Harry Potter Mania: Will it end soon?

I am increasingly apprehensive about the coming end of the Harry Potter series. I'm terribly afraid of who is going to die. Not IF someone is going to die, but who. There are only four people I want to survive: Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. If possible I want all the Weasley's, Hagrid, Lupin, Tonks, Neville and Luna to survive, but if they don't, it'll be OK. But, seriously, if the fabulous four go, I'm not sure that I could ever read these books again. I just put down the Sixth book, and I have no desire to read any of the other Potter books, except the last one. And the last time i put it down, I didn't read any of them for two years. Part of that was because of the whole finishing school thing, but I may have also lost my appetite. I don't really remember any more.
The real question is, why is this so important to me. It's just a silly book. The characters aren't real. Harry doesn't exist and has no bearing on my life what so ever. But I care. Rowling has created amazing characters in her books. My aunt had a similar experience when she read the Lord of the Rings. She said that she couldn't pick up another book for a year because they weren't her friends Sam and Frodo. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) for her she didn't have to wait for the ending, It was right there. Easy to access. And didn't need to be written. Now she is a librarian right in the middle of a Library that has been carried away, like the rest of us, by the whole series climax. Of course, she's happy to go along. She's going to be the first in her house to read the last book, probably starting the second she gets her hands on her copy. Now the question is, where do I get my hands on a copy?

Back in the realm of all things personal and Gina: I have gotten a gig volunteering at the B&O railroad museum. It's a chance to gain experience, and see what it is like to work in a museum with more than six employee's. It should be fun.