As the release date grows nearer and nearer (is it July yet!?!?) and as theories grow ever so wilder, I think a list of the facts, and nothing but the facts, as released by J. K. Rowling herself on her website, as released by her publishers on their websites, or gleaned from tidbits in interviews, would help us all keep up with what is rumor, what is speculation, and what is indeed the truth about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Links are provided below to help you sort through JKR's actual words to try to glean any and all clues from her gifts to the fandom.

• The last word of the book is still "scar:" Source: HP-Lexicon; Melissa and Emerson Interview, Part II - 16 July 2005 This information was originally announced by JKR at a Barnes & Noble & Yahoo chat with JKR on 20 October 2000. She confirmed in the Melissa and Emerson interview that, as of 16 July 2005, the last word of the book was still indeed "scar." UPDATE: On 5 July 2007, in an interview on BBC1 to be aired Friday, 6 July 2007, JKR stated that the last word of the book is no longer scar. You can see that excerpt here, and as soon as a transcript comes out, I'll link you to it.
• Harry will return to the Dursley's one last time. Source: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. American Edition: page 650. British Edition: page 606.
• Harry will go to Godric's Hollow. Source: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. American Edition: page 650. British Edition: page 606.
• Hermione and Ron will join him on his journey to Godric's Hollow. Source: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. American Edition: page 651. British Edition: page 606.
• The trio will attend Bill and Fleur's wedding. Source: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. American Edition: page 652. British Edition: page 607.
• Harry may not return to Hogwarts for his seventh and final year. Source: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. American Edition: page 651; British Edition: page 606.
• We will finally learn the true identity of R.A.B. after much speculation! There isn't a source where JKR actually said this, but it's a pretty safe bet as Harry has to figure out who R.A.B. is to figure out if the original locket was ever destroyed. That being said, in the Melissa and Emerson Interview (Part ii) here, JKR did say that Regulus was a "fine guess."
• The Founders will play a role in Book 7. Source: Discussions with Dumbledore in HBP; Pages 505 & 506 of the American Edition; Pages 470 to 473 in the British Edition.
• We will, at long last, learn where Snape's loyalty truly lies. Source: Melissa and Emerson Interview with J. K. Rowling, Part I - 16 July 2005. Actually, she didn't say we would definitely know, but she did say that anything she said would be a spoiler so we can infer that we will finally get the proof (evil/good) that we all want so desperately!
• We learn something very important about Lily, Harry's mother, in book seven. We learned a bit about her in Book 5, and we will learn more in book seven. Source: HP-Lexicon, Christopher Lydon Interview with J. K. Rowling, 12 October 1999.
• We will find out why Voldemort gave Lily so many chances to live. Source: Melissa and Emerson Interview with J. K. Rowling, Part I - 16 July 2005. This is an excellent interview tidbit to read. I wouldn't even do it justice to quote it here. JKR makes a very subtle, but critical distinction between the deaths of Harry's parents.
• The fact that Harry has his mother's eyes is important to the final book. Source: Stephanie Loer article/interview with J. K. Rowling, "All About Harry Potter from Quidditch to the Future of the Sorting Hat," The Boston Globe, 19 October 1999. In the quote, JKR says, "But he has his mother's eyes and that's very important in a future book." Many people believe that the information JKR is referring to is the fact that having his mother's eyes helps Harry get the memory from Slughorn. This may very well be true and JKR herself has said that the books do change as she writes them. She made this statement in 1999, so there is a very real possibility that she may have needed the information earlier. However, there is a distinct possibility that there is something else to Harry having his mother's eyes that comes up in the last book, so we'll just have to wait and find out!
• What the Potters did for a living is important to the final book. Source: Scholastic.com Chat Transcript, 3 February 2000. This is another inference, but a fairly safe one. When asked what they did for a living, JKR replied, "I'm sorry to keep saying this, but I can't tell you because it's important to a later plot. But you will find out later!" As we haven't found out in any previous books, it is safe to assume we will, at last, find out in Deathy Hallows.
• One of Harry's classmates will become a teacher at Hogwarts. Source: Christopher Lydon Interview with J. K. Rowling, 12 October 1999, Transcript: Part #24. It is important to note here that JKR said "one of Harry's class mates, though it's not Harry himself, does end up a teacher at Hogwarts, but it is not maybe the one you'd think - hint, hint, hint! So, yes one of them does end up staying at Hogwarts, but - erm ..." So, it isn't Harry, but we know that someone who has been through all this with Harry will stay at Hogwarts.
• Dumbledore's gleam of triumph is significant to Book 7. Source: Melissa and Emerson Interview, Part III - 16 July 2005. Melissa and Emerson asked point blank if the "gleam of triumph" would resurface, and JKR replied, "That's still enormously significant. And let's face it, I haven't told you that much is enormously significant, so you can let your imaginations run free there." In the same interview, she also said that this information would absolutely resurface in Book 7.
• We will learn a lot more about Dumbledore: secrets about his family, why he didn't kill Voldemort in the battle at the Ministry, why he had James' invisibility cloak, and perhaps even how he got that curious scar above his knee! Source: Well, there are a lot of sources, so I'll annotate them this way. First, JKR mentioned that in the Melissa and Emerson Interview (Part III) that Dumbledore's family would be a "profitable line of inquiry." That information can be found here. JKR suggested that a question we should be asking is why DD didn't kill or try to kill Voldemort at the ministry during a Q&A at the Edinburgh Book Festival, 15 August 2004. You can find a transcript of that chat here. Her exact words on this specific subject:
  QUOTE
  "The other question that I am surprised no one has asked me since Phoenix came out—I thought that people would—is why Dumbledore did not kill or try to kill Voldemort in the scene in the ministry. I know that I am giving a lot away to people who have not read the book. Although Dumbledore gives a kind of reason to Voldemort, it is not the real reason. ... Dumbledore knows something slightly more profound than that."
  NOTE: This may or may not have been knowledge about the horcruxes, but there is a good chance that this subject will come up in the last book. We also know that JKR hinted that we may also find out just exactly what spell Dumbledore used in the interview with Melissa and Emerson. It's found in Part II, here. JKR addressed the invisibility cloak question on her website. To see her thoughts, you can go to www.jkrowling.com, click on extra stuff, click on the Miscellaneous tab, and then click on the NAQ link, which stands for Never Asked Question. Or you can click here to see the text only version. And last but not least, JKR also mentioned at the Edinburgh Book Festival in August 2004, that we just may find out how Dumbledore got his scar of the London Underground. You can find that here, about three quarters of the way down.
• It is unclear whether Hogwarts will reopen for Harry's seventh year. Source: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. American Edition, page 627 - 629; British Edition, page 585 - 586; HP Lexicon; Edinburgh "cub reporter" press conference, ITV, 16 July 2005; FIlm Fantasy Magazine, "2007: The Year of Harry Potter," June 2007 (Image scans found in TLC Image Gallery. Ok, before anyone gets upset with me for how these links hop around from subject to subject, let me explain. We have no definitive answer as to whether Hogwarts will reopen. Even Professors McGonagall, Sprout, Slughorn, Flitwick and Hagrid couldn't agree on the subject. The decision will ultimately be made by the school governors. We do, however, have clues that suggest that it will. For one, as stated above, one of Harry's classmates becomes a Hogwarts professor. As stated in the Film Fantasy article linked above, this implies that the school will reopen, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it will reopen for Harry's final year. JKR has also said that Snape will not be the DADA teacher in Harry's book 7 (see Edinburgh link above), which led many fans to believe that someone else would be DADA teach for year 7, however, we now know that other circumstances and events were what she was referring to.
• The magical protection that Harry is under while staying at the Dursley's will cease once he turns 17 and is an of age wizard. Source:Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. American Edition, page 55 & 56; British Edition page 56 - 58; Edinburgh "cub reporter" press conference, ITV, 16 July 2005. Dumbledore says it and JKR confirms it.
• We will become better acquainted with another member of the Order; someone we know but haven't really met yet. Source: Edinburgh "cub reporter" press conference, ITV, 16 July 2005.
• We will learn secrets about the family of Peter Pettigrew. Source: Film Fantasy Magazine, "2007: The Year of Harry Potter," June 2007 (Image scans found in TLC Image Gallery).
• We will learn more about the relationships between wands and their witches/wizards in Book 7. Source: Transcript of "An Evening with Harry, Carrie, and Garp," 1 August 2006. You have to scroll down to where JKR is introduced, and then it is in the answer to the second question asked by Unknown (1) concerning whether muggles could brew potions with the right ingredients.
• There is no Quidditch in the final book. Source: Film Fantasy Magazine, "2007: The Year of Harry Potter," June 2007 (Image scans found in TLC Image Gallery); Melissa and Emerson Interview J. K. Rowling, Part II: 16 July 2005. While answering the second question listed in Part Two, JKR said that the Quidditch match for which Luna commentated was the last match for the books.
• There's more to Petunia than meets the eye. Source: Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY, "An Evening With Harry, Carrie, and Garp," Readings and Questions #2, 2 August 2006; Edinburgh "cub reporter" press conference, ITV, 16 July 2005; JKRowling.com, Transcript from Edinburgh Book Festival, 14 August 2004. (5th Question from the Audience); JKRowling.com, FAQ: What did Dumbledore's howler to Petunia mean?. Well, there's been a lot of speculation about Aunt Petunia, and all JKR says is that we will get more info in Book 7.
• One character gets a reprieve and two main characters die that weren't intended to die. Source: Transcript of JKR's appearance on the "Richard and Judy Show," 26 June 2006. We just have to hold our breath, wait, and hope it works out all right in the end!
• A character who hasn't done magic previously will do magic late in life. Source: Barnes and Noble Interview, 19 March 1999. Who will it be? A squib? Dudley? Someone new? In the links above, JKR tells us that there is more to Petunia, but also tells us that she is still only a Muggle and will never do magic. So who does that leave?
• We will learn what Dudley saw/heard when facing the dementors. Source: JK Rowling's World Book Day Chat, 4 March 2004.
• We will learn what happened to Sirius' flying motorbike. Source: JK Rowling's Workd Book Day Chat, 4 March 2004.
• We will learn more about the history of James Potter's family. Source: Red Nose Day Chat, BBC Online, 12 March 2001.
• Fawkes may reappear in the final book. Source: Edinburgh "cub reporter" press conference, ITV, 16 July 2005. Fawkes was a free agent of sorts prior to Dumbledore. Will Harry's faithfulness to Dumbledore bring Fawkes back in a time of need? Or does Fawkes have yet another role to play?
• Kreacher has a role to play in the final book. Source: Leaky News Article, 25 June 2006 - MTV: Character Too Important to be Cut from Order of the Phoenix Revealed. It appears that Kreacher has won his way back into the film as JKR informed OotP director David Yates that cutting him would make it hard to keep a thread going in 6 and 7. Basically, we will see more of Kreacher, and it just may be important enough to make the final film.
• Peter Pettigrew will not kill Lupin using his silver hand. Source: JKRowling.com - Rumors: Peter Pettigrew's silver hand will be used to kill Remus Lupin.

PS: If anyone notices a fact about DH that I have overlooked, by all means PM me with that information! If you do so, pleaes provide a link to the source of your information for verification. Thank you!





A special thanks to Dreamteam, fawkes28, NYBookworm, futureweasley, waggawaggawerewolf and all the other moderators who helped me track down articles and resources. I couldn't have done this without everyone's help!

Also, a special thanks to www.accio-quote.org and www.hp-lexicon.org for managing such an excellent collection of HP resources!