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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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Peer review A release date of July 21, 2007 has been announced. This information is already in the article. Please read the article carefully before adding potentially redundant info about the release date.

Template:Future book Template:Endbookneighbor Template:HPBooks Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be the seventh book in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. It will feature the final adventures of Harry Potter as he attempts to bring an end to his nemesis, Lord Voldemort. The title for the seventh book was announced on 21 December, 2006[1] via the publisher and a special Christmas-themed "hangman" puzzle on J.K. Rowling's website. Rowling has stated that the final volume relates so closely to the sixth book of the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, that "I feel almost as though they are two halves of the same novel."[2] She has also stated that she has no intention of writing any further stories about the Harry Potter characters, meaning that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be the last book in the Harry Potter series. However, she has said that an encyclopedia of the Wizarding world based on her copious notes may be published in the future, possibly for charity similar to her two other Harry Potter charity books. As of 2007, she has been working on the Harry Potter stories for over 17 years. On 1 February, 2007, it was officially announced that the release date of Book 7 will be 21 July, 2007[3]. The novel will be released in two hardback editions: one a children's version and one for adults[4].


The meaning of hallows

Hallow is a word usually used as a verb. It means to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate. [5] However, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the word hallows appears as a noun. In modern English, the word is used as a noun in "All Hallows' Day" or "All Saints' Day," which is the day after Hallowe'en or "All Hallows' Eve". Hallows can refer to saints, the relics of saints, or the relics of gods.[6] One story where hallows play a crucial role is in the grail legend. In the Grail legend, the Fisher King is the guardian of the four hallows, which include the Grail itself, the serving dish/or stone, the sword/or dagger, and the spear. [7] Many scholars have since identified the connection of these four hallows with four treasures of the Tuatha de Danaan, which include a chalice (Grail), a baton or wand (spear), a pentacle (serving dish), and a sword.

There has been much speculation from many Harry Potter fans about whether the grail legend might play a part in the final Harry Potter book. Many Harry Potter fans have seen a connection between the four founders of Hogwarts, their relics, and the four hallows in the grail legend.[8] It is known from the books that Godric Gryffindor's relic is a sword, Helga Hufflepuff's relic is a cup (chalice), and Salazar Slytherin's relic is a locket (pentacle), presumably leaving Rowena Ravenclaw's relic as a spear or wand, even though a Tiara was mentioned in the books[citation needed]. In addition, many scholars have argued that the four hallows in the Grail legend symbolize the four natural elements (earth, fire, water, and air).[9] J. K. Rowling has explicitly stated that the four Hogwarts founders represent the four natural elements, solidifying the connection between the four founders and the four hallows in the Grail legend.[10] It is also known that Harry Potter must find four Horcruxes, and that Voldemort wanted a relic from each of the four founders.

Writing progress

In an interview following the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in 2005, Rowling stated:

"Realistically, I don't think I'm going to be able to do real work on it until next year [2006]. I see next year as the time that I’m really going to write seven. But I've started and I am doing little bits and pieces here and there when I can. But you’ve seen how young Mackenzie still is, and you can bear actual witness to the fact that I do have a very small, real baby, so I'm going to try and give Mackenzie what I gave David, which is pretty much a year of uninterrupted 'me time', and then I'll start writing seriously again."[11]
File:Hp dh hangman.JPG
The book's title revealed on J. K. Rowling's website.

In a Christmas 2005 letter on her official website, Rowling stated:

"I have been fine-tuning the fine-tuned plan of [book] seven during the past few weeks so that I can really set to work in January [2006]."[12]

In September 2006, Rowling was nearly barred by US Transportation Security Administration officials from carrying a working manuscript for the seventh Harry Potter novel onto an aeroplane, due to security restrictions, but eventually she prevailed. She said at the time she would rather have sailed home in a boat than be separated from the manuscript.[13]

Rowling has stated in the diary on her website that she has been writing scenes that she has had in her mind for more than 12 years, and that she is 'alternately elated and overwrought' at the prospect of completing the book.[14]

Background to the series

Further information: Harry Potter

The Harry Potter series was originally published as a children's book by British publisher Bloomsbury, and American publisher Scholastic Press. However, it rapidly became a phenomenal success amongst children and adults alike. The books each chronicle one year at school for the characters concerned and follows a long tradition of children's series about life in schools. Perhaps unlike some of the traditional series of this format, each book has matured and expanded in complexity and scope compared to the last, approximately developing with the age of the principal characters (later books are also significantly darker in tone than earlier ones). Although the author has said that she comprehensively plotted the entire series of books before the first was published, and that this plot remains unchanged, she has also stated that it has undergone a number of revisions as it has progressed. The books started as relatively slim volumes (223 pages Philosopher's Stone UK ed.), but have grown as the series progressed (766 pages Order of the Phoenix UK ed.).

The books contain a significant element of fantasy and magic, but this is combined with a detective-novel approach to the story. Each volume contains a complete problem and task for the heroes to complete, but each has also added to the background information about the wizarding world in general and contains many pieces of information whose importance only becomes apparent in later volumes (known as foreshadowing). Thus a considerable fan following has developed of people wanting to discover how the many loose ends and unfinished adventures in the book will finally be completed. The author has stated that, more than with any other book in the series, the final volume continues the unfinished story in book six. She has also stated that she doesn't have plans for any other novels concerning Harry Potter.

Known plot details

Template:Spoiler-about

Continuing storylines from previous books

  • There is no explanation at the end of Half-Blood Prince as to the true identity of the mysterious "R.A.B.", who claimed to have stolen one of Voldemort's Horcruxes with the intent to destroy it, while replacing it with a fake that was recovered by Harry and Dumbledore.Template:HBP The most likely candidate is Regulus Black (Regulus Arcturus Black), who Rowling said was "a fine guess" for R.A.B.'s identity in an interview.[16]
  • Kreacher, the former Black family house-elf who passed into Harry's ownership with the death of Sirius Black, may make an appearance; Rowling told the filmmakers of Order of the Phoenix to include the character in the movie, because he is "very important".[17]
  • Rowling stated on her web site that there is something "significant—even crucial" about why Dumbledore had James Potter's invisibility cloak in his possession.[18]
  • J. K. Rowling said in 2001 that Harry might get another pet at some point.[19] Although Buckbeak may have filled this role (Harry obtained possession of the Hippogriff after the death of Sirius Black, albeit under Hagrid's care), she also hinted that Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, might have another role.[20]
  • Rowling wrote the last chapter of the book some time ago, to give her an ending to work up to. The last word of the seventh book, according to Rowling, is currently "scar" [21], but she has also said it may change, along with the whole last chapter she has previously written. This last chapter contains details of what happens to each surviving character:
"This is the thing that I was very dubious about showing you... This is the final chapter of book seven. This is really where I wrap everything up, it's the epilogue. And I basically say what happens to everyone after they leave school - those who survive - because there are deaths - more deaths coming. It was a way of saying to myself, 'Well, you will get it, you will get to book seven one day. And then you'll need this!' So I'd just like to remind all the children I know who come around my house and start sneaking into cupboards that it's not there anymore - I don't keep it at home anymore for very, very, very obvious reasons. So there it is." – J. K. Rowling[22]
  • Rowling has stated that there will be no Quidditch matches in Deathly Hallows.[23]
  • We will learn something very important about Lily in Deathly Hallows:
Now, the important thing about Harry's mother - the really, really significant thing - you're going to find out in two parts. You'll find out a lot more about her in book five, or you'll find out something very significant about her in book five, and you'll find out something incredibly important about her in book seven." – J. K. Rowling[24]
  • Rowling has long said that the fact that Harry's eyes resemble his mother's is important.[25]
  • Severus Snape has been an important and enigmatic character throughout the books, as his true loyalty has always remained unclear. It is to be anticipated that as a surviving major character, his loyalty will be settled in the final confrontation of the book.[26][27]
  • She has stated we will learn more about Peter Pettigrew and Dumbledore and their respective families.[23]
  • At the Edinburgh book festival, Rowling mentioned that something more would be revealed about Petunia Dursley. Nothing of note occurred in book 6, so this remains to be discovered.[28]

"..there is a little bit more to Aunt Petunia than meets the eye...She is not a squib, although that is a very good guess. Oh, I am giving a lot away here. I am being shockingly indiscreet."

Rowling repeated this comment at the Radio City charity reading in August 2006. [29] Rowling has clarified by stating that Aunt Petunia will not perform magic.[30]
  • Rowling has said that some non-magical character will perform magic late in life in desperate circumstances.[31] However, Petunia will not be the one to perform magic (see above).
  • Also at Edinburgh, Rita Skeeter was mentioned: "She is loathsome . . . but I can't help admiring her toughness. . . . There is more to come on Rita"[28]
  • On Dolores Umbridge, "It's too much fun to torture her not to have another little bit more before I finish"[23]
  • Rowling has said that Ginny Weasley is quite powerful, that we have seen a taste of that in the past, and we will see it again. [23]
  • The two-way mirror given to Harry by Sirius Black and his flying motorbike will return.[32] In fact, Rowling has mentioned in one of her FAQs that the two way mirror "will help more than you think". Rowling refused to comment whether Sirius himself might in some way reappear, but she has also said that there was a reason why he had to die.[33]
  • Dumbledore was said to have a "gleam of triumph" in his eyes when told that Voldemort had restored his body using Harry's blood, at the end of Goblet of Fire (Ch. 36). Rowling has confirmed that this is "still enormously significant".[34]
  • Someone from Harry's class, not Harry, Ron, or Hermione, and not who most readers would expect, will become a Hogwarts teacher. This seems to indicate that Hogwarts will indeed re-open, though possibly not until after the main events of Deathly Hallows have occurred. [24]
  • In an interview after the completion of the Prisoner of Azkaban film, she commented that director Alfonso Cuarón had "put things in the film that, without knowing it, foreshadow things that are going to happen in the final two books. So I really got goosebumps when I saw a couple of those things, and I thought people are going to look back on the film and think those were put in deliberately as clues." She has said that the scene between Professor Remus Lupin and Harry speaking on the bridge was especially important, yet not deliberate. [35]
  • There are indications that at least two of the main characters will die. In a June 2006 interview about the previously-written ending, Rowling stated that:
    • "One character got a reprieve, but I have to say two die that I didn't intend to die...A price has to be paid. We are dealing with pure evil...They go for the main characters... well, I do".[36]
  • When further questioned in June 2006 about authors who kill off their main characters, Rowling said "I can completely understand, however, the mentality of an author who thinks, well, I'm going to kill them off because that means there can be no non-author-written sequels'".[36]
  • Rowling clarified that "Dumbledore is definitely dead", when asked by Salman Rushdie and others at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Rowling answered the same question three times, each time with increasing conviction.[37].
  • When asked what questions she should have been asked, she admitted that "the final book contains a couple of pieces of information that I don't think you could guess at", and declined to explain further.[29] On 2006-09-13 she updated her website saying that when she was asked that question, her mind went blank. Since she couldn't make amends, she created a NAQ section of her website, in tribute to the girl who asked the question. In her NAQ section, she states:
    • "Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?"
    • On September 29 2006, she revealed that Severus Snape was not under the cloak the night of the Potters' death in the Rumors Section.
  • Asked which five of her characters she would like to invite to dinner, she chose Harry, Hermione and Ron, but then hesitated before choosing her last characters, saying "See... I know who's actually dead", unsure whether she was permitted to invite those who are 'dead'. [29]
  • Lord Voldemort was voted best villain at the Big Bad Read poll. Responding to the news Rowling commented:
    • "I hope those of you who voted for him in the big bad read enjoy reading about him in book seven, where he finally gets the leg room for which he has been aching all those years in exile."[38]

Beyond Deathly Hallows

  • Rowling confirmed that there isn't a university after Hogwarts and further Harry Potter books.
Q: Do you think that you will write about Harry after he graduates from Hogwarts? Isn't there a University of Wizardry?
A: There's no University for Wizards. At the moment I'm only planning to write seven Harry Potter books. I won't say "never," but I have no plans to write an eighth book.
  • When asked about other books similar to Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Rowling has said that she would consider writing them at some point and that they would also be written for charity. She also mentions writing an encyclopedia-style tome on all the major characters, also for charitable purposes.
  • Shortly before the release of book 5, in an interview for the BBC, she was asked about Harry's future by Jeremy Paxman: [39]
Jeremy Paxman: So you know what is going to become of all the major characters over the span of the series?
J.K. Rowling: Yeah..yeah.
Jeremy Paxman: Why stop when they grow up? Might be interesting to know what becomes of Harry as an adult.
J.K. Rowling: How do you know he'll still be alive?
Jeremy Paxman: Oh. At the end of book seven?
J.K. Rowling: It would be one way to kill off the merchandising.
  • When questioned about possible future books, she jokingly suggested Harry Potter and the Mid-Life Crisis.[36]

References

  1. ^ "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Bloomsbury Publishing. 2006-12-21. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  2. ^ "Progress on Book Six". J. K. Rowling Official Site. 2004-03-15. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  3. ^ Release date announced on J.K. Rowling's website
  4. ^ Harry Potter finale released July 21
  5. ^ "Dictionary.com". Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. 2007-01-15. Retrieved 2007-1-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ "The Fisher King". University of Idaho. April 1999. Retrieved 2007-1-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ^ "The Fisher King". University of Idaho. April 1999. Retrieved 2007-1-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ^ "The Grail Hallows and Harry Potter". Bandersnatch. 2006. Retrieved 2007-1-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ "THE FOUR BASIC TOOLS". Rhuddlwm Gawr. 1998. Retrieved 2007-1-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ "The Four Founders and the Magician Card". Erin Dolmage. 2006. Retrieved 2007-1-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ^ "Anelli, Melissa and Emerson Spartz. "The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Two," The Leaky Cauldron, 16 July 2005". Accio Quote!. 2005-07-16. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  12. ^ "Guide to jkrowling.com: The Diary". Harry Potter Lexicon. 2005-12-25. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  13. ^ "J.K. Rowling Smuggles Harry Potter on the Plane". Toronto Daily News. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  14. ^ "Section: Diary". J. K. Rowling Official Site. 2006-12-19. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  15. ^ "Section: F.A.Q." J. K.Rowling Official Site. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  16. ^ "Anelli, Melissa and Emerson Spartz. "The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Two," The Leaky Cauldron, 16 July 2005". Accio Quote!. 2005-07-16. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  17. ^ "Elf's Absence From Next 'Harry Potter' Flick Opens Up Plot Questions". MTV. 2006-10-06. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  18. ^ "NAQ (never asked question)". J. K. Rowling Official Site. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  19. ^ "Raincoast Books interview transcript, Raincoast Books (Canada), March 2001". Quick Quotes Quill. Retrieved July 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ "Edinburgh "cub reporter" press conference, ITV, 16 July 2005". Quick Quotes Quill. Retrieved July 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "J.K. ROWLING: The 25 Most Intriguing People Of '99,". People. 1999-12-31. Retrieved 2006-06-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ "Harry Potter and me, BBC Stephen Fry interview, 28 Dec 2001". quick-quote-quill. Retrieved 2006-07-03.
  23. ^ a b c d "MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling (part 2)". Mugglenet. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  24. ^ a b J.K. Rowling interview transcript, The Connection (WBUR Radio), 12 October 1999
  25. ^ Loer, Stephanie (October 18, 1999). "All about Harry Potter from quidditch to the future of the Sorting Hat". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  26. ^ "MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling (part 1)". Mugglenet. Retrieved 2006-07-02.
  27. ^ "The Case Against Evil". iTrustSnape. Retrieved 2006-07-02.
  28. ^ a b "J K Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival". J.K.Rowling Official Site. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  29. ^ a b c "Radio City August 2006 Charity Reading". HPANA transcript. Retrieved August 20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ "Aunt Petunia will start exhibiting magical tendencies". JK Rowling Website: Rumors. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  31. ^ "Barnes and Noble interview, March 19, 1999". Quick Quotes Quill. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  32. ^ a b "World Book Day 2004". Quick Quotes Quill. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  33. ^ "JK Rowling Book Day Transcript".
  34. ^ "MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling, Part 3". MuggleNet. 2005-07-16. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  35. ^ "Interview with David Heyman, Steve Kloves, Mark Radcliffe, Alfonso Cuaron, and Jo Rowling, Prisoner of Azkaban DVD "Extra," November 23, 2004". Accio Quote!. 2004-11-23. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  36. ^ a b c "Transcript of JKR Interview on Richard & Judy". TLC interviews. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  37. ^ "[He Who Was Killed in Book Six] is Really Dead, JKR Rethinks Title of Book Seven, More from Radio City". news report. The Leaky Cauldron. August 2, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ "Rowling responds to Voldemort voted top villain". news report. The Leaky Cauldron. Retrieved 2006-09-12.
  39. ^ "JK Rowling on Newsnight".
 
Look up hallows in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
 
Look up hallow in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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