JKR has said that she considered three different titles toward the end of writing book 7 before settling on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
According to the Leaky News (HERE) there were 24 titles registered by the publishing houses leading up to the announcement of the real title. They are:

Heart of Ravenclaw
Deathly Hallows
Deadly Veil
Demon's Sword
Quest of the Serpent
Grey Lady
Heir of Gryffindor
Lost Sceptre
Broken Wand
Gryffindor Quest
Peverell Quest
Wand of Gryffindor
Ring of Destiny
Elder Wand
Revenge of Dumbledore
March of the Death Eaters
Return of the Dark Lord
Curse of Nagini
Last Prophecy
Hallows of Hogwarts
Mudblood Revolt
Seventh Horcrux
Wand of Grindelwald
Final Curse

It seems pretty likely to me that the two other titles that Jo ultimately rejected are among these, although it has been confirmed (also by Leaky News) that "The Heart of Ravenclaw" and the "Deadly Veil" were never contenders for titles for book 7. Some of them are almost certainly not real possibilities (Ring of Destiny -- too related to Lord of the Rings).

Which two do you think were Jo's final candidates?
Which do you think never were?

Ooh good thread topic, Fenixong! I love it! Hmm, I wonder if any of those titles could give us hints as to what could happen. For example: "Heir of Gryffindor"? Could that mean that Harry or one of the other characters or even Dumbledore is/was a descendant of Godric Gryffindor?

Wow. That is an interesting observation. I had never heard about most of those titles before. I think some of them could give us clues as to what could happen; however, JKR has so much to explain and there is so much to happen that it will still be hard, even with the titles, to figure out what will happen. That's a really interesting observation, though. Deadly Veil most likely refers to the veil in the room in the department of misteries. That could mean that we are going to find out more about that veil. I am sure we will. Heif of Gryffindor is interesting. I don't know about that. It could be one of the characters we know about. It could be like R.A.B. or something, but I doubt that. Final Curse is probably either the final curse that Voldemort casts, or the final curse that Harry casts. The rest will all have meanings behind them, as well, but I am not sure what for a lot of them. Good topoic!

wow this is a really good topic well first i think u should sort them with the ones that go with each other...

Heart of Ravenclaw
Grey Lady
~these all have to do with ravenclaw

Heir of Gryffindor
Gryffindor Quest
Wand of Gryffindor
~these have to do with gryffindor

Revenge of Dumbledore
March of the Death Eaters
Mudblood Revolt
~these have to do with war

Broken Wand
Elder Wand
Wand of Grindelwald
Wand of Gryffindor
~these have to do with wands

Peverell Quest
Gryffindor Quest
Quest of the Serpent
~these have to do with quests

Final Curse
Curse of Nagini
~these have to do with curses

Demon's Sword
Seventh Horcrux
Wand of Grindelwald
Wand of Gryffindor
Broken Wand
Elder Wand
Lost Sceptre
~these could all be horcruxes

Return of the Dark Lord
Curse of Nagini
March of the Death Eaters
Quest of the Serpent
~and these could have something to do with voldemort
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
im having touble sorting out the rest u can put then in these catgories or in new ones...

Deathly Hallows
Deadly Veil
Ring of Destiny
Last Prophecy
Hallows of Hogwarts

Yeah i agree with you Madmoiselle Lilly. If you read them all and think back to the other books then they could be used to find out what could possibly hapen in book 7.

Aren't they an interesting selection. The one that caught my eye was 'Hallows of Hogwarts", we don't know where the deathly hallows are that the title she picked refered to. JKR has always maintained it was one book per year AT Hogwarts. So I go for the Hallows of Hogwarts as being one that was on her final list.

The other ones I found interesting were those that refered to Nagini or a snake. I've been wondering for sometime if Nagini is the snake Harry was talking to in PS, think of the twist that could add. If a wizard saving a life creates a bond, Harry could be said to have a bond with that snake, giving it a life outside a cage. Anyhow thats off topic.

As for those she definately didn't seriously consider, your guess is as good as mine

Also, i found another online article where it says that "Harry Potter and the Hogwarts Hallows" was a title that was registered. Interesting, now there are two titles with Hogwarts and Hallows. . .

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6...600/6201655.stm

I find the ones with wand very interesting. . .

Heart of Ravenclaw possible
Deathly Hallows well thats it
Deadly Veil love it!
Demon's Sword it just doesnt sound right
Quest of the Serpent hmm not sure about this
Grey Lady its ok but JK Rowling can do better
Heir of Gryffindor To obvious to the storyline
Lost Sceptre cool
Broken Wand sounds more like a chapter than an actually book
Gryffindor Quest not bad
Peverell Quest hmmm no not sure why
Wand of Gryffindor nope
Ring of Destiny too much like LotR
Elder Wand nah
Revenge of Dumbledore i like it but again too much like a chapter
March of the Death Eaters dont like it really
Return of the Dark Lord to obvious to the storyline
Curse of Nagini ooooh strange
Last Prophecy i like it!
Hallows of Hogwarts it rules!
Mudblood Revolt i dont think JK would use Mudblood in the title
Seventh Horcrux bit boring really
Wand of Grindelwald hmmmm
Final Curse wow!

Basicly i think the other too probably were:
Deadly Veil and Last Prophecy

yeah it could give you clues about the next book but they could be thetre just to threw you off course

Wow! This is a great thread! Choices, choices. Well now looking at the list 'Deathly Hallows' isnt my favorite. I would have perferred 'Revenge of Dumbledore' or 'Heir of Gryffindor'. I think Harry might be the heir of Gryffindor. I once read in a book of whether it was a concidience that Harrys parents lived in 'Godrics Hollow'. This was great information!

To be honest, I think this information is a little bit faulty. I mean, 24 titles? That's a little excessive and I don't think JKR or her publishers would ever register that many titles. She could have been deciding between two or three, but 24? Nah, I don't think so.

And some of them sound a little fishy to me also. Let me explain, there was a couple of them that I read and thought of things from Lord of the Rings.... For example, "March of the Death Eaters" reminds me strangely of the chapter "Last March of the Ents". I've never seen Death Eaters particularly 'march' either. "Strike of the Death Eaters" or "Attach of the Death Eaters" would be more appropriate here. Also, "Return of the Dark Lord" is strongly reminiscent of the third Lord of the Ring book "Return of the King". Yes, I know that it could be just a coincidence, but I don't think JKR would register something that would be thought of 'stolen' from another author, she's smarter than that. She would never create such a title. "Ring of Destiny" just explains itself in the Lord of the Ring world, but there is a song called "Quest of Destiny" too, that's been around for quite some time. And a few of the other titles were either reminding me of different things or were just completely ridiculous to begin with.... I don't know, this information seems faulty.

Deathly Hallows - this one was picked
Deadly Veil - hmm...something to do with the ministry veil?
Demon's Sword - voldermort?
Quest of the Serpent - something about slytherin
Grey Lady - ghostly
Heir of Gryffindor - character a heir?
Lost Sceptre - also ghostly
Broken Wand - many lives destroyed?
Gryffindor Quest - all comes down to gryfindor
Peverell Quest - isn't this nearly headless nick?
Wand of Gryffindor- also gryffindor
Elder Wand - maybe something to do with dmbledore?
Revenge of Dumbledore - speaks for its self
March of the Death Eaters - death eaters might turn on voldermort ?
Return of the Dark Lord - also speaks for its self
Curse of Nagini - voldermorts snake?
Last Prophecy - something about the phrophercy ?
Hallows of Hogwarts - what does hallows mean?
Mudblood Revolt - lead by hermione?
Seventh Horcrux - mudering voldermort
Wand of Grindelwald - wand of who?
Final Curse - sort of speaks for its self

sorry just what i think of the titles, though like Hilly i think the information may be faulty, as they said 24 titles is an almighty lot!

i think wat vwill hepen in sewenth book

Deathly Hallows - this one was picked
Deadly Veil - something to do with the ministry veil?
Demon's Sword – godrics sword ?
Quest of the Serpent - something about slytherin
Grey Lady – rawenclaws gost
Heir of Gryffindor - character a heir?
Lost Sceptre – something like wand
Broken Wand - many lives destroyed?
Gryffindor Quest - to gryfindor
Peverell Quest -?
Wand of Gryffindor- gryffindors wand could be found
Elder Wand –wand of a pawefull wizard or which?
Revenge of Dumbledore all knows it
March of the Death Eaters - death eaters might turn on voldermort
Curse of Nagini - voldermorts snake
Last Prophecy - something about the phrophercy ?
Hallows of Hogwarts – Hogwarts grawes
Mudblood Revolt – mudbloods will be doing something
Seventh Horcrux – killing voldermort
Wand of Grindelwald - wand of wizard wath DD killed
Final Curse – last curse

Wow, almost all of these would be good titles I think...

The only one that I am posotive that JKR didn't want was the Mudblood Revolt, its just not her... And as for the ones with the wands, I don't think that focus on the whole book so I think thats why one of those wasn't used.

But other than that I think that they all would have been good!!

Hmm intresting titles. They could give off more clues but ifeel that would just confuse us. So all of thesse where possible book names will give away clues to the bok.

Here is a few i took a shine to.

Wand of Grindelwald - Could this mean Dumbledore never really defeated the elusive Grindewald. Could Voldermort have a maste rlike Grindewald?

Demon's Sword - Thats realy intresting it really is there was something strange that gives something away in this.

Mudblood Revolt - I love this one. Because i feel i love it when lesser character stand tall. This would be intresting maybe we don't know something about the Muggleborns. Maybe the use of the word Mudblood insted of Muggle Born is signifgant.

Revenge of Dumbledore - Thats to revenge of the Jafar disney Alladin. It just seems to simple but it is intresting.

Deadly Veil - Oh la la my favourite even beyond Deathly Hallows the actuall one this must mean something about Sirius and the viel he fell beyond.

oooo interesting...

Deathly Hallows --- this was picked and think it sort-of gives less away...
Deadly Veil --- was it thought to finally reveal the mystery of the veil? maybe she does but it is not as important.
Demon's Sword --- i can't imagine this beging Godric's sword, what kind of demon was he?? nah, but there is a sword on the U.K cover...
Quest of the Serpent --- well Voldermort, slytherin... i can se where this is coming from.
Grey Lady ---this one confuses me greatly
Heir of Gryffindor --- someone is an heir??
Lost Sceptre --- hmmm just doesn't sound right to me...
Broken Wand --- this just reminds me of ron.. in the second book...
Gryffindor Quest --- i can see where this is coming from
Peverell Quest --- what??
Wand of Gryffindor --- Harry's wand?? or Godric's?
Ring of Destiny -- ha ha!! Vee is right thhis sound too Lotr... then again she chose to have a giant spider did she not??
Elder Wand --- intresesting...
Revenge of Dumbledore --- His dead isn't he?? this could mean how people are acting in his stead to get rid of evil...
March of the Death Eaters --- army?? or they turn on Voldermort.
Return of the Dark Lord --- plain... but he has already returned so...
Curse of Nagini --- ooooo
Last Prophecy --- fairly explaintary... it has all been about that prophecy.
Hallows of Hogwarts --- that is soooo cool!!
Mudblood Revolt --- nah, J.K would never use the term Mudblood
Seventh Horcrux --- ooooo!
Wand of Grindelwald --- maybe that is a wand Voldermort is searching for...for higher power or something
Final Curse --- killing curse?? or someone's end...

SOme of the titles gives us ideas of what might be the Horcruxes!

And, coz there's Hallows of Hogwarts, then the Deathly Hallows must have a connection to Hogwarts. But that's weird coz Harry isnt planning on going back to Hogwarts.

Nah. Maybe it really means Godric's Hollow.



Anyways, this is really interesting. Maybe the ones that didn't make it as titles became the titles of the CHAPTERS of the book. It's possible.

Okay, my thoughts about the names

Heart of Ravenclaw – Puts too much attention on the Horcruxes. And Ravenclaw for the matter of fact.
Deathly Hallows - Like that
Deadly Veil – Reminds of Sirius, it’s too small though.
Demon's Sword – Reminds me about the sword in Dumbledore’s office.
Quest of the Serpent – Hmm… Is the whole book about the snake?
Grey Lady – The Ravenclaw ghost; again horcrux from Ravenclaw.
Heir of Gryffindor – No, what about the heir of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?
Lost Sceptre – A sceptre? No way.
Broken Wand – Reminds me of Olliwander. Wierd I know.
Gryffindor Quest – What about the other three houses?
Peverell Quest – What’s with the quests? And what's a peverell?
Wand of Gryffindor – Again, reminds me too much of Horcruxes.
Ring of Destiny – Like this, but reminds me of Lord of the Rings.
Elder Wand – It seams too small... and it's just wrong.
Revenge of Dumbledore – Too much attention on Dumbledore’s death. I name for a chapter.
March of the Death Eaters – Hmm. It's not big, but I like it.
Return of the Dark Lord – Naah. That has happened.
Curse of Nagini – Does all the book has to ba about Nagini?
Last Prophecy – One more prophecy? Naah.
Hallows of Hogwarts - … Again, a chapter. And why Hogwarts?
Mudblood Revolt – I actually like this one, but that’s too small. And Mudblood? Naah
Seventh Horcrux – That’s just lame, sorry.
Wand of Grindelwald – What’s with the wands? And Grindelwald?
Final Curse – Sound like Harry is going to die.

My two would be 'March of the Death Eaters' or 'Ring of Destiny'

Well, Jo has said that Harry is the Heir of Gryffindor, so (assuming that these are all actual titles considered) that one would be referring to someone else.
What I really find interesting is the titles with Wand in it. The reason being that in the very first book, when Harry goes to Ollivander's there is a wand in the window. And then there was the whole thing with Ollivander being kidnapped. Why? Is the wand that was in his shop significant?

Although I have to admit, I don't really believe that all of these titles are accurate. I mean, 24 titles is an extensive list.

wait JK said that harry is definitely the heir of gryffindor? where did u hear this eagleanimagous? i was thinking that scrimgeor would be his heir because he is lion like but thatdoesnt mean anything i guess. the only othr title i remember hearing was the heart of ravenclaw. that is a lot of different titles to work with. i can understand that the heart of ravenclaw being used because JK did say hat ravenclaw would have their day. that is something to think of.
yea the wand ones get me thinking of ollivander too becausethere was the whole big thing of him just disapearing and everything. interesting thread though.

Sorry, sokr24 (and everyone else) Jo said that Harry isn't the Heir. I should have re-read my post. However, my interpretation of the statement was that he is a descendant of Gryffindor. But that's neither here nor there right now.

Sorry again everyone.

oh ok. that clears a lot up. i was searching all over the internet to find out about this. i was wondering why JK would give this information out when it could play such a big role in DH. well thats besides the point.whatever it was no problem eagleanimagous

hehe.. Harry Potter and the ring of destiny. That is too much like lord of the rings. The mudblood revolt would be a little offensive to all those wizards and witchs with muggle parents. I think the deathly hallows is the perfect one from the list. There are alot of names that include the word "wand" so i wonder maybe if it has something to do with lots of spells or what? The return of the dark lord sounds like something from star wars as well. Maybe darth vader makes a guest appearence lol. The deadly veil has got to be something to do with the veil at the ministry. I guess we'll only ever know when we've read the final book.

well There was one more that everyone was seroius about, it was like Harry Potter and the Pyramid of Tyranna. I found that hillarious! I think the ring of destiny was the best one.

The two that I like best are "Hallows of Hogwarts and The Final Curse"

The title that was chose was "Deathly Hallows" so "Hallows of Hogwarts" realate to it and since we have no clue of what the DH is about I find it easy to realate the two. Besides JK has shown that Hogwarts is an important place for both Harry and Voldemort and I can see her as having the end of the book where it all started.

The second title I pick also is pretty catchy to me. It realates to the curse that failed to kill Harry. Perhaps the final curse will be the end of Voldemort.

Has no one ever heard of the title, Harry Potter and the Swords of Light? I remember reading that just after the publication of the sixth book and someone close to JK had sadi that that was the "new title". It was a high profile magazine and I just remember being really excited and beig amazed it was so early being released. i dont think it was ever confirmed though. Maybe I am wrong but it always sticks out for me when thinking of the 7th book.

Assuming that Jo did indeed consider these titles i conclude the following:

There are indeed seven horcruxes.

One more prophecy will be made.

Harry is indeed a descendant of Godric Gryfindor.

Dumbledore's wand will be of much importance and help to Harry.

Deathly Hallows are spirits (ghosts...dead)

The veil is a passageway between life and death.

Harry will return to Hogwarts. (perhaps not for classes but he will go back)


Anything I missed?

This is a major spoiler so don't read if you're not done with the book!!!


That's all I could think of.

i dont know, but either way, the book was freakin cool! i read it twice in three days!