Fear not, muggles
Fear not, muggles.
Harry Potter doesn't die.
No, this isn't a spoiler. No inside scoop from some party pooper with a digital camera. No ending ruined by a contestant in an international hot dog eating contest.
We can confidently say Harry survives because we've read the first six books -- and because not a single Potter fan we spoke with seriously thought the teen protagonist would lose his life in his final literary adventure.
"The series is all about good beating evil," said devout Potter fan Kevin Kilbride of Downer's Grove. "If Harry dies, good doesn't win. So that's not going to happen."
Of course, we know someone will be killed. Author J.K. Rowling has confirmed that at least two important characters die in the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final book in the wildly popular series.
Potter mythology also includes a long-protected prophecy that proclaims neither Harry nor his mortal enemy, Voldemort, can live while the other survives. The prediction, no doubt, will play an important role in the final book, which (in case you've been living under the stairs at Number 4 Privet Drive for the past month) will be released at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
If Harry draws the short-end of that ominous divination, however, Naperville resident Jay Koch will eat an earwax-flavored Bernie Bott's bean.
"Voldemort is not going to kill him," Koch says. "Harry's mother died to protect him from Voldemort. The entire series stems from that one single act of love."
Not to mention it's rare for an iconic protagonist -- bummer for you, Hercule Poirot -- to die in the final passages. A wimpy Melanie may lose her life, but Scarlet gets to proclaim tomorrow another day. Alcoholic Sydney Carton goes to a far, far better rest, but kind-hearted Charles Darnay walks off with Lucie.
Not even the groundbreaking David Chase had what it takes to definitively whack Tony Soprano in the finale. With an ambiguous cut-to-black ending, he left it to fans to draw their own conclusions.
Would Rowling be so bold as to kill a beloved children's character? Would she forsake the principled orphan who made her one of the richest women in Great Britain? It's highly unlikely, experts said.
"There's definitely going to be a lot of deaths, but I don't think Harry will be one of them," said Ben Schoen, co-author of "What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Falls in Love and How the Adventure Will Finally End"
Schoen, the 17-year-old best-selling author, says he's heard most of the rumors out there and doesn't believe most of them. He doubts any spoilers that suggest Harry dies, though he doesn't automatically assume that Potter's survival necessitates Voldemort's demise.
"He may suffer a fate worse than death," Schoen said, "but he won't get Harry."