I'm glad it's a limited series. I think ALL series should have an end date. If not, the writer gets lazy, the plot gets watered down, and things get repetitive. Orson Scott Card, who I think is a great writer, is the master of carrying on a series until its nothing but a mash of words. Ender could probably have done without Shadow. Alvin should have reached the Crystal City by now. And there are many other examples. Dune. Pern. Wheel. Some of the last few books in all of those series are barely digestible. And yet, here we are on book six of HP, and it’s still gripping, it still feels like it’s going somewhere specific.

But you bring up another point. You do come to love these characters and you want to find out what’s going on with them. I think here comic books again point the way. Batman was revitalized when Miller looked at Batman past his prime. The central question was, What happened to Batman’s obsessive, dark energy as he’s gotten older? Turns out the old man can still kick some ass, he’s still grim, and he’s more willing to bend the rules a bit; he’s more realistic.

It’d be interesting, about a decade or so from now, to see Potter as a thirty or forty year old. Did he ever become an Auror? Did he marry Jenny and have a bunch of red-haired children? Is he still haunted by dreams of his alter ego, his dark twin, Voldemort? Or what about Harry at Dumbledor’s age? Muggle technology has caught up with wizard magic. How does he deal with that? Could be cool.

I have another friend that thinks the same thing. But wouldn't that be too easy?