Tiger's Bragging Rights Contest Rules Revision-- READ PLEASE and RULES REPOS

[angelabrooks]

No: HPFGUIDX 171866

Delurking to get my guesses in before it's too late.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no
 um, oops.  Start over.

"I hereby certify that I have not read the scanned "Epilogue"
pages or any summary of them." Angela

Predictions Contest Compulsory Questions (50 points total):

1. Will Harry die and stay dead at the end of HPDH?

No

2. Will Voldemort die and stay dead at the end of HPDH?

Yes
3. Excluding Harry and Voldemort, who will be the most prominent
character to die and stay dead?

Snape

4. From HBP (p125, American Hardcover), in the shop while the
trio were listening with Extendable Ears, what did Draco show
Borgin that scared him?

His new Dark Mark

5. Assuming Hogwarts reopens as a school, who will return as
a student, which means enrolled in classes whether or not they
attend the classes (answer yes or no for each):

a. Harry? No
b. Draco? No
c. Hermione? Yes
d. Luna? Yes
e. Ron? Yes
f. Neville? Yes
g. Ginny? Yes

6. Which will be the most prominent couple to marry, if any,
during the time period covered in DH, excluding any epilogue?

Bill & Fleur, Tonks & Remus – both about equally prominent

7. Who will be the unusual person who performs magic for the
first time "very late in life?"

Aberforth Dumbledore

8. Assuming Hogwarts reopens as a school, who will be the:
a. Head Boy? Ron
b. Head Girl? Hermione
c. DADA Instructor? Kingsley Shacklebolt
d. Potions Master or Mistress? Slughorn
e. Headmaster or -mistress? McGonagall

9. Where do Snape's ultimate loyalties lie?

Against Voldemort, with Dumbledore and the OoTP

10. Identify the seven Horcruxes.

a. Diary
b. Ring
c. Locket
d. Cup
e. Something of Ravenclaw's – most likely wand from Olivander's
f. Nagini -> Something of Gryffindor's, most likely sword (see
predictions)
g. Harry
h. Rest of soul remains in Voldemort


Alternate 1. What are Snape's patronus and boggert?

Patronus: Phoenix
Boggart: Voldemort victorious, standing over dead Harry, laughing

Alternate 2. What is behind the locked door at the Department of
Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic?

The Love Room


Predictions (10 points each / 50 points total):

Make 5 predictions not covered in the Compulsory Question section.

1.) Voldemort will move a soul piece out of Nagini and into a
relic of Gryffindor's captured during an assault on Hogwarts,
either the sword or the Sorting Hat, to complete his Four
Founders collection. Snape, because of his position of trust
earned by his killing of Dumbledore, will witness and/or assist
in this transfer, thus learning how to transfer a soul piece out
of a living being without killing it. He will use this knowledge
to transfer the soul piece from Harry, either into an object
which can be destroyed, or back into Voldemort.

2.) Lily, having learned about Horcruxes from Slughorn, in the
moments she bought by pleading with Voldemort for Harry's life,
worked a spell whereby when Voldemort's soul split due to her
murder, the soul piece entered into Harry and made him a Horcrux.
The Avada Kedavra bounced because Voldemort was in essence
attacking himself. If Voldemort tries to AK Harry before the
soul piece is removed from him, it will bounce again.

3.) Early in the book, we will see signs that seem to indicate
Snape is ESE, but late in the book we (and Harry) will discover
incontrovertible proof he is DDM.  Harry and Snape will come to
feel grudging respect for each other.  Snape will make a nasty
comment to Harry immediately before dying in order to save
Harry and/or make it possible for him to defeat Voldemort.

4.) Harry's Quidditch skills (spotting and catching small
objects, flying) will prove vital to Voldemort's defeat.

5.) The epilogue will take place at Harry's deathbed, after
a very long and fulfilling life, which will include playing
professional Quidditch, marrying Ginny and having many children,
and serving as Headmaster of Hogwarts. After he dies, he will
see the Veil appear, and have the choice to remain on this side
and become a ghost, or pass through. The book will end as he
chooses to pass though and go on to what lies beyond, including
a promised but not shown reunion with all his loved ones who
have predeceased him.



A few more random thoughts for discussion:

Might "by the hand of the other" refer to the place, not the
method, of death?  If someone else kills Voldemort while he is
right next to Harry – "at his right hand" – would that fulfill
the prophecy?

Might "neither can live while the other survives" refer to a
specific incident, not a general state of affairs?  Would it
fulfill the prophecy if there is some event which either Harry
or Voldemort can come out of alive, but not both?

Re: why a DDM Snape would agree to take the Unbreakable Vow –
What if Voldemort had already ordered Snape to kill Dumbledore
if Draco fails, before Snape takes the Unbreakable Vow? In that
case, taking the Vow would not change his circumstances much,
since Voldemort would surely kill him if he disobeyed a direct
order. Snape would have told Dumbledore of the order, and the
two of them would have discussed the relative importance of
Dumbledore's life verses Snape's position within Voldemort's
organization.

I see that position less as a spy, and more as a mole. Passing
information to the Order is only a side benefit, able to be done
only if it doesn't risk his being discovered. The real reason he
is there is to become trusted, deep within Voldemort's plans, so
that at the crucial moment he can act to sabotage whatever
Voldemort is trying to do. He only gets one chance to betray
Voldemort, so must save it until the most opportune possible
moment. Snape and Dumbledore agree that saving Dumbledore's
life isn't it. He will use his one chance to help Harry, and
will most likely die for it, but his action will make the
crucial difference that helps Harry win.

Re: earlier Puppetmaster!Dumbledore discussion. Dumbledore has
taught or served as Headmaster at Hogwarts for at least 50 years.
He has been in contact for 5-7 years with every adult wizard who
has attended Hogwarts in that time. The "nameless, faceless"
masses of the wizarding world, at least in Britain, all have
names and faces for Dumbledore. I get the feeling he hasn't
forgotten a single one of them. The greater good vs. the good
of one individual isn't an abstraction to Dumbledore - it's a
matter of one individual vs. lots and lots of other individuals.
I don't think the extreme form of Puppetmaster!Dumbledore will
prove true, but he certainly has manipulated many events. I've
written Dumbledore in fanfiction, and find him easy to write.
Just take infinite compassion plus infinite ruthlessness, and
add a generous dose of whimsy. The ruthlessness and compassion
are both equally strong parts of his character, and both together
are needed to understand his actions.

Angela