What will happen to Harry and Snape?
On July 21, the fate of Harry Potter will be in your hands.
It will be, at any rate, if you happen to be holding a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and read it to the end, discovering what happens to the Reluctant Boy Hero turned Determined Teenager who's sworn to bring down the dark Lord Voldemort.
Rabid fans have had two years to perfect their theories about the series' two biggest questions: Whether Professor Severus Snape is truly evil and if Harry will die.
""Pretty much every adult I know thinks Snape is good and pretty much every child thinks Snape is evil,"" said Maggie Masterson, librarian at Fremont Public Library in Mundelein. However, Masterson has now begun to change her mind.
""I think I'm going with the kids,"" she said.
Killeen ""Beaner"" Nass, of Northbrook, is preparing herself to read about Harry's death.
""It doesn't seem like J.K. Rowling is the kind to have a happy ending,"" said the 14-year-old. ""Harry might be the final horcrux, so he's going to have to die to kill Voldemort.""
(If you don't know what a horcrux is, we won't spoil it now. Read Book 6).
Dave Sandell, a 27-year-old Chicago resident, is a bit nervous about reading the final book.
""I really want the kids to live,"" he said. ""And I really like Snape. I don't want him to die.""
Jaclyn Gitlis, 15, wants to read a happy ending. But she's gearing herself up for tears, just in case.
""I would like Harry to survive, but I actually believe Harry is going to have to sacrifice himself,"" said Gitlis of Skokie. ""I am anticipating the worst but hoping for the best.""
--Stephanie Fosnight