My hunch is that if the hero is to finally become a hero & reach his full potential as an independent wizard, then Dumbledore, his mentor & guardian, has to die, Obi-Wan Episode IV stylee....

MSN: "LONDON -- "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling said Friday that one of her characters will not survive the next book in her series about the young wizard.

Asked on her official Web site whether she planned to kill off any more characters, Rowling replied, "Yes, sorry." But she refused to identify that character.

The sixth book in the series, "Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince," is due to be published next year.

Potter himself is safe, at least for now."