06.14.07
Deathly Hallows Cover Full Of Clues?
So, I was examining the book covers that have been released for Deathly Hallows, and I came upon several things that might be clues to the events of the final book.
Let’s look at the U.S. cover.
The very first thing I noticed was the locket that Harry appears to be wearing around his neck. One can only surmise that this is Slytherin’s locket, the real one, not the fake that was in the cave in HBP. [Aside: you can get a depiction of this locket by visiting J.K. Rowling’s site. The current wizard of the month is Salazar Slytherin and he’s wearing it around his neck.] Why do I think this? Well the scene depicted on the cover appears to be a confrontation between Harry and Voldemort, but Harry would be extraordinarily foolish to come into contact with Voldy before he finds and destroys all of the horcruxes. So the locket must be the real one and the horcrux in it already destroyed. Which brings up an interesting question. Why then is Harry wearing the locket? Well, I don’t know but I think there must be a reason. Some might say that he wants to keep it with him to keep it from falling into the wrong hands, but why doesn’t he carry it in his pocket then or lock it in his school trunk or put it in his vault at Gringott’s?
To answer this question, I think we have to return to HBP and Marvolo’s ring. After Dumbledore destroys the horcrux contained in the ring, he actually wears the ring. That always struck me as extremely odd. Why would Dumbledore want to wear something that a) has been contaminated with a piece of Voldemort’s soul; b) is connected with Dark Wizards of the Slytherin line; and c) very nearly caused his death? And yet, wear the ring he does. Remember back in HBP when Dumbledore was telling us that Tom Riddle liked to collect objects from his childhood victims, sort of like souvenirs of past misdeeds? It is in fact this obsession with darkly meaningful objects that leads Voldemort to choose the objects that he makes into horcruxes. Could Dumbledore’s wearing of the now defunct Marvolo’s ring horcrux and Harry’s wearing of the destroyed Slytherin locket horcrux be related? The keeping of souvenirs from the quest to destroy Voldemort? Whether this has magical or merely psychological significance, I don’t know. Perhaps by Harry and Dumbledore keeping these artifacts prevents them magically from being reimbued with Dark Magic. Or maybe it is psychological; the keeping of the defunct horcruxes reminds Harry (as it did Dumbledore) that his goal is in sight and that Voldemort, as powerful and daunting as he might be, does have a weakness.
The next thing I noticed about the U.S. cover was the environment depicted. In the background, we see what appears to be a bridge of some sort with archways. To me this strongly brought to mind the architecture of Hogwarts. In fact, a very similar bridge is depicted in the movies, especially PoA and GoF, but I can’t remember whether it ever describes such a thing in the books. But, J.K. Rowling did have heavy input into the design of Hogwarts for the films, even down to the placement of the lake and Hagrid’s hut. Could the final battle possibly take place at or near Hogwarts? I’m not sure. Especially as the shadowy shapes directly underneath the archways look a lot like headstones. A graveyard perhaps? The Riddle graveyard? The graveyard where Harry’s parents are buried?
That brings me to my next observation about the cover. In the extreme foreground of the illustration, you’ll see what appears to be broken wood. When I saw this, the very first thing to come to mind was Hagrid’s description of the Potter’s house after they were killed. He said he rescued Harry from the “rubble” before the Muggles started to swarm all over the place. We also know from HBP, chapter 30 that Harry’s parents are buried in Godric’s Hollow. How he knows this I’m not sure, but we can probably assume that Dumbledore, Hagrid, Lupin, or Sirius told him at some point.
Let’s go back to that strange bridge I talked about. I said it was reminiscent of the architecture of Hogwarts. J.K. Rowling has remarked that Hogwarts couldn’t have been built by muggles, therefore we can probably safely assume that Hogwarts was built by at least one of the founders of Hogwarts, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Let’s assume for a moment that it was Godric who built the castle. Rowling has indicated that Godric’s Hollow, where Harry’s parents lived and where they are buried, has some connection to Gryffindor. In an interview on BBC Newsround:
Interviewer: And I’m going to ask one other question which you’ll say isn’t clever at all. The significance of the place where Harry and his parents lived, the first name -
Rowling: Godric Gryffindor. Very good, you’re a bit good you are, aren’t you?
We know that Godric’s Hollow isn’t an all wizarding village, since we are told in Prisoner of Azkaban that Hogsmeade is the only all wizarding village in Britain. But it’s still possible that Godric’s Hollow was founded and built by Godric Gryffindor, and that Muggles eventually came to live there either after Gryffindor and any other wizards who lived there were gone, or perhaps even while Gryffindor was still alive, as he certainly wasn’t prejudiced against Muggles.
Now the similarity of the architecture on the cover of Deathly Hallows to architecture found at Hogwarts begins to make sense. It was built either by the same person or in the same time period. I conclude that the scene on the Deathly Hallows cover takes place in Godric’s Hollow. The headstones are the graveyard where Harry’s parents are buried, the broken wood and debris are the rubble left from the Potter’s house, and the bridge/archways are likely a part of whatever dwelling Godric Gryffindor built in or near Godric’s Hollow. This makes sense in relation to how some English villages were set up in feudal times. A nobleman or whatnot would build a castle or manor and a “village” where the people who worked for him (farmers, servants, blacksmiths, etc.) would live. The village would often be named for the master of the castle.
There’s another part of the U.S. cover I want to remark upon. That’s the curtains that are framing the illustration. The curtains, I believe, are not something from the actual story, but rather a clue from the illustrator (and through her, the author) that we should think of the Harry Potter story as a play on a stage, and that this is the final act. Note how the curtains are intruding upon the action, as if they are about to close. This leads me to believe that the scene depicted on the cover is the final showdown between Voldemort and Harry, and that it takes place in Godric’s Hollow.
Now let’s look at something that struck me as very odd. This appears to be a confrontation between Harry and Voldemort, but two things about it are quite strange. One, neither the Dark Lord nor Harry are holding a wand, and two, they aren’t looking at each other, but rather at something to Harry’s left. In fact, they both have their arms and hands outstretched towards it, whatever it is.
The missing wands immediately brings to mind the events of Goblet of Fire with Priori Incantatem. Voldemort and Harry’s wands cancel each other out, a fact that they are both well aware of. In HBP, Mr. Ollivander, the premier wand maker in the U.K. and the maker of both Harry and Voldemort’s wands, goes missing. But unlike many others who have been kidnapped and/or murdered, there is no sign of a struggle at his wand shop.
There are two possibilities for this. Either Mr. Ollivander, somehow aware of what happened with Harry and Voldemort’s wands in the graveyard and perhaps already being threatened by death eaters, has fled to avoid being forced to make a new wand for Voldemort, or he has willingly entered Voldemort’s service to make him a new wand. But judging from the cover, which as I said must be the final showdown between Harry and Voldemort, any attempt by Ollivander, forced or otherwise, to make Voldemort a new wand has obviously failed. Which of course makes sense. The wand chooses the wizard. Any other wand won’t work as well.
As for the direction of their eyes and hands, one can only speculate. Note however, that Voldemort’s hands are palm outward as if he wants to stop whatever’s happening, while Harry’s hand is palm up with the fingers slightly bent as if he’s summoning something or directing something. Wandless magic perhaps? Another person approaching to help Harry? Or maybe something else like inferi or dementors. We’ll have to wait for the book to come out before we know for sure.
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Nicole said,
June 15, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Wow, was that ever thorough! You certainly managed to glean a lot from a relatively sparse image.
I wonder, then, what you would make of British/Canadian cover. http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/images/hp7-lowres.jpg
It seems pretty clear that Harry, Ron and Hermione are in the midst of a raging battle though none of them are armed (with wands or anything else). Only the fourth being in the picture, which I’m presuming is Dobby ducked down behind Harry, is carrying any kind of weapon - a sword (possibly Gryffindor’s).
The masses of gold coins, jewelry and other riches make me think they’re at Gringotts. Perhaps it’s the location of one of the horcruxes? Not really too far-fetched considering the heavy security employed at the wizarding bank.
Finally, there’s no sign (that I can see) of Voldemort anywhere on the cover. Interesting that he’s so much the focus on one cover but not the other. Maybe that’s on purpose, as in each cover is meant to provide different clues.
Any thoughts?
tanu said,
June 15, 2007 at 1:23 pm
WAOO…a critical inspection indeed of the cover. Can’t wait to see how she finally ends it. But these are my thoughts about the last holcrux.
1. Harry himself is a holcrux
2. What is apparent to us as Harry survived was planned by VDM to ensure his own survival
3. What VDM is counting on is that Harry will not sacrifice his own like his parents did to save him.
RavenclawWit said,
June 15, 2007 at 5:02 pm
I did have a look at that cover the other day. I did notice the house elf carrying the sword. However, I’m not at all convinced that it is Dobby; it could be Kreacher. I think the sword definitely is the Gryffindor sword; it’s always described as having a ruby handle. Question is why the sword is featured so prominently when Dumbledore seemed to indicate that the sword was unlikely to be a Horcrux. Plus, why is the sword in Harry’s vault? I think that the British/Canadian cover is more representational rather than presenting a particular scene. However the trio has definitely been involved in some sort of action; Harry’s sleeve is torn and he has a few abrasions, as does Hermione (arms) and Ron (left cheek). It’s harder to draw conclusions from this one, but I will say that we’ll definitely visit Gringotts in book 7, after all, Harry is on a treasure hunt of sorts. However I don’t think there’ll be a battle at Gringotts, I think we are seeing something else on this cover. They seem to be flying through the air. Did they find a portkey perhaps?
not me said,
June 16, 2007 at 10:57 am
woah….can;t wait til the book comes out!..my best friend shes in london snd she already got the book for us..but i ahve no idea how–u know..cuz its not yet out and all..hmm…but its gonna take 2 months 2 get hir dammit..
sooner_girl said,
June 19, 2007 at 10:04 am
For the US cover….
Are you certain those are headstones/gravestones in the background? To me, it almost looks like cloaked figures as some of them appear to have what looks like a neck and shoulders.
As for the curtains…Rowling isn’t known for putting “symbolic” images on her book covers. She usually sticks with images straight from the text. My theory is that somewhere near the end of the book, Harry will appear in a play about something, and at that time VDM and his death-eaters (the cloaked figures) will appear for the final battle. The broken wood at the bottom could be pieces of the actual stage (as if VDM came up through a stage trap door or something). That would also explain the Romanesque architecture in the background- a stage backgroud/prop for whatever play they may be re-creating…..
Just a theory!
RavenclawWit said,
June 20, 2007 at 2:10 am
I considered the possibility that they were cloaked figures, and while some of them could be if you squint, most look like headstones. I’m pretty sure that Mary GrandPre (the illustrator of the U.S cover) could draw cloaked figures well enough if she wanted to that we wouldn’t mistake them for something else.
Rowling doesn’t draw the book covers, an illustrator does. And just because she hasn’t used much symbolism before doesn’t mean she can’t start. Besides, I find the idea of Harry appearing in a play in Book 7 highly implausible. He’ll be far too busy finding and destroying horcruxes, finding out more about Voldemort, Dumbledore, and his parents, and protecting his friends to appear in a play. Plus there’s never been any indication that Harry has thespian tendencies; if anything, he shuns attention.
R.A.B. said,
July 6, 2007 at 10:46 pm
I think Harry is smart enough to know he needs an army. One logical choice, the House Elves. Now that Dumbledore has been killed, and with the help of Dobby I think the House Elves may join Harry. Likewise, there is the possibility of the Centars and maybe, just becasue of the new special edition US cover, dragons. Harry could be summoning dragons, that may cause a shock to old snake face.
Neville Longbottom said,
July 7, 2007 at 12:04 pm
“Your Nimbus2000s wasn’t enough, you brats. Your Leprechaun golden necklaces weren’t enough you mudblood-hating snobs. Your Gringotts trust funds wasn’t enough. Your Polyjuice Potions and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans wasn’t enough. All your Yule Ball debaucheries weren’t enough. Those weren’t enough to fulfill your hedonistic wizarding needs. You had everything
Thanks to you, I die like Harry Potter, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenceless wizards.”
- Neville Longbottom before he shot himself silly
hoopsoulja said,
July 16, 2007 at 10:33 am
those “tombstones” look like ppl…shadows of ppl watching….
looney said,
July 16, 2007 at 3:07 pm
godric gryffindor was not responsible for the blue prints of hogwarts. that was Rowena Ravenclaw. this information is found on the JK Rowling approved cards of each of the founders.
i figured the curtains had something to do with the veil room. even though this particular depiction doesnt satisfy the description from OotP, who knows what it could look like from the other side?
aslo, i think that the sword carrying elf is dobby, just because he is riding on his back in sort of a trusting manner. however, jk also hinted that kreacher was going to play an integral part in the 7th book.
ashley said,
July 16, 2007 at 11:20 pm
damnit, i want the US cover!
Dumbledore's Girl Through & Through said,
July 16, 2007 at 11:56 pm
I have no clue what the curtains are for… I gues we’ll know this time next week. The figures in the background of the US cover could be inferi - to me some of them look like head stones and shome look like people. I think Harry and Voldy are both trying to summons something -perhaps one of the horcruxes. Regarding the UK cover, I think they are in the battle for Hufflepuff’s cup - perhaps it’s kept at Gringott’s. I think the elf must be Kreacher but I have no idea why HE’S weilding the Griffindor sword?!?
7/21/07 - Mischief Managed….
jonah said,
July 17, 2007 at 3:37 pm
I think the necklace in the us cver is the necklace that katie got but that would make harry dead weird but I do think that their in gringotts and for the house elf i think it’s kreacher but it could be a complete different house elf no one’s ever heard of except j.k rowling Yeah my initials are j.k too although not joanne kathleen
septimus Severus said,
July 21, 2007 at 6:19 pm
i think the scene on the cover may be in the departement of mysteries and that this was voldemort falling behind the veil - yes just like sirius -
Enjoy the book !!!
Head of Ravenclaw said,
July 26, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Thank you looney.
The Hogwarts Castle could NOT have been built by just one founder.
Because if it was then I think that that one founder would find himself superior to the other 3 founders.
As we all know. Ravenclaw built the interior.
I beileve maybe Salazar & Godric maybe built the structure of hogwarts together ? & Helga maybe helped build other stuff, like the herbology green houses ?