The Doomspell Tournament

[constancevigilance]

I'm going to go out on a limb (well, a little limb) here and say that
I think all the Tri-wizard champions will die by the end of the last book.

I came to that conclusion after an evening with John Granger and
Lexicon Steve at Sonorus 2007 tonight. Here's why I think so.

As we recall, JKR was going to call book 4 HP and the Doomspell
Tournament. But if she were going to kill off all the champions,
calling it The Tournament Spelling Doom was sort of a giveaway, so
there needed to be a name change. Could she be planning on offing all
the champions?

Tri-wizard victim #1 was Cedric. Ced, we hardly knew ye.

Victim #2 - There are many elements of philosophical alchemy in the
story, and JKR is known to have studied this subject in depth before
beginning writing. A discussion of the alchemical symbolism in Harry
Potter is beyond the scope of this post, but let's just say that it is
a seven-step process that includes a wedding in step seven. The bride
and groom are known as the White Queen and the Red King are likely to
die in battle.

Is it a coincidence that Fleur and Bill (white and red hair
respectively) are getting married in the seventh book? There has been
speculation for quite some time that at least one Weasley would bite
it before the end. Based on this hypothesis, it sounds as if Bill
could be the unlucky one, perhaps taking his bride with him.
Tri-wizard victim #2 is the veela in the tiara.

Victor Krum has all the markings of a hero. Brave, fearless. Has given
his heart to a woman who doesn't return his feelings. And I've been
saying all along that the lake portal to Durmstrang has to be used
again. I still think that Durmstrang students and trolls will join the
final battle against Death Eaters and giants. I still think Quirrell
will be leading the charge, but if it is Krum instead who comes
through the lake portal to save the day, I'll still claim to have
gotten it right. But Quirrell or Krum (or both), they will perish in
the attempt. Buh-bye Tri-wizard champion #3.

Then there is Harry.

It may or may not be curtains for Harry. Or veils, as may be. But I
think there will be at least a time when we are all certain that Harry
is toast. Personally, I think he will go through the veil. Whether or
not he comes back out is the question. He does have a loophole in the
Spell of Doom curse. He sort of never was a real champion. His name
only went into the goblet as a fluke. After it did, he did a bang-up
job and won the darn thing, but he never qualified under the rules. By
this, I think he will come back from his state of deadness just in
time for a happy ending.

But there you go. Spelling doom for the Doomspell T.

CV, spinning theories fast before time runs out.