Wednesday, March 14, 2007

7 biggest questions about the 7th Harry Potter book

Okay, it's starting to get exciting. We still haven't seen cover art, but hopefully we will soon. Scholastic is talking about a marketing campaign involving 7 biggest questions.

I guess we don't get to choose the questions. Coincidentally, I spent about a half hour this morning making a list of questions I have. Mine cover front and back and part of a third side of notebook paper. Much many more than seven. But I'll try to weed it down (focusing specifically on questions I think and hope will be answered in book 7 -- I have other questions I'll put on the back burner for now):

1. How did the Wizarding world find out that the Potters were killed, that Harry was not killed and that Voldemort was apparently gone, in such a quick timeframe? Who determined Voldemort was indeed gone, and how did they know? Why didn't they need more time to find out if he was just hiding in a back alley somewhere nursing his pride at failing to kill a small baby? (I know that's more than one question but they're all related so they count as one -- the ones after the first one are there to more fully explain the first one.)

2. Who else was there the night the Potters were killed?

3. What more does Petunia know that she's not telling?

4. What happened (and where was Harry) during the 24 hours between when the Potters were attacked and when Hagrid showed up on Privet Drive? Is this just another maths error on Jo's part, was it just that she wanted Harry to be left on the doorstep at night, or is there another reason it took that long to bring Harry to his Aunt and Uncle's house?

5. How and by what means has Dumbledore been watching Harry more closely than he can possibly imagine? Were others involved in this surveillance or was it just Dumbledore?

6. Are we ever going to hear the story about how Dumbledore's arm was injured? He promised more than once to tell it and then didn't get a chance, but since Jo knew all along he was going to die, I can't believe she didn't intend to tell us at some point.

7. Was Dumbledore an animagus and if so, what form did he take?