Is Snape the next to die?

[Hannah]

No: HPFGUIDX 125545


<librarybookgrl at y...> wrote:

> I've been wondering who JKR will kill off next, since she admitted 
> on her site that she will continue to kill characters off. In GOF 
> when Voldemort is looking around the circle of death eaters, he 
> comes to six empty spaces. He says three died in his service. One 
> was too cowardly to show up (Karakoff, since he fled that night?), 
> one has left forever, he will die of course (Snape, since he left 
to 
> be loyal to Dumbledore), and one at Hogwarts now doing his bidding 
> (Crouch, Jr.). Didn't Hagrid tell Harry that when Voldemort 
decided 
> to kill someone he usually did it, except in the case of Harry? 
> Sure, Snape is spying and has done some working, evidently, to get 
> back in the good graces of Voldy to get the job done, but one 
> wonders, is this possible?

Hannah:  Well, I don't want Snape to die, so I'm biased.  But I do 
think he'll survive until book 7.  He may well die in that book, 
towards the end.  But Snape is an important character, because of 
his antagonistic relationship with Harry.  There isn't really anyone 
else who can take on that function.  Killing him before book 7 would 
seriously affect the balance in that book, in my opinion.  For the 
same reason, I doubt that JKR will kill Ron or Hermione before the 
final book.

As other posters have pointed out, we don't know for sure that 
the 'one who must die' is Snape.  I've heard various theories about 
it being other people, including Fudge and Bagman.  I personally 
think it *is* Snape, and when LV made that commment, he assumed 
Snape had 'left him forever.'  But later that night, Snape returned 
to him, having been sent off by DD in the hospital wing scene, armed 
with his excuse for how he convinced DD that he was a spy/ how he 
convinced DD to lie for him.  Thus LV forgave him (no doubt 
influenced by the usefulness of having a supporter working at 
Hogwarts) and changed his mind about killing him. 

Thus I think that Snape is relatively safe for now.  Until book 7.

Hannah