The Taste of Euphoria: A Farewell to the Potterverse

by Cassandra Vablatsky

1: Lily

(In later years, Snape would remember that sixth-year Potions class almost as a dying person might recall their last period of remission. A brief, graceful interlude that could not last. James Potter, mercifully, was not present. Nor were Avery and Mulciber. Snape and Lily worked together in every lesson, apparently reconciled, the most able potioneers in the school. Sometimes he could even imagine they were as close as they once were… yet each knew that this restored friendship was too fragile to survive outside the classroom, in a world in which they were already irrevocably divided.)

‘Once again, Miss Evans appears to have rewritten the textbook,’ said Professor Slughorn, with an appreciative wink. He had lingered by their table for most of the lesson, prepared to be impressed. Now he bent over the cauldron, which seemed to be full of liquid sunlight, and stepped backwards, shading his eyes.

READ ON…

(A warning if you haven’t finished HPDH that SPOILERS ABOUND!)

Click here for more…

N.B. You’ll be able to post your reactions to the real book 7 and to this site in general on the new page – however, no new comments are being added to divinations 1-17 which are now archive material! This synopsis remains as it was prior to publication (Saturday 21st July 2007 at 00:01 BST) as a lasting reminder of the time before Harry’s fate was set in stone… so if you’re nostalgic for the pre-publication era of speculation, then look no further…

Within hours you will know what happens to Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest in their final adventure. All the secrets I have been carrying around for so long will be yours, too, and those who guessed correctly will be vindicated, and those who guessed wrongly will not, I hope, be too disappointed! As for me, I feel a heady mixture of excitement, nerves and relief. ‘Deathly Hallows’ remains my favourite of the series, even after several re-reads; I cannot wait to share it with the readers who have stuck with me through six previous books.

Also, an announcement that you will be unable to post comments on this site from 00:01 BST for the duration of the weekend – to allow us all to absorb the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows … however, the site will re-open next week with new opportunities to discuss our reactions to the book.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed here over the last (historic) months of anticipation and most of all (of course) to J. K. Rowling for inspiring us all – it’s been fun!

Cassy x

July’s “Wizard of the Month” (just in case you haven’t seen it yet!) – is none other than Godric Gryffindor: who bears more than a passing resemblance to Harry’s mother Lily (red hair and green eyes)…

Thus reigniting a very old debate – and one in which I have an interest… Harry Potter, the Heir of Gryffindor? It was always a possibility – indeed, almost a probability (think of Harry as Arthur, the infant heir, entrusted by his loving (royal) parents to the wizard Merlin (Dumbledore) to be brought up in exile (with a foster family) until he comes into his inheritance by pulling a sword from the stone/hat) – that is, before JKR gave an interview after the publication of HBP in 2005, in which she seemed to imply that our hero was not the heir:

MA: What about Harry’s family — his grandparents — were they killed?

JKR: No. This takes us into more mundane territory. As a writer, it was more interesting, plot-wise, if Harry was completely alone. So I rather ruthlessly disposed of his entire family apart from Aunt Petunia. I mean, James and Lily are massively important to the plot, of course, but the grandparents? No. And, because I do like my backstory: Petunia and Lily’s parents, normal Muggle death. James’s parents were elderly, were getting on a little when he was born, which explains the only child, very pampered, had-him-late-in-life-so-he’s-an-extra-treasure, as often happens, I think. They were old in wizarding terms, and they died. They succumbed to a wizarding illness. That’s as far as it goes. There’s nothing serious or sinister about those deaths. I just needed them out of the way so I killed them.

MA: That sort of shuts down Heir of Gryffindor [theories], as well.

JKR: [Pause.] Yeah. Well – yeah.

MA: Another one bites the dust.

[Laughter]

JKR: Well, there you go. See, I’m aware that “Half-Blood Prince” will not delight everyone, because it does shoot down some theories.

Now, although she doesn’t explicitly shoot this one down (and it is difficult to interpret the transcript without an audio dimension), nonetheless it was taken by most of the fandom as implying that Harry might not be Gryffindor’s heir (or even descendant): which is fine, since there are a number of other possible candidates, even supposing that Gryffindor has a single heir (it was suggested that the concept of primogeniture might be better suited to Slytherin anyway).

Initially, most theorists were focused on Harry’s likely Gryffindor descent through his father, ostensibly the more logical choice – Harry’s mother was a Muggle-born witch (related to Petunia & Dudley), while his father seemed to be of aristocratic provenance: a ‘pure-blood’ wizard with a fortune to bequeath, who might have inherited Godric’s Hollow and whose Animagus took the form of a stag (symbol of St. Godric). There was much speculation about Harry as ‘the last of the Potters’ – had Voldemort deliberately set out to eliminate the male line? (After all, JKR had said that James Potter ‘would have died anyway’; Lily was only killed because she was protecting her son.) However, it is this theory which JKR seems to have quashed by revealing that Harry’s paternal grandparents died of an ordinary wizarding illness.

(Also, IMHO one of the greatest arguments against Harry-as-heir was that appears to put all of JKR’s golden eggs in one basket – if Harry dies, what becomes of the line? My Galleons therefore went on the Weasleys as the Gryffindor dynasty – morally, they seemed to balance the malevolent House of Gaunt, though alike in some ways (not least in their relative poverty). And there seemed to be some grounds for supposing that auburn-haired Dumbledore might be a Weasley relation … for though quite a distant figure, he seemed unusually close to Arthur & Molly, neither of whom was a teacher at Hogwarts …

Since HBP, however, I was vaguely aware of another possibility – that Harry’s Gryffindor ancestor might actually be his mother … (I had wondered before if James & Lily were descended from different branches of the Gryffindor family). On her website, JKR has spoken of magic as a ‘gene’ (suggesting that even so-called ‘Muggle-borns’ have some wizarding blood). Then we have Slughorn’s interesting supposition that Hermione might be related to ‘Hector Dagworth-Granger’ of the ‘Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers’ – Hermione assumes she isn’t, but logically she should have some wizarding forbears, however distant. Why not then make Lily (noteworthy for her moral and physical courage) a distant relation of Godric Gryffindor? Especially as JKR has described Gryffindor (just this month) as ‘an enlightened fighter against Muggle-discrimination’ (he was also ‘the most accomplished dueller of his time’). Her use of the word ‘enlightened’ suggests that such an attitude was unusual for a wizard in Medieval times, so what’s the betting that Gryffindor was himself Muggle-born or married to a Muggle?

The depiction of Gryffindor on JKR’s official website – a big clue, if not (quite) official canon – would seem to support this theory. Gryffindor has a mane of dark red hair and green (almond-shaped?) eyes. Harry Potter has inherited his mother’s eyes – the family jewels – which (fanon suggests) has enabled him to resist the Imperius Curse.

Other implications of Lily as a Gryffindor descendant might include:

• A/the reason for Dumbledore’s prior contact with Petunia: though not magical herself, she might have been in danger as a member of the same family. Is this what JKR meant when she said Aunt P. was ‘not a squib, although that is a very good guess’?
• A/the reason that Voldemort decided Harry (not Neville) was the potential threat (if Voldemort found out the truth)?
• A/the reason that Voldemort offered Lily the chance to live – he knew of her lineage and hoped he could use her? (Voldemort’s motive is not likely to have been compassion: either he didn’t think her worth killing or he had some purpose for sparing her life.)
• If Lily was related to Gryffindor then did she ever know? Did anyone else? Might this be something for Harry to find out when he comes of age?

Some have commented that for Harry to be the Heir of Gryffindor would reinforce the hereditary principle in a way that contradicts the (largely) progressive tendencies of the story – however, I submit that making Harry a descendant of Gryffindor through his ‘Mudblood’ mother would be a salutatory lesson to the Malfoys of this world – and Harry has already learned that the true Gryffindor must choose Gryffindor.

Pictures courtesy of Mugglenet:

US Children’s Edition

UK Children’s Edition

UK Adult Edition

As for what these pictures portend, Cassandra must remind her audience that:

“The Inner Eye does not See upon command!”

And this is all the text we have until July 21st:

Back Cover:
Harry is waiting in Privet Drive. The Order of the Phoenix is coming to escort him safely away without Voldemort and his supporters knowing – if they can. But what will Harry do then? How can he fulfill the momentous and seemingly impossible task that Professor Dumbledore has left him with?

Inside Flap:
Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety, and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him.

In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectacular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited. The spellbinding, richly woven narrative, which plunges, twists and turns at a breathtaking pace, confirms the author as a mistress of storytelling, whose books will be read, reread and read again.

Hear, hear!

Also, added some new thoughts on Ginny’s role in DH and on Metamorphmagi.

Plus, you can expect a new editorial (to follow shortly) on the possibilities and implications of time-travel in the Potterverse…

Cassy :–)

JKR seems to have developed something of a template for writing Harry Potter, IMHO; there are definite patterns to her plotting. So what features should we be expecting in Book 7? And can one really attempt to write a ‘synopsis’ based on the ‘plot formula’ for Books 1-6? Of course, there are no firm rules – JKR reserves the right to surprise us (and probably will, especially in the final book!) – but (based on the series so far) I’ve put together a basic outline to explain the method behind the madness!

Happy Spring Equinox :–)