A few questions to ponder
Today I feel the need to indulge in a fantasy world where life is more fixable. I picked up vol 3 of Harry Potter and started reading.... Then, to be more productive, I googled the sixth book and started wondering (if you haven't read book five, there are spoilers here; ye be forewarned):
Who is this "half-blood" prince? J. K. Rowling has said it's not Harry or Voldemort, who are both half-bloods (both Muggle and Magical parentage, generally, though the term is also used to describe the offspring of humans and other magical creatures). Who else is? Hagrid is a half-giant. Lupin is a werewolf, which may qualify him. Or will it be a new character? Obviously it's a male. (Duh, Angloesque.) And what is the significance of this person? That's begging a better question, I think, but one that won't be solved for quite some time.
Who is going to die in vol 6? Not Harry, obviously, as he has to live until the end of vol 7. My best guess is that it will be Peter Pettigrew, a.k.a. Wormtail. We get the idea in vol 4 that Pettigrew will owe something to Harry because Harry saved his life (vol 3). But it might be Lupin: I can see Rowling killing off Padfoot, Prongs, Wormtail, and Moony (Padfoot and Prongs already being dead, and Wormtail sure to follow at some point). I doubt Rowling will kill off Hermione or Ron, and I fervently hope she quits killing students. That's not such a fun children's-book-author-thing to do. Maybe Tonks or Lupin or one of the Weasleys--someone in the Order.
I think that Dumbledore will die in vol 7. Why? Because it carries the idea of sacrifice, not unlike when Sirius died and not unlike when Harry's parents died trying to save his life; also, Voldemort is supposed to be "more powerful than ever before" and by killing Dumbledore, Voldemort would illustrate this. But probably not in vol 6--what kind of denoument would that be without Dumbledore counseling Harry? Personally, I hope Percy snuffs it. Or Professor Trewlaney.
What will come into play? The centaurs, for sure. We haven't heard the end of them. And the giants, including Grawp. We'll probably hear more about Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krumm (Hermione's pen pal/jealousy-maker for Ron) and there may or may not be a goblin rebellion. The fact that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named used Harry's blood to live again should also come into play, as in the end of vol 4 during the graveyard scene. Sure it means that Voldemort can touch Harry now, but perhaps it holds the key to the way Harry can kill him (think the end of "Fight Club"). Furthermore, Aunt Petunia Dursley isn't telling all she knows. And Snape.... I've thought Crookshanks was an animagus, but Rowling has said it isn't so. Too bad.
Is Snape good or bad? That was left unanswered in vol 5. We have Snape's word via Professor Dumbledore, but we don't know that Snape was telling the truth. And we do know that Dumbledore has admitted that he is getting old and trusting and feeling more than he thinks he ought to. After all, Harry never did learn any legilimency from Snape.
Will J. K. Rowling ever quit making babies and write the darn books? Totally unknown.
-A.