[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Just wondering...

[P. Alexis Nguyen]

> I think Harry will make it through the
> end of book 7. I don't think Hermione will though. I have no basis for
> that other than my gut feeling.

Interesting.  That may be one of the very few times I've heard someone
predicting Hermione's death without connecting it to something.
Hm...not Ron? :)

Anyway, I'm not that invested in Harry's death/ending, only in Book 7
being a good book.  If JKR writes it well enough, I'll accept any
ending she chooses; death can be an incredibly powerful, yet not
necessarily tragic, ending.  Unfortunately, I don't really foresee
Book 7 being great, especially if HBP or her recent oblique comment
about character deaths were indicators, so I'm generally hoping for a
happy ending - I can take a trite happy ending while trite sad endings
just make me think the author is pathetic.

Moreover, speaking as a writer, I think that, when you're as invested
in a creation like JKR is in Harry, it would be terribly difficult to
kill him off without incredible reasons.  I have yet seen any truly
solid arguments for killing Harry.  (Personally, the argument of
killing Harry off to prevent fans whining for another book holds no
merit for me.  That kind of reasoning denotes someone who is not a
true writer, and I would personally donate my HP books to the nearest
Salvation Army if JKR follows that line of reasoning to write a sad
ending, and really, killing Harry doesn't mean fans won't ask for
another book.  So far, I haven't encountered that many people
interested in an 8th HP book; when dealing with that world, they all
seem to want books on other characters or something like History Of
Hogwarts.)

Those are my two cents, in any case.  Back to laundry and lurkdom with me!

~Ali