Dept. of Mysteries, "Love" room.

[deborahhbbrd]

No: HPFGUIDX 130153

Geoff:
The series doesn't have to end in a lovefest or with gratuitous 
violence which I always see as a copout anyway. I do not believe that 
the books will not end with a saccharin-riding-off-into-the-sunset-with-
swelling-music end.

Deborah:

I really hope Geoff's wrong ... and I don't prefer the
gratuitous-violence ending either; just want a middle way!

I keep on keeping on about the Dark Is Rising books by Susan Cooper;
plenty analogies, plenty differences. May I mention the ending? Please
STOP NOW if you intend reading them ...
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OK, that should do it! The idea is that there are some people -
Merlin, King Arthur, Wayland Smith - and some on the dark side as well
of course who can and do exist throughout time. They combat each
other, combine to meet various threats, recombine later ... and all
over the world, people called Old Ones are aware of and part of this
ongoing struggle. In our time, the final countdown! The last of the
Old Ones is born, and starts to come into his knowledge and power on
his (ahem!) eleventh birthday. He meets various guides  - Merlin, the
Old Lady - and learns about others. His memory is spectacular, his
opponents disappointing frankly. But in the fourth book he meets the
Pendragon, son of Arthur and Guinevere, magically transported into our
time for safety and now coming into his own power. A difficult child,
almost albino, prickly and puzzled and aware of the mysteries in his
past but ignorant of who he is and all the reasons.

So he and the youngest Old One finally team up, succeed in defeating
the bad guys, and then – the world is left to its own devices! All the
magical/supernatural excuses have become empty and invalid, and we
must roll up our actual sleeves and sort out the planet and ourselves.
A very optimistic message! But only possible if the magical characters
withdraw; and they do, they head off to the star which will be their
home - of course, there's more for them to do elsewhere in the
universe as well! The youngest Old One will join them, in his own way,
when he is ready (presumably, when his long life starts to look
suspicious). And the Pendragon? Invited most warmly by his father -
King Arthur, no less - to leave Earth with this most impressive and
delightful set of travelling companions, he chooses to stay. He has
formed 'loving bonds' with his adoptive father, and will voluntarily
forget everything that has happened. And Arthur is proud of him,
though regretful. A real tossed salad of an ending, but it works
brilliantly for me.

I don't' for a moment expect JKR to duplicate someone else's story
line; but I do certainly trust her to be at least as subtle and
imaginative, and not plunge us all into either a Stephen King bout of
violent silliness or a diabetic coma.

Did I mention that I can't wait?