On September 1st, 2017, Harry Potter will send his second son Albus Severus Potter to his first year at Hogwarts as detailed in the epilogue of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by J.K. Rowling. In Summer of 2015 I finished my second read through of all seven books. Unlike some of my friends who are two to three years younger than me, I was just a little too old to be sucked into the Harry Potter craze. I saw “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” in theaters plus the following two movies, but they had no lasting impact.
It wasn’t until a box set of all the hardcover editions was rereleased in 2007-2008 that I decided to read them. Simply put, for someone who often reads fantasy the Harry Potter series is a palette cleanser, a refresher, or a desert to the often bleakness of most fantasy. They’re children’s novels though the latter three could likely be now labelled Young Adult, that you can read in one sitting and generally leave feeling happy and positive about the world.
That epilogue though that jumps nineteen years later leaves a lot of questions. Not about their kids, which is the essential problem with it, because I didn’t read about their kids for seven books, therefore I have no real interest in them going to Hogwarts. This should have been a second epilogue after one I’m proposing now that answers some if not all of these questions that Rowling has not answered post-series.
- What happened immediatly after Voldemort’s death?
- What did they do with Voldemort’s body?
- When did students return to school to finish that year at Hogwarts after the battle?
- How did they deal with the remaining Death Eaters?
- How soon did the news get out of Voldemort’s defeat?
- After Kingsley Shacklebot was named Minister for Magic, what were the imediate changes to ministry?
- How did Andromeda Tonks react to the news her own sister had killed the parents of her grandson? or that Molly Weasley killed her sister?
- Did Neville Longbottom get the praise he deserved for killing Nagini and retrieving the Sword of Godric Gryffindor?
- What happened shortly after Voldemort’s defeat?
- How did Molly Weasley react to Harry and Ron’s news that they would not be returning to Hogwarts?
- Did Harry tell anyone else what he discovered about Snape and when?
- When did Harry and Ginny official begin their relationship again?
- Knowing the Malfoys were acquitted after Voldemort’s fall due to switching sides at the end what was the details of their trial?
- Did Harry speak on their behalf?
- Where did Harry end up living after the Second Wizard War? Grimmauld Place? The Burrow? Godric’s Hollow?
- Unlike Harry and Ron, Hermine returns to Hogwarts for her seventh year. What was that like?
- Did Ginny become Quidditch captain for Gryffindor after Harry and Ron were gone?
- Who became the first Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in the first year after Voldemort’s jinx on the job has been lifted?
- What was Molly and Arthur Weasley’s reactions to Hermione and Ron’s relationship?
- What role did Harry play in Teddy Lupin’s life as a baby?
- When did Professor McGonagall officially became Headmistress of Hogwarts?
- How did Hogwarts change post Battle of Hogwarts?
- What happened in those nineteen years? (1998-2017)
- What was Auror training like for Harry and Ron?
- What were Harry and Ron’s first assignment as Aurors?
- What made Ron quit being an Auror to manage the joke shop with his brother?
- Was it because he never wanted to be an Auror but was following his best friend?
- If they became Aurors shortly after the final book, then Ron would still be very young. Did he realize being an Auror wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life?
- Did he feel obligated to help his brother?
- Was the joke shop failing without Fred?
- Who were Harry’s co-workers in the Auror department besides Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley who both left the department?
- Any characters we know? I bet Rowling has a whole new cast of characters in her head.
- When did Arthur Weasley retire?
- After years of the Weasleys taking him in and giving him Christmas gifts what wonderful gifts did Harry give them the first time he was earning money of his own as an Auror?
- What rights did Hermione earn for elves, goblins, and other magical creatures?
- How did Minister Shacklebot, Hermione, Ron, and Harry revolutionize the Ministry for Magic?
- If Harry didn’t end up living there, what happened to Grimmauld Place?
- Did Harry ever actually go into his parent’s former home in Godric’s Hollow?
- When did Luna begin doubting the beliefs of her father?
- Speaking of Luna, besides marrying Rolf Scamander what kind of career did Luna have?
- Who got married first, Harry and Ginny or Ron and Hermione?
- Did Harry see Teddy Lupin off in his first year of Hogwarts?
- Were these times completly without any dark wizards?
- Or dark arts practicers that aurors like Harry and Ron had to track down or duel?
- Is that possibly why Ron quit being an Auror?
- Or dark arts practicers that aurors like Harry and Ron had to track down or duel?
- What happened to Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas?
The audiobook versions done by Stephen Fry are floating around on my desktop, so I’m sure when I give those a listen I’ll have more questions. Right now, I’m left wondering what having this many questions left over means. Does this mean the ending is unsatisfying or is Rowling’s world fleshed out so well it leaves you wanting more? Will these question ever be answered, and do they need to be?
FourofFiveWits 