Riddikulus with Elise & Sydney: What the epilogue leaves out
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Seniors Elise Porter, left, and Sydney Carlson are avid fans of the Harry Potter series. Their column, "Riddikulus with Elise & Sydney," presents their musings on the famous books.
"Riddikulus with Elise & Sydney" is a column about the Harry Potter series. A new column is posted every other Wednesday. Columns may contain spoilers.
For most fans, endings never seem sufficient -- even if they include an epilogue. Although J. K. Rowling wrote a short epilogue set 19 years in the future, it only gives readers a glimpse of what the main characters' lives look like after the end of the story.
While the epilogue does give some information, like the first names of the children of Harry, Ron and Hermione, it does not provide the details that most fans crave.
Luckily for us, Rowling has been willing to share this information on her website and in various interviews. Just about anything you want to know about the major characters, and even some of the minor ones, is available.
This column entry will be a summary of the major events that took place in a few of the characters' lives, following the final battle.
What the epilogue leaves out
As the epilogue reveals, Harry and Ginny eventually get married and have three children. What it does not say is that Harry immediately joins the Auror Department after the war, even though he does not complete his seventh year at Hogwarts. Eventually, he takes over for Kingsley Shacklebot as the youngest Head of the Auror Department, at age 27.
Also a little-known fact, Ginny plays Quidditch for the Holyhead Harpies for a few years before starting a family with Harry. When they do settle down, Ginny and Harry have three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Luna. Of the three, Albus is the only one who inherits Harry's green eyes.
While many fans (including us) believed that Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood would become a couple, Rowling had other plans. Neville joins the Auror Department for a short time before returning to Hogwarts to teach Herbology and serve as Gryffindor's head of house. He ends up marrying Hannah Abbott, not Luna, and it is unknown whether or not the couple ever has children (we like to assume that they do).
"Although J. K. Rowling wrote a short epilogue set 19 years in the future, it only gives readers a glimpse of what the main characters' lives look like after the end of the story." --Elise Porter and Sydney Carlson, both '11
Luna, on the other hand, becomes a famous wizarding naturalist. Basically, she studies and searches for new magical plants and creatures. She marries fellow naturalist Rolf Scamander, grandson of the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Newt Scamander. The pair eventually has twins named Lorcan and Lysander.
After the death of his twin, Fred, many readers wondered how George Weasley coped, and whether or not he continued Weasley Wizard Wheezes. While George never truly gets over losing his other half, he does marry Fred's former flame, Angelina Johnson. Together, they have two children, Fred and Roxanne. And, with the help of his brother Ron, George does continue in the joke business.
While Ron assists George for a time, he eventually joins Harry in the Auror Department. His wife Hermione also joins the ministry and eventually attains a high position in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She, Harry and Ron all eventually have their faces placed on the card in chocolate frog packages for their accomplishments. Ron and Hermione have two children, Rose and Hugo.
What we think might happen
Everything we have told you up until this point has been factual. From here on out, we are merely speculating based on what we believe are little hints dropped by Rowling.
For one, Harry's son Albus Severus is very concerned that he will be sorted into Slytherin house. This concern, combined with the fact that one of Albus's namesakes, Severus Snape, was in Slytherin, leads us to believe that there is a definite possibility that Albus will call this house home.
In addition to Albus's potential house assignment, one could infer that Rose Weasley might develop a relationship with Scorpius Malfoy, Draco's son.
While the epilogue gives the book a nice ending, many details are left out -- which is understandable, since it is an epilogue and not an additional chapter. However, if you, like us, craved more information, we hope you now have a better understanding of what the wizarding world looks like after Voldemort is defeated.
For the previous installment, read the March 9 column, Riddikulus with Elise & Sydney: Herbology and Creatures.
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Posted by "Ashley Erickson" on March 28, 2011 at 1:01 a.m.
The epilogue was interesting. I still didn't feel completely satisfied with the information provided and, of course, wish some things had been different. I also thought that Luna would marry Neville, but overall I wasn't too bent out of shape over anything.
This is such a good column; it's got so much new information that I never knew. Great job, Elise and Sydney!
Posted by "Tynin Fries" on March 23, 2011 at 1:01 a.m.
This column always surprises me. All this information is new to me and I am glad you shared it. I can agree that I though Neville and Luna would become a couple and am surprised that both went their separate ways.
Keep up the good work! This one is by far my favorite!
Posted by "Lizzie Williams" on March 29, 2011 at 1:01 a.m.
I love Rowling for giving us information that wasn't included in the epilogue, even if it is trivial. For die hard fans like myself any little detail is amazing! Part of me hoped Albus Severus would be sorted in to Slytherin. After Voldemort's defeat it would be nice to give Slytherin House a better reputation, and what better way than to give them Harry Potter's son?