Who Will Die in the Final Harry Potter Book?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is coming out at the end of July, and there is a lot of speculation about who will live and who will die in the final book of the saga. We know from J.K. Rowling herself that there are at least two major characters that will kick the bucket, but the question is...who?

Many fans believe that the two characters in question must be Voldemort and Harry. Indeed, this would make some sense, as these two characters have been set to face off ever since book one. I, however, do not believe that either one of them are going to die a final death in this book.

Most theories surrounding the death of Harry Potter deal with the fact that it would appear that Harry is a horcrux, an object which contains a piece of Voldemort's soul. I think that this theory is correct, and I think that the fact that Harry can see visions of what's going on in Voldemort's mind, and the fact that they are so similar in nature, can explain why this must be the case. Besides, he is the only one, ever, to have lived through a killing curse, and despite the fact that he had his mother's protection, something strange went on that night, and Harry's transformation into a horcrux would explain a lot.

But will Harry die in the final book? I think not. From a literary perspective, we must remember that first and foremost, these are children's books, and the main character, whose life has been full of nothing but sorrow and loss, should not have to go through all this trouble just to bite the dust in the final scene. Besides, as in many novels, the reward for doing good is to find love, and despite Harry's halfhearted breakup with Ginny at the end of Book 6, it should be clear that these two are destined to be together.

And if Harry Potter is a horcrux, then Voldemort must live on, in some fashion, although he will probably be "killed" in this volume. Just like last time, he will find a way to survive somehow.

So with those two making it through the final book, who is going to die?

As I said before, characters who have a love interest should make it through the end of the story. That means that Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, Neville and Luna, Remus and Tonks, should all make it through the end of the novel. Certainly, some characters should be considered too minor to be in trouble, among them, Cho and the other members of the D.A., most of the professors aside from McGonagall and Snape, Viktor Krum (who is supposed to reappear sometime in this book) and Harry's foster family. So who is left?

McGonagall should make it through the book to give Hogwarts a little continuity, and Snape is likely to weasel his way out of trouble in the final scene as well. Draco Malfoy seems more likely to redeem himself as a good guy in the end of the books, and should live, although I think his parents are both in trouble, and even the majority of the Order of the Pheonix should find a way to live, as they at least have the proper skill set for surviving a fight.

It would seem that one of the Weasleys is in trouble. There are just too many of them. Ron should make it through, as should Ginny, Bill and probably Charlie, as these characters have either found their loving companions or are just too minor a character to make an appearance. Fred, George, Percy, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, however, will need to tread carefully in the final book to avoid their ultimate demise. I would lean towards George as taking the fall, as he has always been the least important of the twins, and rarely participating in the discussions.

The other character who I think will die is Hagrid. Certainly, Rowling has made it a point to kill off all of Harry Potter's father figures to this point with James dying before the book began, Dumbledore dying at the end of the last book, and even Sirius "dying" at the end of book five (Sirius should return alive and well at the end of this book, Rowling never specified that people on the other side of the curtain actually died going through). Hagrid is the only one left, and he has little purpose left in the story, and not much magical talent to boot. In addition, he seems like one of the first people who would step up to defend Harry when push comes to shove, and he has shown that intelligence and trust are not among his strongest assets.

Many people will notice that I just contradicted myself with Hagrid, as he has Olympe Maxime as his love interest. I think, however that this relationship is on the rocks, as she did leave Hagrid on his own when he was returning from their mission (albeit with a giant in tow, but nonetheless, she did split). In addition, she does not seem ready to accept her giant parentage, despite the fact that Hagrid is half-giant as well. Add to the fact that they're living far apart and neither is likely to relocate, and you have a relationship that is clearly heading down the tubes.

So that's it. I'm predicting that the two major characters to take the fall in this book are George Weasley and Hagrid.

We'll just have to wait and see what happens.