loose ends to tie up in HP 7

[carin_in_oh]

No: HPFGUIDX 136144

Just some comments and additions to Allie's and Inge's lists, since
I've been making a tally of my own. 

Allie's list (excerpted), with comments:

>  **  Find and destroy ALL the Horcruxes (if Harry does find them, how 
> on earth is he going to learn how to destroy them when you can't 
> even find in the entire Hogwarts library what they even are??), find 
> and destroy Voldemort!

Carin adds: The number of remaining Horcruxes was something that really worried me at 
the end of HBP, but my working theory is that the reason JKR left four to be destroyed is 
that would allow the trio plus Ginny each to be instrumental in figuring out and knocking 
off one of them, rather the way the HRH's special talents came into play in solving the 
puzzles in PS/SS.

>  **  Who's the person to learn magic late in life?

>  **  Droobles Best Blowing Gum wrappers?  Do the Longbottoms 
>  recover?  Does Neville find the way?

My sense from JKR's recent Leaky/Mugglenet interview was that this isa dead-end, 
plotwise.

>  **  Dumbledore's portrait - I don't think it will be able to give 
>  Harry any useful advice, but I'm sure he will try to speak with it 
>  anyway.

Carin: I can imagine a short but poignant scene early in the next book with MM talks to 
DD's portrait.

And Inge's additions:
> 
> ** Use of Metamorphmagus-skill? Otherwise, what a waste...

Carin: Relatedly, I am not at all persuaded that we've had a full and accurate accounting of 
what was up with Tonks this year. Changing Patronuses ought to be a lot more serious 
than Lupin makes out, especially if uniquely-identifiable Patronuses are such an important 
security feature of the Order's communication system.

Finally, Carin's additions to the to-be-resolved list:

** Will Harry really not return to Hogwarts? (Actually, I'm fully
prepared for him not to, because I think the Hogwarts routines are pretty well played out.)
** Will the Order have a regular meeting place? For that matter, will we see it operating in 
an Order-ly way again?
** What's up with Scrimgeour?
** How will Wormtail and his life debt to Harry play out?
** Are we going to have a positive ID of Aberforth in the book, apart from JKR's  
confirmation in interview that he's the barman?
** There are issues around the use of dark spells and unforgivable curses by not-wholly-
evil characters. Draco's failure with the AK keeps the problem in the front of our minds as 
we leave HBP. I was puzzled, too, that Harry's use of Sectumsempra was treated rather 
casually - that is, it's used as a plot device in making the association between Snape and 
HBP, but the implications are not explored. I'm going to have to think more about this on a 
re-read.
** Ginny is due to do some really spectacular magic (well beyond the
bat-bogey level).
** And of course, that ol' gleam o' triumph. As Herself has said, "That's still enormously 
significant. And let's face it, I haven't told you that much is enormously significant, so you  
can let your imaginations run free there."

Carin