BOOKS | The wait is over. My Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince predictions are here.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2005.

After a year of intense anticipation, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has arrived. And considering that it’s easily the biggest book release of the year, we don’t want to ruin it for you.

We’re taking a page from those muggle-friendly websites that have shut down their message boards in order to avoid spoilers. And we’re keeping mum about the book’s actual contents.

Instead, we’re running through three of the hottest speculated about aspects of the most revolutionary series of books since The Lord of the Rings (and that was pre-internet-age, so let’s face it, it doesn’t compare). Oh, and we’re making a few predictions of our own.

Death: Dumbledore is gonna bite it. 

It’s upsetting, it’s unfortunate, and it’s inevitable. Dumbledore’s days are numbered. As sad as it is, as long as Dumbledore remains a powerhouse, Harry won’t ever be able to reach his full potential. Rowling has already proven that she isn’t afraid to let her characters bite it, and the head of Hogwarts has repeatedly been posited as the only wizard powerful enough to go up against Voldemort. Without him, Harry will be forced to take his place as the leader of what I anticipate will be a motley little rebel army, standing against a big bad and the possible end of the world. It’s classic fantasy storytelling.

Life: Sirius is gonna rise.

Sirius Black is alive. Death by falling through a mysterious, magical doorway that mesmerizes onlooker always seemed suspicious, and while it could be a red herring, Rowling has left the door to Sirius return open. (That was the “veil” between life and death, right? So dude could totally come back!)

Unlike Dumbledore, Sirius has always been more of a friend than a mentor to Harry, and thanks to his long stint in Azkaban, he’s more than a little nuts. Not only would having his godfather back give Harry the family unit he’s always craved, saving Sirius would be the perfect, ego-boosting hurdle for Harry to jump on his way to the big showdown with Mouldy Voldey.

Love: Harry’s gonna get some action. 

Love is in the air. The question is, for whom? Rowling’s been tight-lipped about hooking up, but Harry, Hermione and Ron aren’t eleven anymore, and the time is finally right. An epic romance between Harry and Hermione would make narrative sense. They are, by far, the two strongest opposite-sex characters (though, sidebar, I would love to see a gay match in this series), and their love match would also mirror the relationship between Harry’s parents James and Lily. But what about Ron? Weasley may well weasel his way into Hermione’s heart in the end, leaving Harry room to be the unattached, ultimate hero. It could go either way. Don’t wait to find out.

A version of this piece about my Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince predictions published in my regular Dose books column on July 18, 2005. See the clip below. More books and authors pieces are here. Full disclosure: I did predictions because I hadn’t yet had time to read the book!

Also, right around this time, I started blogging, specifically to promote and archive the work I was doing at Dose. (In other words, I started this site!) Want to read first-person, angsty, overworked posts from a kid trying to make it as an overworked journalist? You can check out my baby blogger posts here.

Published in Dose, July 18, 2005.