The Epilogue and the post-DH WW

[julie]

No: HPFGUIDX 169586

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" <justcarol67 at ...> 
wrote:
>
> I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the Epilogue extends
> only to 2007, which is both the year that the book was finished and
> published and ten years after the start of DH. My reason for 
thinking
> so is that JKR will bring her world up to the present time, with no
> need to imagine the future. 

Julie:
I've been out on this limb already, so I fully agree with you!
I'm really hoping JKR does end it at our present time, which 
will ultimately allow *us* to imagine the future of the WW and
all its fascinating inhabitants post-2007. 

I know some fans think JKR is determined to cut off any chance of 
future Harry Potter books/sequels, and while she has mentioned other 
authors attempting to do so (by killing off a main character for 
instance), she's never said she plans to do so. I hope she doesn't 
because in the immediate future there is no need--she holds the 
copyright for however many years--and in the more distant future 
(when the copyright expires) it is simply not possible to stop 
reimaginings of the HP universe. (Note the example of current authors 
like Gregory Macguire and Jasper Fforde, who have reimagined a 
variety of famous fictional characters and universes within their 
novels.)

Carol:
> 
> So the Muggle world will be exactly as it is right now, with no
> Voldemort attacking us unawares and no awareness of the WW (not to
> mention no unimaginable technology), and the WW will have had time 
to
> make some strides forward and recover from the war with Voldemort, 
but
> will still be the same in some respects. (Hogwarts, we know, will
> still exist and one of Harry's friends [surely Neville] will teach
> there. The Statute of Secrecy will still be in effect (it has to be,
> or we Muggles would be able to see Hogwarts).
> 
> If I'm right, HRH will be 27 or 28 years old at the end of the
> Epilogue, and we'll find out who marries whom and what their careers
> are and what they name their first child or first few children but 
not
> how or when they die. (I'm hoping that all three will go back to
> Hogwarts a year late to finish their education, which will put them,
> for better or worse, in the same year as Ginny.)
> 
> My question is, what do all of you think the WW will be like at that
> point? Will Scrimgeour still be Minister for Magic, or will it be 
Mr.
> Weasley or someone else (Percy, LOL)? I expect that Hogwarts will 
have
> made some progress toward House unity, with the stigma removed from
> Slytherin (please, JKR), but what about the WW? 

Julie:
I expect if JKR goes with this plan she will name a Minister of 
Magic, which could well be a Weasley (Arthur, perhaps Bill, or even 
Percy should he have a dramatic turnaround in DH). I'm also thinking 
that Minerva McGonagall will remain Headmistress of Hogwarts (unless 
she doesn't survive). And I expect House unity to be achieved in some 
manner during DH, and maintained through to the present day. It will 
be interesting to see how it *is* maintained though--will there still 
be a Sorting Hat and different Houses? If the Houses remain but the 
Sorting Hat is gone, will the students be sorted in a more equitable 
manner in terms of character strengths and faults? (Wouldn't it be 
more healthy to have children with opposite character strengths and 
faults in the same House so they can balance each other and learn 
from each other--which will also lessen the chances of someone like 
Tom Riddle being sorted into a House that emphasizes the further 
development of an already excessive trait like his insane ambition?)

Carol:
Obviously, Muggles
> won't be part of it, but possibly there will be an improved Muggle
> Studies program at Hogwarts that focuses on understanding Muggles 
and
> their history and cultural accomplishments rather than presenting
> technology as a substitute for magic (the Arthur Weasleys of the 
world
> may find plugs and "ekeltricity" fascinating, but that's hardly all
> there is to being a Muggle). More likely, "tolerance" will be 
actively
> promoted, with blood purity deemphasized. (I can just see the 
teachers
> actively promoting a "multicultural" agenda to counter the training
> that the purebloods receive at home.) But what about Squibs? Won't
> some people in the WW still be "more equal than others"? What
> constitutes fair treatment for Squibs?

Julie:
It's such a very unpleasant world these days that I almost prefer the 
WW continue to keep itself cut off as much as possible! And for 
obvious reasons (such as the WW has yet to reveal itself in our 
current time ;-) I'm sure that will continue to be the case. But I do 
agree that blood purity will be de-emphasized and Muggleborns will be 
newly appreciated for the diversity their experiences and their genes 
bring to the WW. 

Carol:
> Werewolves will need free access to Wolfsbane Potion to keep the WW
> safe and allow them something resembling equal opportunity, and the
> younger ones can be admitted to Hogwarts so that they can be 
genuinely
> equal (with their fellow students taught to "understand how a
> werewolf's mind works--maybe from the horse's mouth by a reinstated
> Lupin on his third chance). 

Julie:
Should DDM!Snape survive DH, what do you want to bet that he comes up 
with a better and more accessible Wolfsbane potion, or better yet 
a "cure" that keeps werewolves from transforming? (Hey, I can hope!)

Carol:
But what about Muggle werewolves, the
> Squibs of the werewolf world? Phase them out by making sure they 
don't
> bite anybody, but what kind of life can they live?

Julie:
Since JKR really hasn't differentiated werewolves (that I recall), I 
suspect she may just avoid the concept of Muggle or even Squib 
werewolves and keep dealing only with those of the WW. In other 
words, we'll be left to wonder!

Carol:
> 
> As for nonhuman creatures with "near-human intelligence," what's the
> best solution? There's no point in giving house-elves wands; they
> don't need them. And what if they don't want freedom? What about
> goblins? What would happen if *they* were given wands? Should
> house-elves and goblins be admitted to Hogwarts? Or should they just
> be left alone (as I think the Centaurs and Merpeople should be--and
> someone should teach the Centaurs "tolerance," while they're at it.
> Even Firenze sees himself as superior to humans.) Peaceful 
coexistence
> seems like the best solution to me, but I'm not sure how it would 
work.

Julie:
I think it would be a matter of peaceful coexistence also. The best I 
can see for house-elves is that they are given nominal freedom, but 
they aren't obliged to take it. A few elves, like Dobby, might accept 
it, while many others would remain willingly with their *masters.* 
But the choice has to be available, even if most don't act on it. I 
know it's a little more complicated than that, like should there be 
some sort of elf-treatment oversight department to ensure those elves 
who don't want to exercise their freedom aren't being abused. But I 
expect in some areas JKR will probably keep matters simplified, like 
elves can be free if they choose, with no further clarification. 

Carol:
> 
> What do you think of this brave new world? Have I got it all wrong?
> What do all of you think the WW will--or should--be like as of 2007?
> 
> Carol, who predicts that the Epilogue will end with Harry still 
alive
> in what for us is the present rather than projecting his life eighty
> years into his future and ours

Julie:
I think JKR placed her WW world within our real world for a reason, 
which is that she enjoys imagining Harry and Co. living out their 
lives parallel to us living out ours (and her living out hers), 
sharing certain places and circumstances with which we can all 
relate. That's certainly one of the elements that had made HP so 
popular. (I'll note this is especially true for me, having never been 
a great fan of fantasy, but more a fan of fantasy elements set within 
the real world--Mary Stewart's King Arthur series for instance.) 

I also believe JKR loves her characters even more than we do (hard as 
that is to imagine!) and while she may be done with her part in their 
stories, she will want to imagine them living on and their stories 
(as well as the WW) continuing. 

It's certainly possible that I read her wrong, but I hope--really, 
really hope--I'm right (as well as Carol and many others who hope JKR 
will leave HP "open-ended"). 

Julie