Hamlette's Soliloquy

I actually managed to leave Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at work, locked in my locker, when I left this morning to begin my two nights off. I was mighty tempted to bring it home, believe you me. But I'm glad I didn't. If I'd brought it home, I would have just lolled on the couch reading it through to the end. And I don't want to finish it in one fell swoop like that. I want to savor it. I want to churn the new ideas and theories around in my brain. And besides, I have a lot of stuff to get done this 'weekend'. I'm well on my way to accomplishing them too--I've written more than 700 words on my novel in about an hour!

But speaking of theories about The Half-Blood Prince, I have a couple, which I will now write with invisible ink, just in case there are others out there that haven't finished the book yet and don't want to know what kinds of theories I'm formulating...

First of all, everybody knows that another main character is going to die in this book. J.K. Rowling said so, before the book was even published. I read a newspaper article that said the death will cause much wailing and weeping from fans. So I figure it won't be Snape, since not everybody loves Snape. I think it'll either be Dumbledore or Hagrid, because they're the two that almost everyone loves. And I'm rather inclined at this point to think it'll be Dumbledore (I've just finished Chapter 17). Why? Because he started out being charming and delightful, and making me like him a lot more than ever. And Sirius was being much the same in Order of the Phoenix. But it might not be Dumbledore, because he's a very Gandalf-like character, and if he dies, it might feel like a Lord of the Rings rip-off. Hmm. Then again, JKR might want me to see similarities between Dumbledore and Gandalf, so I'll feel secure in the idea that she would never copy LotR. Blast that Joss Whedon for teaching me to second-guess my second-guesses!

Second, I think Tonks was in love with Sirius Black. Maybe they were even secretly married, who knows. I mean, Sirius was who-knows-where for a year or so...Tonks could have been hiding him. Anyway, I have lots of reasons I think this. Tonks is really really really sad after Sirius' death. Her patronus has changed shape, which can happen after a really major emotional shock. Harry saw it, and it had four legs...and I think he thinks it was a big Sirius-like dog. If Harry's patronus is a stag, which is what James Potter's animagus looked like, why couldn't Tonks's patronus look like Sirius' animagus? PLUS, the Black family was one of those stuffy pureblood families, and as we know from what we're learning about Tom Riddle, the purebloods often marry their cousins. And Tonks and Sirius were cousins. So maybe they weren't married, but I think she was in love with him. I should really reread the last book to see if I can pick up on any details, watch her behavior around him, etc.

If you've finished reading THBP, please don't write me comments confirming or denying these speculations, because I really don't want the book ruined for me. Okay? Thanks!