Just one day left!  I, unfortunately, have fallen behind in my column-writing and now have a number of half-finished columns that I have no hope of completing in the next 24 hours.  I'm quite sleep-deprived and am short on time, but I'm keen on getting some 'Half-Blood Prince' predictions out there before midnight, so I'll make this brief.  Here's a quick rundown of my thoughts:

 

The Half-Blood Prince: I'm pretty clueless on this one.  The possibilities are endless.  If I had to pick, I guess I'd go with ... Dumbledore.  Or Hagrid.  Or Lupin or Snape or Gryffindor or Character X.  Jo has hardly given us any clues as to the Half-Blood Prince's identity, which makes it quite a bit harder to make an educated guess.  It's definitely a half-blood and it's definitely a guy, but other than that, the door is wide open.  In some ways, I'd rather have it not be a new character, simply because we've all been theorizing for over a year now who it is, and all that researching, discussing, and debating would be for naught if it was a random new character.

 

But regardless of the Prince's identity, we're left to wonder which side they're on.  With the Prisoner of Azkaban, we were all convinced that Sirius Black was an evil murderer out to get Harry until we reached the end of the book and realized that we were gravely mistaken.  I'll take a rather uneducated guess and go with the Prince being on the good side for the entire book.  That's another thing - when will we meet the Prince?  Will his identity be the main mystery of the book?  I hope not.  He seems like a cool cat - a powerful one, at that - and I'd like to get to know him before the last few chapters.

 

The Death: I hate deaths.  Sirius's passing was a major emotional blow to Harry, and I can only imagine that the death in book six will be as well.  Everyone seems to think that Dumbledore is a doomed wizard, and I can't say I see many faults in their reasoning, but I would be utterly distraught if he died.  I would literally bawl for hours on end until tears could flow no longer.  Dumbledore is a really awesome guy who always seems to know exactly what's going on, and he's also a fabulous mentor.  Yeah, yeah, Harry needs to face Voldemort alone in book seven, but does Dumbledore really have to die for that to happen?  That's a bit too extreme for my taste.

 

Another character I would be incredibly saddened to lose is Lupin.  Lupin is one of my favorite characters in the entire series, and he was the only decent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Harry ever had.  If not for Lupin, Harry would no longer have a soul - nor would Hermione or Sirius.  Lupin gives great advice and, unlike Sirius, can act calmly under stress.

 

Now, some characters I wouldn't really mind to see go: Umbridge, Percy, Fudge, Bellatrix, Pettigrew, Draco, Lucius - all of the Slytherins, really - and the Dursleys.  Wishful thinking, I know.

 

Most likely to die: Dumbledore and Lupin, alas.  But I really hope I'm wrong on this one.  Then again, it's always possible that it's just a Hogwarts student that dies (see the back cover of the book), which would be nice - or at least nicer than Dumbledore or Lupin.  And another thing: Ron and Hermione are not going to die.  JKR might be cruel on occasion, but she's not cold-blooded. 

 

The New Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher: My gut instinct says Severus Snape.  One of the series's biggest mysteries is why Dumbledore won't let Snape teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, and it would be a bit odd for him never to end up teaching it.  For some reason, it feels like this is the year.  I know we all loathe Snape and wouldn't really enjoy having to endure more lessons with him, but he knows his stuff and would definitely be a competent professor.

 

I really wish that Harry would just go up to Snape and say, "Hey, I really appreciate what you're doing for the Order," then hug and make up and invite him over for tea.  That would certainly add some humor to the plot, though it won't happen.

 

The New Minister of Magic: Madam Bones would be a splendid choice, as she acted respectably during Order of the Phoenix and gained readers' trust.  My two top choices would be Arthur Weasley and Albus Dumbledore, but Jo's already denied the former, and the latter seems too much of a stretch at this point.  Hopefully we don't end up with another Minister anything like Fudge!

 

The First Chapter: If you haven't already read it, here's what JKR has to say on the subject: "I have come close to using a chapter very like this in 'Philosopher's Stone' (it was one of the discarded first chapters), 'Prisoner of Azkaban' and 'Order of the Phoenix' but here, finally, it works, so it's staying. And that's all I'm going to say, but when you read it, just know that it's been about thirteen years in the brewing."  Only one thing comes to mind that would have fit in books one, three, and five, and that's a flashback to the night that Voldemort murdered Lily and James Potter.

 

Romance: Definitely Ron and Hermione.  I wouldn't have completely ruled out the possibility of a Harry/Hermione relationship if it hadn't been for the fact that JK Rowling has flat out denied it on numerous occasions.  Especially in books four and five, there are quite a few hints of a romantic relationship between Ron and Hermione, and book six seems an appropriate time for the hints to blossom into an actual relationship.  And as for Harry?  My guess (and hope) is that he'll end up with Ginny. 

 

Snape: Dumbledore is right to place his trust in him - he's a good guy.

 

I, like many others, believe that Snape loved Lily Potter, which is why he switched sides when he found out that she was in danger of being murdered by Voldemort.  That also provides another reason for Snape to hate Harry, for he is the offspring of the woman that he loved.

 

Peeves, Grindelwald, Nagini, and Norbert: One of my half-finished columns is on Peeves, and I really wish I'd found the time to finish it before today, but alas, I didn't.  Basically, my theory is that Peeves is a Mrs. Figg-type spy for Dumbledore - always keeping any eye on Harry's whereabouts and informing Dumbledore of them.  Harry runs into Peeves during a number of his late-night excursions, and we find out later that Dumbledore is aware of them as well. 

 

Either Grindelwald himself or his history is bound to play a role in the next two books.  According to Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog card, he "defeated" Grindelwald in 1945 (ironically enough, the same year Hitler fell), but for more than a decade everyone said that Harry "defeated" Voldemort as well, when it was actually just temporary. 

 

I'm willing to bet money that Nagini is the same snake that Harry set free from the zoo in Sorcerer's Stone.  Wouldn't that be a nice twist for Voldemort to find out that two of his servants are indebted to Harry?

 

Norbert is probably going to reappear in either book six or seven.  He'll be tamer than most dragons, as he's been raised by humans from birth, and may be of some assistance in the upcoming wizarding war.

 

Unfortunately, I must cut off there, as the night is growing ever later and my body ever wearier.  My plan is not to sleep before I finish Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince...but we'll see how that goes.  Happy reading, all!