Harry Potter Book 7 Theories

While scrolling through the possible titles for book seven I stumbled across “Harry Potter and the Battle of the Heirs”. This made me think. We know, of course, that Voldemort is the heir of Salazar Slytherin, and there have been numerous hints that Harry is the heir of Gryffindor. We also have reason to suspect that Zacharias Smith is the heir of Hufflepuff. Who could be the heir of Ravenclaw? It would be a powerful piece of symbolism if the heirs united against the common enemy (Voldemort), as the original Ravenclaw, Huflepuff and Gryffindor did against Slytherin, eventually running him out of the castle. The heirs, when joined, could become a very powerful trio, enough to overthrow Voldemort perhaps. They could help Harry locate and destroy the particular Horcrux related to them - eg. the cup could be destroyed by Zacharias Smith - and even support him in his final struggle to defy evil. Only time will tell!

-Theory by Maxx

Trolls, what type of role could they play? JKR doesn’t just throw things into her books that don’t hold some importance, so why would she even mention the trolls in Philosopher’s Stone and Prisoner of Azkaban? We know trolls are stupid so they could easliy be convinced to help out voldemort, couldn’t they? But we also know that you can hire trolls to guard things as well. So, how will this work out? Will the order pay the trolls to help them fight or will Voldemort trick them because they are so dumb? Will they be used at all?

- Theory by Marty

Thestrals could come into play for Voldemort’s side in the war. Since all the death eaters have, most likely, seen death, they would be able to see the thestrals and, therefore, possibly take control of them. These creatures would be powerful allies for the dark side because the majority of people have not seen or ‘experienced’ death and wouldn’t be able to see the flesh eating beasts which could spell disaster for the wizarding and Muggle races alike.

- John

As most people know, dementors could be very useful to both sides of the war. The dementors can suck out the souls of people, and only some of the better wizards can produce a full-fledged Patronus Charm, making them pretty unstoppable to most. Plus, they show no mercy and they cannot truly distinguish between what is right and wrong. This is exactly what Voldemort is looking for in allies. It was too easy for Dolores Umbridge to tell the dementors what to do. Many of them have (as of book 5) left their posts in Azkaban. 

-Submitted by Sora Phoenix 

The exact quote from the end of Order of the Phoenix is found on page 845 of the Scholastic hardback version of the book. In a statement by Fudge made to the Daily Prophet, he says ”It is with almost equal regret that we report the mass revolt of the dementors of Azkaban, who have shown themselves averse to continuing in the Ministry’s employ. We believe that the dementors are currently taking direction from Lord – Thingy.” 

The original theory is rather understated. The “mass” revolt most assuredly means “all.” Fudge says they “have shown themselves averse to continuing in the Ministry’s employ.” That, taken with Voldemort’s speech to his Death Eaters in the graveyard scene of Goblet of Fire on page 651 of the Scholastic paperback version, where he says, “The dementors will join us . . . they are our natural allies . . .” in conjuncture with Dumbledore’s assertions to Fudge on page 707 of that same book - “The first and most essential step is to remove Azkaban from the control of the dementors . . . you have put Lord Voldemort’s most dangerous supporters in the care of creatures who will join him the instant he asks them!” - leave no doubt at all that the Dementors have revolted en masse and have joined Voldemort. 

- A Veritaserum Theory 

We know from Order of the Phoenix that both Voldemort and Dumbledore were attempting to gain the giant’s support, which tells us that the giants are a major factor in the wizarding war. Voldemort’s Death Eaters appeared to be more successful in their attempt than Hagrid and Madam Maxime, but for all we know, the Gurg that the Death Eaters befriended could have been overthrown days after Hagrid and Madam Maxime left. 

However powerful the giants may be, at the rate they are killing each other off, they may no longer have a big impact on the story. While this seems logical, it also would make Hagrid’s attempt pointless — Hagrid’s attempt to befriend the giants was a major plot point in book five; Rowling wouldn’t have made such a big deal about it if all the giants were going to kill each other off. 

Right now, it seems that the Order has a better shot at getting the remaining giants to help them out than Voldemort does. Humans may not be able to recruit giants successfully at all — Gurgs change so often, you would have to befriend all of the giants at once to get them on your side. Giants also dislike most wizards because they use magic. What would be the best way to recruit giants? Another giant. And who has another giant? Hagrid. Grawp was put in Order of the Phoenix for a reason, and it may be that Grawp will convince the other giants to help out Dumbledore. Although it seemed Hagrid’s attempt to tame Grawp was pointless, Grawp remembered Hermione’s name (Hermy) and fended off the centaurs for her and Harry. 

- A Veritaserum Theory 

House elves, as demonstrated throughout all five books, are more than willing to assist any wizard in need — but this unfortunately includes evil wizards. However, Hogwarts is home to the highest concentration of house elves in the wizarding world, so if Dumbledore needed them to help fight, they would come to his aid in a heartbeat. While the extent of house elves’ power is not clear, we have some examples. At the end of Chamber of Secrets when Lucius Malfoy attempts to harm Harry after Harry frees Dobby, Dobby extends his hand and Malfoy falls down the stairwell. At the Quidditch World Cup in Goblet of Fire, Winky uses her powers to keep Barty Crouch, Jr. at her side while the Muggles are being tortured by Death Eaters. Although we haven’t seen many house elves utilize their powers, if Dumbledore calls on them, they could be a major factor in the wizarding war.
- A Veritaserum Theory

House elves may be more important than they appear. In “The Chamber of Secrets” a small portion of Dobby’s power is shown when he throws Lucius Malfoy down the stairs. But more importantly, throughout the books Hermione is constantly reminding Ron that no one can apparate or disapparate inside Hogwarts. Yet, when Dobby comes to talk to Harry in the hospital wing, he disappears with a loud crack. In OotP, Harry says that the sound of Mundungus disapparating sounded exactly like Dobby disappearing. If that’s true, then Dobby can apparate inside Hogwarts even though wizards can’t!
-Submitted by Starcatcher

Although the centaurs are powerful creatures, chances are they will completely stay out of the second war. When Firenze left to teach at Hogwarts in Order of the Phoenix, the other centaurs attempted to kill him. They dislike humans altogether, and they are not willing to help humans in any way.
- A Veritaserum Theory

The centaurs formed a peaceful alliance with Hagrid before Harry even arrived at Hogwarts. When Harry goes into the Forbidden Forest for a detention in the first book, Hagrid later recalls that the centaurs and he have a tacit understanding to stay out of each others’ lives. Centaurs do not want anything to do with humans and, in fact, they relegate humans to something lower than themselves. Humans, in their view, do not have an accurate view on the universe and most matters concerning their everyday lives. When Firenze leaves the forest to teach at Hogwarts, he tells the students in his lesson that everything they had previously learned is completely wrong. Divination is a sketchy subject to begin with just because it isn’t black and white. One person sees something in the cup or the orb that others probably don’t. It’s open to discussion…at least to humans. Firenze disagrees. (Page 602, Order of the Phoenix, Scholastic hardback edition.) “Here is written, for those who can see, the fortune of our races. We watch the skies for the great tides of evil or change that are sometimes marked there. It may take ten years to be sure of what we are seeing” (page 603).

As far as their participation in the Second War, I can only imagine that the majority of them will want to stay out of the affair unless it is directly affecting them. If their well-being and lifestyle is in danger, they’ll fight back, just as they began to fight back when Harry and Hermione went into the Forest with Umbridge. Centaurs, however, seem to hold grudges. They know that Dumbledore took Firenze in, and they view his loss as something that just isn’t done. Dumbledore has little chance of getting the centaurs in the forest on his side unless a sort of deal is made. I can, however, see Firenze as a major part of the story. He and Hagrid aren’t human, and it might be necessary for the two of them to embark on different excursions to retain loyalties for the Order.

Theory by Shannon

Goblin rebellions were brought up many times throughout Professor Binns’s History of Magic lessons; however, we did not learn much from them thanks to the fact that Harry was either dozing off in class or chatting with Ron. In Goblet of Fire, Ludo Bagman is being chased down by goblins throughout the entire book, because they want their money back. Also, goblins run the wizard bank Gringotts, and we know that most of them have no trouble in communicating with humans. Goblins seem to have a sort of an obsession with money — if Dumbledore offered them a generous amount of Galleons for their help in the fight against Voldemort, would they be more inclined to help?

It seems as though goblins will be on the side of the Order, or will stay out of the war altogether. They seem to have no affiliation whatsoever with Voldemort, nor does it appear that they want one. In Sorcerer’s Stone, they work their hardest to make sure that the Stone is well-protected. If they wanted to get on Voldemort’s good side, they could’ve given him the Stone secretly.

Another reason that the goblins may help out the order, even without a bribe is that 15 years ago, when Voldemort was powerful, he killed some goblin families as well as wizard families. Goblins, as shown in Goblet of Fire, hold grudges, and this crime is much more heinous than that of stolen money.

We have little information on the powers that goblins have, but chances are their powers are similar to house-elfs’ powers, making their assistance vital in the second war.
- A Veritaserum Theory