Spoiler Alert: JRK comments at charity reading

[lolita_ns]

No: HPFGUIDX 156440

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Beatrice23" <beatrice23 at ...> 
wrote:
><SNIP> JKR made 
> the following comment when asked what Hermione would see in the 
> Mirror of Erised:  <SNIP>

> "At the moment, having just completed their penultimate year at 
> Hogwarts, Hermione would likely see herself, Ron and Harry out of 
> school, alive and unscathed, with Voldemort dead. She would also see 
> herself closely entwined with... another person (you can guess who)."
> 
<SNIP>
 The way I read the above quote is that the trio do return to 
> Hogwarts for their final year...  What do you think?
> 
> Beatrice
>


Lolita:

Hello :) Well, IIRC, Rowling has always said that there will be seven 
HP books, "one for each of his years at Hogwarts." 
I don't know when she said this, but I do know that she has stated it 
in more than one interview. Last year, I wrote a paper on HP for my 
Children's literature course, and I read through each and every one of 
the interviews in QQQ, in order to find information about the writing 
itself as seen from the PoV of the author, and I paid attention to her 
stated plans with the series - that is why I distinctly remember her 
saying this. Of course, she may have changed her plans in the meantime.

Still, I do think that the children will indeed return to school, with 
Rowling introducing some sort of a reason for it early in the seventh 
book - for example, that they might find some information about the 
Horcruxes at Hogwarts, or that they might wish to speak with DD's 
portrait, or something of that sort - and then have them stay there 
for some reason or other. 

The quote you mention can certainly lead to the conclusion you've 
drawn, especially with the sintagm 'penultimate school year' which 
might imply that there will, indeed, be an ultimate year, as well. I 
do, I repeat, agree with you that there will be a seventh year, but 
not necessarily because of the aforementioned quote, but because of 
Rowling's earlier statements and the structure of the series itself - 
all the books have a basic pattern of events, upon which variations 
are added (at the Dursleys', Harry having a small independent 
adventure before the school year starts, Harry meets his friends, 
school year, the big adventure, talks and/or explanations, end of 
school year). Seeing as the school year takes up the major portion of 
time and space in the books, I don't know what Rowling could introduce 
in the final book that could satisfactorily replace the school year 
events. Not simply in the sense of having events to write about, (she 
does have a lot of loose ends to tie, and the final book will be 
filled with that), but rather in the sense of having a tying element 
in the book, the role which Hogwarts had in the previous books. 
Hogwarts is an excellent setting, background, and a microcosm of 
sorts, even a character in its own right (I hesitate to say that it 
reminds me of Dublin in Joyce's work), and I would hate to see it gone 
from the picture completely.  

As far as the quote from the NYC reading is concerned, I think that 
the trio being out of school has more to do with Hermione being the 
one looking at the Mirror than with Rowling's plans for her heroes' 
final year at Hogwarts. If, for instance, Ron were to look in the 
Mirror, he might as well see all the things Hermione would see, sans 
the 'out of school' thing - to graduate is - as I see it - definitely 
of of Hermione's greatest wishes, not necessarily Ron's or Harry's.

Cheers,
Lolita