The Great Harry Potter Book Six Death Contest [orichalcum]

So, everything after the cut, first of all, is only for people who've read Books 1-5 and are planning on reading Book Six. It seems pretty clear generally, however, that at least someone whose name we know is going to die in Book Six, and so I'm curious as to people's theories. The first person who correctly guesses the two most major character deaths in HBP will win, mmm, a yummy dessert of their choice from me next time I see them, plus everlasting fame and glory.

Here are my candidates, in no particular order, with reasons for and against each of them. Feel free to add new suggestions.

1. Albus Percival Brian Wulfric Dumbledore:
Pro: Dumbledore's obviously biting it at some point, being the Wise Old Mentor (if kinda psychotic and manipulative.) The question for him is Book Six or Seven, I feel.
Con: Book Seven might be more dramatic and give Harry the impetus to finally take charge and go kill V.

2. Arthur Weasley
Pro: Yet another father figure down the drain.
Con: He already got grievously injured in Book V.

3. Molly Weasley
Pro: Mama figure dies again. Very tragic. Plus, foreshadowed by her whole Boggart experience.
Con: Would totally devastate all the Weasleys. And Harry would starve to death.

4. Bill and Charlie Weasley:
Pro: One of these boys is almost certainly going to die. There are just too many male Weasleys NOT to die. And we don't really care about them a lot, and they have risky jobs. There's an Avada with a Weasley name on it.
Con: Not a big enough death to be the Main Death.

5. Percy Weasley:
Pro: Ah, the Edmund/Pettigrew figure. Redeems himself by dying heroically to save his family, probably. Or goes over to the Dark Side and then gets killed by one of his siblings. Either way, more likely dead than not, but I'm betting not till Book 7.
Con: More interesting as redeemed or villain than as corpse. As A. says, "What a Tory!"

6. Fred and George Weasley:
Pro: Cool, reckless characters. And it's always sad when 1/2 twins die. Not that we can tell them apart.
Con: I think Rowling likes them too much to kill them.

7. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione:
Pro: Well, that would certainly be a big blow and upset people.
Con: Not going to happen until, maybe, end of Book 7. Have Major Character Exemption. Much like, say, Harry. And Voldemort.

8. Remus Lupin:
Pro: Everyone who ever met James and Lily Potter must Die. In Front of Harry, if at all possible!
Con: Poor guy has suffered enough already, and doesn't Harry need someone to get him out of brood-mode?

9. Hagrid:
Pro: Big, reckless, giant, totally ready to sacrifice himself for Harry. Plus, would really hurt Harry, and we know Rowling likes that.
Con: The guy's been fired like 4 times already. And besides, who would deal with Grawp?

10. Mr. and Mrs. Granger:
Pro: My personal most likely pick for Book 6. Hermione totally neglects them for the wizarding world, and as the helpless Muggle parents of Hogwarts' best student and Harry's best friend, they're sitting ducks. Plus, then Hermione can empathize with Harry.
Con: Kinda random, and we don't care about them as people. But that would fit with the Diggory pattern, in which deaths are more about how they affect the living.

Other suggestions?

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i think it's got to be someone whose death would affect Harry. so i'm guessing Hagrid or Dumbledore (but probably not both, since one has to be around to offer parent-like consolation to Harry after the tragedy.)

also, what about McGonogal (sp?)? her death in defense of Gryffendor???

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>Everyone who ever met James and Lily Potter must Die. In Front of Harry, if at all possible!

Does that mean they get cool ghost bodies?

Gotta be Dumbledore. But everyone says this, so. I don't feel like I deserve any prizes if it's right (although desserts *are* yummy.)

We've already seen James and Lily's cool ghost bodies, after all. (Died in front of Harry, just like Cedric!)

I'm sure we'll see Sirius' cool ghost body at some point soon.

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See, I just don't see Dumbledore biting it. Maybe in book 7, but I still don't buy it. Someone has to give the denouement and that someone is always Dumbledore. It's always been a mystery as to why he didn't just explain things first thing as I think that would have saved a lot of trouble from the beginning, but then we'd lack a lot of plot.

I was thinking Lupin for awhile, as that gang of four seems destined to die, but I think Remus' fate is in the suffering, and you can't suffer if you're dead.

My money is on Hagrid, but it was on Hagrid last time and I was wrong, so I now doubt I'll be any more accurate this time.

Ron, Ginny, and Hermione are immortal. They could never die even at the end of all things.

Part of me thinks it's going to be a new character...maybe this half-blood prince person. Or maybe she'll throw us all for a loop when a villian dies like Lucius Malfoy. But I think it really should a darkest before dawn kind of death, so definitely someone we care about, but isn't essential.

I think it'll be Cho Chang. After the disaster of book 5, they'll finally get some sort of romance going, and then she'll die a horrible death in Harry's arms. Either her or a Weasley.

Tragic romance could be a good plot turn. But if CC dies and Harry pulls any "everyone I care about dies" crap, I'm going to start writing hate mail to JKR.

Girlfriend, how is Snape not on this list? He's my second favorite to die, after D., although I doubt they'll die in the same book.

Okay, here's my guess: Dumbledore and Bellatrix Lestrange. Clears the queens from the board (er, rank-wise, because wow do I not want to think about Dumbledore in any other context that might be implied by that word) leaving the kings to duke it out.

Course, it really depends on whether you think she's writing high fantasy or low fantasy. If high, Dumbledore's biting it. And I think it's high, because she killed off Sirius, and did it in the manner she did.

Snape can't die before he become either DADA teacher or Headmaster of Hogwarts or both. I'm betting on Headmaster. (Which yes, may mean Mcgonogall bites it, though I'm gambling on just incapacitated.) Therefore, Snape can't die till Book 7. Then, all bets are off. But we're talking about Book 6 here. :)

I'm not sure Neville's grown up enough to take on Bella yet, and he's clearly the one supposed to kill her.
(My mental matchups for Big Final Battle there: Remus vs. Peter, Neville vs. Bella, a Weasley vs. Lucius Malfoy, Ron vs. Draco unless Draco redeems himself, Hermione vs. Pansy, everyone else defending Harry.)

Hermione just gets Pansy?

But I like the rest of your matchups - Bella is definitely Neville's to take.

And I think Harry's destined to become DADA teacher. And I'm still keeping Snape on my long-shot list.

And I really hope McGonagall doesn't die. That would be sad. Plus, we've already had her in serious enough peril to be one of the death-fakeouts in Book 5 :)

Hmm, this triggered a lot of thoughts for me, a few of which are:

Oh, I don't know, I think there's some worthwhile quiet tragedy in having Snape die without having achieved either of those things, particularly DADA, and particularly if he dies in some manner saving Harry. It would work for me. I think Rowling's a good enough writer to pull it off. But I agree that it's more plausible that he'll get something, and I also think he's much more likely to die in book 7 in general because I think his relationship with Harry has a ways to play out.

*sigh* I suppose you're probably right about Neville being the one to take down Bellatrix, but I think it could happen in book 6. Actually, come to think of it, I don't necessarily bet on it, but I think it could be fascinating if Dumbledore dies protecting Neville/helping Neville kill Bellatrix (rather than protecting/helping Harry) in some situation that is caused by Harry behaving in a Dark Side manner. Because I still think Harry is going to get Dumbledore killed; but it would be interesting if it happened in such a manner as to hammer on the Harry-gets-abandoned theme.

I dunno. I'll probably end up being wrong.

For a long time, I used to think that Dumbledore would die at the end of Book 6 and leave Harry alone for Book 7, but now I'm not so sure. I think the most likely candidate now is Percy, dying in some heroic and redemptive way. His story is heading for some kind of bad end, and I think we're due to have a death in the Weasley family. (I would think Mr. Weasley, except we were already faked out about his death in the last book.)

There will probably be another death, too, someone less ambiguously on the Good Guys' side. Probably one of the members of the Order of the Phoenix, although I'm not sure who. Snape might be a long-shot candidate - a lot of meta-clues (book covers, etc) point to Snape being important in this book, he is a member of the Order, and he's due to have the ambiguities in his character cleared up.

On the other hand, I'm the one who swore up and down that Hagrid would be the one to bite it in the last book, so maybe you shouldn't listen to me too much :)

I would bet on Percy for the next death. That would mean that Rowling is a smart about narrative as I hope she is, but I think it would lend some great elements to the narrative: insight into the workings of Voldemort's followers and a redemptive story that demonstrates that even people who are "seduced by the drak side" are not hopeless.

I think Dumbledore is a good candidate as well, although maybe not for the 6th book, since Harry quite openly feels that D. is perhaps the only presence that prevents a total onslaught from V., and D's absence would definitely precipitate a confrontation.

I hope that Snape sticks around, if only so that I can keep enjoying Alan Rickman's sexy voice in the films.

I have to say, I thought Sirius' death was a poor choice. Not only because I really liked his character, but because I thought his presence could result in interesting plot and character development. I thought the way he died was a waste as well. On the on the hand, there is potential for ambiguity in the manner of his death.

I think Dumbledore is a good candidate as well, although maybe not for the 6th book, since Harry quite openly feels that D. is perhaps the only presence that prevents a total onslaught from V., and D's absence would definitely precipitate a confrontation.

On the other hand, that might make Dumbledore a good death-candidate for the end of Book 6, because that would mean that there is no barrier holding V back, and leaving the way open for all-out war in Book 7.

On the other other hand, I'm not sure if she would do that yet - Hogwarts is always the place where Harry is safe, no matter what, and I'm not sure if she would eliminate that sanctuary so early in the game.

But speaking of safety, another potential death-candidate might be Aunt Petunia. Her blood relationship to Harry is one of the things keeping him safe, so she'd be a logical target for V. And we saw just enough of a sympathetic side to her in Book 5 to make her death meaningful...

I was actually thinking of Dumbledore as dying early on in 7. This would open the book with a bang, setting off a great deal of tension and narrative twists (ie machinations for the Headmastership and giving us a new view of the now-familiar setting), and nicely break the pattern of ending the books with a death.

That would mean that Rowling is a smart about narrative as I hope she is,

Rather than as smart as she's shown she is over the past five books?

I personally thought almost everything about OotP was a poor choice, so I'm definitely with you on both Sirius's death and the manner of it. I think Percy'd be a fine choice, but I think A (different) Weasley To Be Named Later is tied with Hagrid for best likelihood of being offed. Severus and Dumbledore both have Plot Immunity, I would think, and relatively few of the others would give her the chance to make Harry get angsty and annoying, which seemed to be the principal goal of all of her personnel-related decisions in the last book.

Not that I'm bitter.

I agree about Sirius, but I thought Umbridge was the best of the villains so far. Evil in a petty, malicious sort of way.

Aunt Petunia, or the Dursleys en masse, is possible, but a bit gratuitous.

Yeah, I admit to being ambivalent about OotP. But I'm also hoping that what comes next might improve my opinion. I thought OotP was very much an in between book, like the eye before the storm. Which made Sirius' death even worse. Azkaban has been one of my favorites so far, because it broke her pattern of V making trouble and Harry saving the day, and Sirius was such an interesting, mysterious character. Book 2 was a waste.

I personally thought almost everything about OotP was a poor choice,

Yes! Thank you for being another person to agree with me!

It opened great, dark and grown-up, with interesting twists on minor characters and the awesome scene with Mrs. Weasley and the boggart.

And then... we went back to school. Where we were an angsty teenager. And Sirius' character development took a turn that contradicted his behavior in books three and four. And then he died. To screw with Harry some more.

I dislike how the themes keep doubling back on themselves. Yes, we know Harry's the underdog and we know he doesn't have parents! You've told that story, and well done. Now show us the rest of the story--how he makes his own family with Sirius and becomes not-an-underdog! Nope. She killed off Sirius instead, to put Harry back where he started.

I also really disliked all the obvious death-of-a-main-character fake-outs. Too meta. Playing with the audience. "I told you I was going to kill one! Guess which! Nope! Not this one either!"

Ahem.

I once would have said that there's no way the trio is in danger, because that's just a Bad Choice, thematically and for the energy of the series. However, after Sirius' death, I'm not so sure. I had Lupin pegged as being killed off, and Sirius surviving.

Similarly, I used to be sure that Dumbledore was toast--by all the rules of high fantasy, it's the only choice--but now I'm not sure.

I don't know, I didn't mind the angsty teenager stuff so much. Sure, Harry was a bit annoying, but on the other hand, I thought Rowling was remarkably realistic about the adolescent angst. I can remember feeling an awful lot like that (and I was probably just about as irritating). I kind of admired Rowling for not being afraid to show such feelings truthfully, even at the risk of annoying readers. So much other stuff for/about teens glosses over the angst or views it through a sort of nostalgic, rose-colored lens. Rowling reminded me of why I'm glad that part of my life is over with. Refreshing, really, when so much entertainment seems to idealize adolescence.

Yes, the book had some problems, but Rowling's greatest strength has always been describing a given age group as it actually is, and well, 15-year-old boys are like that. Sirius, to me, represented the dangers of _not_ growing up, and Dumbledore of the overprotective parent who wanted to keep Harry young and childish. The point of the book is that Harry has to grow up, whether or not he wants to, and accept responsibility and consequences. That's why the scenes in Snape's Pensieve are so key - Snape has never really let go of his adolescence or his adolescent hatreds, and neither had Sirius. Remus, otoh, has.

That, and Hermione is Always Right. Which does get a bit annoying.

Well, I will readily cop to being uncomfortable with some of the more socially awkward scenes in 4 and 5 partially because of my own insufficiently dim memories of being a socially awkward teenaged boy. But I don't recall ever having met anybody in high school who spent the whole day talking in all caps, which was how Harry reacted to anything more traumatic than a stubbed toe in Order of the Phoenix. I mean sure, if he's going to lose his temper at the drop of a hat, that's a legitimate choice on Rowling's part (though I'm still not sure I agree with it—most teenaged angst I encountered more morose and less explosive), but can we find some means of expressing it in print that doesn't hurt my eyes?

My vote's on Dumbledore, simply because the impressions I've gotten from interviews and the grapevine seem to imply it's going to be a character that's been around and active from pretty near the beginning of the series. Even the Weasley brothers (except for Ron, who practically has immunity) don't have enough of a direct influence on Harry to make killing them off even as much of an issue as Sirius. Lupin's a possibility, but I think it'd be a poor choice to follow Sirius since their characters come from such similar backgrounds.

Aunt Petunia would make an interesting death; I hope the vein about Harry's adoptive parents being Not All Bad is explored more. I feel the same way about a Snape death, but I'd much rather see him get the Defense Against the Dark Arts position so we can find out what he's like when he's not being a lemon-sucking monkeybutt. (I always wondered how much trouble could have been avoided if Dumbledore had done it in the first place).

And killing Hagrid? I don't think it would serve any purpose except for causing pain to Rowling's fans, never mind Harry. Unless the series is meant to end with Harry becoming the next Darth Vader when he figures out that nice guys end up dead, there's not much point in killing off the Gentle Giant.

I believe I read in an interview with JKR a while back that she said that Hagrid would die and she dreaded writing it. I have no idea who would deal with Grawp, but I suspect his fate will become much more clear to us in HBP. That said, the question is when would Hagrid die, and why? Since Hagrid's death "off stage" (as it were) on his mission to the giants would have been rather pointless, I suspect that his death will be a noble one. Perhaps he will die defending the school?

Speaking of which, are we leading up to a "seige on Hogswarts" scenario in the final book?

Also, is no one betting on Wormtail? Somehow, his failure to redeem himself the last time around does not bode well for his chances to last until the end of the series. Plus, he owes Harry. I suspect he will cash in on some minor detail, then be fried by Voldemort, and what better place than book 6?

My bets for Book 6 are, therefore, Wormtail & Bellatrix on the "baddie" side (I like your Bellatrix note, and her death would do interesting things for Neville's character, whether he kills her or not) and one or more of the child characters on the "goodie" side. Someone second or third tier, like Justin Finch-Fletchley or Hannah Abbott. Just to show us, for the bajillionth time, that the bad guys are seriously bad.

Does anyone have any bets on who the Half-Blood Prince is?

Why are we voting for _two_ character deaths? I thought there was only one that we knew for sure was going to happen.

I think it might be Neville.

If there's another one, I don't know who it would be. Maybe Snape.

-MJNH

I'm betting she'll up the stakes and that there will be at least 2 deaths. I could be wrong, but it also makes the contest more interesting.

orichalcum

The Great Harry Potter Book Six Death Contest

my .02

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Of course!

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Simple

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Really?

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I'm with kenjari

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Further $.02

A new suggestion

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