Harry Potter: Is This Really the End or Will There Be More?

With the release of the 7th and supposedly final book in the Harry Potter series, faithful readers are left wondering whether this is truly this is the last that we'll see of Harry Potter. We still have two more movies, so we will still be seeing more of Harry in that respect. Will we see Harry Potter on the printed page again?

The one thing that I found to be quite interesting in reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is that, while there were a lot of questions answered, a lot of questions were left wide open to speculation. Did Rowling do this because she plans to write other pieces in the Harry Potter universe? Or is it simply her way of letting the reader's imagination run wild and create their own scenarios.

During the course of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we saw the deaths of several characters. Most of them were minor characters, but there were a few that were key, or had become key in the last few books. The most notable being the death of Lord Voldemort, the biggest rival and enemy of Harry Potter. The overall point of the series was the battle between Harry and Voldemort. The plotlines were more than that, but in the end, "neither could live while the other survived."

No one questions the method of her writing throughout the book, at least no one that I've spoken with about the book. Did some of it not need to be there? Did some of it seem like it was just there for filler? Yes, but if you stop and analyze it, there was a purpose to each and every bit of the book. Closure. Pure and simple closure. Harry had to return to where it all began at some point, otherwise there would be no true closure for him as a character or for us as the reader. They revisited several sites that were used throughout the series, an homage to the places that brought them to where they were headed.

By closing the past, Rowling made it clear that this is truly the end of the story for Harry as it has been, however, the future is still wide open. She left a wide berth of opening for the future generations to explore the world that she created at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She can send future generations to Hogwarts if she chooses too. So is this the end of Harry Potter? No one but J.K. Rowling knows the answer to that question.

I think the better question would be, will she publish another book? I certainly hope that she does, and that she can create something as inviting and welcoming as Harry Potter has been. The world needs more books that will draw in children and adults alike, creating another generation of readers. Can anything top the world of Harry Potter? Or is Rowling going to be a one series wonder? Only time will tell.