I always think I have the next Harry Potter plot line figured out until JK Rowling throws in the death of a major character or two and I am, once again, stumped. Nevertheless, like many a fan, I am going to offer my opinion on that weighty question: Will Harry die in book seven? No doubt Rowling will leave me floundering at the end, but concocting your own theory is half the fun of reading Harry Potter.
A key factor playing into the question of Harry dying or not is whether Harry turns out to be the final horcrux. For the uninitiated, a horcrux is an object that a dark wizard uses to store a portion of his or her soul, in an attempt to attain immortality. A horcrux is an object of terrible power and only the act of murder can split one’s soul, so that its parts can be stashed away in the horcrux.
There is overwhelming evidence in the books to suggest that Harry’s nemesis Voldemort has split his soul several times and stored all its components in various well-hidden horcruxes. That Voldemort has created a number of horcruxes, to store his soul and committed many a murder to do so is testament to his terribly twisted and evil nature.
When Harry was a baby, Voldemort murdered his parents, and attempted to kill him too, but for some inexplicable reason Harry survived with nothing worse than his famed lightning-shaped scar. Debate across the web suggests that the botched attempt on Harry’s life resulted in him becoming an unintended storehouse for yet another part of the evil lord’s soul. It would explain Harry’s unusual ability to see into Voldemort’s mind and the reason he shares so many traits with the dark lord, including Voldemort’s ability to speak parseltongue, the language of snakes.
With this in mind, it seems logical that to defeat Voldemort, Harry will need to find all the outstanding horcruxes and finally kill himself to defeat the dark wizard. This also means that Harry will have fulfilled the prophecy cast around the time of his birth that suggests, though there is a great deal of debate around this, that Voldemort can’t go on living while ”the one” survives and vice versa. I have my reservations about whether Harry is ”the one” mentioned in the prophecy — but that is an essay all on its own.
So, if Harry is the final horcrux, it is likely that he will die. I don’t believe that he is. I think the insights he has into Voldemort’s soul and the gifts he shares with him, are as a result of a botched murder attempt. Why else would an evil lord want to destroy the vessel that stores a part of himself?
Harry isn’t the last horcrux and I don’t think he will die. I do admit though that — like many fans — I cannot fathom why JK might kill Harry off. But I do think the crucial piece in this puzzle is Voldemort’s pet snake Nagini. Harry’s mentor Dumbledore has intimated in Half-Blood Prince that Nagini could indeed be another horcrux. Furthermore, in the very first book, Harry releases a snake from the zoo, through unconscious use of his magical power. I think that snake was Nagini, though I have no evidence, other than a hunch, that she will be more important in Voldemort’s demise than readers realise. Particularly as Harry showed her instinctive kindness and we all know the power that acts of random generosity have in stories.
While I can argue why I don’t think Harry is a horcrux and thus why he won’t die, I can’t hazard any guesses about to what will happen to him. No doubt, Rowling will surprise and confound most of us as she has done in the past. And, like millions around the world, I can’t wait to be surprised.
