Predictions for the End (what I think, hope and know)

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 174166

Betsy Hp:
Now that the posts have slowed down a tad I thought I should dive 
*way* back in to the past (all the way back to April!) and see just 
how wrong I was about everything. <bg>  It's a train wreck, but those 
can be fun to watch, right?

***WARNING WARNING WARNING***NEGATIVE POST TO FOLLOW***
***READ AT YOUR OWN RISK***SERIOUS CYNICISM ALERT***

> >>Betsy Hp:
> When DH finally comes out, this is the post that will either give   
> me reason to gloat or force me to eat some crow.  A breakdown of    
> what I'm sure will happen, what I think will happen, and what I    
> hope will happen.

Betsy Hp:
My goodness, wasn't I a naive young thing?

> >>Betsy Hp:
> Things of Which I'm Smugly Sure:  
> (Yeah, this is what'll come back to bite me if I'm wrong <g>)

Betsy Hp:
And I said it with a smile!  The bite, it hurts...


> -- Voldemort will be defeated.  (What? I'm going out on a limb     
> here! You got to give me an easy one.)

Betsy Hp:
I got this bit right.  The funny part was how little Voldemort's 
death actually meant.  It didn't change the WW at all.


> -- Harry will defeat Voldemort.  He may have a bit of help, but in 
> the end, I'm sure it'll all come down to Harry.

Betsy Hp:
Oddly enough, it more came down to a super-special wand.  So I think 
I'll say I got this one wrong.  Certainly in spirit this was a miss.


> -- Harry will live.  Happily ever after, however Harry (or JKR) 
> defines it, with magical abilities intact and all of his surviving 
> friends.  (Yes, OBHWF for all. :/ )

Betsy Hp:
Okay, this one I got prefectly correct.  Harry was incredibly happy 
and the Weasley family is big and happy as well.


> -- Draco Malfoy will play an important role in helping the good    
> guys beat Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Oh, and he'll survive.

Betsy Hp:
Well, Malfoy survived (I doubt he ever really lived though, poor 
boy).  But his role was the definition of unimportant.  I totally 
blame HBP, though.  Silly me, taking that book seriously.


> -- Snape is, and has been for the course of the books, solidly and 
> unwaveringly DDM.  Oh, I'm sure there were moments of "You want to 
> who?  With the what?!?"  But that just goes with the territory of 
> working with Dumbledore.  Snape never considered leaving the old   
> guy.

Betsy Hp:
I'm calling this one wrong.  I assumed "man" and all along Snape was 
Dumbledore's dog.  Of *course* Snape didn't leave Dumbledore.  
Dumbledore owned Snape lock, stock and barrel.  Mega-depressing, 
though quite frankly the Snape of my imagination would have never put 
up with Dumbledore.  Too principled.  And this book is not about 
principles.

That Dumbledore himself was so evil and weak was a surprise.  I 
recall arguing that Dumbledore would *never* use an Unbreakable Vow 
or a Horcrux.  Young and naive.


> Trends I Suspect Will Play Out:
> (This is more my sense of how the story beats will play out, so    
> it's all a bit vague.  This stuff will more nibble than anything.   
> <g>)

Betsy Hp:
Oddly enough, I think it's those nibbles that hurt the most in the 
end.  I was *way* off in my sense of the story JKR was trying to 
tell. As you will see. <g>


> -- I suspect the final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort   
> will be quite private and solitary: think diary!Tom vs. Harry in   
> CoS.

Betsy Hp:
Hahaha! No.  Not only was it as public as possible (surely someone in 
the crowd had a camera) Harry did his own version of the Evil 
Overlord speech.  Lucky (or not?) that no one snuck up behind Harry 
and beaned him while he was mid-explanation of who had the biggest 
wand.


> -- I suspect Harry is a Horcrux, or at least, I think his scar     
> might be.

Betsy Hp:
I ended up right about this.  Odd.

 
> -- I still think someone we think is good will turn out to be      
> working for Voldemort.  No real solid clue on who though.

Betsy Hp:
Gosh, no!  That would have meant Harry being *wrong* about someone 
and maybe having to question his judgment or something.  When we all 
know Harry is practically perfect in every way.  (Plus, the 
psychological horror of learning someone you thought trustworthy 
really isn't would have seriously gotten in the way of the great 
McGuffin hunt.  Hermione needed time to collect mushroom, gosh darn 
it!)


> -- Somehow the four houses of Hogwarts working together will be a   
> key to defeating Voldemort (finding the horcruxes maybe?).

Betsy Hp:
The pain...  oh, the pain...


> -- I'm pretty sure both Hermione and Ron will survive the end of   
> the series.

Betsy Hp:
Got that one right.  Yay?


> -- If a contemporary of Harry dies, my money is on either Neville   
> or Luna.  (I lean more towards Neville.)

Betsy Hp:
And I got that one wrong. Yay.  (Wasn't Luna super-duper annoying at 
that final feast though?  It was like she was suddenly Harry's 
grandmother or something.  Or was that just me?)


> -- If Snape actually killed Dumbledore, he'll for sure die.  If    
> not, he might, *might* live.

Betsy Hp:
Eep.  Again, this was back before I realized the depth of sin 
attached to being a Sltherin.  Not only does Snape die, not only was 
it anticlimactic, but by that point I didn't even care.  Seriously, I 
think an eye-roll was about my only reaction.  (Why did JKR even 
*bother* with a Snape character?)


> -- There's a link of some sort between Snape and Lily (fingers 
> crossed it's friendship and not romance).  I suspect Aunt Petunia 
> will give Harry a clue on that.

Betsy Hp:
Right and sorry for it.  Snape's first experience at being someone's 
dog.  Though again I laugh at the thought that Aunt Petunia might 
come into play.  (Silly Betsy, Muggles are for laughing at.)  I did 
gain a massive amount of sympathy for her after seeing Snape's dying 
memories.  What a horrible little sister.  "Tunie"?!  Seriously!?!  
Petunia should have run away from home.  And become a scientist.  Any 
field.  Just to show how hard Muggles beat Wizards.


> Stuff I'd Love To See (but I'm not holding my breath):
> (This is just my wishes and dreams: no real bites, but no real 
> gloating either.)

Betsy Hp:
Back when I could dream.

 
> -- Percy was a spy for Dumbledore all along.

Betsy Hp:
No.  The Weasley mob is always right.


> -- One of the twins has gone bad through greed or something like   
> that.

Betsy Hp:
::sigh::   Hey, but at least one died! ::perks back up::


> -- Hermione is knocked down a peg or two, and conversely Ron gets a 
> bit more self-confident.

Betsy Hp:
Hahaha!  Though Hermione did get rather stupid. (Cleverly disguising 
herself from the folks hunting muggleborns by... using a muggleborn's 
name. D'oh!  Yeah, I know.  It was a flint.  But she also gathered 
wild mushrooms to eat, so I'm sticking with more stupid!)  And of 
*course* Ron didn't get more confident.  Someone has to make Harry 
look good.


> -- For some odd reason, I'd kind of like the Malfoys to come out 
> alright.  Maybe because Draco worked so hard for their safety in   
> HBP.

Betsy Hp:
Huh.  I guess I sort of got my wish?  Though honestly, being forced 
to live in a world where you've been designated "lesser than" at age 
eleven...  I seriously wanted to kidnap them and introduce them to 
the Muggle world.  I'd bet they'd take to it! <g>  (Wait -- Slytherin 
also equals stupid.  ::sigh::  Never mind.)


> -- I'd love for Snape to get a happily ever after.

Betsy Hp:
Hah!  Snape didn't get a happily before *or* a happily during.  What 
was I thinking?  He's Slytherin.  They're made to suffer so 
Gyffindors can feel better about themselves.  Poor sad Snape.

 
> So there it is.  Only a few months to find out just how crazy I am. 
> <g>

Betsy Hp:
And the answer is: crazy.  Absolutely, utterly, mad as a hatter.

Betsy Hp