[Arnabas]

I love Harry Potter, too.
I hate having to wait for the next book. Usually I wait until the last book in a series is published before I even start reading the first, but I made the mistake of reading the first four already... Oh well.
I hadn't heard the rumour of Ron going bad. Don't put much faith in it, unless some MAJOR events happen in his life. I had, however, heard the rumours of a major character being killed in this book. I seem to recall that I heard Rowling herself say this. I figure it has to be Dumbledore. If he doesn't die in this book, he will certainly die or be somehow "removed" before the end of the series. I don't say this because I don't like him. I love him. I also feel that he is the only one who might be more powerful than Voldemort. A battle between them would be close, but I do feel that Dumbledore would win. The reason I think he must die, though, has to do with the natural progression of Harry as the hero of the story. For the sake of the usual dramatic conventions, Harry must eventually surpass Dumbledore. At the moment, Dumbledore is serving as a mentor and protector of Harry. For Harry to take his place as the true hero of the story, he will have to stand on his own and do what even Dumbledore cannot. (If Merlin defeated all of Arthur's foes for him, who would be the real hero?) I personally hope that Dumbledore will be incapacitated and not killed. I'd hate to see any of these wonderful characters go...