In July, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out and ends the series. I’ve been reading the series religiously for years and I have a very specific ending that I would like to see.

If you haven’t read all the books and don’t want certain things spoiled, stop reading now.

Sybil Trelawney predicted that one of two children would bring an end to Lord Voldemort: Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom. Voldemort attacked both parents, killing Harry’s and driving Neville’s mad with pain. Unlike many blood seekers out there, I don’t want to see Harry Potter die, but I really don’t want to see him defeat Voldemort either. I want Neville to do it. Underestimated from the beginning and the butt of so many jokes that even he believes that he’s almost a squib, I’d love to see Voldemort come to an end at the hands of Neville Longbottom.

Parents who are dead are dead. Parents who have been driven mad by constant and unceasing pain and have been that way for 17 years beg for avenging. I just want Neville to finish off Voldemort.

I also would like some sort of vindication for Snape. I refuse to believe that he is evil, despite the death of Dumbledore. Some aching part of me wants Dumbledore to return, just as Gandolf returned. The “death” was all just a ruse to combat Voldemort and Snape was in on it the whole time. I’d like to see that, too, but I realize that would be a cop-out. Some people are just bad eggs and I guess I need to accept that.

I’m excited about the book and once it comes out, will file it in the Harry Potter canon in my mind. For now, however, the story is open. It could end in any number of ways and all of them are open and stretched out before me. Once I finish the book, all those untaken paths will be closed to me, whether I want to walk down them or not.