Predictions WAS Re: [HPforGrownups] Book from Black's house/Good?Draco

[Katherine Coble]

No: HPFGUIDX 129687


On May 29, 2005, at 12:05 PM, B.G. wrote:

> I've read OOP a couple of times but it took listening to an audio CD
>  to bring my attention to a little clue (perhaps).  I tend to skim
>  paragraphs sometimes - one just cannot afford to do this with HP
>  books.  When they are cleaning the Black House, Sirus used a book to
>  swat a creature off of Harry.  This book was titled, "Nature's
>  Nobility:  A Wizardry Genealogy".  Why would JKR mention the title? 


K:  First, let me apologize....I've been lurking so long I didn't  
remember we were to keep our posts to 3 a day.  So, I'll try to fit  
everything into this one.

I think JKR mentions the book, because IMHO I think that it is key to  
one of the points of the story.   I think that these books are very  
populist in nature, and designed to point out the flaws in the current  
class system in Britain through the use of allegory.   These books are  
VERY Anglo-Saxon/Celtic in nature and very anti-Norman.

1.  All of the "good" guys have strong Anglo-Saxon or Celtic names.    
Potter, Longbottom, Granger, Weasly, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid,  
Finnegan, Thomas, etc.

2.  Most of the bad guys have very Norman/French names:  Malfoy,  
LeStrange, even Umbridge is from an old French word.   When Tom Riddle  
decides to step over the line to evil, the first thing he does is  
change is Anglo-Saxon name to a Norman French name (Voldemort).

In the history of the British Isles, there is a long tradition of a  
class system, which for the last 1000 years has been dominated by the  
peerage established by the Norman French, leading to a class system  
whereby your everyday folks are the Anglo/saxon/celts and the nobility  
are the normans.

I think in her own way, as at least a side motivation, JKR is  
advocating an equalization of people based on merit and discarding old  
forms and traditions.   The whole Pureblood view, backed up by things  
such as this book @ 12 Grimmauld Place, is to be viewed as both  
antiquated and barbaric.  She speaks to this time and again, no more so  
than in _Fantastic Beasts_, where there is a lot of prattle from the  
books "author" about the painstaking classification system established  
by the wizards.   They basically stepped into this extant world and  
decided to put everyone in their place.

[as an aside note, I take great pride in the Centaurs who basically  
said "up yours" and refused to take part in the ridiculous  
classification rituals.  Further, as a 3rd generation Welsh American  I  
love that Jim Dale portrays the Centaurs as Welsh.]

I do think that the actual STRUCTURE of the story is taken from other  
mythic and religious texts.  However, I think that the ultimate point  
is for Harry to abolish the class system and unite the WW.   Call it  
GhandiPotter if you want.

As far as my educated guesses about upcoming mechanics:

1. Who will be the most major character to die?

I still would like to see DD hang on till book 7, but I have to admit  
that I think it is probable that he will die in this book.   That's the  
only reason I can think of that JKR had DD's confrontation with V at  
the end of book 5.   Although I also think that Hagrid may die in this  
book, and that Grawp (G-d forbid) will take his place as the token  
Giant.

2.  Who Is the Half-Blood Prince?

Well, I think it is Godric Gryffindor, strictly speaking.   I DO think  
that Harry is the heir of Gryffindor, much in the same vein as Salazar  
Slytherin being the Pureblood Prince, but Tom Riddle being his heir.    
I had been thinking the Dean Thomas route, but as I'm convalescing and  
re-reading some material I'm lead to agree with tinglinger that if Dean  
were that important she wouldn't have footnoted his history for us on  
the webpage.

I also think that's the answer to why Voldemort expressly wanted to  
kill James and Harry but didn't feel it necessary to mess with Lily.    
Voldemort _knew_ that he had to eliminate Gryffindor's heirs, the  
remaining 2 being James and Harry Potter.

3. What is Lily's big secret?

Pretty much her entire backstory.   I don't know if there is one big  
secret, as opposed to just vast amounts of unknown about her.   All we  
basically know is that she is Lily Evans, (yeah, good Welsh name!) of  
muggle birth.  She has green eyes and a sacrificing spirit.  And at  
some point she had her boyfriend over to her familiy's house where her  
jealous sister overheard talk of Azkaban.

I think we'll find out that she's basically sacrificial in nature.    
She's the Theotokos of the story, if you'll pardon my use of that word  
in an analogous form.  She's the mother of the sacrificial redeemer,  
who is Harry.   We'll hear many more examples of her good nature over  
the next 2 books--her stepping in to help Snape was only the second of  
many.

4.  Who will be the new DADA teacher?

I really think it will be someone we haven't met yet but who is an  
Auror.  Dumbledore knows that they need to take it to the next level  
with the war on.

5.  With whom will Harry have a romantic relationship?

Ultimately he will end up with Ginny.   I've read too many romantic  
books to know that when a little girl has a big crush on a boy they go  
through stages:  1.  Longing and Admiration (PS/SS and CoS)  2.  
Acceptance and other people (Goblet of Fire)  3. Friendship (OotP) 4.  
Irritation (I predict this is what we'll get in Book 5.  A lot of  
Elizabeth and Darcy-esque bickering)  5.  True love and  
happily-ever-after.

JKR thinks highly enough of Jane Austen that I'd be surprised if this  
relationship isn't purely Austenian.

I think that maybe the Harry-romance of this book will be the  
flirtatious bickering with Ginny.

6.  Who will be the Minister of Magic

Amos Diggory or Susan Bones.   I hope it's Susan Bones because I don't  
want to see a long drawnout plot of how Harry thinks that the new MoM  
hates him because he got his son killed.   I fear that plot, though.   
It would go with the religious allegory.   ("How can you be the  
redeemer if you couldn't save my son?" )

7. What is the topic of the US cover illlustration?

I have to go with Penseive.  I think that this is illustrating DD  
showing Harry the execution of his parents, hence the long-awaited  
Godric's Hollow chapter and the furtherance of the explaination that  
Harry is the heir of Gryffindor.

8.  Will Harry take Advanced Potions?

Yep.   And I'll feel like skimming every chapter of Snape snarling  
about it.

9.  Will Neville take Advanced Potions?

Yep.   JKR needs to have him there for the literary device.   Besides  
which, when he starts showing backbone by stepping up to Snape it will  
have to be in this setting.  It doesn't show as much development if it  
is done in the corridor.

10.  How many OWLs did Harry get?

The minimum necessary to ensure that he stays on the Auror track, but  
with grades low enough that Snape gets to snarl about it in many  
paragraphs that I will be tempted to skim.


BLUE BOOK PORTION (FREE PROGNOSTICATION....)

1.  There is indeed a "good" slytherin who will come to light.   I  
believe that it will be T. Nott.  He's never been a toadie for the  
(very bad,unredeembable) Draco Malfoy.   Added to that, JKR has seen  
fit to bless him with an Anglo Saxon name.

2.  Luna and Ron will have a romance that will be very serious, but  
Luna will die leaving Ron free to end up with Hermione.   (cf.   
Eponine, Marius and Cosette in _Les Miserables_)

3.  Neville's parents will regain their memories after the confundus  
charm wears off.   Unfortunately, Neville will have died in the Last  
Battle to avenge their honor.

4.  Bill and Fleur will have a baby.  Everyone loves babies.

5.  The last chapter of the last book will be an epilogue,wherein we  
see that Harry and Ginny marry, have lots of babies and live happily  
ever after until his death.   Upon his death the sentence will mention  
that "as they looked at him the family realized that there was no trace  
of a scar."

(spoiler)

This is very similar to the ending of _The Little White Horse_, which  
is why I think that JKR will go this direction.

6.  Harry will have to transcend "death" at some point, most probably  
by "journeying behind the veil".

7.  The Death Eaters get their name from the vast tradition of people  
the world over who believed that they could absorb the essence of those  
they killed if they were present for their last breath.   In this way  
they believed that they could prolong their own lives.   I believe that  
these are the "measures" of which Voldemort speaks in the graveyard at  
Little Hangleton when he talks about prolonging his life.  I also  
believe that this shot at immortality is the carrot he dangled to get  
so many of his DEs to follow him.

This strongly parrallels  Nazi Germany, when the rationale for killing  
Jews and taking their money, possessions and businesses was given as  
"racial cleansing".   Instead, Voldemort rationalizes killing   
half-bloods and their sympathizers as class-cleansing and the right of  
the nobility.   The basic truth, though, is that this passel of selfish  
gits is simply trying to stay alive as long as possible.   That's why  
the first book hits so hard on the acceptance of death being a good  
thing.

QUOTED:

>  I still think that Draco is not pure blood and that is the main reason
>  his mother did not want him going to Durmstrang.  Durmstrang's
>  application process might have revealed that her line is not as pure
>  blood as she has led Malfoy to believe. 

K:   I think that would be ironic, but I don't tend to agree.  I  
honestly don't think there is much more to Draco than to serve as the  
villain.   I sure hope not, anyway.  I've sat through enough  
romanticization of villains with the Episodes I-III movies to last a  
lifetime.   I sure don't want Harry Potter to turn into that.

Besides, I don't want Draco to be half-blood because I don't want it to  
be the kind of thing that is viewed as a Gotcha!  I want him to be  
Wizard Nobility so that he as an evil prat stands in stark contrast to  
the good in the half-blood crowd.

> Before posting to any list, you MUST read the group's Admin File!
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K:  FYI:  I tried to follow this link, but it appears to be dead.




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