Que Sera, Sera

So the new book comes out tomorrow. Although I have it pre-ordered from Amazon, it's actually the first of the series that I will read right as it's released. In fact, I didn't read book #6 until a couple of months ago. So, although I'm swept up in the momentum of book 7, I haven't been this much of a die-hard fan all along. I will not line up at midnight in my wizard outfit, although I bet it would be really funny to see the crowds--my local bookshop is having a costume contest, and since there's a Harry Potter fan club on campus (yes, indeed) I bet there will be quite a few entrants.

I've been pondering the outcomes of this final book, reading some predictions online and trying to come up with my own theories. I just can't separate what I want to happen from what I think will happen. I know there will be deaths, and I believe that several will be main characters, including at least one kid. But for a series that started out as such a sweet, fun tale of adolescent adventures, I feel a bit sad to even contemplate the potential deaths of these characters. In the most recent movie, there is a scene towards the end when all the kids are being held hostage by bad guys, and as the camera flashed from face to terrified face, I realized that, fictional or not, I have gotten attached to those kids, having watched them grow up through the pages of these books. I know it's naive of me to want a happy ending, so I suppose I'll just have to suck it up, face the inevitable heartbreak I expect in these next few days, and take it like an adult.

However, for the sake of entertainment, and for mocking me when I am totally wrong on all counts, here are some predictions:

• The person who died at the end of book 6 is dead.
  
• Neville will be a hero.
  
• Draco will come over to the good side (and kill his own father!)
  
• The Sorting Hat will be destroyed (and good riddance, that thing is annoying).
  
• Hermione and Ron will finally get together, and there will be much snogging.
  
• One of the Weasleys will bite it (I hope it's Percy; if it's Ron I will cry giant Hagrid tears).
  
• Harry will die.
  
• No, he won't--he'll live happily ever after with Ginny
  
• Or, maybe he will die and she will marry Neville. I can't decide.
  
• Cousin Dudley is a wizard, or maybe gay.
  
• Snape will die saving Harry's life.
  
• It turns out it was all a dream.