Grieving Over Harry

Fans - adults and children alike - all over the world are gearing up for the final volume of the Harry Potter series, and the most pervasive emotion among these throngs of Potterites is a sense of deep and profound loss. Blockbuster horror novelist Stephen King, one of the Harry Potter's most famous fans, writes in his column on Entertainment Weekly, the Pop of King: "When it comes to Harry, part of me - a fairly large part, actually - can hardly bear to say goodbye. ... And I'm a grown-up, for God's sake - a damn Muggle!"

For many children, this is the end of characters they've spent their entire childhoods with - they grew up right along with Harry, Ron and Hermione, and they, too, can hardly bear to say goodbye. "Think how it must be for all the kids who were 8 when Harry debuted in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," says King. "Those kids are now 18, and when they close the final book, they will be in some measure closing the book on their own childhoods."

For many fans, the worst grief will come if Harry Potter, the hero of the series, dies at the hands of his arch-nemesis, Lord Voldemort. Author J. K. Rowling has kept them guessing for years, refusing to ever categorically state that there will be a happy end to the series. The infamous prophecy in the Harry Potter books that predicts Harry's destiny says of Harry and Voldemort, "...Either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives." Close readers of the books have been puzzling over it for years.

"It can be interpreted in so many ways," says Valerie Thorpe, 26, of Albany, NY. "It could mean both Harry and Voldemort will die at one another's hand, or it could mean that Harry will kill Voldemort or even that Voldemort will kill Harry - but I don't think Rowling will do that!" She laughs. "At least, I really hope she doesn't."

Harry's death remains an uncertain topic, with fans overwhelmingly being of the opinion that Harry will live (83% according to a recent poll on Scholastic), but the makers and actors of the Harry Potter movies thinking he will probably die. Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry in the movies, says, "A heroic death for me has always been the most fitting way to conclude the series. I think it's a very conclusive way to end it." Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger agrees. "I have a nasty feeling Harry might die. I think he might have to go with Voldemort." Even director David Yates is not betting on Harry's survival. "I am like everybody else," says Yates. "I wonder if she's going to kill Harry off. That's my pet theory. I think she might."

In a USA Today article, Valerie Molaison, clinical director of Supporting Kidds: The Center for Grieving Children and Their Families near Wilmington, Del. says, "The grief is real. People get attached to characters as if they're real people because the characters say something about human existence. (Memories of) our own losses can be triggered in the position of the characters'."