Dierdre and Aidan Rea

Derrick Barnes

Kay Koehler

Nishant Jha

Pete Hamilton

Check out local Harry Potter events today and Saturday

What will happen to Harry Potter? Readers of all ages in the Roanoke area and beyond submitted their theories about how the fantasy series will end, each entry as elaborate and contemplated as the last.

Almost all believed the demise of Lord Voldemort is inevitable. Some think that Harry will be killed alongside his nemesis. Others speculate that Professor Dumbledore will return to save the day, helping Harry destroy Lord Voldemort. Some suspect that Neville Longbottom will emerge as the hero, fulfilling the prophecy he was tangled up in all along. A few even admit they really didn't know what the boy-who-lived's fate would be.

In these last hours before the official release of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," let's review the guesses.

In the "Harry lives" corner

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Kreacher go in search of the horcruxes. They discover that R.A.B. is Regulus Black. Regulus had a chance to hide the locket in Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Kreacher go to Grimmauld Place, but don't find it. It dawns on them that Mundungus has stolen it. They hunt him down.

At Hogwarts, Hagrid is murdered. After this heart-breaking loss, Harry vows to find the horcruxes. Harry finds Mundungus, but discovers that he sold the locket to Aberforth. Harry traces Aberforth down and destroys the locket.

With three horcruxes down, Snape arranges to meet Harry. Snape then tells him that he has been trying to destroy the remaining horcruxes. With the help of Snape, Harry eliminates all of the horcruxes and goes on the search for Voldemort.

Harry eventually finds Voldemort and fulfills "The Prophecy."

Nishant Jha, 11, Salem

The situation is too dangerous to try to operate Hogwarts; especially without the special protections it enjoyed before. The majority of the book will be about Harry and Voldemort hunting each other.

The Death Eaters wage a campaign to kill Harry and they try to use everyone he cares about to get to him.

Harry's advantage over Voldemort is his ability to love. Voldemort must die, of course; but according to the buzz, two major characters die in the seventh book.

Just as his mother died to save Harry when he was a baby, Ron Weasley will sacrifice himself to protect Harry from Voldemort's attack; then in a fit of rage, Harry will kill Voldemort. Afterward, he will be filled with remorse at having committed murder even though it was justified, and will grieve for Ron, but have Ginny as a comfort. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Phyllis Van Eps, "over 50," Roanoke

Harry uses the pensieve to explore Dumbledore's memory and discover where all but one of the horcruxes are hidden. He then has a confrontation with Voldemort, who tries to convince Harry that Harry is the final horcrux.

Voldemort uses the scar, parseltongue and the pains Harry experiences as evidence that Harry contains a piece of Voldemort's soul. Harry starts to believe Voldemort, and he concludes that he must kill himself. As Harry raises his wand against himself, Snape steps forward and tells Harry that the final horcrux is Ginny, who Voldemort was able to manipulate in the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry is in love with Ginny and cannot bring himself to destroy her. Ginny asks Ron and Hermione to kill her. Ron and Hermione refuse, but Neville Longbottom steps in and hits Ginny with a curse that painlessly ends her life. Harry then searches out and kills Voldemort, destroying the seventh piece of Voldemort's soul.

Karen Hughes, 50, Wirtz

The final book will be a story of repeated pattern.

Rowling showed us one of these patterns with James and Lillian Potter, black and red hair, then Harry and Ginny, black and red, so it shall be with the seventh.

In the first book, much of it was about how Snape saved Harry because he was indebted to the Potters for James saved Snape's life. Early in the seventh book, Harry will, against his better judgment, save Draco's life. In the final battle scene between Harry and Voldemort, Malfoy will end up saving Harry's life and killing Voldemort. Since Harry was part of Voldemort's downfall, the prophecy will prove correct.

Hermione and Ron will play an important part in destroying the remaining horcruxes and Neville will destroy the final horcrux by accident. Snape will remain evil though he will try to do something good, but fail miserably at it.

Logan Martin, 14, Troutville

"Deathly Hallows" will ultimately give Harry Potter what he truly has not ever known: Peace.

Along with the help of Ron and Hermione, Harry will destroy Voldemort's remaining horcruxes. At the end, a final battle will take place between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters.

Harry will confront Voldemort alone once again. Then Snape will prove himself good to Harry by sacrificing himself to save Harry from one of Voldemort's curses. Harry will destroy Voldemort, not with a killing curse, but through love from his mother's and Snape's sacrifices.

The power Voldemort "knows not" will defeat him, and Harry Potter will be free to live in peace and love with his friends.

Derrick Barnes, 16, Roanoke

After Lord Voldemort has wiped out all his other opponents, Harry manages to get Hermione, Neville and the Weasleys (except that twit Percy, of course) into Arthur Weasley's flying automobile. Harry says to Ginny, "Here's looking at you, kid ... We'll always have Honeydukes."

As the car takes off, You-Know-Who appears. Just as Harry turns to take him on for their final duel, Snape steps out of the shadows and flattens Voldemort with the Avada Kedavra fatal curse. Harry and Snape walk off arm in arm, and Harry says, "Severus, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Kay Koehler, "old enough to have seen 'Casablanca' when it was first released," Roanoke

Harry and company attend Bill and Fleur's wedding, then touch base at the Dursley home and Godric's Hollow. Along the way they discover that Harry is a descendent of Godric Gryffindor.

Harry embarks on a search for the remaining horcruxes with Ron and Hermione (between whom a romance blooms), as Hogwarts reopens with increased security, fewer students, and (the real) Mad-Eye Moody teaching DADA. RAB is Regulus Black and Slytherin's locket is hidden at No. 12, Grimmauld Place.

Snape is ultimately good, but driven to commit heinous acts by many factors, including unrequited love for Lily Potter. He perishes in a valiant act. James Potter is alive, kept under the influence of the Draught of Living Death. James assists in the final battle after Harry has destroyed all but one horcrux: his scar. An act of healing removes the scar, and Harry defeats Voldemort.

Emily Lyra, 22, Radford

Ron and Hermione get engaged. With the help of friends, Harry finds and destroys all but one of the horcruxes. They find the sixth horcrux being guarded by Snape. A bloody battle rages and Neville strikes the final blow, ending Snape's life.

Ginny casts a loving protection spell on Harry similar to the one that Harry's mom put on him that saved his life. Harry finds Voldemort in the tunnels under Hogwarts. Dumbledore comes out of hiding to distract Voldemort. Harry casts the fatal spell to end Voldemort's reign forever.

Dumbledore becomes the new Minister of Magic and Harry accepts a position at Hogwarts. Harry asks Ginny to marry him and they plan a double wedding with Ron and Hermione for next summer.

Tyler Brown, 9, Fincastle

I see Dumbledore as a messianic figure similar to C.S. Lewis' Aslan, the lion, in "The Chronicles of Narnia." So the final book will not be the death of Harry, but the resurrection of Dumbledore.

Snape will emerge as a heroic figure who has been a protector of Hogwarts all along. Dumbledore will return and will be able to remove the horcrux from Harry. This will make Harry vulnerable to Voldemort, and it will take Dumbledore and Snape together to put an end to Voldemort.

Snape will die in the attempt and his courage and goodness will not be understood until he is gone. Dumbledore could raise Snape from the dead, but chooses not to do so. He will stress to the students that in his life after death, Snape will continue to act as a guardian for the school and all its inhabitants.

Elizabeth Beamer, 72, Blacksburg

I agree with most of the predictions made by The Roanoke Times. But a key distinction is that the horcrux is in Harry's lightning bolt scar, not necessarily in Harry himself.

Harry will believe that he needs to sacrifice himself to destroy Voldemort but Snape will know this is not true. It will be up to Snape to decide whether to save Harry's life (by ridding him of the scar) or to allow Harry to die (as a form of revenge for the wrongs done to him by Harry's father.)

I believe he will allow Harry to live but that the removal of the scar will render Harry forever a muggle.

Deirdre Rea and Aidan Rea, 49 and 18, respectively, Roanoke

This is not a prediction, only a happy ending wish. I don't think Harry Potter will die, but he will take on and kill Voldemort through magic. After all, Dumbledore has taught him all the strongholds of ancient magic. Harry has faced off with Voldemort and won each time.

I hope Harry changes his mind about Ginny and they get back together and Ron gets Hermione. I hope Harry goes home to brag to the Dursleys and beats the tar out of his fat cousin.

Mary Campbell, 81, Clifton Forge

In order to vanquish Voldemort, Harry must destroy all the horcruxes. Some have already been destroyed, while some are still out there.

In "Chamber of Secrets" we are given a clue. "Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her."

I believe that Ginny will be the last horcrux and will be killed by someone other than Voldemort. The question is, will Harry be the one to kill her? I think not. After all, she is his best friend's sister, and for the simple fact that he loves her. In the showdown between Voldemort and Harry, I do believe that Harry will win, because he is the boy who lived.

Lindsey Duncan, 13, Princeton, W.Va.

I think Harry will kill Voldemort because Voldemort killed Harry's mom and dad. Then Harry finds out that Voldemort's wand is a horcrux and Voldemort's snake is a horcrux and a Death Eater stole a horcrux and accidently destroyed it. Harry destroyed all the horcruxes before he killed Voldemort.

Harry will not go back to Hogwarts, instead he will learn spells from Tonks. Harry will find a way to bring Sirius back from the dead. Harry will become an auror.

Evan Muller, 8, Roanoke

I think Snape did not really kill Dumbledore. A Death Eater used the polyjuice potion to look like Dumbledore while the real Dumbledore was looking for horcruxes.

Since two out of the four horcruxes were destroyed, Harry finds the second-to-last horcrux, the goblet of Helga Hufflepuff and he destroyed it.

McGonnagal will find the last horcrux. It is the sword of Godric Gryffindor, so they broke it in half. So in a final duel with Voldemort, Harry and the D.A. will fight the Death Eaters and Voldemort. Eventually, Harry and Neville shoot a stunning spell at Voldemort which hits him in the chest and kills him. As a reward, Neville will get to be a teacher at Hogwarts and Harry an auror.

Matthew Muller, 8, Roanoke

In the "Harry dies" corner

Harry follows through with Dumbledore's plan to kill all of Voldemort's souls even though Harry's scar is one of them.

Harry, Ron and Hermione go to the Ministry to get a license to use the killing spell to kill all of Voldemort's souls. After they find them, they find Voldemort. He is stronger than ever. But Harry and the gang have a plan.

The plan began after Voldemort recited his "join me" speech. Harry, Ron and Hermione use the killing spell together, but Voldemort blocks the spell and it hits Harry!

Right when the spell kills Harry, Ron and Hermione jump forward and kill Voldemort and instantly all the people that Voldemort killed come alive, except Harry. At the end of the book, everyone is at Harry's funeral, including Harry's parents, to finish Harry's story.

Matthew Withers, 9, Collinsville

Hogwarts will reopen and Harry will return. He will devote most of his time to searching and destroying the remaining three horcruxes.

After finding and destroying the remaining horcruxes, Harry will come face-to-face with Voldemort for the final showdown. Harry will prevail, as his mother's love still provides the ultimate shield against Voldemort's curses. But in his moment of triumph, Harry will be attacked and killed by one of the Death Eaters -- probably Malfoy but perhaps Snape.

Harry will disappear "beyond the veil," where he will be joyfully reunited with his parents, Sirius and Dumbledore.

Pete Hamilton, 68, Buena Vista

When Harry Potter was just a baby, Voldemort tried to kill him with the almost unstoppable curse, Avada Kedavra. But because of Lily Potter's amazing love for Harry, he survived the curse. From then on, Voldemort's powerful strike left a lightning-bolt shaped scar on Harry's forehead.

Dumbledore suggests in "The Sorcerer's Stone" that when Voldemort attempted to murder Harry, some of Voldemort's power gave off into him. Because of the power that Voldemort unintentionally sent to Harry, it is almost as if they both have the same blood, or same soul. Therefore, I am supposing that in order for Voldemort to be destroyed, Harry must also be killed.

Somehow they will both appear together again, and they will duel. But this time, when Priori Incantatem happens, they will both be killed.

Allison Raines, 11, Salem