NEW THREAD STARTED, WITH SPOILERS. Harry Potter VII [Merged Threads]

[rnin02]

Personally, I would have to call in sick to work. NO WAY could I work with all the answers sitting right there, but I couldn't look at it!!! No way. Of course, I'm also the person who found all of her christmas presents one year, opened them, and then rewrapped them. Kudos to you if you can resist temptation!

[bucky at disney]

Oh how hard that would be!

Out of sight...out of mind - probably a good idea to hide them somewhere - never know when someone else's spying eyes may get an idea.

[SBETigg]

Oh goodness, how to resist that temptation? But you do have a cool job, to get to be there with all those books- heaven! Except when the new Potter comes in, maybe. Best wishes in resisting.

[PirateLover]

I thought librarians were able to open the boxes ahead of time to catalog, but obv can not read themselves or display them.

[ncscgirl2005]

Oh my!! I would not like to be in your position right now! Do whatever you have to do to restrain yourself. DO NOT READ THE BOOK AHEAD OF TIME! I'm just as anxious as the next person but pleaassee don't do it!

Who ever mentioned the part about calling in sick is right on the money. I think thats what I would have to do!!!!!

[ncscgirl2005]

Personally, I would have to call in sick to work. NO WAY could I work with all the answers sitting right there, but I couldn't look at it!!! No way. Of course, I'm also the person who found all of her christmas presents one year, opened them, and then rewrapped them. Kudos to you if you can resist temptation!

Great Idea! That's what I would have to do too.

[DisneyDog]

I suppose we are going to have to open it up for cataloging. The first day for circulation is Saturday. Neither our cataloger or I will be here on Saturday, so I'm not quite sure how this will work, but it does have to be processed and ready to go out on that day.

[BrerSchultzy]

Before you open the boxes, make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN about the release laws your library had to sign to get the books in. It is entirely possible that you cannot open the boxes until Saturday at 12:01 AM.

I have worked for most of the major bookstore chains, and whenever a Harry Potter book would be released, we'd have them sitting in their boxes, wrapped up good and tight...with a sign from Hyperion that said "These boxes are eligible for inspection from Hyperion Agents. Any violation of Release rights will result in forfeiture of inventory". No kidding. And we actually had agents come into our store three times for Half Blood Prince.

So resist. And make sure you're allowed to open the boxes at all. If neither of you will be there Saturday, it is possible that Hyperion will say you can't open the boxes until Monday. They're crazy like that.

[BrerSchultzy]

Before you open the boxes, make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN about the release laws your library had to sign to get the books in. It is entirely possible that you cannot open the boxes until Saturday at 12:01 AM.

I have worked for most of the major bookstore chains, and whenever a Harry Potter book would be released, we'd have them sitting in their boxes, wrapped up good and tight...with a sign from Hyperion that said "These boxes are eligible for inspection from Hyperion Agents. Any violation of Release rights will result in forfeiture of inventory". No kidding. And we actually had agents come into our store three times for Half Blood Prince.

So resist. And make sure you're allowed to open the boxes at all. If neither of you will be there Saturday, it is possible that Hyperion will say you can't open the boxes until Monday. They're crazy like that.

[motherhamv]

Anyone else watching the time until book 7 comes out? I heard this morning that 2 more characters die in the last book. The anticipation is overwhelming!!

[PharmD]

I have mine preodered and have been waiting since about 2 days after the last book came out. I can't stand much longer I might explode.

[ncscgirl2005]

I have mine preodered and have been waiting since about 2 days after the last book came out. I can't stand much longer I might explode.

Gosh tell me about it. I can't stand it any longer. The days are DRAGGING by ever so slowly. I swore it was Thursday two days ago. I am going to a release party by my house on Friday night. I figured I might as well go seeing as how this will be the last release party ever!

[daparish]

I have a horrible memory and don't remeber half as much about the books as all of you so I decided last night to reread all the books. I know I will not be finished by Saturday. What are my chances of finishing the books without finding out the ending to the last book?

[MsMin]

I have a horrible memory and don't remeber half as much about the books as all of you so I decided last night to reread all the books. I know I will not be finished by Saturday. What are my chances of finishing the books without finding out the ending to the last book?

Turn off your TV, don't look at any news type websites and avoid the paper! We did discuss avoiding any spoilers on here until ten days after the release.

[conorsmom2000]

I have a horrible memory and don't remeber half as much about the books as all of you so I decided last night to reread all the books. I know I will not be finished by Saturday. What are my chances of finishing the books without finding out the ending to the last book?

Good luck, it won't be easy. You need to start turning off the tv and the internet now - there are too many leaks as it is, and even copies of the book that have been shipped. The worst, to me, is certain media outlets have already posted reviews of the book, which they were able to buy at a bookstore - so, even the newspaper is not safe. There are many who seem to think it's fun to spoil this for the rest.

[ncscgirl2005]

I have a horrible memory and don't remeber half as much about the books as all of you so I decided last night to reread all the books. I know I will not be finished by Saturday. What are my chances of finishing the books without finding out the ending to the last book?

Oh my dear. I am with the other posters, turn your TV off and stay away from other forms of media. That may be hard to do but that's the only way.

I actually thought about not reading the book until two weeks after it's release so I can finish my summer semester (I'm behind as it is already thanks to this thread ) but I decided against that because I didn't want to hear the ending. I am almost POSITIVE will reach me in one form or another so I'd rather read it for myself. Good Luck to You!

[daparish]

I will let you all know how it goes. I planned on reading all weekend but my niece and nephew just called and asked to spend the weekend so there goes that idea. I am only half way through the first book.

[pshokie]

Seeing as to how we are in the final hours and thoeries are slow coming (mostly because I think all of us are a little gun shy of any true spoilers right now...), I have one last post to make.

Since this is now a twice merged thread, I will apologize to those of you who have not read all 90+ posts. I am going to make direct references to things in this post that I referred to earlier (saves me from retyping).

I just wanted to go on record, one last time with my predictions, simply so folks like ncscgirl2005, conorsmom2000, MsMin, etc., can sit back, mock and openly laugh at my horrible divination skills.

For those who do not know, I have been posting crazy theories on this thread for a while. I have no inside knowledge, so all I have are guesses. I feel some are close to the mark, so I have been treating them like spoilers, even though I could be competely wrong.
So without further ado...spoiler font mode, just for you MsMin!

[Highlight to read]
[*] Harry, or rather Harry's Scar, is a Horcrux. Dumbledore LIED to Harry about Nagini for one simple reason: it forces Harry to go after and destroy the other 3 horcruxes before even attempting to go for Nagini. By the time he has completed the destruction of the 3, he will have "figured it out". He will then, in true Harry fashion, run around like a crazed chicken, flying by the seat of his pants, trusting his intincts and removing the horcrux by a last minute realization of what he needs to do (ala destroying Quirrel, the Dairy, etc.). For more on this, see my earlier commentary.

[*] Thus, the last four horcruxes are: Harry;'s Scar, Slytherin's Locket, Hufflepuff's Cup, and I reluctantly have to agree with Ravenclaws Wand. It just seems to "formulaic" to me to follow the Tarot cards that closely. And that makes me think it is something else.....My personal favorite thoery regarding this.....The Mirror of Erised. Why?, well that gets us to...

[*] The Horcruxes are located in the following places:

[*] Slytherin's Locket - is currently in Kreacher possesion at #12 Grimauld place (see earlier commentary)

[*] Hufflepuff Cup - is currently located in the trophy room at Hogwarts. It is hidden the best way possible, right in plain sight. Ron Weasly will know where it is (once he recalls having to polish every trophy in the room back in year 2)

[*] Harry's scar is located.....I'll just stop there.

[*] Ravenclaw's Wand - is currently in the possession of one Neville Longbottom. It was the last wand sold by Olivander before he disappeared. Olivander had it, knew what it was, and passed it onto Neville in order to "get it close" to Harry. I'll get to the Mirror of Erised shortly...

[*] Some might be saying right now, that's too easy! Yes it is. And that is the point. Per my earlier posted quote of JKR, Harry has been everywhere he needs to go, except Godrics Hollow. So we have seen all of the locations for (and I am guessing we have actually seen) all of the horcruxes. So all together..."Well, if the Cup is at Hogwarts, and the Wand was with Olivander/Neville, and the Locket at #12 - all places Dumbldore has been, why didn't he just destory them?" Easy - Harry still needs to do some "learning/training". Think about it this way, which two did Dumbldore find and which one did he destroy? He found the Ring and fuax-locket, and destroyed the ring. Why? Cause there is no way one this planet that you, I or any else would beleive JKR if Harry found those on his own. Pure and simple. We (not Harry) needed Dumbledore to find those. It makes the task seem harder, plus it is believeable that Dumbledore could find those on his own. Harry? Yeah right!

[*]So based on the fact that Dumbledore is leaving "tasks" for Harry to complete his training (Boy that's sounds Star Warsy - I feel like Vader...) he would leave those that Harry "knows" but has not yet realized......which leaves me to....

[*] The Mirror of Erised. Think about it? What would you, I or anyone else see if they looked into the mirror? I know, I know, our hearts deepest desire. But Seriously, some of us would see mounds of ice cream, or a Disney Dream Fast Pass, etc. Point is, we would see our subconscious desires. Harry now knows that he can "control what he sees" in the mirror. And when he stands in front of it what will he think? I want to know where the "last two" horcruxes are.....And he will see himself in the mirror. Brilliant, eh? Okay, maybe I lost some of you, try a different approach..... What would LV see? Himself all powerfull and immortal! Well, isn't that what a horcrux is supposed to ensure? And what better object to make a horcrux of than the very object that lets you see your self as immortal? Nice little peotry there, don't you think?

[*]On to other things, Snape is probably on the up and up ( covered in earlier post) but I hold out sadistic hope that he is in fact out for himself. Why do I say this? The prohecy. If you have the time, re-read both chapters (from OOTP and HBP) where the prophecy is discussed by Dumbledore and Trelawny (respectively), their stories don't match. Trelawny, who has no memory when making predictions, remember's Snape entering the room! But per Dumbledore, "a death eater" only heard the first part of the prophecy before he was thrown out. Per Trelawny, he was still in the building, in fact he and Aberforth had just started scuffling when the prophecy was OVER. SO think about this, what do Harry, Snape, and LV all have in common? 1/2 bloods. Outcasts. Resourceful, Ambitous, Troubled/no family, even catchy nicknames! Point being, Snape could have only told LV the first part, because he knows he whole thing, He knows this is the only way to bring down LV and become the new "big bad around town". So he sets it in motion. All to "make" Harry, and bring downLV. Once that is done, he turns on Harry. Yowsa. Of course, this is all bull, Snape is realy in love with Lily and regreted telling LV about the prophecy, and it killed the one person who showed him "love" and he is remorseful, and yada yada...He is on the good side. But Wouldn't it be cool if he wasn't?!?!!?

[*] The Prohpecy - Two things about it. (1) it uses the word "vanquish" when the Dark Lord is specifically referenced, but (2) "kill" when the terms "either/neither/other" are used. Huh? There are 2 parts to the prophecy. The first tells of who will vanquish the Dark Lord (Harry). Now how will Harry vanquish him? If there was ever a controversial theory out there that I believe 99.9% this is it. Harry cannot use "Dark Magic" against LV. He just can't "do it". Conversly, there is one spell, which rquires a power the Dark Lord knows not, and therefor cannot cast.....The Patronus Charm. Love will save the day......Basically, at the climax, LV and Harry will be standing toe to toe, but be it because of other people, or just the sheer level of magic used in their encounter, something will call forth.....the dementors. Harry can repell them. LV can control them....or can he? what exactly do dementors do? Specifically with a dementors kiss? Yep, they **** the SOUL out of a person. Right now you are thinking, "Sucking souls???? wait a minute...." More over, what happens to the person who has there soul sucked? They walk the earth for the rest of their days, a mere shell, empty without soul. Completely mortal. Waiting to die. It is called "worse than death" in the books. Sounds like LV's worst nighmare to me! Best of all, Harry does not have to kill him, so his soul stays in tact. So back to the "kill" part.....
[*] "either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives" People have beentrying to unravel this ever since JKR said this was worded very, VERY carefuly. Yet, in the novels, she keeps writing that this simply means either Harry or LV must kill each other. I say, bank on her comment, not the writing. This phrase specifically leaves out the "Dark Lord" reference, and here is why - to mislead us. The either/neither refers to 2 people, the other refers to a third person. How I see it playing out, using names instead of either/neither/other: "either (Harry or Snape) must die at the hand of the other (LV), for neither (Harry or Snape) can live while the other (LV) survives". Bascially, at the "moment of truth", LV must kill either Snape or Harry in order for LV to be vanquished. Because of the prophecy and the "mark", this means Snape must die at the hands of LV in order to give Harry the opportunity to vanquish LV. If he does not, then Harry does not get this chance, LV lives to fight another day. And then given time, LV can seek them out individsually, where he can kill them both.
[*] I will not go on and predict who will live and who wil die save this - Snape will die in order to help Harry fulfill the prophecy, Harry will survive. And when you close the cover, LV will be alive, soul-less and walking the earth like Cain in Kung Fu thanks to the dementors, but alive none the less.
[*] Frank Longbottom was the "other person" at Godric's Hollow, that night all those years ago (see earlier post.) But to add to that, I have a funny feeling that he was not alone, but Alice and Neville were there also. Something about Neville's faulty memory...
[*] Lastly, I will not go into it here, because this is already waaay to long. But I did mention in an ealier post, so I must comment. There is a spy in the Order. And her name is Professor McGonnigal. For a complete and thorough explaination, refer to the Mugglenet Editorial: "Who else but McGonnigal?"


That is all I will bore you with. Happy reading, and I will see you all back here on August 1 ready to rip me to shreds!!

And sorry for the typos, this was too long to fix them all...

[BrerSchultzy]

When I started this thread, I had no idea we'd have so many experts on the topic...though I should have known, considering how smart everyone here is.

Pshokie and conorsmom...thank you. Very much. You have somehow made me EVEN MORE EXCITED to read this book.

It will be interesting to see which guesses are accurate, and, more importantly, which ones are wrong, but still may have made the book better.

anyway, to reiterate

NO POSTING SPOILERS ABOUT THE ACTUAL BOOK FOR 10 DAYS AFTER ITS RELEASE

That means stuff that is ACTUALLY in the book...feel free to pontificate further on any of the theories that have been bandied about, so long as you haven't read the book yet.

Thanks again everyone (especially those of you that have researched this to its fullest...and you know who you are)

31 hours to go!

[conorsmom2000]

Pshokie and conorsmom...thank you. Very much. You have somehow made me EVEN MORE EXCITED to read this book.

It's been a pleasure - I love discussing the Harry Potter world! I hope everyone enjoys book 7 and if you are going to any midnight release party, have a blast! I will be attending one at a Barnes and Noble, with my sister, my 13 year old niece and the children of two friends, who are both 13. (Mike and Conor will come for a little bit as well). I can't wait and I hope it's a lot of fun.

When it comes time to discuss the book, maybe the Water Cooler mods could put a Spoiler Warning in the title (if the old thread is used)? This way anyone who opens this thread knows they will be doing so at their own risk?

I can't wait to get my hands on this book!! And I can't wait to hear what everyone has to say when the 10 days are up!!