Near the end of June JK Rowling made news by announcing that she expects to kill off at least two more of her characters in the seventh Harry Potter installment. To add a little fuel to the fire, the author went on to hint that one of the characters could be Harry Potter.
Though thousands of people were shocked by the news, there are those of us who have already predicted this fate. It has been suggested, discusses and debated that Harry Potter's scar is a horcrux and that he would have to die in order to completely vanquish Voldemort.
Don't know what a horcrux is? Here is a brief summary:
A horcrux is a magical object that can be just about anything. The purpose of the object is to prevent ultimate death. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince we learn that the only reason Voldemort has survived is because he had already spread out his sole into multiple horcruxes. For Harry to vanquish Voldemort completely, he would have to find and destory each of these items.
There is a strong chance that Harry's scar is one of these objects.
The feelings towards Harry's demise are currently mixed. TheAge, however, sees the move as a necessary step.
Why Harry Must Die
Besides placing an end to possible spin-offs and unwanted sequels, why else would JK Rowling want to kill off Harry? Here are just a few reasons:
Agatha Christie killed off Hercule Poirot so no one could steal the character for a new series of stories once the old girl herself had gone to God. Arthur Conan Doyle sent Sherlock Holmes over a waterfall because he'd come to hate his creation - only to resurrect him because of public outcry. Dickens killed off Little Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop for the same reason he wrote anything - to push his readers' emotional buttons.
From a literary point of view, Rubbo says: "It'd be hard to sustain that character into adult life ... One of the charms is his youthful exuberance and naivety. An adult Harry Potter would lose that. You'd have to weave a more complex life. Failed marriages. Probably a drug habit."
Shannon Meilak feels the same way - and she's a Potter fan. The sort of fan who dresses as a wizard and seeks the company of like-minded folk. The organiser of Melbourne's Harry Potter meet-up group, Meilak says Harry needs to die - in a final battle against the master of Dark Arts, Lord Voldemort - for the sake of the series staying true to itself.
Even if JK Rowling decides to kill Harry I can only assume that the author would leave her character with a few outs. Take for instance the horcrux. Harry is one of the first wizards to discover the true power of having one and may himself create one. If JK wants Harry back she can just explain he had a horcrux created to ensure a life after his battle against Voldemort. Harry dies, the scar horcrux goes with him, Voldemort dies, Harry resurrected!
I smell a theory coming on!
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be released on July 13th, 2007.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Movie Page coming soon!
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