On The Matter Of Books

Hugo, I am very impressed. The rationale behind the phoenix symbolism is absolutely fantastic. For a long time I have tried to find the way the idea that only one phoenix can exist at a time fits into this. It's as if you took all of the confused and jumbled thoughts out of my mind and combined them into something that made perfect sense.

I still wonder about one thing, though. On page 64 of the paperback UK version of PS, Ollivander says, 'No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same.'

Hmm. The mention of plural phoenixes seems out of place according to popular legends and myths. You may very well be very close to something, though. Again, I am incredibly impressed.

When Harry and Voldemort have their last battle, Harry will lure Voldemort to him, instead of going "seeking" for Voldemort.

I don't think that it is a coincidence that Harry is the youngest seeker in a century and is also the one who seeks, or is lured by, Voldemort into danger. This is the case in all 5 books so far except for PoA (but even in PoA, he finds Sirius). I think we will see a point where Harry is no longer the Quidditch seeker and this will be a forshadowing to his and Voldemort's final battle. Harry will lure Voldemort to him. The reason I believe this is from the Goblet of Fire when he is fighting the dragon with his "diversionary tactics". The text describes the dragon with "eyes with slits for pupils" and that it "sways like a snake before its charmer". Harry says to it, "Come on. Come and get me." I believe that this will be his strategy at the end, after Dumbledore is killed. He will be so angry with Voldemort, he won't care about dying.

In the seventh book, Harry will vanquish Voldemort, without the use of his wand, but will die in the process. Harry will die first, at Voldemort's wand, and then Voldemort will die. As soon as Voldemort dies, Harry will return to life again. During his brief period of death, he will see his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore (i think Dumbledore will be killied which will inspire Harry further), and everyone else that he knows who have died. Dumbledore will tell him that it is not his time yet and that he needs to return to the other world, on the other side of the veil.

I believe this prediction and it has to do with the prophecy and Dumbledore's Phoenix. The reason the prophecy states "...for neither can live while the other survives..." is because both Harry and Voldemort are linked to the Phoenix by their wands. In the mythology of the Phoenix, only one Phoenix can exist at a time and once it dies, its offspring is reborn out of its ashes. The Phoenix represents the constant cycle of life and death or in Asian philosophy, the yin and the yang. We notice that there is a reflection of this in the lives of Harry and Voldemort. Harry represents the promise of life in his constant attempts to save people's lives and Voldemort represents the "Flight of Death" (In French, "Vol de Mort") in his relentless pursuit to take them. Because the Phoenix represents the constant cycle of life and death, it represents immortality which is what Voldemort tries to achieve through all his magical efforts or "magical transformations", but fails because, in this pursuit, he becomes something that is not truly alive. We notice that Voldemort survives to the point where he tries to kill Harry as a baby but instead is ripped from his body, loses his power and becomes a shadow (not a ghost as Dumbledore says "Not truly being alive, he cannot be killed"). Then in the Goblet of Fire, Voldemort is resurrected (similar to the Phoenix) using the bone of his father, flesh of his servant, and blood of his foe, Harry. When Dumbledore hears this, Harry sees a "look of triumph" on his face. I think this means that Voldemort can now be killed because of the simple fact that the blood, in the bloodline that he shed when he killed Lily, which protected Harry at the beginning, is now coursing through Voldemort's veins. He can now kill Harry with his killing curse but in doing so he will kill himself and release the power inside Harry, the "life-force" that resides in the Department of Mysteries, that Harry has in such quantities. This is why I think Harry will die first. When Voldemort dies, the same power that kills Voldemort will restore Harry to a new life, so Harry will be just like the Phoenix that overcomes death, or more literally, the "Flight of Death" ("Vol de Mort"), and is reborn.

This was taken directly off jkrowling.com. It answers our questions and has shot down alot of peoples theories!

Result of F.A.Q. Poll
What is the significance, if any, of Mark Evans?

I couldn't answer the poll question before now, because I've been making arrangements to take my family into hiding. It takes time to arrange fake passports, one-way air tickets to Bolivia and twenty-four hour armed security.

Why should I resort to such desperate measures? Because after you've heard this answer, I'll have to disappear for my own safety.

Now before I get down to it (you can guess what's coming, can't you?) I am going to put up a feeble pre-emptive defence. Firstly, you were all spinning highly ingenious theories about Mark Evans, so I thought that you would welcome the chance to hear the truth about him. Secondly, I tried hard not to raise hopes or expectations by adding the crucial words 'if any' to the question. Thirdly... there is no thirdly. I'm just killing time.

(Takes deep breath)

Mark Evans is... nobody. He's nobody in the sense that Mr. Prentice, Madam Marsh and Gordon-Dudley's-gang-member are nobodies, just background people who need names, but who have no role other than the walk-on parts assigned to them.
(Checks that Neil has immunized the dog and that Jessica has packed her Gameboy, and continues)

I've got nobody to blame but myself. Sirius Black, Mrs. Figg and Mundungus Fletcher were all mentioned in passing well before they burst onto the stage as fully-fledged characters, so now you've all become too clever, not for your own good, but for mine. The fact is that once you drew my attention to it, I realised that Mark Evans did indeed look like one of those 'here he is, just a casual passer-by, nothing to worry about, bet you barely noticed him' characters who would suddenly become, half way through book seven, 'Ha ha! Yes, Mark Evans is back, suckers, and he's the key to everything! He's the Half Blood Prince, he's Harry's Great-Aunt, he's the Heir of Gryffindor, he lives up the Pillar of Storgé and he owns the Mystic Kettle of Nackledirk!' (Possible title of book seven there, must make a note of it).

Then why – WHY – (I hear you cry) – did I give him the surname “Evans”? Well, believe me, you can't regret it more than I do right now. “Evans” is a common name; I didn't give it much thought; I wasn't even trying to set up another red herring. I could just as easily have called him 'Smith' or 'Jones' (or 'Black' or 'Thomas' or 'Brown', all of which would have got me into trouble too).

What else can I say? Many of the theories you presented were highly plausible. If you knew how often I've checked the FAQ poll hoping that one of the other questions might edge into the lead...

Well, that's that. The car with false license plates is at the door and I've got to glue on my goatee. Goodbye.

I want to thank you all for making it clear to Luke Connolly that his comments were not appriciated. Thank you all again. It helps to have you guys telling people off when they are breaking th rules... because I do not always have the chance to. Thanks again.

-EMH

sambo--i agree that luna, ginny and definitly neville will play important roles to come....im not sure what luna will do...i think ginny may play the now-vacated fred and george role but be more helpful than the twins were in the process (just as she helped clear the hallway of umbridge's office so harry and hermione could use umbridge's fireplace)....neville.hmm i think he will be the most important of these 3 but i cant figure out how....

i think grawp will play a larger role also because if he doesnt, his character was kind of pointless....

I am wondering if JKR has exhausted Luna Lovegood's usefulness in the Order of the Pheonix (I am speaking of the incident with the interview and the quibbler). I think that she, along with Ginny and Neville who went with the trio to rescue Sirius) will be taking a much more important role in the next few books. (We have already have been seeing this with Ginny) There must be some reason why JKR included these characters with the trio.

If you are all smart you will not reply in any way to Luke Conolly. Any reply or reference to him will only serve to feed the reason he is posting messages on this board... and that is to annoy.

mark evans is......NOBODY. JKR said so herself on her website.....isnt that so sad? she said that she just accidently used the same name twice.......wow i think i might cry.....i cant believe it!!! i had soo many theories worked out....maybe she is kidding....hehe well the one good thing that this means is that probably none of us are close to what will actually happen so that will make reading the last books even better.....sigh.....just to let u all know.

HP FAN

I totally agree with you. I had noticed that too. Also about the tent, I think Harry actually describes it as having the same style of furniture as Mrs. Figg's house.

Someone,

I highly doubt JK would have changed Mark Evans age because as she has said before, every character was fully formed in her mind and she wouldnt change details like that. The way she is talking it sounds like she just lifted some information from CoS and dropped it into HBP.
And thats if Mark Evans is not just someone put there to throw us off.

Grow up Luke.

I DEFINITELY THINK THERE IS MORE TO MR. WEASLEY'S SECRETARY PERKINS THAN WE KNOW. PROF. BINNS ACCIDENTALY CALLS HARRY PERKINS ONCE AND THE TENT THAT THE WEASLEY'S BORROWED FROM PERKINS SMELLED LIKE MRS. FIGGS HOUSE. HE JUST SEEMS TO KEEP POPPING UP IN RANDOM LITTLE PLACES. ANY THOUGHTS? I AM VERY INTERESTED IN WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.

AND SINCE PEOPLE SEEM TO BE SO INTERESTED IN MS. ROWLING'S WEBSITE, HAS ANYONE ELSE BUT ME NOTICED THE LARGE AMOUNT OF CRESCENT SHAPED MOONS EVERYWHERE (EX: IN HER COFFEE CUP, WATER STAINS ON THE DESK, ON THE BORDER OF THE NEWSPAPER...ETC.)?

ANOTHER TIME I WAS ON THE WEBSITE AND HER CELL PHONE RANG SO I "ANSWERED" IT AND THE CUP OF PENS JUST BELOW THE SCRAPBOOK FELL OVER....THEN I WENT TO THE LINKS PAGE AND CAME BACK AND THE CUP OF PENS WAS RIGHT SIDE UP....ANY IDEAS?

thanks for the help with JKR's website. what do u mean by "tidying up"--in other words how exactly do u tidy the desk up?? with the cell phone on her desk, if you punch in the number "62442" (the password to the ministry of magic and it also spells "magic" on a phone) then you get another scrapbook item.

Another Nikki Blake Idea

'What I was, even I do not know...I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality. You know my goal - to conquer death. And now, I was tested, and it appeared that one or more of my experiments had worked...for I had not been killed, though the curse should have done it.' (Voldemort, GoF pg. 653 Am. Edition)

Very often when so-called 'magicians' perform before audiences, they use a great deal of flashy showiness to distract those watching - to keep their audience's attention somewhere else while they work the 'magic' of the performance. Alone, that statement does not have much meaning, but after a bit of an epiphany, I have begun to wonder if we as readers are not being distracted from an important concept by one that seems more interesting. Give me a moment, and I will explain what I mean.

Throughout five phenomenally complex novels, we have had one main idea drilled continuously into our minds. Indeed, we accept it as the pillar of the Harry Potter plot and it has spawned countless theories. Voldemort could not kill Harry Potter. Whatever the reason, one of the world's most powerful wizards was thwarted by an innocent child. Voldemort could not kill Harry, and it resulted in his terribly temporary...disappearance. Harry Potter stopped You-Know-Who when he was only a baby. (Note my use of the word 'stopped' rather than something with more finality such as 'defeated.' Baby Harry 'stopped' Voldemort, he has not yet 'defeated' him.) But enough about word choice for now. We have always been...guided to focus on the fact that Voldemort couldn't kill Harry and that that was what stopped him, but let us consider the burning question lurking behind the main focus: Why didn't Voldemort die when the curse was reflected onto him?

In the quote I have included from GoF, Voldemort himself declares that the curse should have killed him, yet it did not. Personally, I have to wonder what happened to his body, but never mind that for now. Clearly we must deduce that Voldemort survived the reflected Avada Kedavra curse due to some of his experiments on immortality. But what were these experiments that he claims prevented his death?

You must expect that I have my ideas on the subject. They relate to my previously stated ideas, so if you have not yet read those you may not grasp the entirety of what I am going to attempt to say.

Voldemort seeks immortality, eternal life. There has always been the concept that the body is much weaker than the spirit, and indeed Voldemort's spirit is what remained when his body was destroyed. Voldemort must have realized that his body would eventually weaken and face destruction, and it is my belief that Voldemort cannot stand the thought of being in any way weak. Perhaps he sought ways to preserve his spirit should his body be destroyed. It was one of these odd experiments that resulted in his combination with young Harry. The curse killed and destroyed his body, (though where it went, only JKR knows) but his intent was to fuse his spirit with that of a living person so that his spirit would live on and thus he would never really die.

Obviously this did not quite work out the way he had planned it, because though part of him was fused with Harry, most of his spirit was released as just...well, spirit.

We have seen that Voldemort has a habit of possessing people in three different books. Since possession seems to be a habit of his, it is only logical to assume that he would seek immortality by that means. It is, of course, most unfortunate for Voldemort that he combined himself with the one destined to vanquish him. The powers Harry received from Voldemort, the powers of his incredibly strong parents, and the power of love residing within his own true spirit, when combined, will make him strong enough to somehow do what he is destined to do.

Melanie,

I guess i understand why Mark Evans couldn't have been the Half-blood prince cuz he only would've been seven but...

j.k. said she cut some info out of cos cuz she said the proper home was hbp. what if she cut Mark out of the book? all she would have to do to put him in hbp would be to change his age which would be fine since he hadn't been mentioned in the final copies so he had no set age. unklikely but oh well.

Me:

about the flies spiders and butterflies,
u know about the scrapbook on jk's desk
if you coplete certain things (like tiding things up) you get stuff put in it (all i got so far was a picture and manuscript expert of ss/ps)
for one of the awards you need to catch a spider (HINT: Use the eraser and question anything that appears when you first arrive under "Extra Stuff"). that is all the significane i found for the bugs so far.

about the radio:

nothin on this yet. currently i say that it is just for fun, like the light swicth on her desk, the light switch next to the locked door, and her cell phone (even though those objects could have some significance i haven't discovered yet).

Thanks for readin.

Just in case it comes in handy again, the brick sequence is:
--5-------
--3-------
-------1--
----2-----
----4-----

My guess is that Dean Thomas is the Half Blood Prince. He is always in the background of the story but not obscure enough to be a real peripheral character.
On JKs website in the extras section she talks about Deans background (below)and how she was going to reveal it in CoS but decided it wasnt important to the story and cut his personal journey in favour of Nevilles. She wrote that she doesnt think his background will ever make it into the story but she knows exactly whats going into the books. It could be something to throw us off.
In the news article "Title of Book Six:The Truth" (below)she talks about something being cut from CoS as she believed that information was more appropriate in the 6th book and that the Half Blood Prince was a possible title for CoS.
It is just like her to put important clues on her website for die hard fans just so she can say it was there all the time.
And I doubt Mark Evans is the HBP because as it says below in the article, HP&tHBP was a possible title for CoS. Mark would have only been 7 years old.

From www.jkrowling.com

Dean Thomas's background (Chamber of Secrets)

Anybody who has read both the American and British versions of 'Philosopher's Stone' will notice that Dean Thomas's appearance is not mentioned in the British book, whereas in the American one there is a line describing him (in the chapter 'The Sorting Hat').

This was an editorial cut in the British version; my editor thought that chapter was too long and pruned everything that he thought was surplus to requirements. When it came to the casting on the film version of 'Philosopher's Stone', however, I told the director, Chris, that Dean was a black Londoner. In fact, I think Chris was slightly taken aback by the amount of information I had on this peripheral character. I had a lot of background on Dean, though I had never found the right place to use it. His story was included in an early draft of 'Chamber of Secrets' but then cut by me, because it felt like an unnecessary digression. Now I don't think his history will ever make it into the books.

Dean is from what he always thought was a pure Muggle background. He has been raised by his mother and his stepfather; his father walked out on the family when Dean was very young. He has a very happy home life, with a number of half-brothers and sisters.

Naturally when the letter came from Hogwarts Dean's mother wondered whether his father might have been a wizard, but nobody has ever discovered the truth: that Dean's father, who had never told his wife what he was because he wanted to protect her, got himself killed by Death Eaters when he refused to join them. The projected story had Dean discovering all this during his school career. I suppose in some ways I sacrificed Dean's voyage of discovery for Neville's, which is more important to the central plot.

Title of Book Six: The Truth (excerpt)

"I was delighted to see that a hard core of super-bright fans knew that the real title was once, in the long distant past, a possibility for 'Chamber of Secrets', and from that deduced that it was genuine. Certain crucial pieces of information in book six were originally planned for 'Chamber of Secrets', but very early on (first draft of Chamber) I realised that this information's proper home was book six. I have said before now that 'Chamber' holds some very important clues to the ultimate end of the series. Not as many as six, obviously, but there is a link."

thanks so much for showing me the "do not disturb" door!! ok 2 quick questions:

(1) Are the flies, spiders and butterflies that fly around important in any way?

(2) Under "extra stuff" (the cup on her desk) what is the point of turning the radio on and off?

thanks again! if u know any more secrets about the website feel free to share!

YOU TELL HIM, NIKKI BLAKE! I COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF.

HARRY POTTER KICKS.

Nikki, I just finished re-reading the 4th book recently, and I also was curious about why Voldemort only mentioned Lucius's name in the graveyard.. that could possibly be something for the upcoming books.. but it could also just be clarifying that Lucius is in fact a death eater.

me:
on jk's site click on the hairband on her desk and it will transport you to the door (it can't be opened at the moment so it is kind of a waste of time) it supposesedly has some info about book 6 behind it. for the brief time it was open, there was a brick wall and u were supposed to click bricks in the right order (like Diagon Alley) and then a piece of paper would pop out and tell u about book 6. i knew the bricks you had to click but didn't know the order. i was so mad when i went to mugglenet the next morning i found out it was closed again!!

okay connoly,
do u have a life? you have nothing better to do than laugh at people.

back to "me":
i like the idea about Mark Evans going to hogwarts and being the Half-blood prince. plus, it sounds like dudley and his gang beat up on him a lot, something they did to another half-blood (Harry)

thanks for readin

Luke Connolly-

I find your comments unwarranted and utterly unnecessary. It takes, what, maybe fifteen, twenty minutes out of each day for me to hop online, check my email, read any additional theories that have been posted, and post any new ideas of my own that I might have developed. That does not seem excessive to me as you may spend much more time than that looking at God knows what on the internet.

I do devote a great deal of time to considering certain plot aspects from Harry Potter; I would never deny it. But that certainly does not mean that I have no outside life. I have a job. Actually, come to think of it, I have two jobs. I have the job where I work difficult hours standing on my feet, and then I have the job that I work on when I get home, which is writing my own original work and making sure that it is written the best that it can possibly be. Making it right the first time will make it less of an editing nightmare when it comes time for the second draft, you see. When I have spare time, I go out with my friends. I read constantly, and not only Harry Potter. I would venture to guess that the majority of people on this site, regardless of age, are most likely more well read and much better educated than you are. We do not live in a fantasy world, we merely consider the complexities that an incredibly talented author has taken a great deal of effort to create. Speaking as a writer who puts a great deal of detailed effort into her work, I know that it would feel rather pointless if I didn't know that someday there are people like these loyal fans of Harry Potter who will be able to catch certain things in my work. JK Rowling probably puts more planning into her work than any of us even realize, so imagine how disappointed she would be if no one noticed any of it.

Now, I understand that you may not have actually read this entire thing. But I'm going to go on for a bit anyway. I think you seriously need to consider your motives for visiting this site. Is it right to go somewhere only for the sake of laughing at people who are enjoying themselves? It seems downright cruel to me, and if you had any sense of moral fiber you would realize it. Find your own way to have fun without laughing at people who do it in a way that you don't understand. I don't necessarily like football, but I certainly don't laugh at anyone who does.

Never insult me again. It is unnecessary, as it only angers me and instills in me an even stronger desire to become successful. Keep your insults to yourself, and try to figure out why it is that you waste your time laughing at people rather than on improving your own life. Or at least your grammar skills, for that matter. Insults always mean a bit more, you see, if the person seems literate.

luke connelly is so pathetic he has nothing to do except ridicule others because he is sooo stupid and he knows it too. a classic case of putting others down just to build yourself up.

ok nikki blake and andrew-i really really think you are very close to what is actually going to happen in the last 2 books. Could the half-blood prince be mark evans??? hmm....well i think that mark evans will be VERY important in the last 2 books (omg it is just hitting me there are only 2 left!) bc it CANNOT be a coincidence that his name is evans and he was 10 years old in book 5 so in 6 he will be 11, which is the age for going to hogwarts soooooo if he is a wizard he should show up in book 6.

on JKR'S website she talks about a "do not disturb" door-I CANT FIND IT! WHERE IS IT, WHAT IS IT AND HOW DO YOU OPEN IT? PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS. please post comments.email is broken.

Perfect=EMH

*Edited, because I can. :D

I haven't decided yet if this means anything or not, but I noticed something rather odd when I was reading through the graveyard scene in GoF to help me organize my thoughts about one of my ideas. The idea I was researching is not quite ready to post yet, but it should be within the next few days. I happened to notice that no one had posted in a couple days and I decided that that had to stop, so here is what I noticed the other night.

Voldemort greets all of the Death Eaters that are present at the graveyard, but he only greets and addresses one of them by their first name. That individual is Lucius Malfoy. Hmm. I wonder if there is a reason that Voldemort only addresses Lucius informally while referring to everyone else by their surnames. Please post thoughts on this matter. I'm terribly interested to know what you all think.

don't know if it means anything but on j.k.'s official site in the tropphy room (the key on her desk will lead u there) there are awards that are mentioned in the book but there also is and award for Frank Longbottem, Sirius Black, Belatrix (Black) Lestrange, and Lilly (Evans) Potter. Don't know if it means any thing important but

Thanks for readin

true title of book six is ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince!!

According to J.K. Rowling's official website

Thanks for readin

Could the Half Blood prince be Dean Thomas?

Yo, Nikki Blake,

I agree on the whole "will not, not cannot" thing. I was disagreeing on people when they say things like they can't use wands against each other (like # 4 above)

(please post comments, i disabled my e-mail)

Thanks for readin.

I would like everyone to please note that my idea was not that Harry CANNOT kill Voldemort. I don't think Harry WILL kill Voldemort. There is a distinct difference in the meanings of the two sentences. Harry may kill Bellatrix Lestrange, and I am sure many readers probably hope he will, but personally my money is on Neville to kill that woman. Again, I don't think Harry will KILL Voldemort; there will be another way entirely of vanquishing him...something WORSE than death for him.

i think the idea of harry not being able to kill voldemort is quite ludicrous. the reason he couldn't in book 4 is cuz they cast spells at the same time.

does anyone know exact wording or where i could find it as far as the statement from jk goes something about a part (or did she say thing or scene or something?) coming in books 6/7?

post answers i disabled my e-mail

I think the idea of Harry not being able to kill voldemort is right on. But think in the scene with Belatrix Lestrange, Harry does the crutacious curse on her. I believe that Sirius's death is a turning point in Harry's life. Before this he had only experianced loss in his life because of Voldemort indirectly. Sirius's death he feel very personally. It has definately changed Harry. It might not be too far of a leap for him to kill Voldemort.

holy moly!!!1
nikki and andrew!!!

Im not sure if i am happy or sad?
I have been waiting ever since I finished OOTP for the 6th and 7th books.. but i dont think i have to anymore!
those are the best, I think, endings and theories into what is to come i have ever heard!

Bravo! and Damn you!! :)

Wow, Andrew. No one has ever come so close to posting one of my ideas before I actually posted it myself. I really liked the 'over his head' bit. I was going to post this today anyway, and since you sort of opened the idea, I feel like I can add my thoughts about it. Get ready for more ramblings from Nikki Blake.

I don't think Harry will kill Voldemort. In OotP, Voldemort tells Dumbledore that there is nothing worse than death. To even begin to theorize about what will ultimately happen to cause Voldemort's demise, we must consider that there are several things he would believe to be worse than death.

* People no longer fearing him
* The loss of all his power
* The dementor's kiss (What worst moments do they force him to recall?)

I would particularly like to know what moments the dementors would force our villain to relive, and I think that the information will eventually come to light. Until then, it is definitely something to ponder, but I am leaning toward the fact that it would be a moment that has not yet been mentioned, so readers will likely not be able to hit upon the correct idea.

Earlier I stated that I don't think Harry will kill Voldemort. The idea originally came from careful consideration of the wording of the prophecy. I write quite a bit (during the times in which I am not voicing my opinions on Harry Potter sites, that is!) and as I have developed my most recent plot lines I have settled upon what I suppose could be called my new motto for my writing: Word choice is ever so important.

The use of certain words can be one of the strongest and most subtle ways of foreshadowing events that are to come. I firmly believe that it was this type of mentality that led to the use of the word 'vanquish' in that all-important prophecy. Once again, I refer to my dictionary. Vanquish: a) to overcome in battle; to subdue completely b) to defeat in a conflict or contest C) to gain mastery over

I am sure it has been duly noted that nowhere in the definition of 'vanquish' does it mention killing. Word choice is ever so important.

Now I kow that some of you are out there frantically flipping toward the end of OotP, ready to write a response to this, gleeful that you have found the quote to stop my ramblings.

'Either must die at the hand of the other.'

'That'll stop that silly Nikki Blake,' you're thinking, 'One of them has got to kill the other.'

It does seem that way, doesn't it?

I must now be perfectly honest with all of you. I do not have a concrete explanation to refute that. I cannot yet find the way that that line of the prophecy fits with my idea. But that by no means completely discredits my thoughts. It does not necessarily mean that I am wrong, only that I do not have all the answers. As no one but the author herself knows the truth, I would hope that perhaps all of those reading this might get their highly creative minds working in an attempt to see if somehow, someway, that line could fit my idea. I'm halfway there already, so it'll be interesting to see if anyone else can follow my train of thought. Keep in mind: Word choice is ever so important!

4? Harry will not be able to kill Voldemort, he is not a murderer. There will be a moment in the last book when he has the power to do so, but no matter how angry he feels he won't do it. As Harry hesitates in killing him, Voldemort will gain the advantage and curse Harry with the Avada Kedavra. For the first time since Harry was a baby there will be nothing in the way to stop the curse, except the original Avada kedavra curse. Harry has lived with the death curse over his head(literaly) all his life. The only thing that stopped it working was his mothers protection. Voldemort will release the original spell, which will still not be able to kill Harry, but will seek out the closest thing, Harry's blood (which Voldemort used to come back)Voldemorts magic will be turned back onto himself, has a wizard ever cursed himself? He will be destroyed, unable to come back again, because he used his own magic to die. Harry's scar fades. Just an idea, carn't wait for the next 2 books.

Yeah, I read the stuff on mugglenet right after I posted my response. But I still think that it is better than the other hoax ones we have heard.

I don't know about that title. Have any of you been to MuggleNet lately? They have composed an entire list of reasons why that title may in fact have been a forgery. I think everyone should read their ideas. They're really quite good.

I haven't heard anything about that but it sounds better that the ones that we know are fake that have been in circulation. (green flame torch, etc.) I like it. Also, it would seem to make sense (parent love) with the things that JKR has told us about the next 2 books. (she has said that we will learn more about Harry's family and stuff). I like it.

I'v been hearing rumours that Book six will be called Harry Potter and The Pillar of Storge (the "e" should have an accent but i can't do them on my computer). Storge is latin for parental love. I was just wondering what everyone else's views were on this title. Do you think it is real or just a very clever fake??

If you go to the JKR website and go to extra stuff then characters and click on crookshanks JKR explains where she got the idea for crookshanks and reveals that he is part Kneazle.

So sorry not an animagus, but there still might be some hidden connection to mundungus. But also why would he have to dress like a Witch (I think sirius reveals this to us in how he has found out about the DA) if he was an animagus?

that was very helpful--thanks everyone. i dont think crookshanks is mundungus in an animagus form but i do think there is something about them that is unexplained....and i dont want harry to die!

anyone heard if there is any sort of date set for the 6th book to come out yet? and what is jkr's website?

soooooooooooo many people think Harry will die

the books were published cuz it was a good story line but mostly cuz it taght valuble lessons

what would it say to have the "good guy" die in the end

Thanks for readin

yo, KMK

i suppose that crookshanks being Mundugnus is possible i just don't think it likely cuz Crookshanks is described as clever and Mundungnus isn't considered clever

thanks for readin

I have just read Nikki Blake's theory and felt, after reading it, I could further it with a good bit of symbolism.
The fact that Voldemort and Harry share the same core and cannot truly LIVE while the other survives is shown in the grave yard. Their wands have the same core and will not work properly against each other. They cannot truly work as Harry and Voldemort cannot truly live.
However, if one of them could truly live, then what eminates from their wands, shows how they would work for what ever they wanted. Voldemort leads with agression and attempts to kill and bully things to get his own way. Harry, on the other hand, tries to be diplomaic and just attempts to dissarm Voldemort. This is ultimately Voldemorts downfall because you never gain true respect as a bully. Harry will be the winner and will truly LIVE because people always get more respect from others when they are calm (shown again in book 5 when Dumbledore is calm while fighting Voldemort. Dumbledore forces Voldemort to flee). If you try to sort out an argument with rash aggression you will receive aggression back which solves nothing. A quiet word would work far better. This is Harry's approach and however Harry tries to beat Voldemort, whether he dies first and then Voldemort dies and then Harry comes back to life, doesn't matter. Harry will win because his approach is that of someone who has respect from others.

I agree that the name similarity of Mark Evans does make one think that there must be a connection to Lily. That is one of those things that I think (unfortunately) that, no matter how we try to theorize, we will never quite be able to guess. It will probably work out to be some kind of a connection. Could Lily and Petunia have had a brother? Petunia's family is never mentioned, so it is possible that she alienated herself from her family and that Lily and her brother remained close. Although why Harry would have been sent to the Dursley's then is absolutely beyond me. I think we can agree, though, that even though Dumbledore told Harry he was going to tell him everything, he most likely has not yet told him EVERYTHING.

I cannot think what the connection between the Gudgeons is, but that does not by any means mean that there is not a connection.

On JKR's website, she says that Crookshanks is not an animagus, so I don't think that there is a direct link between Hermione's cat and Mundungus. Crookshanks does, however, seem to have a very strong connection to Sirius. Will he be sad, I wonder, that Sirius is no longer in the world of the living?

Now let me address the alchemy theories. I must say, they are thought out very well. The way I see it, though, almost every long-running story could be manipulated to fit those ideas. Alchemy is a very methodical process, as is the writing of a long and complicated story. I don't know if the similarities are intentional on the part of the author. When I read the justifications of why the books fit with the steps of alchemy, I remember thinking that they seemed to be stretching a bit, though I am certainly not one to criticise for something like that.

The next time I post an idea of my own it will be concerning another line, or rather a word, of the prophecy, so I am very pleased to know that at least one person agrees with my previously stated ideas. :)

wow i think nikki blakes comments on the prophecy line are dead on. nikki blake, you should write a book! hehe :o) ok annnnyways we all know that whenever jk rowling uses name similarities in her books, it usually ends up being significant. we know that it isnt a coincidence....so the mark EVANS and lily EVANS thing --maybe they are related and harry has more family than we all thought and dumbledore has some reason for keeping this infromation from harry. i also noticed one other---lupin tells harry that a boy named davey GUDGEON lost an eye by an attack from the womping willow. gidleroy lockharts best fan is gladys GUDGEON....okay i have thought about this sooo many times and i cannot figure out how JKR can connect these two people.....PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me if you have ANY thoughts whatsoever on this~!!!!!

ALSO, i posted this earlier but no one gave any thoughts on it so i would like to hear what you think! i noticed several similarities between crookshanks and mundungus fletcher..."ginger-colored" hair/fur ..."bandy-legged"...and crookshanks randomly knew that sirius wasn't just a dog....

okay i'm almost done....i read somewhere that so far the first 5 HP books have matched exactly with the first 5 steps of alchemy of which there are 7 in total and which we know was important in PS sooo if anyone has read that theory or has ideas could you tell me?

cheers mate :0)

More Thoughts from Nikki Blake

'Neither can live while the other survives.'

Is that not the most wonderfully perplexing thing any of us has ever read? Now I know some of you are thoroughly convinced that the prophecy has no deep hidden meaning, so you can choose to read this or not if you are one of those people. I would really like for you to read my thoughts, but I do hope, that since you do have the choice of whether to read it, you would hold your tongue rather than ripping these ideas apart as you have attempted to do to those of others.

'Neither can live while the other survives.'

So what, exactly, does that mean? Harry and Voldemort are certainly both surviving, but then, by dissecting the above phrase, we must be guessing correctly by presuming that neither is exactly living. They are alive, yes, but I believe all can agree that there is much more to life than sumply being alive.

I have looked at this in several different ways, one of which was of course from the angle that my main idea is correct. If they are in fact sharing the same core of existence, but with opposite aims, then clearly both cannot exist at the same time. One must gain mastery over the other. I know I have stated that exact idea several times, but sometimes repetition is the key to understanding a concept.

Now, that idea fits very nicely with my general thoughts about the line of the prophecy I am considering today.

'Neither can live while the other survives.'

Instead of considering the word 'live' simply in the terms of being alive, let us broaden our minds a bit and consider it in a more figurative light. When people say they want to live, many are actually saying that they want to pursue their dreams, to achieve their goals, to find happiness, and to live a rich, full life.

As long as the other survives, neither Harry nor Voldemort can live life as they truly wish to live it. Harry's existence prevents Voldemort from gaining absolute power, while Voldemort's existence has always prevented Harry from living a 'normal,' happy life.

So, let me try to sum this up briefly, though all you reading may not think I am capable of explaining anything briefly. the wording of the prophecy does not refer to being alive, because as we know, both are technnically alive. What I truly believe it does refer to is the fact that while his nemesis lives, neither Harry nor Voldemort can move on to what they really want to do with their lives. Neither can move past his connection with the other until the other has been vanquished. Summing up, neither Harry nor Voldemort can can live life the way they choose to live it while the other is still alive.

'Neither can LIVE while the other survives.'

I really think that Lupin is a ligilmens (excuse the spelling)cuz he seems to know the answer to everything and cuz J.K. always says "and as if he had read his mind, Lupin said"

Not the most intersting theory, but thanks for reading anyway

I know the theory of Lupin being James Potter is very interesting, but I have figured out that it just is not possible. The most obvious reason is the whole boggart thing. James Potter would not be terrified of the moon.

Cheers Harry, that clear that up very well actually. I Knew JKR wouldn't make an over site like that.

NO! They are not just books! Harry Potter is life! lol Just Kidding. I think some of my friends think that I believe that though!

SOMEBODY-- i understand what you mean by "they are just books" but i think it is a little strange and hypocritical for you to say so on a website that YOU visited, knowing full well what the website was about AND that you visited a second time so OBVIOUSLY you think they are just more than "children's novels" if u want to criticise, do it on a harry potter hate website, not on a website where the purpose is to talk about them....and if u are so against them why did u visit it in the first place? dont respond to this bc i have no interest in what u have to say...

anyways i am not here to argue, i am here to learn more about HARRY POTTER!! YAY! sooooo nikki blake--i agree completely and understand what u are saying....the only thing is that i would hate it if it turned out that way--i dunno why...but it seems very logical to me.

i read somewhere that jk rowling said that in order to see the thestrals, you have to have witnessed a death, understood what it meant and let it sunk in...so when harry saw his mother die he didnt understand what it meant so therefore he couldnt see the thestrals in books 1,2,3 & the beginning of 4. he couldnt see them in the end of book 4 bc cedrics death hadnt sunk in....hope this helps!

thanks,
a very mad me aka harry

I've wondered about the thestrals for a long time too. It just doesn't seem to add up, and that isn't something that usually happens in these books. Maybe Harry was just too preoccupied to notice at the end of book four. Or maybe JKR didn't invent the thestrals until she was writing the fifth book. I don't want to think that she could have made any kind of an oversight, but it sort of seems like this may have been one. And I suppose everyone is entitled to make at least one mistake. Or maybe there is something more to the thestrals than we know right now. I don't know. If we're meant to figure it out it'll be explained in the next book or so.

I know it seems like only pure bloods get into Slytherin, but the hat put Voldemort into that house and he wasn't exactly pure blood either.

i think the sorting hat considered putting harry in Slytherin cuz Slytherin's qualities are "clever and cunning" and Harry sorta fits those qualities. the whole "pure-bloods only get into Slyterin" is never stated but usually applies

yo Hugo,

I have been wodering why harry couldn't see threstals till book 5 too. my best guess is that u can only see them when you are obsessing over the person's death even though that seems extremely unlikely.

okay Harry:
what i mean about the Harry Potter series being a children's novel, people should not obsses over them constantly THET ARE JUST BOOKS!!

P.S. I usually have extremely strong opinions when i am in a bad mood, most of which i never mena. I was in a bad mood yesterday (my alarm clock didn't go off, I ddn't have time to eat breakfast, frizzy hair,lost my favorite pen, ect.)

I would like to know why Harry couldn't see the Thestrals at the end of book 1 or in book 2, 3 or 4. He had seen his mother die which he surely had subconscious memories about because he could hear his mom when dementors are close. He must have seen Voldie murder his mom so therefore he should have been able to see the Thestrals.
At the end of book 4 he should certainly have been able to see them, having seen Cedric die in the graveyard.

I shall now attempt to futher explain what I mean about Harry and Voldemort sharing the same core, although it may be a bit difficult for me. I don't know if this has ever happened to anyone else, but sometimes I get ideas and have very strong feelings about them without exactly knowing how to explain them. Then of course there is the possibility that my explanation will make sense to no one but myself. But I suppose that is a chance I will have to take.

It was while I was reading OotP for the second time that this idea came to me. The connection between Voldemort and Harry's minds that allows them to actually see into each other's minds is what started me thinking: Are Harry and Voldemort somehow the same?

During the curse that failed to kill Harry, Voldemort and Harry were somehow combined. They are the same, with most of the same powers and talents, (hence Harry's ability to speak Parseltongue) but 'in essence' they are divided. Voldemort must always be evil, while Harry must always work to expel the evil lurking within himself. This can be accomplished only by vanquishing Voldemort, who keeps the evil alive.

I have always known that Dumbledore's silver instrument had a great significance. I mean, when does anything that interesting ever happen in a book for absolutely no reason whatsoever? The first snake respresents Harry and Voldemort in their combinied state. The snake then divides into two, representing the separate entities of Harry and Voldemort. Then Dumbledore makes his wonderfully intriguing comment about 'in essence divided.'

According to the dictionary I have, 'essence' is defined thusly: a)the permanent as contrasted with the accidental element of being b)the individual, real, or ultimate nature of a thing esp. as opposed to its existence

My personal favorite is the first definition. The 'accident' is the fact that Harry and Voldemort are combined, though according to Fate it may very well have had to happen that way. That's another discussion and too much of a headache for me to deal with right now, though. The 'permanent' refers to Harry as one being and Voldemort as a separate being. This idea also works with the second definition of 'essence,' as I am sure anyone can see if they think about it from the proper perspective.

Back to the wands, which is what 'ABCDEFG' originally asked me to explain. I don't really know what else to say now that I have described my idea from the additional perspective of the snakes. I'll reiterate and see if it sinks in a bit more clearly this time, I suppose. The wands and the connection of their components are merely symbolic of the greater connection between Voldemort and Harry. Harry and Voldemort, in their separate states, are complete opposites, as are the outsides of their wands. However, due to whatever strange circumstances surrounded the situation that resulted in their combination, they are the same at the core, as are their wands.

'The wand chooses the wizard.' We must keep in mind that when Voldemort first got his wand, he was no more than Tom Marvolo Riddle. For whatever reason, the wand with Fawkes's feather chose him. I cannot explain that one yet.

One more thought about Harry, Voldemort, and the prophecy before I end this. They are one in the same, though with opposite aims, so they cannot coexist. When good and evil struggle within one body as they do within Harry, only one can be victorious. Before anyone goes all nuts thinking that my ideas about them being the 'same' mean that Harry absolutely must die in order for things to progress accordingly, let me simply state my ideas on the subject. If during the final struggle good overcomes evil, (as no doubt it probably will) Voldemort will be destroyed and Harry as we know him will continue to live. However, if by some ridiculous chance evil wins, Voldemort will rise to full power and Harry will be utterly destroyed.

Also, (sorry, I know I said I was almost done!)my idea is helpful in further explaining why Harry wants to attack Dumbledore on those occasions during OotP. The evil/Voldemort part of him is struggling for prominence.

Now I have explained everything the best I know how to at this point in time. Better explanations may very well come to me later, but please let me know if this makes any sort of sense. I'm still working on organizing my ideas about particular parts of the prophecy, so that will probably be the aspect I address next.

What about Tonks for the new DADA teacher?

If spells bounce off hagrid, does that mean the killing curse won't work on him too 'cos of the giant blood??

ok SOMEBODY: if u would like to view the harry potter books as "children's novels" and think it is dumb for the people who love them to get this much into them, then DONT COME TO WEBSITES WHERE THE ENTIRE PURPOSE IS TO TALK AOUT HARRY POTTER AND DONT MAKE NASTY COMMENTS ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO DO COME TO HAVE INTELLIGENT DISCUSSIONS AND TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY LOVE!!! ahhhhhhh!!!!

you people honestly get to far into the Harry Potter books. THEY ARE CHILDREN'S NOVELS!

honestly

very few people seem to understand prophecies so i would like to explain.

Just pretend that there r "people" who know everything. They knew Voldemort would mark Harry so that that is how they reffered to Harry. They also knew one of them would of them would die and they knew which would but the "people" makeing prophecies don't like giving it away.

Gosh all I ever do on here is criticize other peoples theories. lol! I need to come up with one of my own!

The post by Hugo seems to be one of the most sensible explanations of the Hermione, Ron, Harry love triangle sorta thing. I agree that if Hermione is destined to be with Harry that she will be with Ron first. The books have worked the Hermione Ron angle and the movies most definately have!

Also, (something of my own for a change) I dismissed the idea of Harry and Luna getting together from the start, but now as I once again reread Order of the Pheonix I am begining to believe that it might work. They are both social outcasts in their own way. However, I am still pulling for Ginny. I love Ginny she's my favorite character after the TRIO.

I think that Hermione is actually in love with Harry. I reckon she will go out with Ron but it won't work out and she will probably end up with Harry. She is devoted to Harry and is willing to suffer physical pain. This is symblolised in the Department of Mysteries when she suffers at the hands of the death eater. She helps Harry with Cho because she cares more for his happiness than her own. This is her true love expressed for Harry in he only way she seems to know how. Her and Ron is much too obvious and they are to much like family because she know's the Weasley family an spends time with them. They will realise that it will not work between them and Hermione will confess her love for Harry.

I do agree that there is alot of evidence that could support that Harry could be the heir of Griffindore. However, I still am not as convinced as many of the people on these sites. In reguards to Nymphadora's post I agree with all of her points except the Griffindore heir killing Voldemort one. I cannot think of ever reading that, but it might be in there. (I have read the entire series 6 times though) However, if there is an Heir to Griffindore it definately would be Harry! (That might explain his huge fortune. Didn't JKR say that we would find out more about that in book 6?)

DEFINATELY- if there is an heir to Griffindore it is Harry.

I believe the theory that Harry is the heir to Gryffindor. These are just some of the reasons i remember reading:
1. The gems on Godric's sword in CoS were red. They could be RUBIES, the birthstone of July.
2. Dumbledore said that only a true Gryffindor could have pulled Godric's sword out of the sorting hat.
3. Harry's starsign is Leo(lion) which is the mascot of Gryffindor.
4. It was predicted that the heir to Gryffindor would bring down the heir to Slytherin (I'm not sure if this one is true or not).
5.When Harry tries out his wand in Ollivanders, red and gold sparks shoot out of it. Red and gold are the colors of Gryffindor House.

Nikki Blake--Please explain what you are talking about with the Harry-Voldemort-share-same-core thing in further depth....and keep the theories coming! I think I understand what you are saying and I sort of agree....sort of.

Lately I have been doing some thinking about Harry and Voldemort's wands. In addition to Harry and Voldemort being undeniably linked, the fact that tail feathers from Dumbledore's phoenix created both wands means that Dumbledore is also undeniably linked to the entire story. But that's not what I set out to write about today. No, today I am addressing the unique parallels between the two wands and the two adversaries.

Presumably their wands are incredibly important. After all, we know that the wands have the same core before we know almost anything else about the Harry-Voldemort connection. Also, in the chapter in which Harry buys his wand from Mr. Ollivander - incidentally, I've just reread that scene; there is something rather eye catching about Mr. Ollivander's silvery eyes, in which Harry can clearly see his reflection - Mr. Ollivander twice precisely describes Voldemort's wand in the exact same wording. "Thirteen and a half inches. Yew."

All right then. Now for some basic stating of the obvious. Both Voldemort's wand and Harry's have one of Fawkes's feathers at the core. Voldemort's is made of yew. Harry's is made of holly. Harry tried a wand that was maple with a phoenix feather, and that one didn't work, likely because he needed the combination of Fawkes's feather and holly.

I am sure that all of us can agree that symbolism is incredibly important in these works. Symbolically, yew and holly have distinct meanings. A yew tree, often found in cemeteries, as, in fact, it is in the scene of Voldemort's resurrection, is frequently considered a symbol of death. Holly, on the other hand, is always considered a symbol of life.

Again this may seem a bit obvious, but I feel the need to state it anyway. The cores of their wands are the same, but the outsides are opposite.

Here is where we come to my theory.

I have already said that Voldemort and Harry are very closely linked. I am beginning to believe that perhaps they may be the same. Not the same person, mind you. Please keep that in mind.

At the end of CoS, Dumbledore expressed the idea that Voldemort transferred some of his powers to Harry the night he tried to kill him. Perhaps Voldemort transferred much more than that. He may, in fact have transferred himself. Obviously I mean this in a very figurative manner.

This likely seems incredibly confusing. However, let us consider it in terms of the wands for a moment. Harry and Voldemort are the same at the core, but the cores are encased by complete opposites. Those opposites are destined to be in continual conflict with each other, as are good and evil, love and hatred.

I have more about this idea, including thoughts about the section of the prophecy that claims 'neither can live while the other survives,' but I think I will give people a chance to think this over and possibly respond before I continue.

Okay, just to clarify, I did not mean any insult to Dumbledore. He is an exceptionally admirable character, and I did not mean to insult him, only to raise questions that might get people thinking. And the question does remain...what about Argus Filch?

"-NEVER-INSULT-ALBUS-DUMBLEDORE-IN-FRONT-OF-ME!"

But seriously, if we can't trust Dumbledore and his judement, who can we trust within the series.

Firstly, we know know the reason, atleast partially, that Dumbledore trusts Snape is because he turned against Voldemort and became a spy for the Order of the Pheonix.

In relation to Hagrid, and to quote JKR herself, "HOW DARE YOU!" Hagrid's mistakes are just that, mistakes. We know, from his actions in the books, that Hagrid is not one of the most intelligent characters. (I love Hagrid just as much as anyone else. I mean nothing bad against him, but lets face it.) Dumbldore trust Hagrid because of his unflinching love and devotion. Also as we can tell Hagrid hates the dark arts and the Death Eaters.

Thirdly, the way that Dumbledore treats people is perfectly in line with JKR's theme that it is more important what you are presently or will become than what you were born or once were. Dumbledore treats people based upon how they act now. For example recall the way that he treats Fudge at the ministry of magic at the conclusion of book five. He is curt and direct but once Fudge has realized his mistakes and decided to do something about them Dumbledore does not hold them against him.

Personally, I believe that Dumbledore is the most admirable characters in the book. He spurns power for himself (I am speaking of how he could have easily had the job of minister of magic and refused it) and he treats people fairly.

!!!!!!!!LONG LIVE ALBUS PPERCIVAL WULFRIC BRIAN DUMBLEDORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a few thoughts to consider:
Dumbledore's Trust: Faulty?

Why does Dumbledore trust...
*Snape: Obviously a question on everyone's minds. He was a Death Eater, so there must be some reason, some trait of some kind that Dumbledore finds redeeming. Snape hates Harry, James, Sirius, Lupin, and just about everyone that isn't in Slytherin...just about everyone we like.

*Filch: He has a horrible temper and personality, can't do a lick of magic, and has a creepy cat. Why, then, in a school of witchcraft and wizardry, is a squib employed in a position that could much more easily and effectively be filled by someone with some magical powers? He also enjoys torturing children, as seen by his pleasure at the newly given permission to beat Fred and George Weasley.

*Hagrid: Yes, we all know and love him, but there are things that point him down a questionable path. For instance, he sent Harry and Ron into a hollow he knew to be infested with carnivorous acromantulas. Even if these disgusting creatures respected him, he must have known that they would not feel the same way toward strangers. After all, he does claim to know his "pets" fairly well. He was down Knockturn Alley that day in CoS, and he is constantly bringing strange and dangerous creatures onto the grounds. He was expelled. True, it was Tom Riddle's fault; however, when it came down to the two of them, who would trust Tom? Also, even though he was framed, he was raising a dangerous creature under Dumbledore's nose. Or did Dumbledore know? He does, after all, seem to know just about everything else.

So, there are a few people at Hogwarts who are suspicious and possibly should not be there. So is it simply faulty trust or poor judgment, or is it intentional? It would seem terribly out of character for Dumbledore to be such a poor judge of character, but then why does he employ someone who wants to physically punish the students?

Just a disclaimer: I think Hagrid is a wonderful character, and his loyalty to Harry does not usually seem questionable. However, it cannot be denied that his loyalty to Dumbledore does seem to be much stronger than his loyalty to anyone else. Just something to think about.

I have to say, when I first read that there was a theory that Lupin was James Potter, I was a bit outraged. It seemed about the most unlikely thing I had ever read. But then, I read the explanation of it, the one that uses the idea of a Switching Spell, and while it didn't exactly convince me, it has some valid points. One thing that does stand out in its favor is the fact that Harry is asked the definition of a Switching Spell on his Transfig. O.W.L. exam, and usually when something has been randomly mentioned like that in the past it has had some later significance. It would certainly be an interesting twist, but somehow I don't think Harry will ever meet either of his parents. At least not in a living state. Somehow I seem to remember that it has been said that readers will never see a living James or Lily.

Anyway, now for some little theories of my own. First of all, I definitely think that we will see Aragog again. The way he is mentioned in the 5th book almost seems like a reminder that he is still in there. I am not thrilled about the prospect of another meeting with him, (I'm something like Ron with the way I hate spiders) but I do think Aragog will make another appearance to help, if not Harry, then possibly Hagrid.

There is something incredibly important about that silver instrument that Dumbledore used in the 5th book. I certainly don't think that it was in any way confirming Harry's story about Mr. Weasley. That seems much too obvious for a clever writer, especially since that's what Harry thought it was doing. No, there is something much more to it than that. One of the theories I read here earlier came rather close to my idea, but with several major differences. For instance, I don't think anything is happening with differences in time. However, I do believe that Harry and Voldemort are much more closely connected than anyone knows at present. I believe it was Dumbledore who said that Harry's scar was the sign of a connection forged between he and Voldemort. That connection is the key to everything.

All of the Weasley's will die. No, just kidding. Really, though, I do think that at least one will die before the end. It seems to me that it may be the responsibility of Percy.

About Sirius...There are many reasons that a death can be difficult for a writer to write. Possibly an attachment to that particular character, or knowing the pain that the loss will cause another character, or not quite knowing how closure will be achieved. The truth is that author's can become very attached to their characters to the point that they actually worry how events will affect them, even if they know with certainty that the event must take place. Sirius may not be dead. All readers know by now that green light = Avada Kedavra and red light = Stupefy, the stunning spell. It seems deliberate that we do not actually know which it was that sent Sirius beyond the veil, although one would think that if Harry had seen the green light of the Avada Kedavra curse, he would not have thought that he could retrieve Sirius from the other side of the veil. There is definitely something to that veil. Of course, I have my ideas, but as this is getting rather lengthy I suppose I should wait to post them another time.

You're right sambo. However look at this way, some people suggest that anger is a sign of weakness - has Harry become more angry since Philosopher's Stone? But you're right.

I really think that it just means that only they can kill each other. Only Harry can kill Voldemort and only Voldemort can kill Harry. I think that the "either" statement means that they will be in conflict with one another while both live. I doubt that Harry getting stronger is weaking Voldemort or vice versa. I don't believe that the connect works that way. We have not seen any evidence to make that link. Voldemort was weakest in Sorceror's Stone, right, and he has been getting stronger gradually throughout the books which culminated with his return to his old body in Order of the Pheonix. If the connection worked the way that you are suggesting we should have seen a decline in Harry's powers and we have seen the opposite. Would anyone dissagree that Harry is stronger in Order of the Pheonix than in Sorceror's Stone? I don't think so.

The 'either' can live line about them both surviving now is interesting, I agree BUT we know that Voldemort is 'barely' surviving as it is [he drank unicorn blood which means that he can only live a half-life] and prior to the end of Goblet he was nothing more than a baby. In Philosopher's Stone he was merely a spirit. Depending on what people regard as 'living', this is very open to interpretation. Perhaps because Harry is still only young/not yet a man, Voldemort can 'survive' but just barely. Perhaps with the more magic Harry learns the less Voldemort can 'survive'.

I really don't think that there is alot of hidden meanings dehind the prophecy. I think that JKR meant it to be pretty straight-forward. Blah blah blah... one must kill the other.... blah blah blah.

Who do we think will be griffendor quiddich captain? I think that it will be Harry, but who knows?

Has anyone thought about the wording of the prophecy - that 'either' must kill 'other', in earlier English grammar, doesn't mean that one of them must, it's a way of saying they both must, i.e. a mutual slaying. (If you read Thomas Malory, you'll find lots of either/other meaning 'both'.) Also, that neither can live while the other survives is interesting - as they're both 'surviving' at the moment, presumably neither is 'living'? I can't work it out but I am sure there is weird stuff going on with time, that links Harry more closely to Voldemort than we know (nothing so crass as father/son). I don't believe in the whole orphanage-and-mother's-death story. Not after Barty Crouch's mother. It's a typical literary way of shrouding someone's origins in mystery.

(Thanks for the positive reaction, Sambo).

Has anyone thought about the wording of the prophecy - that 'either' must kill 'other', in earlier English grammar, doesn't mean that one of them must, it's a way of saying they both must, i.e. a mutual slaying. (If you read Thomas Malory, you'll find lots of either/other meaning 'both'.) Also, that neither can live while the other survives is interesting - as they're both 'surviving' at the moment, presumably neither is 'living'? I can't work it out but I am sure there is weird stuff going on with time, that links Harry more closely to Voldemort than we know (nothing so crass as father/son). I don't believe in the whole orphanage-and-mother's-death story. Not after Barty Crouch's mother. It's a typical literary way of shrouding someone's origins in mystery.

(Thanks for the positive reaction, Sambo).

I had never thought about the home-school or bastard children idea before. Makes for very interesting possibilities.

I wonder if Dumbledore is going to teach Harry Occlumency in the 6th book. Can't remember where that comes from, just an inpression that I got. Pretty sure that he is going to take a much mopre active role in Harry's education though.

Also will the DA still continue? I think that it is good for Harry. It really boosts his confidence and is a ray on sunshine in his gloomy attitude. Not to mention the good it has done for many of the other characters, especially Neville.

Re: who is related to whom. Was it Seamus's or Dean's mother who didn't tell her husband that she was a witch? And do wizards ever homeschool their children (what was going to be the alternative for those parents who were going to withdraw their children from Hogwarts because of rumours about Harry and distrust of Dumbledore)? Two massive clues that people may not know where their blood comes from. And how about bastards? I'm sure there must be tons of Malfoy bastards. Despising a 'race' has never prevented anyone from mating forcibly with members of said 'race'. Maybe Lily has Malfoy blood this way; that's why Dobby could come to Harry.

I REALLY don't think that Dumbledore is realted to Harry and from what JKR has said about the matter REALLY REALLY don't think that Sirius is alive. I think that the veil is possible the way that the misitry kills its highest offenders. Sorta like lethal injection, a painless way to die. Perhaps we might see Sirius agin through the two way mirror of something else but i am sure that he is dead.

When Ms. Weasly saw the flashes of her family dead, there was one person missing. Coincidence?

I have a theory on the Dumbledore grandfather thing.

I still thinks its far fetched, but I feel honor bound to point it out.

When asked about it, J.K. responds "Then why on earth would he be sent to the Dursleys?"

Well, I think there is a slim possibility that that is a legitimate question.
The answer, would be that if he was James's family, then it still wouldn’t protect him because he needed to be with LILY's blood, not James's.

I think that Sirius probably didn't die (but then again... why would JKRowling cry when she killed him off). What I think, is that Sirius was pushed into the Veil by that Stunner. he was not killed, but only stunned. Remus Lupin pulled Harry back probably because he thought Sirius had actually died from the Avada Kedavra cursey thingy, and didn't know that Sirius was hit by a stunner instead... Well... I'm probably just being a crazy... but that is what I think anyway... And it probablyISN'T Going to happen but oh well! ^.^

I don't like the Snape liking Lily thoeries. Order of the Pheonix he insults her when she comes to his rescue. If the girl you like does something nice for you you don't go and insult her for it. Also there;s the whole pure-blood mud-blood thing. But do we know if Snape is a pure-blood? I can't remember one way or another. I assume that he is because he was in Slytherin. Arrrrg! Who knows!

Stop all this nonsense about Harry being related to Voldemort, from the last chapter of Chamber of Secrets. "You can speak Parlseltouge, Harry," said Dumbledore calmly, "because Lord Voldemort-who is the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin-can speak Parseltouge." Voldemort is the last ancestor. Harry is not related. STOP THIS NONSENSE!

Against boredom even the gods contend in vain.

Lily's and Petunia's mother or father were both muggles. Remember in the Order of the Pheonix in Snapes memory. Snape calls Lily a mudblood. So she must have been a witch of muggle parentage like Hermione.

i think voldemort will dye and harry will have to kill him and ron at the same time because voldemort will possess ron with magic. this is what i think will happen in the harry potter books maybe in book 6 or book 7.

I didn't say Dudley may have magic, I said his father Vernon may have some magic saying "mimblewimble" to Hagrid in the hut on a rock which may be why Hagrid's pig spell didn't work properly. The spell makes the other person's spell go improper.

I think the gleam in Dumbledore's eye may have something to do with what Harry said about Voldie taking his blood so he could have that protection. Voldie seems to forget and take for granted old magic and there may yet be a good reason that Voldie may be killed by using Harry's blood. Also it may have to do with Wormtail. Dumbledore said that Wormtail and Harry are connected because Harry saved him and that may not work well for Voldie. I sometimes...wonder if wormtail will help Harry destroy Voldamort.

For everyone out there who thinks that it is Neville who the prophecy is reffering to and not Harry, check this out. On the second disc of the DVD of Chamber of Secrets there is an interview with J.K. Rowling and Steve Kloves, the man who wrote the movie. J.K. Rowling says during the interview that "Dumbledore knows everything" Therefore it CANNOT be Neville because Dumbledore tells Harry it is him. Honestly, they are the Harry Potter books and not the Neville Longbottom books so I don't understand why everyone is so convinced that the prophecy is talking about Neville. Think about it, people.

Thanks,
Jorinda

If JK Rowling were ever to bring Sirius back, I would be pist. I have just come to terms with the fact that we lost him. Bringing him back would mean that i went through that for nothing, just for the ammusment ok JK Rowling, I think not. And she would never do that, just because it would be a horrible twist and it would be childish. You can never bring any one back to life in real life and i think that's what shes sending as a message to people not only because its a turning point in a book. JKr writes about real problems in life (not that having your kids take your flying ford anglia out for a joy ride would really happen but) the princible of the situations are real. For instance: Lupin is faced with his DISABILITY and it is hard for him to find a job. Many people have disablity's and the fact the James Sirius and Peter could except that is showing something about life and Racism is another thing, not only with this particular situation but through out all of the series (goblins, house elves, werewolfs, "half breeds" etc etc.) ...

Wow i am totally off track, sorry about rambling

Ok people...
Reading these theories has given me great ideas!
but i will share them later
first i would like to answer some ones question...
They asked about Dumbledore using the silver instrament in his office and the snakes came out and divided. Yes well i think i might have the answer

My guess is that thing was telling Dumbledore about what happened to the connection between Harry and Voldemort. I remember him saying somewhere later in the book, at the end more or less, that Harry had traveled so far into Voldemorts mind that he actually sensed him there, so that means harry's mind must have been there for a few moments. Now when dumbledore tapped the instrament the snake cloud came out, probably signifing that it happened in Voldemorts body (Voldemort heir of Slytherian... snakes yeah) and then when he said 'In essence divide?' it was obviously a question and the intrament divided instantly into two different snakes signifing that they were infact in different places when this paticular connection to place. Ok so does any one know what the word essence mean? well i will tell you... it means Something that exists, especially a spiritual or incorporeal entity. And that my friends is my explaination to it all. To summerize-

The instrament that Dumbledore used was to confirm what he thought had happened, sort of double checking Harry's story.

Well thats what i think happens.

Well i will come back later to see if this helped any one

in the first movie, when hermione shows harry and ron the badge that says that James Potter was a seeker, if you look at the other badge in the top right corner of the screen it says "M.G. McGonagall" Did Prof. McGonagall play Quidditch? any thoughts anyone?

why does draco offer harry friendship in the beginning of PS when he supposedly hates all wizards who are good and against Voldemort? wouldnt he hate harry straight from the beginning?

I think that Fawkes is Gidric Gryfindor b/c Fawkes is so close to Dumbledore and when Harry is in th C of S Fawkes comes and Godric's sword comes out of the hat.

anyone have any theories on what the gleam of triumph in dumbledores eyes was about in GF? and what his little silver machine in OP that gave out two silver snakes was?

- Voldemort and Harry are the same person.
Why? (1)Book 5, Dumbledore's machine producing a snake when he questions it about Harry, then 2 snakes when Dumbledore asks it, "But in essence divided?" (2) Time experiments, e.g. time turner in Book 3 and glass thing that turns the Death Eater into a babyhead in Book 5. Hermione's warning that many wizards have killed their past or future selves by mistake. (3) Parallels in their lives and looks, and ultimate way of proving JKR's theme, that it's not what you're born but what you choose to be.

- Neville Longbottom will kill Harry/Voldemort. Many parallelisms between Neville and Harry, if you look through the books, often in the form of apparent jokes and throwaway comments. Thus the prophecy will be fulfilled - the prophecy's wording is ambiguous or has nobody noticed that?

- Dumbledore is DEAD ALREADY and Snape is keeping him alive past his natural term. Dumbledore would want to make good the 'failure' that a teacher would feel after producing a student like Tom Riddle; and for that, he'd need all the time in the world. And when Snape boasts about being able to stopper death, he can't just mean he knows how to poison people. Anyone can do that. He must mean that he has a potion equiv. of the Philosopher's Stone but with some kind of limit on it so it doesn't make you immortal, just takes you past the natural term of human life or your destiny. This is why Dumbledore trusts Snape. The man is keeping him alive to do good in the world.

- There will be no happy ending for Harry. JKR uses familiar/archetypal structures (this is why her books succeed, it's not a criticism of her originality). Nobody set up as a hero with zilch personal life (except in school, for heaven's sake) and unlikely good fortune ever survives unless they lose all their powers or something. Cf. The Wizard of Earthsea etc.

I think that Voldemort will take Hermione and Ron, and Harry has to choose which one to live.

OR maybe Voldemort will try to perform a curse on Hermione to kill her, and Ron will jump in front of her to save her. (Cmon, you KNOW he likes her.) That'd be sad though. I love Ron!

I think Harry will try to avoid everyone, because he's afraid more people he loves will die. Eventually, they will ask him what's wrong, and find out about the prophesy. They'll stay by him, causing more people to die. Harry's worst fears confirmed.

Cho should die. Dunno how, but she should.

J.K.Rowling said that there would be more boy/girl stuff in book 6. Personally, I think it's gonna be Ron and Hermione. (Once again, sooo obvious.)

Last word in the seventh book is scar. Maybe once Harry kills Voldemort (HE WILL SURVIVE!!!) his scar will disappear.

I have more theories, but I'm too lazy to post more, and I agree with some of what's already written.

First of all, you should reread the very first section of PS because Dumbledore's actions are not the behaviour of a person who has just lost two friends. He is very off-hand for one thing. This makes me think that Dumbledore could be training Harry to kill Voldemort so that Dumbledore can take over the wizarding world - or maybe not. Another thing, towards the end of GoF Fudge says "You'll forgive me but I've heard of curse scars acting as warning bells before", or something along those lines. Dumbledore has a scar on his left knee shaped like the London Underground. Maybe this acts like the Marauder's Map and he can see where certain people are. Or maybe he just has a weird scar!
Whatever, y'all have got me paranoid!

Heres something that Ive been thinking about for a while.
I think since Goblet of fire I figured Dumbledoor had to die for Harry to really shine. But who would kill Dumbledoor?
Then I thought of Snape. Througout the series Harry has had the feeling, the hate for Snape. no matter how Dumbledoor says he trusts him. I think we will find before the end that Harrys hate for Snape was not misplaced.

jk rowling compares ron and hermione to mr and mrs weasley in order of the phoenix.
ron jokes about his death in order of the phoenix (pg. 633 uk version) and usually when ron jokes about something it comes true.

You guys are reading to much into it like the pursues lily stuff about Snape

okay....i dont know what to make of this but i have this strange feeling that there is some sort of connection between crookshanks and mundungus. both are always described as having ginger colored hair and being bandylegged. hmmm...i dont think crookshanks is an animagus but then again this similarity between these two characters is overwhelming.....tell me what you think. also, it is a bit strange how sirius and crookshanks had a "connection" in PA....i think there is something more to crookshanks than we know....

also, to all those who think aunt petunia is a squib, this isn't possible because her parents were not magical and a squib is a non-magical child of magical parents. this is not to say that there isnt something very strange about her that we dont know yet....hmmm....????

i read somewhere that so far the first 5 books have related exactly to the first five steps of alchemy of which there are 7 just like the harry potter books. alchemy as we all know was also very important in PS. it was a very interesting theory but i dont know what to think of it so if anyone know any more info about this i am very interested!!!!!!!

whoever said that dudley has unexpeted powers i think this is not true because dudley said he couldn't see the dementers in chapter 2 of book five. sorry! :-)

another similarity between names is in book 3 lupin tells harry that a boy named davey gudgeon almost has his eye poked out by the whomping willow. gilderoy lockharts best fan is gladys gudgeon.

Luna+Harry, Hermione+Ron, Ginny+Neville
Thats how thge couples will turn out.

I didn't read all the theories so I might be repeating some.

I think Neville is very important to the books somehow. He acts like he's had a memory Charm gone wrong. He was only given his toad when he was going to Hogwarts (as a protection?). Perhaps Trevor is not what he pretends to be.

Someone mentioned that Dumbledoor and Lily might be related. Jk has said that one of the teachers was married but she hasn't said which, and Since Malfoy is always calling him a muggle lover, I wonder if Dumbledore was married to a muggle, and their children were Lily's parents so he would be Dumbledores great Grandson.

On another site it was mentioned that Vernon Dursley said the words "MimbleWimble" in the meeting of Hagrid in the hut on the rock, then in the second book during the dueling club Mimblewimble is a spell to make a spell go wrong. I haven't researched it but it would be interesting if Uncle Vernon has a bit of magic in him.

ok well this is really far-fetched, but in OP when hedwig arrives at the classroom window during history of magic (pg. 318 british edition) harry goes to retrieve her. Upon realizing she is hurt, harry tells Professor Binns that he is going to the hospital wing. Prof. Binns then calls Harry "perkins" which is also the name of Mr. Weasly's secretarty assistant guy. hmm i dont know what to make of it but i think there may be more to perkins or prof. binns than we know bc when jkr uses the same names for people it usually has some sort of signifigance.

Also, in GF when harry walks into the tent at the quidditch world cup he thinks it smells like cats and reminds him of Mrs. Figgs house. Mr. Weasly then tells harry that he borrowed the tent from perkins at the office. Maybe there is some connection bw Mrs. Figg and Perkins???

hey
okay....i think i kno why dumbledore believes snape is still good and why Voldemort told lily to stand aside at first....
i think that snape gave the potters info on where they were hiding and who their secret keeper was to Voldemort, if Voldemort agreed to let lily live. he had a crush on her in hogwarts....sooo when Voldemort killed lily and broke his promise, snape got angry and told dumbledore everything.well its a long shot but i think it might be the case!

i was re-reading OP and these two tiny phrases caught my eye:
In Hermione's letter to harry on pg. 13 australian version, she refers to voldemort as "you-know-what" ....this WHAT bothers me....isn't voldemort a who? it's probably nothing, it just caught my eye. any theories, let me know.

also on pg. 12 of the australian version, jkr wries that "harry was sure that dobby did not know how to become invisible." what makes him so sure?? aren't house elves really powerful? and harry has seen dobby become invisible when he disappeared in CS after dropping the pudding on the dursley's dinner guests....again it's probably nothing but it caught my eye.....

I believe that the name Green Flame Torch comes from a long list of names that Warner Bros copyrighted a few years back. There were quite a few names on the list and as we know there should only be two remaining books, we can safely say that most of those names, if not all, are meant to throw us off. Most of the red herrings should be obvious but it would be interesting to know why Warner Bros copyrighted so many names all in one go and before even the fifth book came out.
Thanks

hi everyone--just a couple questions

on every harry potter website with rumors about books 6 & 7 someone talks about this "green flame torch" that gets rid of evil and helps good....i was wondering where the evidence for this rumor came from..did jkr say something about this in an interview or is it just something some random person made up and we all belived it like fools? if anyone has info about where this rumor originated please post it on this site and let me know!!

also, everyone says that in order for harry to kill voldemort, dumbledore must die.....why? i know that in the past dumbledore has always been there to save harry right when voldemort or someone else (aka crouch jr. or the dementors) are about to kill him (he pulled quirrel off harry in SS, fawkes turned up in CS, he gave harry and hermione the idea about the time turner in PA which saved sirius, buckbeak and harry and hermione and sirius from the dementors kiss, he stopped crouch jr from snuffing harry out in GF and then the obvious, he duelled voldemort in OP) but why does that mean he has to be there the time that harry is gonna prevail (IF he prevails....) just wondering and i would really really really like to know any more substantial evidence concerning these two rumors, but seeinng as they are rumors that might be all the info there is and there could be nothing to them....but then why do they always turn up??????

theory number 6 can't be proved in this way because the word "pursues" is spelled with a "u" and not an "e" so the anagram doesn't work. jkr might have done this on purpose just bc it still sounds the same and she couldn't think of a good name that stiill fit the character (severus snape is good bc it sounds "severe" and sharp which is just like snape) and included all the letters in "pursues evans" but i highly doubt it bc jkr always does things exactly the right way and i don't think that if that was the message she wanted to convey she would have settled for 2nd best....she would have found a way to make it work. this is not to say that snape still didn't "pursue" lily.....it just can't be proved using this information. cheers :-b

We just read a lot of these theories and here are some theories and questions of our own...

About the theory of Lupin being James Potter-- we dont think this is true at all and we would hate it if it was true cuz its like completely the point of the book that his mom and dad were killed by voldemort.... and what would the reason be for james to not reveal himself to harry and the rest of the order?? we understand that james probablly wouldnt reveal himself to voldemort bc we think james knew something or had something voldemort wanted bc he killed him and hesitated with lily (he told her to stand aside so that he could kill harry instead of just killing her first..hmmm strange) and sirius' death would be solved by lupin being james....it would solve it bc then harry would still have a father-figure and he wouldnt be sad any more....seriously he lost sirius but gets his dad..of course it solves it...but jkr said it was a tough scene to write so sirius' death is not sposed to be solved bc that is part of the point of the books, that people have to sacrifice in order to win over evil..doing what is right and not easy....well we think the lupin thing doesn't make any sense. why on earth would lupin not have revealed himself as james to the whole good side (not necessarily voldemort) a long time ago. 1) he wouldnt have to deal with being prejudiced as a werewolf 2) he could have lived with harry his whole life b/c he would still be with his family 3) he wouldn't be any more of a target as james than as lupin on the good side 4) if lupin was james than he wouldn't transform as a werewolf.....we don't think it makes a lot of sense

why did voldemort kill james, and then tell lily to move aside so he could kill harry instead of just killing lily right away? was he gonna leave her alive, but then she protected harry so he couldn't?

why wasnt there some sorta wizard duel that night at godrics hollow? i mean its not like voldemort just walked in and james said "right well, knock me off" and then voldemort went up and snuffed out lily and tried with harry and ya u know the rest.....well we def think that for sure something happened that night that we dont know about but we will soon...hopefully :0)

are the weasleys related to harry and/or dumbledore? weasleys have red hair, lily potter had red hair and younger dumbledore had red hair. dumbledore could or could not be pureblood...we don't think jkr's ever said. it would make sense if he was b/c it would prove that it is not what family youre born into or whatever...you know its kinda a theme of the books. that it doesn't matter what family you're born into to who you become, its a persons choices that choose who they are. also the reason why it is likely that weasleys and dumbledore are related (if dumbledore is pureblood) is b/c almost all purebloods are related like in sirius' family tree thing... and the theory someone had about all this was supported by the fact that it was the weasley's who were the "family" who came to watch harry in the 3rd task....could be a subtle jkr hint. Also ron is obsessed with dumbledore...he always thinks he is the one to go and see and in SS he is talking about how great he is and actually his whole fam is obsessed with dumbledore, they call him "great man" and all that, but it could just be bc they are wizards and any wizard with their head screwed on right would think that dumbledore is great...

we think that petunia was a wizard or something and got expelled maybe....she just seemed to know too much about things. we know she was a witch's sister but she seems to try so hard to block things out about wizards...how would she remember so much from over-hearing a conversation many years ago? we think there is something more to her than we know..she could be a squib or maybe, but we dont think the theory that lily was adopted is true bc thats why harry is safe at the dursleys bc his mothers blood is in his sisters blood and we all know that lily's love and blood protect harry

we arent sure what to think about harry and voldemort not being able to use wands against eachother..we dont really get that.....we think that priori incantem only happens if the spells are cast at the exacct same time bc voldemort does the cruciatus curse and the imperius curse on harry and it works fine...so harry can use his wand to kill voldemort.

we think there is somehitng more to harry's eyes than we know bc jkr almost always has people describe harry as "you look just like james. except you have lily's eyes"...we really dont know alot about what happened that night at godrics hollow....
are we sposed to presume lily and james potter were aurors bc they were in the original Order of the Phoenix?

about the prophecy...we think the only reason that its harry and not neville is bc voldemort chose to "mark" harry and not neville....so its definitely harry then. and they are the harry potter stories and not the neville longbottom stories and we dont know anything about neville compared to what we know about harry, so if it turned out to be neville, it would be way out there bc jkr always talks about how she wants to write stories that the reader could figure out, but it's not too obvious and there are no strong hints that it could be neville and not harry....

about Snape, we think it's most likely that Snape is the one that no longer is a death eater because he's working for Dumbledore...but people have said that snape isnt good yet (for good reason--seriously if he was good and all why does he hate harry, ok well bc he hated james, but snape wouldnt let his hatred for james get in the way of someone as important as harry potter would he? and if he is good why does he love malfoy?? i mean he knows lucius is a death eater and all, maybe this a hint that jkr set up that is SOOO obvious everyone missed it...that obviously snape has to be bad bc he likes malfoy.... well we think that snape is good because (1) dumbledore trusts him and dumbledore is the best wizard in the series. (2) Draco and the rest of the malfoys wouldnt know snape was a spy and couldn't be trusted bc if he knew then lucius malfoy would know and voldemort would know he's a spy. we think that snape has to at least ACT as though he likes draco, him being a "death eater" it would be weird if he didn't like lucius's son. also we think that voldemort suspected that snape had left him forever but snape convinced him otherwise...that snape was just biding his time waiting for voldemort to return and decided to work right under dumbledores nose where he could get inside information about the good side. we know that voldemort usually knows when someone is lying to him...it says he is a leglimens...but snape can block his mind...he is a skilled occlumens. so snape could easily convince voldemort he is not a spy and that he was doing all the stuff we said above, just b/c voldemort would not detect a lie, so all in all we think snape is good. :0)

We are interested in what everyone thinks and cant wait for the rest of the series!!!!! these are just our theories and we are willing to change our minds with good reason...

what if tonks disguised as dumbledore 9nt he last battle and she fought voldermort and then the real dumbledore and killed him

This is probably way off, but I was thinking.

Firstly, Ollivander is an anagram for An Evil Lord which is pretty coincidental. Ollivander made Harry's and Voldemort's (back when he was Tom Riddle) wands both containing a feather from a phoenix. We find out at the end of book 4 (page 697 - American hardcover) that it was Fawkes.

Then there is that peculiar line a page before that (page 696 - American hardcover) when Harry says something about Voldemort now being able to touch his face and then this line:

"For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes." Which I'm not really sure what that means, but I know there are a lot of theories behind that one.

Did Ollivander get the feathers from Fawkes before Dumbledore had him as a pet, or during? And if Ollivander is indeed "an evil lord" then is Dumbledore in cahoots with him?

I'm probably wayyyy off though.

ok.. this might be far fetched.. but i was just reading the "Snape is a Vampie" comment, which to myself seems reasonable.. but then one has to ask, how did Snape become a vampire? maybe thereason for Dumbledore's trust of Snape, AND Dumbledore's longevity is due to the fact that.. Dumbledore is a vampire?

something to think about anyway

A possible theory is that the flying motorbike is with Arthur because of his obsession for muggle artefacts, especially flying ones! If not then it might be in the forbidden forest (because Hagrid had it last, remember!) keeping the Ford Anglia company. Because Harry is most likely Sirius' heir, in the legal sense - it sounds like some people have confused legal heir with blood relative, he might now own the motorbike.
As for deaths, I have no idea who JK is killing off next. She threw in the Sirius one like a curve ball, especially after the boggart trick and then Arthur's attack.
One thing I do believe is that Hermione's work with SPEW will come more into play, especially since the "good side" will need to recruit. I think that if the house-elves, and indeed other creatures hear that Hermione has been campaigning for more rights on their behalf they will join with her.
Also, the goblin rebellions that Binns always teaches will come up too I believe, and considering Hermione is the only one paying attention in that class she will be a helpful strategist because she will know all about previous wars and how they turned out.
Just a couple of ideas for now.

Have you guys heard the one about Ron=Dumbledore in an alternate dimension? Like... Dumbledore is Ron all grown up, and then he travelled through time to help Harry and the others through the upcoming war. At first I thought this was pretty stupid, but the writers did have some valid points, like:
1) Ron breaks his leg in book 3. Dumbledore has a scar (a perfect map of the London underground) above his knee.
2) Dumbledore knows WAY more about everything than he should, logically, unless he's some sort of amazing, all-knowing genius... which could very well be. :)
3) The chess game was more than we took it to be. It is (supposedly) a metaphor for the war that is to come, and Ron instinctively took the role of Knight, the most powerful piece in the game (aside from the Queen, I guess...)

I don't really agree with it, but it was interesting enough. J.K.R. is totally going to whip something out at the very last minute, and we'll all say "WHAT?! how could we not have seen that coming?!" It's something so simple, yet totally imperative to the story. Don't you wish you knew what it was?!

Okay, I've been looking at a bunch of your theories and I must say that some are really interesting - some I can understand, and come I can't. But I also have a few of my own:

1 - REMUS LUPIN IS ACTUALLY JAMES POTTER. Lily and James were staring to get a little worried about Sirius' loyalty to them, and they began to lose trust in him. Maybe Wormtail falsely tipped them off to a supposed attack on them? Maybe he lied to them and told them that Sirius was working for Voldemort? And so, thinking that he would turn on them and destroy the family - James and Lupin used a Switching Spell (which Lily performed on them) and they switched bodies. When the actual attack ocurred - Lupin (in James' body) and Lily were killed, leaving James to live on in Lupin's body. This would explain alot - the fact that he and Harry had an instant connection as soon as they met on the train (a father-son connection?), the fact that whenever Lupin talks about the deaths of Harry's parents he talks mostly about Lily and the sacrafice she made (he seems to talk almost dreamily to me), and the fact that Lupin is always making references to the fact that James loved Lily more than anything in the world (could this be his way of getting his emotions out indirectly because he can't come straight out and say who he really is?).

2 - DUMBLEDORE WILL BE KILLED OFF IN THE SIXTH BOOK. Dumbledore is always there for Harry to save the day. Just when Harry is about to be slaughtered by Voldemort, Dumbledore shows up. Because the prophecy states that "either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives" - we know that Harry must kill Voldemort all by himself, or else Voldemort will kill him. So far, Harry has been unable to match the Dark Lord, and as a result of that, Dumbledore has to come in and save him for death. Dumbledore is the only wizard Voldemort fears - he is more powerful than Voldemort and he knows it - and Voldemort knows that in order to get to Harry and be successful in killing him, Dumbledore cannot be a threat. Who will kill Dumbledore - I don't know quite yet, but I do believe that that's the only way we can get to the huge war at the end of the books, and the one-on-one battle between Harry and Voldemort.

3 - CROOKSHANKS IS NOT AN ANIMAGUS. In many cases, people seem to think that he is, but I have found reason after reason as to why he is not. Aside from the fact that he was bought by Hermione, and other facts in the books - you must realize that J.K. Rowling has put empha