155 responses so far ↓

• 1 Christina // Dec 21, 2006 at 1:21 pm

  When I think of the word Hallow, I think of “Hallowed Halls”. Like the halls of the Ministry. Maybe JKR will explore that room in the MInsitry that DD talked about that is so mysterious, as well as what can be done with Harry’s mirror…

  I definitely think that she will delve into the afterlife, as it is in the Wizarding World. But I certainly would have NEVER guessed that name for the last book!

• 2 La Shawn Barber's Corner // Dec 21, 2006 at 1:40 pm

  Laura Mallory and the Misguided Crusade…

  Update: According to Scholastic, J. K. Rowling’s American book publisher, Book 7 will be titled, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. More here.
  ***
  Laura Mallory, Christian mother, has been on a year-long crusade to have the Harry Potter bo…

• 3 The Boars Head Tavern » Blog Archive » // Dec 21, 2006 at 1:45 pm

  [...] Oh, he knows, Sonia.  He knows… [...]

• 4 Derek // Dec 21, 2006 at 2:00 pm

  I don’t believe Harry will die in this book, but the title could be read that way: Deathly Hallows == The sacred aspect of death.

• 5 Pauli // Dec 21, 2006 at 2:01 pm

  I laid a few thoughts down also.

• 6 penny // Dec 21, 2006 at 2:39 pm

  Thanks for the plug. I look forward to hearing what you have to say as well!

  Penny

• 7 Travis Prinzi // Dec 21, 2006 at 3:28 pm

  Penny, I just learned of your site from the link at Muggle Matters. Looks great, and I’m looking forward to reading what you’ve done there. I also noticed you do a podcast, which I’ll be subscribing to forthwith.

• 8 tracydaisy // Dec 21, 2006 at 5:37 pm

  Hello,
  It’s been awhile since I’ve joined in on the conversation, but I just couldn’t help myself.

  Deathly Hallows
  Could this be refering to the deaths that occurred on Halloween, Lily and James died on Halloween, I believe the dying for another is the greatest act of love, so their deaths, dying for their son, would apear to have been a holy death. Maybe Harry is going to find out what happened the night his parents died.

• 9 Cory // Dec 21, 2006 at 10:53 pm

  I read a very interesting post over at the Leaky Cauldron that appeals to me very much:

  “The Hallows could refer to the Four Hallows of Arthurian legend. They are intimately connected to the Grail and ultimately probably go back to the Four Treasures of the Tuatha de Danaan of Irish myth.

  The Four Hallows are:

  The Cup or Chalice
  The Baton or Wand
  The Sword or Dagger
  The Coin, Disc or Pentacle

  I think we were right all along in connecting the horcruxes to the four elements. These hallows are associated with the elements, and match up quite nicely to the remaining horcruxes:

  Cup (HH)
  Baton or Wand (RR)
  Sword or Dagger (GG)
  Pentacle (SS locket)

  Just my two knuts!”

• 10 Daryl // Dec 21, 2006 at 11:50 pm

  Does anyone think that this might be related to Godric’s Hollows, where Harry’s parents were killed?

• 11 The Boars Head Tavern » Blog Archive » Christmastime at Hogwarts // Dec 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm

  [...] can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your ownsite. [...]

• 12 Cory // Dec 22, 2006 at 8:45 pm

  Also, in a BBC news article, it was stated:

  “More clues might come from names that companies connected to JK have registered in the past - two of them were Harry Potter and the Hogwarts Hallows and Harry Potter and the Hallows of Hogwarts. Although no one but JK knows why these names were registered. ”

  These names were registered with the UK and US Trademark Offices.

  This would support the theory that the hallows could be the founders relics.

  Also, a Russian fan posted that the Russian title translate to the English equivalent of “Harry Potter and the Fatal Relics”

• 13 Felicity // Dec 22, 2006 at 9:07 pm

  My thoughts are posted:

  Thoughts on the Meaning of “Deathly Hallows”

  http://felicitys-mind.livejournal.com/4373.html

• 14 Christina // Dec 23, 2006 at 12:35 am

  Cory: Your information appeals to me very much. I suggested in a different blog that, perhaps, LV made the Sword of Gryffindor a Horcrux when we went to DD’s office to ask for the DADA position (knowing full well that he would not get it, but it put him close to the sword). I also felt that the wand on the purple cushion in the window at Ollivander’s belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw and was made in to a Horcrux by Voldemort. I am lovin’ the Four Hallows theory. I think that Harry will find the items in Hogwarts, Grimmauld Place, and perhaps, Gringotts.

• 15 corters // Dec 23, 2006 at 2:25 am

  jk was hinting about killing off potter, i think it could happen! oh yeah, and remember in the last book, the intials left in the locket, i think they belong to sirius’ brother, regulus….and remember when everyone was cleaning sirius’s parents house, and they were throwing away all the antique stuff(they could’ve thrown out the locket!!!!) oh, and i like the 4 hallows theory!

• 16 Kispad // Dec 23, 2006 at 7:04 am

  Deathly Hallows…

  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Ez lesz a hetedik könyv címe, és bár engem sose érdekelt a regény, a címe miatt mégis szeretnék megemlékezni róla itt a TWIO rovatban. Vajon mi a túró lesz ennek a magyar fordítása? EgyelÅ‘re……

• 17 Cory // Dec 23, 2006 at 10:55 am

  Christina,

  Thanks I really do think the hallows=horcruxs is the most appealing theory that I have read so far. However, I think Felicity is also on the right track that there are most likely nuanced meanings to the title.

  And about the wand in Olivander’s window, I totally agree with you. I always felt that there was something important about it, and thought that perhaps it could be the Ravenclaw horcrux. It could explain Olivander’s disappearance. Either for good or for bad.

  I hadn’t thought about the possibility that the sword had been made into a horcrux at the time LV was in DD’s office, but I guess we don’t really know that much about HOW a horcrux is created. Does the intended vessel need to be in physical proximity to the murder or not? If so, then there should be an intended horcrux at Godric’s Hollow. If LV went there with the intention of creating a horcrux, and a horcrux vessel needs to be in physical proximity to the murder, then LV must have brought it with him that night. This means that it is possible that the horcrux was created that night and is still in the ruins of Godric’s Hollow; that a horcrux was created that night and was carried off by another person such as Wormtail; or the ever present Harry is a Horcrux theory, which would mean there is an intended horcrux laying around that has no “soul piece” in it. I don’t know whether or not I subscribe to this theory, but if Ravenclaw’s wand is a horcrux and Harry or his scar is a horcrux, LV would have completed the collection of a Horcrux for each founder. After all, only a true Griffindor could have pulled the sword from the hat.

• 18 adamcaldwell // Dec 26, 2006 at 4:19 pm

  Congratulations! You’ve been ’spitboxed’. Check out you post at:

  http://www.spitboxmedia.com

  God Bless!!!

• 19 TofuPunk.com | Think of them as unfluffy sewer squirrels » Blog Archive » Fav HP7 title theories // Dec 28, 2006 at 6:22 pm

  [...] * It has something to do with the four hallows of Arthurian legend: a broken sword (Gryffindor’s), a cup (Hufflepuff’s), a coin or pentacle (I guess that’s Slytherin’s locket), and a baton, wand, or crown (something of Ravenclaw’s, possibly a tiara??) [...]

• 20 widowsleep // Jan 16, 2007 at 11:15 am

  I think that the something of Gryffindor is the wand. Harry’s and Voldemorts wand both share a feather from the Gryffindors Phoneix fawkes. Either of those coulldd have made a horcrux, and if would fit in with the prophecy ‘mark him as an equal’ by giving Harry a piece of voldemorts souls in his own wand.

• 21 Greg // Jan 21, 2007 at 12:28 am

  I found this on a arthurian legend site:
  “In later Grail stories the sword is frequently broken, whereby the mending of the sword represents one of the tasks used to test the mettle of the Grail Knight”

  What if the Gryffindor sword is a horcrux? Harry must destroy it, then mend it to slay Voldemort…

  Sounded interesting…

• 22 Christina // Jan 21, 2007 at 6:33 pm

  Greg, I have often thought that the SOG was a Horcrux, and that LV used the opportunity in DD’s office when he asked for the DADA position (knowing FULL WELL that he would not get it) to make it so. Remember when Harry thought he saw LV reach for his wand for a split second…I think he did it then.

• 23 korg20000bc // Feb 14, 2007 at 9:42 pm

  wow, no thanks

• 24 Travis Prinzi // Feb 14, 2007 at 9:58 pm

  Fascinating. I’ve deleted the comment to which Matthew was responding.

• 25 korg20000bc // Feb 15, 2007 at 12:44 am

  I didn’t think that was physicall possible
  Matt

• 26 Reyhan // Feb 15, 2007 at 12:54 am

  Very quick response from Travis.

  Much appreciated. I had taken for granted the level of maturity on this site, forgetting that it must take some vigilance to keep it at that level.

• 27 Travis Prinzi // Feb 15, 2007 at 9:28 am

  Yeah, I try to keep things as clean as possible without having to resort to moderated comments.

• 28 david // Mar 4, 2007 at 2:07 am

  I can’t wait until deathly hallows come’s out, so then we can all find out what happens . =D

• 29 Nadia // Mar 6, 2007 at 12:11 am

  Deathly Hallows, i must say or write for that matter, that i just didn’t see that one comming, i mean what does exactly this title mean?, is probably refering the name of the cementery where Lilly and James were burried? well we still have time to keep guessing.

• 30 Nadia // Mar 6, 2007 at 12:18 am

  Deathly Hallows, in spanish it means something like “Los Santos de la Muerte”, or death saints, is some kind of clue that she is giving to her fans or, well i don’t know. I just can’t wait until the book finally come out. Even though i probably will have to wait for two weeks until the book arrives to Ecuador, where i live.
  Bye, bye
  lots of kisses. chao
  xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxo

• 31 The Dark Avenger // Mar 23, 2007 at 9:34 am

  Well I think Cory is right and that arthurian legend is the key. That would mean Olivander theory too.I think he was a descendant of Ravenclaw.I think harry may have got voldemort’s powers since i think u must think something like in expecto partronum and voldemort did it and thats why when he did the spell the powers got transferred to harry. The sword may never have been enchanted. I think he may have intended to do it. And … u know wat , I THINK HARRY IS THE DESCENDANT OF GODRIC GRYFFINDOR AND THATS WHY HE IS DESTINED TO KILL LORD VOLDEMORT

• 32 Ronfan333 // Mar 24, 2007 at 10:11 pm

  If Harry Ron, or Hermione die I will baul!!!!! I will cry till i die….not really. But if they die i will cry just like i did with dumbledore only longer……. Im tellin u guys a couple things.1 bellatrix gets murdered by Nevile Longbottom i think… I think that Hermionee will kill Draco Harry kill voldemort voldemort kill snape and luscious and other people kill other people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

• 33 Ronfan333 // Mar 24, 2007 at 10:14 pm

  Cory omg!!!!! i just looked up on the internet that something wand and ravenclaw!!! yay us We are gonna figure out somethin important without reading the book!!!! we should all talk and look info on the internet and discuss it to eachother on here.!!!!!!!!

• 34 Ace // Mar 28, 2007 at 8:44 pm

  Well… according to me… and this is JUST MY PERSONAL THEORY. I think Harry is the seventh and final Horcrux. It all adds up
  1. “hallow” sacred = prophecy/harry
  2. Rowling says that one main character will die at the end
  3. Harry has all of Voldermonts powers (creepy and unatural)meaning he may have a hunk of his soul.
  4. He was to make his last horcrux with the murder of the potters
  5. This is the LAST BOOK. That says something, JKR is not a “happily ever after author”
  Lastly, JKR disclosed that she made the last word in the book scar. The scar could be voldermonts soul. I mean why else would harry get a scar from a curse that leaves no damage visible to muggles or wizards? This all leads to the fact that Harry is a horcrux and i believe neville will be the one to kill voldermont (maybe…) I mean hes gotta be there for reasons other than commic relief..

• 35 naufil // Apr 1, 2007 at 11:06 am

  i think lv will not die, and harry will die in some complexed situation. instead lv will be subjected to the punishment i the room of mynistries. as jk rowling has told that the room has such energy that sometimes it is the most wonderful thing and a great subject to study and sometimes it is so horrible that no one can bear it. and this energy harry posses in large and lv have no idea about

• 36 Lauren // Apr 3, 2007 at 12:57 pm

  I think Dumbledore will continue to help Harry and either he is not really dead or he will be one of the portraits in the Head masters office like all the headmasters in thew past and I think Harry Might Die but if he does He who must not be named will 2

• 37 Lauren // Apr 3, 2007 at 12:58 pm

  Also every one knows that Harry is a horcrux right?

• 38 seriously_black // Apr 3, 2007 at 4:16 pm

  “Also every one knows that Harry is a horcrux right?”

  No, in fact none of us *knows* that, and many of us are inclined to doubt it.

  There are some interesting arguments either way - but there is a significant lack of compelling evidence for the theory.

  The arguments are multifarious and there are too many of them to cite here. However articles such as RedSparks’ “For Neither Can Live While the Other Survives” over at mugglenet.com touch on some of the more obvious reasons. Not to mention the extensive “Is Harry a Horcrux?” thread right here on swordofgryffindor.com in which many of the pros and cons are examined.

  It is by no means a fortgone conclusion. However if you have a strong view, rather than posting it here, why not go and add your view to the thread which is devoted to the subject.

• 39 rickz02 // Apr 5, 2007 at 9:59 pm

  If harry is a horcrux then he should kill himself to defeat Voldemort, right? Then the prophecy must be disobeyed since it said that one should be ended by the other, isn’t it?

• 40 Travis Prinzi // Apr 6, 2007 at 8:22 am

  rick, check the post on this site, “Is Harry a Horcrux,” where that question has been dealt with multiple times.

• 41 Reyhan // Apr 6, 2007 at 10:55 am

  Travis, I sent a comment to this post late last night, and it disappeared without a trace. I rewrote it and sent it again, and again, it didn’t appear in the comments. Any trace at your end?

• 42 Travis Prinzi // Apr 6, 2007 at 11:22 am

  Reyhan, not a trace. Every once in a while, we have a comment issue here. Why don’t you send me the comment via E-Owl, and I’ll post it for you?

• 43 Reyhan // Apr 6, 2007 at 3:40 pm

  This is the third time I’m trying to post this comment, so I should be pretty good at it.

  I wanted to take the thread back to the title of book seven: Deathly Hallows.

  I was intrigued by the possibility that Hallows refers to the four elements associated with the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend, as per Cory in #9 (see above) and Travis (also above). Not so much for itself, but because I have an alternate explanation and I wanted to see how well the Grail association fit.

  As Cory said, the four elememts are the sword/dagger, the lance/spear (or baton or wand), the cup, and the coin/dish/pentacle (or platter or chess board or stone chair). As you can see, there are many interpretations of three of the four elements. As well, the first two are considered masculine elements, and the last two are considered feminine.

  Cory associates the four elements with four of the Horcruxes in the following manner:
  sword/dagger: Gryffindor
  baton/wand: Ravenclaw
  cup: Hufflepuff
  pentacle: Slytherin

  One problem with this interpretation is that the “genders” of the four elements don’t match the genders of the four founders. It is not impossible that a female founder should be associated with a “masculine” element and a male founder with a “feminine” element. But in my opinion, it’s unlikely.

  I believe instead that Hallows should be translated in the secondary NODE way: noun (archaic) a saint of holy person.

  Given this interpretation, and looking at the founders of Hogwarts as the patron “saints” of each of the houses, then the Hallows of the title are nothing more than the four founders.

  I have further musings on the interpretation of the word Deathly, but I’ll wait to see if this one gets through before I commit more words to the electronic gods.

• 44 seriously_black // Apr 11, 2007 at 2:27 am

  Reyhan, interesting comments and analysis.

  One thing that leads me away from the idea that Hallows may refer to people rather than to a place, is the coupling with the word “Deathly”:

  adj.
  1. causing death; deadly; fatal.
  2. like death.
  3. Poetic. of death.

  Flowery poetic diction aside, it doesn’t generally mean the same thing as “dead”. And if JKR had simply wanted to convey that these persons are deceased, using “deathly” seems both redundant and contrived. She might more aptly have called them “dead hallows” - or just “hallows” - since saints are generally understood to be deceased.

  So while I do like the idea that there may be some association with the founders themselves, the way the title is constructed nevertheless makes me lean towards thinking of the hallows as a place (or maybe a thing or things) rather than a person or persons.

• 45 cleverly stupid // Apr 13, 2007 at 2:59 pm

  Well…I beleave that Dumbldor is still alive! I think that Snape and him came up with some sort of plan or something.Of course I know it sounds kind of stupid and all, but it’s not entirly imposeble is it? Dumbldore is supost to be the GREATEST wizzard…so you do the math.

• 46 Reyhan // Apr 13, 2007 at 5:56 pm

  S_B, interesting that you should pick up on the various meanings of “Deathly”.

  I chose the first interpretation: causing death, deadly, fatal. Pair that with the interpretation of “Hallows” as “saints”, then it creates the impression that the founders are not benign or even inert, but quite likely to be dangerous. Add to that the assumption that the founders are to be found on the other side of the veil, then the conclusion I reach is that any trip to the other side will be fraught with menace.

  Where I’m really going with this - and this is pure conjecture - is that we might be looking a confrontation of some sorts which will take place at another level of reality. It might involve Harry. And even more interestingly, it might involve Snake Eyes. I would dearly love to see the Heir of Slytherin meet Slytherin.

  Again, all this is the purest conjecture, based on two flimsy pieces of “evidence”: the interpretation I’ve chosen to put on the title of the 7th book, and the cover of the US edition, which to me looks like an otherworldly arena.

• 47 Travis Prinzi // Apr 13, 2007 at 11:16 pm

  cleverly stupid (nice name), it is indeed entirely impossible for Dumbledore to still be alive, because Rowling said specifically in an interview, “Dumbledore is definitely dead.” That about settles it.

• 48 chit // Apr 16, 2007 at 1:29 pm

  you all are stupid and tell yourslves fans of harry potter

  if you want to know contact me on my e-mail address which is geniuschit@yahoo.co.uk

• 49 Travis Prinzi // Apr 16, 2007 at 2:01 pm

  I don’t know what on earth that statement means, but since you called us all stupid, I’ll just leave your email address sitting right there on the comments, so that the thousands upon thousands of spammers who come by here will have free access to it.

  

• 50 Siri // Apr 18, 2007 at 2:03 pm

  Hello cleverly stupid and others,

  I’m sure, DD is dead. Snape had sworn the Unbreakable Vow, so there was no other possibility for him then to kill DD. But I like the idea, that DD lives in his pictures and helps Harry. Maybe, Harry gets a picture with him all the time, maybe he comes in places, where are hanging portraits of DD on the walls.
  I have a theory about Snape: I’m sure he will die for Harry at the end. I think it could happen in this way: Harry meets Snape in the hidden place, where LV is waiting for him (a ruin, a castle, maybe Hogwarts, maybe the ministry…). Harry fights Snape, who tries to explain, that he is on Harry’s side. LV comes, wants to kill Harry, but in the last moment Snape safes Harry and dies himself, so Harry has his chance to kill LV. Sounds good? Snape can’t be so evil: He was from the first book one of the most interesting characters, because it was never clear, to which side he belongs. If finally comes out, that he is really a Death Eater, it would be just boring.
  I like the Harry-is-Horcrux-theory, too, and I think you were right: The hallows are the four artefacts of the founders and Harry’s scar will be the last horcrux. Looks perfect to me!

• 51 Ace // Apr 22, 2007 at 9:09 pm

  I have many questions left…
  If you guys would care to answer them i would be very grateful.
  First off, does anyone have any isea who R.A.B is? I believe its sirius’s brother, but i have no evidence of that. Secondly, will harry at any point return to hogwart because as we all recall on the side of each book is a year # and if he doesnt go to hogwarts, can the book have year 7 written on its spine? Another question is that how will harry ven get close to any of the horcrxes? Remembering back to the 6th book, he could barely tell how DD found the entrance to the cave. He barely knows enough about how to do any advance magic. Another idea i had was when everyone (including myself) was talking about harry killing LV and other people (good people) killing others. Does harry have the guts to use avada kedavra on a human- wont he be arrested? Also Hermione would NEVER use one of the illegal curses, although i believe neville will because he has never been at all brave yet he was put into Griffindor. the final question i have is that will harry somehow invent a charm that will deflect or return the AK curse? Because i am pretty confident that LV doesnt have that bad aim and harry cant duel for his life. LOL please resond THX!!

• 52 Ace // Apr 23, 2007 at 6:22 pm

  ANother couple of ideas ive had (and stolen)
  1. Snape is the son of Voldermort and only him and Dumbledore and one other person know this. this would make a lot of sense because once again Riddle was a “stud’ and Eileen Prince was a nerdy girl. He could have promised to marry her, but instead impregnated her and left her as an evil practical joke. I wouldnt put it past him.
  2. Crookshanks is an animalgus. He could either be James Potter himself or he could be Regalus Black. Before i explain this, let me tell you what i think we havent been told. When LV killed lily and james, James may have made a horcrux at the time. (from what we read in book 5 he was and had some dark and evil thoughts in his mind and definetly fell victim to feelings such as jealousy and hatred.) well anyway, snape ran into the house and felt a great shock. His father was dead. He could not go to any dark wizard and tell them he was his father, and along with that the love of his life and his lifes rival were lying dead on the floor. All he could see was a baby, like him who grew up without a home and had to sulk in hogwarts for he had a miserable life. He wanted to prevent this from happening and so took him to Dumbldore. He then cried out and told dumbledore everything he had exp=erienced and his true relations with LV. DD trusts him not because he deems him truly trustworthy, but because he has not seen human suffering like this before. This is why he didnt let snape teach DADA and kept a decent eye on him. ALso, he has given snape an overinflated sense of importance so he believes himself not to be a worthless tool as he undoubtebly was when he was with LV.
  3. This is NOT an idea for the book but this would be really cool. If JKR had chosen to not make this book the last, she could heavily continue the series. This can be done by ending the book with the idea that LV was being controlled by the imperius curse and the truly dark wizard was someone else… (if it were up to me, it would be dumbledore’s brother or James potter) And so harry must find the more powerful wizard and face him.
  PLEEEEEEEAAAAZ REPLY!!!

• 53 Travis Prinzi // Apr 24, 2007 at 2:14 pm

  More comment difficulties. This one comes from Reyhan in response to Ace:

  Ace, Voldemort has never shown the slightest interest in a relationship with anyone which doesn’t serve his own ends. Therefore, the chances of him fathering a child are very remote. JKR has also shot down similar speculations, saying people had been watching too much Star Wars.

  Also, the scenario you outlined about Snape taking Harry to Dumbledore doesn’t fit with what we’ve read about Hagrid bringing Harry to Dumbledore (at #4, Privet Lane) after talking to Sirius, who did want to take him, and who lent Hagrid his motorbike.

  As well, there is no evidence whatsoever that Crookshanks is an animagus, except for his unusual intelligence. And that is explained by him being part-Kneazle (large, magical cat-like creatures). If he were an animagus, that fact would almost certainly have emerged back when he was hanging out with Padfoot in PoA.

  As for your last idea, I’m sure other writers will want to continue the series; this may help explain why JKR has promised us a chapter telling us what’s going to happen to the remaining characters, and why she has toyed with the idea of killing Harry.

• 54 Ace // Apr 26, 2007 at 9:55 pm

  Hey you guys just thought i’d drop anotherthing ive been dead curious about…
  Which house was Dumbledore in??? I think he was in hufflepuff, any ideas???

• 55 seriously_black // Apr 27, 2007 at 2:45 am

  Ace,
  Since Dumbledore has the Sword of Gryffindor in his posession, I think it’s reasonable to suppose that that’s where his affiliations lie.

  Perhaps we’ll find out in book 7. However I’d be mildly surprised if it turned out to be Hufflepuff. ;?

• 56 korg20000bc // Apr 27, 2007 at 6:52 am

  I also think Dunmbledore was a Gryffindor. He has the sword, his office( I seem to recall) had red and gold furnishings and Gryphon door-knockers. That may not mean a great deal as Gryphons are common heraldric symbols. (or was it lion knockers…?)

  I think Dumbledore’s awarding of points to Neville for courageously standing up to the trio speaks loudly that he is a Griffindor.

  Also as Godric was the antithesis to Slytherin so Dumbledore was to Voldemort. Has the right symmetry.

  Matthew

• 57 Ace // Apr 27, 2007 at 9:09 pm

  Ok last couple of questions…
  First lemme explain why DD could be from hufflepuff: In an interview, JK rowling said that in the 7th book, “Hufflepuffs will have their day” if anyone else has a translation for that please post it.
  Another curiousity of mine is that why did harry’s weird dreams and insights into LV cease in book 6? They just faded away. Also, will harry return to hogwarts? I think he will because hes blind and useless without DD’s advice and DD will be a portrait wont he? Lastly, does anyone but me think that Harry will discover hogwarts most inner secrets and find out the true hidden things in the castle? Also i have an eerie therory that harry will learn how to go beyond that arc to the world of the dead and return back to the real world alive (perhaps with his parents??) Any ideas? Please respond and if u think im an idiot or crazy in any way please state it!! LOL

• 58 Reyhan // Apr 28, 2007 at 2:54 am

  It would be rude to call anyone bad names; this is a fairly well-mannered site.

  Responding to your comments in the order that you presented them:

  As far as I understand it, the House of Hufflepuff is built on a principle of acceptance, tolerance and equality. Part of what is wrong with the wizard world right now is the perception that some creatures are better than others and that some Houses are superior to others. There is in fact a lot of prejudice or racism going around. If all wizards were to lay down their prejudices and take up the values of Hufflepuff and live as brothers (and sisters) wouldn’t the world be a better place?

  I think Harry’s dreams and sensations involving Voldemort ceased as of the end of OotP because he exorcised Voldemort during the battle at the Ministry and now Voldemort can’t possess him. He did this by wanting to die.

  About whether Harry will return to Hogwarts, I don’t think so. I think he’s outgrown school. Besides, all the most interesting people are either dead (Dumbledore), quit (Lupin) or fled (Snape). I can’t see Hogwarts having the same fascination as it did before. I know that others disagree.

  There are many ways of communicating with Dumbledore besides his portrait in the Headmaster’s office. Walking through the veil in the Chamber of Death at the Ministry would be one way. Fawkes or Prongs would be two other ways.

• 59 korg20000bc // Apr 28, 2007 at 5:05 am

  Reyhan,
  I think you’re wrong that Harry exercised Voldemort by wanting to die. I think it was the feelings of love he had for Sirius and that he’d get to see him again IF he died that made him uninhabitable to Voldemort

  Matthew

• 60 Christina // Apr 28, 2007 at 8:25 am

  Korg, I agree with you that the reason that LV couldn’t stand to inhabit Harry’s body was because of his love for Sirius. I thought it was profound, and foreshadowing on JKR’s part.

  And I am almost positive that DD was in Gryffindor. I think Hermione mentions reading it in “Hogwarts: A History”. The thing I think we need to understand is that the House that people are placed in do not necessarily relect the qualities that WE see in them. If that were the case, then Hermione would have certainly been put in Ravenclaw and Neville would DEFINITELY not be in Gryffindor, being that it is for those courageous and brave. But the Sorting Hat sees the true person and what they are CAPABLE of.

• 61 korg20000bc // Apr 28, 2007 at 8:53 am

  I often think about the sorting and the characters of the stories. The sorting hat tells us that Gryffindor valued courage and bravery above all else. Rowling also says she values these qualities.
  I went the other way from you, Christina. I took that fact that Neville and Hermione were in Gryffindor to be indicative of courage being their defining trait, though perhaps buried deep.

  I also thought that does the sorting hat divide the years students in quarters? Does it have to fill a quota of students for each house? I mean if a group of particularly brave students came through one year would Gryffindor have all of them?

  Matthew

• 62 Reyhan // Apr 28, 2007 at 10:29 am

  I should have said, Harry self-exorcised Voldemort by not being afraid to die, because of his love for Sirius. And yes, I do think that was a very significant act of foreshadowing for what will happen in the last book.

• 63 Vienzaeqiel // Apr 29, 2007 at 7:18 am

  i think hallow will not mean holy but will refer to “ghost: “or ghost-like”

• 64 Ace // Apr 30, 2007 at 9:19 pm

  What do you guys think about the idea that fawkes is going to help harry finish LV? I believe this because obviously they both use his feather for a wand, and he should be fully capable of strengthening them or vica versa. Along with that, music has always been a sullen theme but a very definitive on for JKR. I think that DD believes that all natural things are more powerful than magic. (such as music, love, passion etc.) Harry will definetly NOT be accompanied by friends when he fights LV, because on the cover of the US book, it shows HP & LV duking it out surrounded by DEs. Also, on t6he cover of the Uk book Ron is weinding GG sword? any ideas on that? I think that LV tried to kill off all the PURE BLOODED desendants of the 4 founders (except slytherin). He finished off James potter (likely GG), That Smith woman (HH) and Olivander (RR) oh and by the way could someone post all the founders full names plz, i 4got Ravenclaws THX!!!! And another odd thing i found was that Helga Hufflepuff has the only normal first name. Is it a coincidence that she is the one to accept the left over students after the three selective ones??? Anyone have ideas?????

• 65 Margaret // Apr 30, 2007 at 11:02 pm

  I was reading something about JKRowling the other day that referred to the time period during which she was choosing the title. After she came up with the final title: HP and the Deathly Hallows, she mentioned that earlier she had almost hit on a title but was “one vowel and a couple of consonants off” or something very close to that. I’ve looked for where I read that quote but can’t find it right now…anyway one vowel and a couple of consonants leave “hall”. Very interesting to me. Great Hall or Hall of Prophecy. Any other halls?

  anyone else run across this same post?

• 66 Reyhan // Apr 30, 2007 at 11:39 pm

  Ace, the first names of the founders are Godric, Salazar, Rowena and Helga. Wikipedia would have also answered this question, as would have a vist to many other sites on the Internet.

  Fawkes did help Harry finish off the basilisk in CoS, so it’s possible that he will help Harry again, although probably not in exactly the same way, because that would be too predictable.

  Conventional wisdom says that it’s not Ron but a house-elf (either Dobby or Kreacher) who is wielding the sword on the book cover.

  No evidence that Voldemort is trying to kill off purebloods. Also, his murders seem purposeful, or instrumental, rather then ideological. I don’t think he’d kill someone just because they were a pureblood. Also, I don’t think James Potter can be a descendant of Gryffindor because JKR has said Harry (his son) is not the heir of Gryffindor. And I don’t know if there is any evidence linking Ollivander to Ravenclaw.

  Of late, I’ve started thinking that Helga Hufflepuff’s generous acceptance into her house of any wizard, regardless of blood, talent or personality, makes her the perfect counterpoint to the discrimination and bigotry demonstrated overtly by Slytherin and covertly by the other two houses. Her name may be ordinary, but her heart seems truly extraordinary.

• 67 seriously_black // May 1, 2007 at 1:54 am

  Magic is by definition, a power *over* natural things.

  There are many theories about the shadowy figures in the background on the GrandPre DH cover - and most folk do not seem to think they’re meant to be death eaters.

  Ron is not holding a Sword on the UK cover. It’s being held by a small creature (elf or goblin, hard to be sure) who is *behind* Ron. Moreover while it is *probably* the Sword of Gryffindor, we don’t yet know that for certain (unless you’d like to theorize that there is only one jewel-encrusted sword in existence).

  Rowling has indicated that Harry is *not* a descendant of Godric Gryffindor, so James could not be either. That aside, we have been given quite plausible reasons why LV killed James Potter, which has nothing to do with a quest against pure bloods - and we’ve been told in the books that his quest was against *non* pure-bloods.

  The Founders were Godric, Helga, Rowena and Salazar. It may interest you to know that they are *all* “normal” first names in some parts of the world and in some times (and these people were supposed to have lived in medieval times). The fact that they’re apparently not “normal” in 2007 your particular burrough seems unlikely to be relevant.

• 68 Ace // May 3, 2007 at 9:27 pm

  Ok heres a fairly odd question… How do you guys think harry will kill LV or anyone else in the book? I dont think he has the guts or the hatred to use Crucio or Avada kedavra. he might imperius someone else to do it for him… perhaps Draco Malfoy or even better… BELLATRIX *revenge*. Do you think Draco will team up with harry? What about snape? Can wizards in the frames in the headmistress’ office cast spells?? They should be able to since they have wands and can mutter incantations right?? Well please respond.Lastly, there is a misprint in book 6, did anyone else spot it? Not a spelling mistake, or grammar error, but an actual slip up by JKR!!!!!

• 69 Reyhan // May 3, 2007 at 10:18 pm

  I don’t think Harry is going to kill anyone. It’s not a matter of guts (he has lots) or hatred (enough of that too). It’s a matter of knowing that killing is wrong. The only person I think he might be tempted to kill is Snape, and that will probably be his biggest test.

  He might kill the snake though. I don’t think he would look at that as an ethical dilemma.

  Getting someone to do your dirty work is just as bad as doing it yourself, so I doubt that he would get somoene else to kill anyone.

  I think that events will unfold in a way that involves many others besides Harry. I don’t think he will team up with anyone except his natural allies, the ones he’s fought with already: Dumbledore’s Army and the Order.

  The wizards in the frames are like echoes, or recordings, of the originals. I notice that they can watch and hear and react and comment, but they don’t initiate action.

  Slip up?

• 70 Boggart // May 4, 2007 at 1:00 am

  I actually find the idea of Draco and Harry teaming up very attractive, but as I like the “Malfoy is a werewolf” theory i dont know what to think anymore

• 71 korg20000bc // May 4, 2007 at 4:37 am

  Reyhan,
  I disagree that killing is wrong. I think murder is very, very wrong. But the slaying of a great evil is no wrong. We see this time and time again in myth and legend and real-life.

  For instance, Gandalf gave Frodo a gentle earfull about his regret that Bilbo didn’t slay Gollum when he had the chance (a lesson that Frodo learned as shown by his dealing with Saruman in The Shire). But, he didn’t bat an eyelid about killing the Balrog, multiple orcs, goblins, wargs and wolves, evil men and Sauron of course.

  I think you may be correct about Harry not having to kill in the final book. Although… He has to vanquish Voldemort. Maybe drag him through the portal.

  Matthew

• 72 Reyhan // May 4, 2007 at 10:09 am

  Matthew, I agree that we have to stop people from harming and killing others. Ergo, Voldemort has to be stopped. Clear so far. But if taking a life is wrong, then isn’t killing Voldemort wrong as well?

  Dumbledore talks about how your soul is split when you take a life. Does your soul stay intact if the life you take is of someone like Voldemort, or Fenrir Grayback? Who decides?

  In our world, we have the advocates and opponents of capital punishment. I am definitely an opponent. This does not mean I believe evil people should be allowed to remain free where they can continue to harm others.

  War is a much bigger dilemma. I know it’s sometimes necessary, and there are wars I would fight in without question, but I don’t think anyone survives a war without being damaged, either physically or emotionally.

  I can see several outcomes for Voldemort which would leave Harry’s soul intact. Someone else (my money’s on Snape who’s already lost his claim to innocence) could take him out. This would preserve Harry’s soul, take care of the problem, and not force the author to grapple with the moral dilemma.

  I like your suggestion: Harry could drag or push Voldemort through the portal; I’m pretty sure there are lots of spirits and Hallows and whatnot quite ready to destroy him. How about this? Wormtail pushes Voldemort through the portal after Voldemort takes back his shiny new silver hand?

  Or Harry could destroy the remaining Horcruxes, and then the infusion of Evans/Potter blood could destroy Voldemort from within. I like that best, because he would die because he couldn’t handle the essence of “goodness” and he would die because of his own actions.

  As for Gandalf’s preaching to Frodo, well, that doesn’t bear close scrutiny. There’s something called instrumental violence - when you use violence in order to meet your needs. I think Gandalf was guilty of instrumental mercy - when you have mercy on someone because you need them to do something for you later on. I’m not objecting to how he used Gollum (and of course Frodo and Sam and everybody else), that was his job. But don’t call it mercy.

  I have higher expectations of Dumbledore, who I believe is interested in helping people and finding the good in the most miserable sinner, because he believes that is the right thing.

• 73 korg20000bc // May 4, 2007 at 6:39 pm

  You are, of course, assuming that Dumbledore did not kill Grindlewald when he defeated him in 1945.

  I see murder as wrong. I would define it differently from killing. I would still say that is still has a great price to pay. The damage is still done but that in itself becomes a sacrifice. Healing comes in time.

  For some reason I had an image in my head of Hagrid giving Voldemort a bear-hug and plunging through the portal.

  I’m not with you on your point that the Gandalf example doesn’t bear close scrutiny. Gandalf did NOT have mercy on Gollum just because he needed hime to do something for him. That’d be a very poor reading of Tolkien. Even though the example I used was Bilbo’s mercy, Gandalf encouraged the wood elves not to slay Gollum because he felt that Gollum still had some part to play -for good OR ill- and that there was still hope for his healing and redemption. He had to think this was for the sake of Bilbo and Frodo. He knew they were being damaged by The Ring but believed that there was healing for them also. Your comment regarding “instrumental mercy” cannot be correct. And you’ll excuse me if I do call it mercy.

  I am a little surprised by your expectiong higher things from Dumbledore. First, he’s dead. Second, Gandalf and Dumbledore seem interchangable in their outlook in the above example.

  Matthew

• 74 Ace // May 4, 2007 at 10:26 pm

  Actually i believe that the title also suggests that harry is going to put Lv in a place or do something to him that will prove worse than death just to show LV that there are infact much more painful things than death and that the power to love saves hime from some of these things while it draws him to others. I think that he will put him in a place full of love and postitivity that Lv will be tormented by the powers of untarnished souls. Ideas??

• 75 Ace // May 4, 2007 at 10:31 pm

  Anyone lse see the wrong word/name choice JKR used???? (Book 6) tell me if anyone else found it

• 76 Reyhan // May 4, 2007 at 11:03 pm

  Matthew, I can not deny that Dumbledore is, in fact, dead. But that he will continue to play a role in events to come, and that his influence will be as powerful in death as ever it was in life, I have no doubt. In fact, only when there is no one left at Hogwarts who is loyal to his name, etc. etc.

  Speaking of whom, killing one or many evil wizards would not take away from the truth of Dumbledore’s words. It might even add more poignancy to his words, if he spoke as someone whose own soul was fragmanted, no matter how reluctantly.

  Gandalf and Dumbledore interchangeable? Well, plotwise, perhaps (although I hope that the disastrous trust Gandalf places in Saruman won’t prove to be reflected in the trust Dumbledore has placed in Snape !) But JKR’s sensibility is very different from Tolkien’s. She may not be a “great” writer, but her characters are real people. I wouldn’t say the same of Tolkien’s noble stick figures.

• 77 Margaret // May 4, 2007 at 11:39 pm

  Ace, can’t you just tell us?

• 78 Margaret // May 4, 2007 at 11:42 pm

  Matthew, I was thinking a while back that the whole emergence of Voldemort in the first place could be traced back to Grindelwald..it occurred to me because of the Easter European pronunciation of the name: GrindelVald….Vald emort? Perhaps Grindelwald also created some Horcruxes and use poor Tom Riddle in the way Voldmort used Harry…to create for himself a new body/new identity?

• 79 Margaret // May 4, 2007 at 11:42 pm

  not Easter European, Eastern European…geesh.

• 80 Ace // May 5, 2007 at 5:27 pm

  I was wondering…(2 things) if the deathly hallows just merely either stand for the horcruxes or a group of people. if you think about it, all of rowling’s books have had fairly obvious names. the sorcerers stone, chamber of secrets, prisoner of azkaban, goblet of fire, order of the pheonix and half blood prince. They all refer ro people or items, nothing very deep. The second thing i was wondering was that why exactly is the group called order of the PHEONIX? why pheonix? does it refer just simply to fawkes or does it refer to the role of the pheonix in the book, to preserve love heal the wounded (not ripped) soul and to rejuvinate courage and bring out the best in people or is fawkes more than he appears to be? O and BTW if u kill someone, your soul doesn not get ripped apart. ONLY if you use the spell to rip it. Killing only makes it rippable like metal is to heat.

• 81 Mia // May 26, 2007 at 4:09 pm

  According to Mugglenet, Rowling has provided an alternate title for foreign translators “Harry Potter and the Relics of Death”, since there is no equivalent to “Hallows” in other languages. The Swedish title will officially be “Harry Potter och Dödsrelikerna”. The German title hasn’t been published yet, but it seems to indicate that the “Hallows” are indeed items.

• 82 Alaa ghosn // May 28, 2007 at 12:16 pm

  I suggest that Harry will see his old godfather by going into the veil which is in ministry of order,he will go in and speak with them, I think he will be accompanied by Ron, Hermine, Loony, and Neville.They will haunt for the horcruxes, and of course one will get serously injured since the tittle is “The Deathly Hallow”.And I think it will be Neville. Anyway I am such a fan for Harry Potter. Can’t wait for it to come out in my country Lebanon.

• 83 Pip // May 28, 2007 at 1:18 pm

  to Alaa ghosn

  I agree Harry will see Sirius at some point. But I think Luna may be the one that gets seriously injured or killed. I also believe that the Deathly Hallows may refer to the founders of Hogwarts. But I’ve been known to be wrong about many things.

  Welcome to the fold. I’m new here, too. Hope to see more opinions from you. It’s fun. Thanks to our host!

• 84 Martin // May 28, 2007 at 3:58 pm

  Mia,

  The name Hogwarts Hallows was copyrighted. It could be just a fake title, but what if Hogwarts Hallows and Deathly are close in the meaning? With combination of alternate title you have found it would have been Hogwarts relics of death. Such a tilte could meant horcruxes who belonged to Hogwarts founders once.

  But what if there is different meaning: relic of death that are at Hogwarts.

• 85 Mia // May 28, 2007 at 5:06 pm

  Martin, yes, I think there may be a link between the “Hallows” and Hogwarts and it’s founders. Even Dumbledore once said that he didn’t know all of the school’s secrets… And then we have the connection between Godric Gryffindor and Godric’s Hollow (Hollow/ Hallow?) Since “Hallows” is an old word, it’s perhaps linked to the history of those two places. “Relics of Death” is almost as cryptic as “Deathly Hallows”, and I don’t have any idea what it means, yet.

  The parallel to the Hallows of the Arthurian legend, which Travis referred to in his post, seems to be a good guess, though.

• 86 joe // May 29, 2007 at 7:59 pm

  ACE what is the slip up that JKR made in the 6th book

• 87 joe // May 29, 2007 at 7:59 pm

  ?????????????????????????????????????????
  REPLY PLEEEEEZ

• 88 seriously_black // May 30, 2007 at 8:46 am

  While the alternative title is still intriguing, it does seem to narrow the definition, if not shut down a number of the directions of speculation here and elsewhere.

  I confess that my hunch on this was that the Deathly Hallows might be a place, whereas as Mia says, it now seems that the hallows are “things” or items.

  In light of that, my new guess is that the many objects in the picture on the UK cover (helmet, breast-plate, gems etc may be the hallows. Just a WAG.

• 89 Travis Prinzi // May 30, 2007 at 8:52 am

  Yes, this is an interesting development. It does suggest that the link to the Arthurian Hallows is indeed the way to go.

• 90 Reyhan // May 30, 2007 at 9:11 am

  I think their significance is still through the link to the four houses of Hogwarts, though.

• 91 Alaa ghosn // May 30, 2007 at 12:48 pm

  TNX pip

  I seem to recall that when loony feel, both harry and loony both heard noises from the viel and none of the others could hear the noise.Plus in year 2 harry and loony only saw the creatures that pulled the caridges.so harry must remember the viel and go to see dumbuldore and SB and they will give them advice with the mirror that serious black gave to Harry, but the mirror
  is broken, yet Hermine could use reparo to fix it.

  So hope to get your opinion…

• 92 Alaa ghosn // May 31, 2007 at 11:33 am

  To everyone,

  Maybe Hallows means tasks like the cave they went to in year 6, they had to get through LV maze. and since you have a chance in dieing in them so J.K.R put the tittle “Deathly Hallows”.

• 93 Alaa ghosn // Jun 3, 2007 at 4:57 am

  Where are u??????????????????????????????????

• 94 joe // Jun 4, 2007 at 3:10 pm

  What Is The Slip Up?????????

• 95 marconi // Jun 8, 2007 at 4:36 am

  i hv hp part 7 pdf version

• 96 Travis Prinzi