Not Quite Casablanca

Poor Harry. He had to break up with the love of his life after only a few short months, weeks, days, hours together. But Harry and Ginny are not over by any means. In Harry's grand Casablanca-style break up, he assumed that he would see Ginny on the train, they would say goodbye, he would go to Number Four and leave on his birthday for this dangerous quest. What he had not counted on was the presence of Ron and Hermione. But what he really had not counted on... was THE WEDDING!

Bill and Fleur's wedding will open the novel after, of course, the final Dursley episode (which I will discuss later). And who will be in attendance: a very dazzling-looking Ginny. I don't think Harry has realized quite yet that he will HAVE to see Ginny again. The second he sees her, all those feelings that he will have been trying to bury over the summer will come rushing back in spades. Now, here is where I'm going to get controversial. In MY perfect HP world, Ginny would play the Arwen role and be the prize at the end of the game and give Harry a reason to live and keep fighting. But of course, I also think Harry will die. As a guy, I don't think it is fair or even right that Harry Potter, savior of the world... should die... a virgin.

Now JKR would come under a HAILSTORM of controversy if seventeen-year-old Harry and sixteen-year-old Ginny had some sex before he left for his quest. Folks, this is what I was hinting at with last season's episode, Harry and His Women. As much as people want to deny it, teenagers (MUCH younger than Harry) DO have sex. It is a fact of life. Is it right? Not necessarily. All I know is Book Six had a huge amount of SNOGGING (my new favorite HP word) in it. The sexual behavior of teens is prevalent in this text because these feelings manifest themselves into love when they become older (if done the right way). What I think is wouldn't it be cool, or at least poetic, for Harry and Ginny to have sort of one last hurrah before he, Ron and Hermione cast off, and then we get the epilogue to find out that Ginny had a child who's father so happens to be Harry Potter?

That's what I wish would happen but the fact remains that it probably won't, and I'll tell you why in just a bit. For now though, we have to finish off the Dursleys.

Absolute Absolution

Look for the Dursley episode to be a very sad affair. Of the six Dursley episodes thus far, only One and Five have been worth it because in those two, and only those two, did the dynamic between Harry and the Dursleys change afterward. I think Seven will follow One and Five not only because it is the last, but also because there are several things we need to know that we have been promised. What did Dudley see when the Dementors attacked? Is Petunia a closet broomstick? For me, those are just gravy. What I want... what I NEED to see most of all is an absolution between Harry and Petunia. I have to believe that somewhere in that scrawny, severe, little woman is some modicum of recognition that Harry is family and no matter what, nothing can change that.

From the Dursleys' point of view, they never asked for this responsibility. They never asked to be the caretakers of the savior of the world... but they did it. Horribly and begrudgingly, yes, but they did it. And that is a pleasant thought. If these selfish, mean-spirited people would take in this orphan despite the large amount of danger that faced them upon doing so, that really speaks well to the nature of man in a way. All I want is for Petunia to say, "be careful." That in itself, given their history, speaks VOLUMES. It says, "I love you." It says, "I'm so sorry for what I've done to you." It says, "I'm sorry about what happened to your parents, and I miss my sister too." It says, "I wish you well on your journey and good luck in what you have to face." If Petunia can manage just those two words, there is hope for us all. And that makes all the difference.

Dumbledore's Army Redux

Harry is going back to Hogwarts. Not for school, but he has to go back. I believe Dumbledore will somehow get a letter to Harry instructing him that he must go back to Hogwarts as well. Obviously Dumbledore's not gonna pull a Jesus... star in Passion of the Dumbledore... they open the White Tomb and he's not there; Hagrid and McGonagall turn to the audience, shrug, and say "Here we go again!" But I digress. I believe Dumbledore, BEFORE his death, left instructions with McGonagall that Harry must return to Hogwarts. Why, I do not know. But Dumbledore has a picture in his office that can be spoken to.

But I am scared about something. If Dumbledore is dead, that means all the protection of 12 Grimmauld Place is gone. Dumbledore was Secret Keeper for the Order. 12 Grimmauld Place is no longer a secret, meaning that unless Lupin or Arthur act fast, Number 12 is now Plottable, Apparatable, FINDABLE!!! Harry, once he has found the locket (which I think will happen rather early since that is the only Horcrux that he knows how to find, even though he doesn't know it yet), will have to have a little conversation with Dumbledore, not to mention he'll need a safe base of operations to come up with his next move after he has found each Horcrux.

It is at this point that he will be thrust back with Ginny. But more importantly, I think that all members of the Order (Moody, Lupin, Tonks) will go to Hogwarts. Let's not forget that, once again we are sans a DADA teacher, and in the Order we have TWO former DADA teachers... well, one and a half. In either case, I see the Order and the DA (at least the hardcore DA members - Luna, Neville, and Ginny... maybe the Creevy Brothers) forming a Fellowship of sorts. Not to bring LOTR in it too much but several people have to go to the final confrontation as a function of revenge. I'll get to that shortly.

Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Cold...

So I got there a lot sooner than anticipated. Okay, certain people have to get their revenge on others, and other people have to be there to facilitate that revenge. Let's look at Celebrity Death Match-Ups:

MY EPILOGUE

Anyone who has seen the A&E Biography on JKR knows that she has already written the epilogue so she knows what is going to happen to all the characters. Well, I would not presume after my limited rereads of the books to know exactly what the epilogue would be, but if it were me, this is what I would want to see.

The Dursleys remain as Dursleyish as ever. Petunia, however, finally visits her sister's grave at Godric's Hollow. She apologizes. Dudley, after repeating a few grades, ACTUALLY meets a woman who - *gasp and shock* - likes him back. She is more spoiled than him and has him under control. He now has a son, Dudley Jr., who is JUST like him as a child. He wants to have it killed.

Fred and George marry the Patil Twins and have quadruplets named Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment and Tweak. They are the two richest couples in the Wizarding world. They paid to have the Burrow refurbished and remodeled to look brand spanking new.

Fleur and Bill have the most gorgeous redheaded child in history.

Trelawney and Firenze overcome their differences and marry. They have two children who are the strangest-looking possessors of the Inner Eye in the history of the Wizarding world.

Percy Weasley does indeed become the youngest Minister of Magic. He is still not speaking with Molly and Arthur.

McGonagall is still headmaster. She does not inspire the same sense of fun as Dumbledore, but she is well respected and nothing bad ever happens on her watch. She becomes the first Headmaster to officially ban Divination. She also makes it a rule that no new faculty member is allowed to wear a turban, carry a flask, have written too many books about themselves or be an appointment by the Ministry.

Neville and Luna marry the day his grandmother dies. Good times are had by all.

Ron and Hermione Weasley are the power couple of the Wizarding world. Ron is a very accomplished Auror, and Hermione is Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. She remains a tireless crusader for elf rights. They have a son, Harry James Sirius Remus Albus Weasley, who is destined to become a headmaster at Hogwarts by virtue of his inordinate number of names.

Ginny is a single mother raising her beautiful daughter Lily Harriet Potter. Every night she rocks her baby to sleep telling her the story of how The Boy Who Lived gave his life so that she could live in a free and safe world. Lily Harriet is a beautiful little baby who looks just like her mother, except she has her father's eyes as well as a strange birthmark that looks like her father's scar.

11/8/05

Posted by: Nicole

If you would like to contact Brandon, you may do so at Greatbman at aol dot com.

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