non-contradictor

Thank you for fixing that. I had no idea what it was asking before. I thought it was asking where you were from, in which case I was curious why it was only from the midwest. Don't worry though, I didn't vote until I was sure what it was about. Illinois all the way.

I second this. Chicago is also the home of an outdoor food festivals when it's 100 degrees outside. More seriously though, there's the Rosemont Convention Center.

Snape did earn his trust though, IMO. We just don't know how. Who would have thought that the big septology question would be why Dumbledore trusts Snape. One lesson JKR could be trying to point out to us though, is that we can't really blame Dumbeldore for his trust in Snape (even if he is evil) because even with all the evidence against him, we don't take it for granted that he's evil either. Dumbledore is trusting, but he never trusted Riddle. I don't think Snape is evil, if only to give the beloved Headmaster the benefit of the doubt before I jump to the conclusion that he made the biggest mistake of his life. I don't really see him as a ghost. Why would he need to be, with his portrait in the head's office? He didn't fear death. He will have gone on. Nick only came back because he was afraid to die. I could definitely see a ghost Voldy though. My thoughts exactly. Harry doesn't want to be responsible for the death of a friend, so he risks his life to save them. Plus, I very much doubt that Dumbledore would ever have arranged a plan where Harry would have to die. And yes, I belive that Harry is still, more or less, working on Dumbledore's plan. I can't help but think that this is the way things were intended to go. From what he said in OotP, Dumbledore had a clear plan of how to defeat Voldemort. He never told Harry the plan. Why? Yes, that made me feel very sorry for Ginny. However, she can leave school after she turns 17, so hopefully her birthday is early in the school year. And if they close the school... But I don't think they will, as JKR has saif that there will be a new DADA teacher. Well, I suppose some things never change.

I'll be 16 a week from tomorrow. I think people still in school are more likely to spend time on this forum, because they have the time. Especially now, since it's summer. I make most of my internet "discoveries" in the summer.

Don't forget his portrait in the head's office. I wonder if it will have his memories. We know Dumbledore used to talk to the old heads, so they must be of some value. Phineas Nigellus in particular, seems like he remembers his life because he remembered Sirius. So Dumbledore's portrait could clear a lot of things up for Harry. If, that is, it is more *ahem* forthcoming about what it knows than the live Dumbledore. I think there is an extra, possibly two. I think that Harry is a horcrux but that Voldemort does not know it. The only way Harry could be a horcrux is if Voldy accidentally made him into one by killing Lily. Otherwise, I doubt Voldy would be so keen on killing Harry. The reasons I think Harry is a horcrux are: 1) In PoA, Harry keeps having encounters with dementors, culminating in one of them trying to give him the kiss. Now, Dementors only do that to the really horrible criminals, and the teachers in the book are confused on why they would attempt to do it to a student. I think this is a clue. The Dementors weren't after Harry's soul, they were after Voldy's. 2) Dumbeldore never really explained how Harry became a parseltongue or how he got his scar. We know it had something to do with Avada Kedavra, and that Voldy put a "bit of himself" in Harry. That sounds very much like a horcrux to me. So, if Harry is a horcrux, but Voldy doesn't know, then he probably went and made another, the 7th. Dumbledore guessed that Voldy intended to make the 7th after killing Harry, and I'll go with his guess. So when Voldy gets his body back, he makes what he thinks is the 7th horcrux, but which is actually the 8th: Nagini. When Malfoy tells him that the diary was destroyed, he may have made another one. My question is whether there is actually something about having 7 horcruxes, and if having too many screws it up, or whether it's just another weird Voldy obsession. As for whether Harry will have to die to get rid of the Voldy bit, I really hope not. I think Dumbledore would have told him. We still don't know all of Dumbledore's plan. The gleam of triumph still has yet to make an appearance, and according to JKR, it is enormously significant. (If you don't know what I mean, re-read the part of GoF when Harry is telling Dumbledore and Sirius what happened in the graveyard.) I don't believe there is any way that Dumbledore could have missed these suspicious signs that Harry is a horcrux, or that he would tell Harry that the memories would help him survive, if there was no chance of it.

Is he? I missed that. But yeah, I wondered if he'd have taken it. If he did, then who knows where it is now. That could make things difficult. It seems likely that he took it though, otherwise why mention that he was stealing Sirius's stuff?

I just found something on Mugglenet.com. In Order of the Phoenix, pg 116, Harry and co. are cleaining out some cabinets in Grimmauld Place. They find: a locket. It is described as heavy, and no one can open it. RAB has to be Regulus! Harry Potter Sleuth Rule #3: There is no such thing as a coincidence. Hah, that stupid vanishing cabinet proves that. I can't believe it! Nearly Headless Nick persuaded Peeves to crash it over Filch's office the time Harry got caught dripping mud everywhere in book 2. Filch said it was extremely valuable. Then in book 5 with the Monague thing... It was there all the time. But not this time. I've got my eye on that locket.

Haha, but like they say, when it comes to the Slytherins, fat chance. Though Slughorn wasn't that bad, just annoying.

Hehe, thanks. I should have known that...

No matter, I like to see there are plenty of people who guessed Regulus too. What does GMTA stand for, by the way?

Ugh. How horrible this all is. Harry will never be able to forgive Snape now, even if it does turn out that he was working on Dumbledore's orders all along. But if Snape really betrayed Dumbledore... I think I'll start crying in the middle of book 7. How awful. Slimy git... I've never been this confused at the end of a Harry Potter book before. You read it, and then you think about it and say to yourself "wait, did that just really happen?" It seems so simple that it's just got to be hiding something, it's just got to be...

Sorry. I'm quite a bit obsessed, and as it's summer and I'm sitting at home, I have plenty of time to devote to looking things up. Hey, it only happens once every two years. And there's only one left. *sniff* I looove mysteries. I'm done for the moment though. Ships are not my area of expertise. I have to go back and look in OotP at Snape's worst memory again, to see if it gives any hint of his feelings.

I don't think so. How could Voldy have made a Horcrux in his near-death state? Plus, remember Voldy can't even possess Harry because of the love thing. I don't think he'd be able to keep some of his soul in him either. But then there is that nagging voice reminding me about the parsletongue power that was transferred to Harry with his scar. How does that work, exactly? There's an ominous chanting going on. The necklace, the cup the snake, something of Griffindor's or Ravenclaw's. *gulp* something of Griffindor's, did he say? I just don't know. We need to know more about how horcruxes are made. I'm not going to fear the worst just yet.

That's only because of Lily's choice. *Warning this is a quote from an interview. It may tell you extra information that is not clear in the books. It does not, however, spoil book 7. So read at your own risk.* So the only reason Harry survived is because Lily had a clear choice. This interview brings about another wild theory. What if *Snape* liked Lily. By liked, I mean was in love with her or something. I started going this direction when Slughorn said that Lily was very good at Potions. Also, Dumbledore said Snape was remorseful when he found out how Voldemort had interpreted the prophesy. Was this just Snape lying and Dumbledore trusting, or was he telling the truth? Interesting that no one but Harry has mentioned that Snape also wouldn't care if Lily died. Do they know something he doesn't? I really don't think we have the full reason for Dumbledore's trust yet. God, I sound like a shipper. Let me say in my defense, that I have no liking for Snape at all, and no particular desire to see him cleared. My reason for all these theories is that I, like Dumbledore, want to believe the best of people, especially in regards to Dumbledore himself. I don't think he would beg for his life. That is the most suspicious thing in the whole book. Also, this would make a lot of things fall into place. Voldemort would have spared her as a reward for his servant, Snape. If Snape had feelings for Lily, it would add more weight to his plea of remorse. And, it could be the "something huge" that will be revealed about Lily. Oh, and I think it possible that Lily taught potions. We know from Order of the Phoenix that Snape took the position after the Potters died. It would further explain his disdain for Harry's potions if his mother, who Snape loved, had taught the subject. Okay, I'm going to stop now. This is getting too crazy, even for me. Honestly... I hate ships. Arrrgh! I was really hoping to find out something about the Potters in this book. No dice. Oh well, at least now my curiosity will overcome my apprehension at facing a Potter book with no Hogwarts and no Dumbledore.

Nah, I think the only way you'd get around DD being dead is if he was a phoenix, which, after all, I am not completely dismissing. That blast of flame at the funeral was quite interesting... But I think he's gone really. I'm expecting something to bring his voice back into the story, final instructions, a letter, a will, or the portrait, but I don't expect to see him as he was again. I think it was necessary for Harry to move on. You see? I think it took Dumbledore's death to allow Harry to do what he had to do. Do you think he would be able to leave Hogwarts if Dumbledore was still headmaster? Would Dumbledore have been able to let him? I am certain that Dumbledore would have stood in front of Harry eventually. The way he did it however, gives Harry the chance to "walk into the arena with his head held high," which, as Dumbledore was so keen to teach him, makes all the difference in the world.

I don't think so. I refuse to beleive that all Dumbledore's talk about death being the "next great adventure," and that there are things "much worth than death" came to naught in the end and he would beg for his life just like the next person. Nah, that's not Dumbledore. But I'll have more on this on my blog later. I want to have some good, solid, canon evidence for this kind of theory.

Thanks, by the way. I forgot all about these theories of mine by the time I had the book in my hand. Well, except the one about Dumbledore. I had pretty much figured he was a goner. Especially after that betting leak in the city where the book was being published. Plus, once you read the chapter titles, it's pretty obvious who is going to die. "The Phoenix Lament" I think you can guess.

My guess for the person who stole the Horcrux would be Regulus Black. He was a death eater, and RAB used the title Dark Lord to address Voldemort, which is what Death Eaters call him. Also, his name has now turned up twice (or more) in passing, which is a bit strange for a character we aren't going to see again. Hmm, not to mention that the initials fit. gosh I'm making a lot of typos

Hahaha, I didn't even remember posting that. Wow. Creepy. Well, I'm not a Super Sleuth for nothing. Anyways, I am at the moment compiling a list of suspicious signs that Dumbledore knew that Snape (or someone) was going to kill him. For starters: Dumbledore would never beg for his life. I don't buy that at all. Be sure to check it out my list and comment on my blog, I should have some of it up tonight.

After what happened in OotP, I expected this one to be dark. But I didn't expect... This is quite dangerous ground for spoilers. I won't say any more.

I finished reading it at 8:30 AM today. I got it at midnight last night and read the whole way through. I won't say anymore because I understand now why JKR was so wary of giving away spoilers. It's so easy... I hope everyone enjoys it!

Funny... The people who want to read the books have no problem with the midnight releases.

I have an idea: the next book release should be on a Sunday. We'll see how many kids show up for church. Hahahaha.

And the award for criticizing a book without having read it goes to... the Pope. Honestly... Blurs the lines between good and evil??? Uh huh, sure. Um, you don't get much more black and white than the evil murderer looking to take over the world against the boy-hero trying to save his friends. What did he do, look at the cover, see Harry was a wizard, and dismiss it out of hand? Saying Harry Potter is about wizards is kind of like saying Atlas Shrugged is about railroad executives. It sort of is, but that's missing the point, big time. I know I'm preaching to the choir here (pardon the choice of words ) but stuff like this is just so ridiculous. It's kind of funny though. The Pope might get a considerable backlash from the younger generation over this. It would serve him right, too. edited to fix smileys

Congratulations! I also would love to read it... I entered the Anthem essay contest, but I haven't heard anything yet. I wonder when they are going to post the winners on the website.