*squeeeeeeeees like a nine-year-old fangirl*

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is coming here on Saaaaturday...

*dies*

I want it now. I can't wait to read it. I hope so very much that it is good. I have great expectations... the author did say she liked it better than the last couple books, which makes me hopeful because I didn't like those ones as well either. So if she thinks this one is good, maybe I will too.

Let me see. Predictions?

Maybe:

- we'll get to hear some more about Snape's past. Possibly even find out what he did to convince both Dumbledore and Voldemort that he had switched sides for good. (yup, even the Dark Lord himself commented he thinks Snape "has left me forever..." I want to know how, and why. Maybe his family was a victim of the dark side. Think that wizard we all love to hate ever had a girlfriend?) I hope they're not gonna save this info for book seven, I've been dying to find out for ages. Snape is evil, but he is cool. Probably the best third-most powerful wizard in the school, after the headmaster and McGonagall. (Actually, I'd like to see those two get into a duel sometime. Who do you think would win? Pity they're on the same side and they both have much too much self-control to fight one another for real.)

- the "half-blood prince" will turn out to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Maybe. Actually, I've been wondering who the hell is gonna be teaching it this year... no way are they giving it to Snape, even though he really wants it. It's a running gag that he never gets the job, they can't give it to him. That'd ruin everything. (Doesn't mean he can't still torture Harry with private lessons.) Maybe it'll be a new character we haven't seen before. Wouldn't it be nice if Remus Lupin showed up for another shot at it? Too bad that's never gonna happen... by the way, they can't kill Lupin. Uh-uh, not happenin'. That would just suck. Anyways, he's too cautious. I could see him sacrificing himself for Harry's welfare, but he's not about to walk into trouble like Sirius did.

- we'll find out some more about Voldemort's history. So what is up with his obsession "to conquer death"? Death is quite obviously his worst fear... and he spends great efforts on a quest for immortality. Why? (Okay, so Lords of Darkness don't really need a reason. But I'll bet he has one.)

- heck, maybe Voldemort will invite Harry to join him before the end of the book. Seems unlikely, considering that doesn't really seem to be his style... I mean ok, he's a deceptive bastard, but what benefit would he derive from having Harry on his side? Apart from not being at risk to get slaughtered by him, which has to happen someday 'cause of that prophecy. (*grumble* Excuse me while I take a minute to complain. Prophecy? Destiny? Puh-lease. That was just a little too neat and cliche, if you want my thoughts on the matter.)

- definitely we're going to see some more of loony Luna Lovegood. Harry's never, ever dating her though. No way. She's nice, but wacky.

- Hermione's going to ask Ron out. He's too damned stupid to ask her first. hmm... well, she'd have to break up with Viktor Krum first... hey, maybe he'll be killed battling the forces of darkness. He must have graduated school by now, right?

- Harry's back on the Quidditch team, and this time he's the captain. He has to be. Who else could be? They were just stalling until he was old enough. Somehow Quidditch has gotten a lot less important in Harry's life, kinda overshadowed by certain other things... but he hasn't played in a while and I'll bet he misses it.

- Sirius NEVER dies. Well, okay, maybe he's technically dead, but bets on whether or not he gets to talk to Harry at some point? Those two-way mirrors can't have just been a red herring... could they? Nah. Order of the Phoenix was unnecessarily long, but even so they'd have cut such a stupid false alarm. Besides, I freakin' liked Sirius. Ms. Rowling obviously liked him too; I read a news report saying she cried after writing his death. (*tsk* Celebrity news.) Everybody loves Sirius. He can't possibly be one hundred percent absent. Although there was a rumor, quashed, that Harry's parents aren't really dead. They are. I was never in doubt of that one, really.

- So, um... do Harry and Ron get to drop Divination class yet? Maybe? Such a waste of time.

- Dudley will be as lame-assed as ever, I'm sure. Although he's a bit afraid of Harry now. Fortunately he doesn't play a big role in the books anymore, which is fine because I never really gave a shit about him. Maybe he'll get mature, but everyone hates him so maybe not.

- Oh, yeah, almost forgot! Remember how Peter Pettigrew owes Harry a big favor? Actually, he owes Harry his life... I would bet that this gets Harry out of a very tight spot soon. If not now, then definitely in the next book to come. Pettigrew is slime but he must prove useful, sooner or later. I dunno if he'll live through the series or not. We shall see.

- I doubt this one will happen before book seven, if it happens at all. But is there a chance Neville's parents get cured of their insanity, or at least recover enough to talk? They oughta cough up some useful information. Maybe one of them regains mental competence and the other one dies. But that's probably not in this book.

Man... it's gonna be a few hundred pages, and I really don't have much idea what'll be in it. Looking forward to finding out, though.

For "Phoenix" I went to one of those silly little kiddie parties at a local bookstore, dressed up in a cape and everything. It was kinda lame without a book, though. My copy didn't arrive till the next morning, and everybody at the store was just waiting till midnight to get theirs. I think I might look for something geeky and wizardly to wear tomorrow, for the hell of it, but I'll skip the party.