering if he’d be
receiving a reprimand from the Ministry.



Great. That’s all I need.




Still, he’d never got them when it had happened when he was younger, so
maybe he’d get by this time, as well. Nothing to do for it; he’d have
to wait and see.



The more pressing matter was what was going on with Dudley. He’d acted
almost as if he’d known what was going to happen. Almost as if…



Aunt Petunia strode back into the room at that moment and sat down
stiffly, glaring at Harry all the while. Harry wasn’t certain what she
expected of him, but followed her lead and sat down at the other end of
the couch, waiting. After a few moments spent in silence, Harry
couldn’t take it anymore.



“What’s happening here, Aunt Petunia?” he asked quietly. “I don’t think
I did that. I think Dudley did. How is that possible?”



“Of course my Dudley didn’t do it. You’re the freak here, not him,” she
snapped, before her face crumpled, and she put her head in her hands.



Harry was thunderstruck and at a loss for what to do. In all the years
that Harry had spent with the Dursleys, she’d never once offered him a
bit of comfort over anything, and he found it strange that he wanted to
comfort her now.



Tentatively, he raised his hand and gradually moved it towards her
before quickly pulling it back again. Twice more he struggled with the
urge to lay his hand on her back in an attempt to calm her. She’d never
taken kindly to his touch before, and he was afraid that anything he
might do would stop her from talking. He wanted answers more than he
wanted to comfort her, so he clenched his fists and fought to remain in
his spot.



Aunt Petunia finally raised her head, and, although her lower lip
trembled, she began to speak. “After you and your headmaster left here
last year, odd things started to happen. These incidents grew more and
more frequent until Dudley was finally asked to leave school. They
suggested he needed counseling. As if we’d ever be able to talk about
any of this. They thought he was acting out and being destructive on
purpose. The nerve of some people.”



Harry’s head was swimming with questions, but he was afraid she’d clam
up if he interrupted, so he just let her continue to ramble.






H




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Last edited by CyberKitten; July 17th, 2007 at 06:15 PM.
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  #25  
Old July 18th, 2007, 06:34 AM
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Thanks for that CK Sounds like it is going to be great
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  #26  
Old July 18th, 2007, 09:44 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hunter's_owner View Post
Thanks for that CK Sounds like it is going to be great
Oh I can't bear to read it.....oh no I couldn't....eep

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Old July 18th, 2007, 11:04 AM
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I have no willpower I just had to go ahead and read
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Old July 18th, 2007, 11:12 AM
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dtbmnec dtbmnec is offline
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Originally Posted by Hunter's_owner View Post
I have no willpower I just had to go ahead and read
LOL its really getting to me....maybe I'll have to stay away from Pets.ca for the next three days LOL

Arg....how frustrating...but I know that if I read it then I'm going to want to read the rest of the book....and that WOULD be unbearable...

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Old July 18th, 2007, 03:30 PM
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I'm late getting into this, but I'm dying to get my hands on that last book.

I'm in the Snape is working for the good guys camp. I totally believe that he and Dumbledore worked out what happened in that tower. Dumbledore was already dying because of the potion he drank in that cave and Snape had to make the Unbreakable Vow in order to keep Bellatix's suspicion off of him. By killing Dumbledore he would seem to be a loyal follower of Voldemort and thus keep him on the inside.

I'm thinking Dumbledore left some kind of clue for Harry to find that states that it was planned.

In the tower, Dumbledore made sure Harry couldn't help him, so basically Snape was able to kill him. And his plea of "Severus, please." That to me is not him begging to be spared, it was him begging Snape to do what they agreed on. Both men are powerful wizards, with Snape being a skilled Legilimense. They could very well have communicated briefly without no one being the wiser.

I'm sorry this is the last book. I don't want it to end, but at the same time, I want to know what happens!
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Old July 19th, 2007, 06:24 AM
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Well I never looked at it quite like that before. Maybe you are right. I kinda hope that you are...but then again, I hate how badly he treats Harry. I am re-reading "Order of the Phoenix" now and I think I hate Snape even more now...

But looking back at things now the way that you are...makes me think that he is going to be a "good guy". It is almost too obvious for him to really be bad
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