Some Teasers that Came My Way

Typically I wouldn't bother to even talk about such things: teasers and spoilers. I will definitely not give away spoilers if I come across any. However, someone posted some teasers on a site (the post has since been removed). I'm interested in them only because they are vague enough that I can fit them into what I think will happen... without giving away any spoilers myself.

Here are the teasers I found from a single, now unknown source:

Pettigrew's Silver hand is vitally important to Dumbledore. When this teaser showed up people in the Dumbledore-isn't-dead camp chimed up immediately to suggest that Wormtail's silver right hand could be used to replace Dumbldore's right hand, restoring his health. I'm sorry to say this makes no sense, since Dumbldore is in fact very dead. If there is any truth to this teaser it would have to be that the fact of Wormtail's silver hand is vital to Harry's cause, in some way. It's a matter of metallurgy, anyway. We know Voldemort conjured the hand, we think it's made of pure silver, we know Dumbldore taught Voldemort Transfiguration and probably knows not just Voldemort's magical strengths but also his weaknesses. How nice would it be for Harry to be related to the wizard (from Godric's Hollow) who invented the Golden Snitch? Maybe Harry will turn out to have a knack for metallurgy himself? Perhaps Harry will figure out how to disarm Wormtail or manipulate the silver hand.

The gold in Harry's bank covers something far more important to Harry than gold. The concensus is that there is something hidden underneath the piles of gold, either in his family vault or the Black family vault he recently inheritted. At first I wanted it to be the flying motorcycle, but that seems a bit odd for the vault, doesn't it? How would it have ended up there? Besides, I'd like for the bike to come to Harry through some grand gesture of Hagrid's. No, I think it will be something smaller but still quite valuable and useful. Some goblin-made armor might be good, an extra Philosopher's Stone would be most-helpful during battle, as well.... I admit there are too many possibilities here.

Sirius Black is related to an important Half-Blood. Well I suppose he wouldn't be a blood relative of Voldemort; Severus Snape is a good bet, though. The Black family tapestry has so many burned out names and truncated branches that it wouldn't the least bit surprise me if Sirius Black were somehow related to the Prince family line, making him related (by blood or by marriage) to Severus Snape. The split of the families could have happened multiple generations ago and it's just not shown in the tapestry because someone's name was removed, their marriages and progeny simply never recorded there. If the Princes were ever anywhere on the family tree (and Jo simply hasn't disclosed this branch) then Eileen would have been scorched off for marrying a Muggle anyway. Makes me wonder more about any friendship between Severus and Sirius's younger brother Regulus. I mean, who introduced Regulus to the ranks of the Death Eaters? Since Regulus is younger than Sirius and Severus, and Lucius is too old to have been at Hogwarts by the time Regulus attended (Lucius was apparently in his last year when Severus started) then did Severus bring Regulus as an initiate? And, for that matter, did Severus do so because he wanted to, or did Regulus insist? Hmmm.

Harry gets an unexpected friend-- something that we previousy thought disliked him. Something? I'm sure Harry has friends he doesn't recognize. Sure, but something? The best bet here is probably Kreacher. On the UK Children's cover for "Deathly Hallows" we can see that there is a House-Elf like creature riding on Harry's back and holding what appears to be Gryffindor's sword (or something quite similar). I first thought it was Dobby, but Kreacher would be a good option. He belongs to Harry and must follow direct orders. Besides, time away from the deranged portrait of Mrs. Black, as well as time with the Hogwarts House-Elves, might have done Kreacher a world of good. He might come to recognize that Harry means well and isn't such a bad master, despite being a Half-Blood. Who knows, Harry might grant Kreacher his dying wish: put his head up on the wall in Black house, assuming Kreacher will still desire that supposed honor -- he could well change his mind.

After being Demented, Dudley learns how to do something... Again, thoughts flew all over the place that Dudley would learn some magic, even how to conjur a Patronus. I'm sorry -- no, I'm actually quite happy -- to say that this will not happen. It simply makes no sense, not even for him to learn Occlumency. Sure, someone will produce a burst of magic in some desperate measure to attack or defend someone (according to an interview with Jo), but it's not going to be the most-definitely Muggle Dudley. I suspect Dudley will finally realize that his parents haven't really treated him as they should, haven't raised him to support himself. He will realize he's been an abuse victim all these years, oblivious to the poor upbringing. I hope that he realizes he has a lot to learn about the real world, that he can actually go to Harry for help. We don't know what Dudley saw (the horrible memories he relived) when he wa attacked by the dementors, but I have a feeling it's far worse than remembering some birthday he didn't get a certain present he wanted, or the feeling of being playfully snapped at by a snake on the loose. Maybe, just maybe, Dudley learns to grow up and be a man, not a bully. Sadly, the future looks generally poor for Dudley, and he may never recover from his spoiled childhood.

Dumbledore has made an invention that comes in very handy for Harry. Who invented the Pensieve? Or the Put-Outer? What about Dumbledore's super-cool golden pocketwatch... or any number of silver instruments to be found in the Headmaster's office? The Pensieve might be simply too old for Dumbledore to be its inventor. I have a feeling it's something metal. The best bet is the silver instrument that emits smoke in the form of entwined snakes. It could be a horcrux detector of some variety. It's also entirely possible that Jo intoduces us to a previously unknown, unseen item. Introducing objects, at this point, is a lot easier than introducing new characters.

Someone important to Harry dies suddenly rather early in the book. I immediately considered Rubeus Hagrid. He just seems destined to die. Early on, even before Dumbledore died, some other sleuths and I were discussing Alchemy, particularly Soul Alchemy. There are three main stages, three major chemical transitions: black, white, and red, in that order. First Sirius Black dies (that's the black). Then Albus Dumbldore dies (that's the white, since albus means white). So we should expect someone symbolizing red to die. Enter Rubeus (red) Hagrid. I hate to lose him, but it seems fitting that he should go. It also makes sense that he would die suddenly. We've seen how strong and tough he is (the Stunning spells kept bouncing off him when Umbridge and several others tried to capture him). However, we've already realized that full-blood giants could kill him - to them he is but small fry. How advantageous for Voldemort to have a gurg in his camp, rounding his followers to do Voldemort's bidding (like the fake hurricane)? It would also explain how Harry could end up with Sirius's flying motorcycle... and quite early in the book, without it necessarily being a birthday present from Hagrid or an inherrited item directly from Sirius. It's simply another option.

In the chapter of the book, there is a poem which serves as much of the driving action for the first quarter of the book. This is how the teaser appeared, so I don't know what chapter the person meant. Some people thought of the Sorting Hat, but I don't know that we'll ever hear the Sorting Hat again, at least not until after the war is over and things have returned to "normal". I wish the same as the hat -- that the houses be destroyed, and that students attend Hogwarts in a more united fashion, not warring with each other over principle. Therefore, we really might never get another poem or song from the Sorting Hat. I've been leaning toward the idea that Harry re-evaluates the poem on the Gringotts wall, the one warning against thieves. It sure looks like Harry will have issues getting to his gold, so any poem or riddle posed by the wizarding bank would be quite telling if it appears early in the plot. Another good option, mentioned by a fellow sleuth, is that Harry finds a poem on the gravesites of his parents, and that this pushes him along for much of the plot. Another, but much less contemplated idea I've had is that Harry finds another Severus Snape original. Recall back to when Snape wrote a poem (riddle) about which potion to drink to get through to the next chamber. Hermione was most helpful here, since, as she says, most wizards don't understand logic. If Harry gets the HBP's potions book back early in the plot and reads more of the scribbles (trying to learn as much about his supposed enemy as he can) he might come across a poem Severus wrote -- who knows how long ago.... What would Harry learn from it? Hmmm...

Well, that's all the teasers I had found. Not sure if there's anything to them, but it was worth a thought... or two.