The Half-Blood Prince

I know I'm a bit behind the times, but I just finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I must say that I was quite surprised, impressed, saddened, upset, mad, satisfied and, more than anything, anxious already about the final book of the series. I understand that a lot of people felt dissatisfied with this particular book but this is the "darkest before dawn" book of the series and I don't think people were prepared for that. More than any other book of the series, this is the Two Towers or Empire Strikes Back of Harry Potter. It ended the way it did because it had to.

My wife and I, who are big fans of the series both in print and on celluloid, have been speculating quite a bit about the outcome of the series particularly what surprises and twists might lay ahead for we eager readers.

So does anyone else have any thoughts about what's in store for the final installment of the Harry Potter series? I'm curious to see what the rest of you think so I'll reserve my own thoughts until later.