I know it's not December 21st anymore, and I'm really late on blogging about this... I've thought about why it took me so long to write about it, and I think it's just because I had to let it sink in: this is the last book.

*sad face*

There have been a lot of theories floating around the fandom about what the Deathly Hallows are exactly, and some of them have been really neat. I'm excited about all the connections that are coming together now at the end. I can see things beginning to pull together in the story and it's exciting me (although there is that weird residual sadness when thinking about it all).

When I first heard the title I was a little confused because here in America, "hallow" has one use, as an adjective. Most of us are familiar with the word only because of Halloween or because of The Lords Prayer (which most of us have at least heard once or twice in the movies) that goes "hallowed be they name..." I looked it up, and indeed, in Britain "hallow" can also be used as a noun.

So that's the first clue: sacred objects that are somehow related to something about death.

The second clue: the title was released on Winter Soltice. There are no coincidences with J.K. Rowling:

"Two figures, pearly white as ghosts, fluid as smoke, unfurled themselves from the fragments of broken glass upon the floor and each began to speak. Their voices vied with each other, so that only fragments of what they were saying could be heard over Malfoy and Bellatrix's shouts.
'...at the Solstice will come a new...' said the figure of an old, bearded man....
'...and none will come after...' said the figure of a young woman.
The two figures that had burst from the shattered spheres had melted into thin air (OP35)." (I borrowed this quote from HP Lexicon.)

Third clue: the title was presented on J.K. Rowling's website via a game of hangman. There have some tarot-related theories that I find interesting. We've already had the lighting-struck tower appear in the books, so there are theories about the hanged man being one that shows up. One theory has it that Harry is the hanged man since he was suspended upside down in the mist in labyrinth in HP & the Goblet of Fire. I find all of these theories to be somewhat exciting.

One theory that I'm attached to about what the "deathly hallows" are, relates to the horcruxes (and if John Noe sees this, I like "horcri" better too). In medieval legends several hallows are commonly mentioned:

1. A sword, sometimes broken; often presented to the knight.
2. A spear or lance, dripping blood from its point; usually said to be involved in the Crucifixion tale and/or the weapon which wounded the Grail Keeper.
3. The Grail itself, described as a cup, chalice, or bowl; from it issues forth boundless food and drink.
4. A silver platter or serving dish (but in other versions it is a disk-shaped Eucharist dish, a dish with a severed head on it, a table, a stone, a stone chair, or even a magical chessboard).
(borrowed from: Bandersnatch)

We have several of these already appear in the books, and I suspect that some version of these will show up again as horcruxes or other essential plot items in this last book. Each house has it's own "house item" or symbol of some sort, along with a mascot. The house items were once items of significance to the house founders. For Gryffindor, it's his sword. For Slytherin, the locket (which might correspond to the plate/coin). Hufflepuff's cup. We don't know what Ravenclaw's item was. Possibly a wand/spear-like object.

All of these items are likely going to be found on the grounds of Hogwarts or in some other place related to the founders. (Godrics Hollow is possibly related to Gryffindor, but we haven't had any specific information revealed about the significance of this place other than it being the location of Lily and James' death.) This makes sense to me as it answers the question of how the heck Harry is supposed to find all seven of the horcruxes in one book. It turns out four of them are probably nearby each other, otherwise also stored or something.

Is it possible that Voldemort killed James and Lily because they were protecting one or more of these items? He did try to kill them several times prior to the prophecy about Harry after all...

I'm still just wondering how Neville fits into all this. He also fits the prophecy... even though he wasn't chosen, he's still got to be quite important to the story. I know Luna fits quite well into the story as well. She's probably going to be the one with the imagination to uncover some important details for Harry. She's willing to believe in things others aren't--that alone is enough to make her vital to the story. (And also gives me hope of Ivanna Lynch staying around for a couple more movies.)

Aside from that... I'm not as impatient for this book to come out this time. I can wait. Not because it doesn't excite me, clearly, but because then it will all be over. I started following this series when I was a freshman in high school, and now as an adult, I'm sad to see it go. It's one of the last pieces of continuity from childhood that I have. (And yes, I realize exactly how obsessed I sound--I promise you, my obsession pales in comparison to many of the fans out there: The Lexicon, The Leaky Cauldron, The Leaky Lounge, Pottercast, Mugglenet... this is the short list and doesn't even include fanfic.)