No more mysteries -- the results of our Harry Potter contest are in!

We love the way J.K. Rowling left enough clues in earlier Harry Potter books for us to make educated guesses about who would die, who would "snog" (as Ginny Weasley would describe necking) and other questions. And we loved how Rowling has left our heads spinning on other plot twists.

"Part of what makes the books fun is the plotting, and the way she tricks you, and you think you know the answer and you don't," said Kansas State University literature professor Philip Nel, who has written a book on Harry Potter.

We looked to Nel, in fact, to be our final arbiter on a few quiz questions on which our own expert panel of judges (any Post-Intelligencer employees hooked enough on Harry to finish Book 6 within 48 hours) disagreed on what the correct answer would be. We told Nel we'd accept his rulings as final.

One thing we didn't expect to be an issue in fandom, though, was our final question, on whether Professor Severus Snape would reveal himself to be on Harry's side or Voldemort's. We think it couldn't be clearer, for the purposes of Book 6, that Snape revealed himself as wicked. Yes, wicked! So wicked, in fact, that we could rename him Treacherous Snape or Evilus Snape.

Yes, fans, we all recognize every one of the delectable bread crumbs that Rowling has strewn to stoke debate. We know of that unexplained argument Snape and Dumbledore had in the forest. (Could Dumbledore have ordered Snape to kill him?) We know of the pleading tone Dumbledore used before Snape struck with his murderous spell. (Dumbledore would never plead for mercy! Maybe he was really pleading with Snape to strike the death blow?) We know that Snape's face was etched with lines of revulsion and hatred as he prepared to strike. (Couldn't it have been hatred for the fact that he was killing Dumbledore, not hatred for Dumbledore himself?) Snape was sneering at Harry as he escaped -- (but maybe it was meant to be a sneer of helpfulness?).

People!

All we're left with, looking flatly at the book, is bad. Snape voluntarily swore an Unbreakable Vow to complete a task that the Dark Lord wanted done. (We think he could have gotten out of that one pretty easily.) He's hiding out in the forest with the traitor Wormtail, hosting Death Eaters for drinks. Folks, he killed the leader in the fight against Voldemort. He murdered the goodest of the good, our Obi-Wan, our man Dumbledore.

We don't doubt that we'll find out more in the series finale, and that Snape may well find redemption. But for the purposes of Book 6, we think the only possible answer to our question is (b) -- Snape will definitively reveal himself to be on Voldemort's side.

And here are the answers (and our debates) to our quiz:

1. Who is the Half-Blood Prince?

No debate: It was Severus Snape. (And no, we don't think he left that potions book on purpose for Harry to find. Remember, we think he's a bad guy.)

2. Who dies?

Dumbledore. (We confess, we thought a Weasley death was inevitable. We guessed wrong -- at least until Book 7.) We were surprised to find a few entrants guess the death would be Harry himself -- what could Book 7 be titled then, "Harry Potter and the Ghostly Realm?"

3. Should a Weasley meet an unfortunate and fatal end, it will be:

N/A. No Weasleys died.

4. Who hooks up romantically?

Voting for Harry and Ginny got you a point, voting for Ron and Hermione won a half-point, and we gave a full 1.5 to anyone who guessed that both couples would get together. (Rowling, in one interview, said she considered the Ron-Hermione pairing to finally be a done deal in Book 6 after previous anvil-size hints ... but we didn't think it was shown quite so crystal clear.)

5. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be:

(a) an established character, with an extra point to anyone who said it would be Snape. Quite a few people guessed correctly that Rowling would deviate from her former pattern of introducing a new character each book for that teacher's post, and that Snape finally would achieve the job he had sought so long.

6. Sirius Black will:

(a) remain dead. But we're excited to think his equally deceased brother, Regulus, may have a role to play in Book 7.

7. We will or will not learn the significance of why you cannot apparate or disapparate inside Hogwarts:

This was one of our two toughest questions to grade (the second one is below). In the end, with Nel's support, we went with the ruling that yes, we do learn the significance. It isn't as clear as we expected, though.

We wanted Rowling to resolve the plot with a device like the one Meg Brown, 15, of Woodinville, guessed: She predicted we would learn that Hogwarts was once the headquarters of the Ministry of Magic, and that the apparation ban was placed for ministry security. Or, several entrants suggested we would learn that a past student had "splinched" himself during apparation lessons, and that would become key to the plot. But no, we were forced to conclude that Rowling merely wanted to stress how shocking it would be in Book 6 when the ban finally was subverted by Draco's machinations.

Props to Maureen Maas, 22, of Sammamish, one of those who won full points for the question, who predicted that "Harry and Co. are falsely reassured by this (the apparation ban) and are thus taken by surprise when Death Eaters enter Hogwarts via a different route."

8. We will or will not learn why it is significant that Harry has his mother's eyes:

Yes, we do think we learned the answer. Harry is able to charm the crucial Horcrux memory out of Professor Slughorn because of it. "You're a good boy ..." as Slughorn says, among other clues. "And you've got her eyes."

In the case of questions 7 and 8, said Nel, "They're both significant to the plot of this particular novel. In either case, they don't have some larger cosmic significance."

9. The Quidditch Cup will be won by:

(a) Gryffindor, aren't we glad.

10. Snape will definitively reveal himself to be:

(b) On Voldemort's side.

(See main story for the full discussion.) It seems we all -- like Dumbledore -- want to have our faith in human nature upheld. Nearly every contest entry said that Snape would show himself in this book to be unequivocally Harry's man.

ACCIO VICTORS!

Congratulations to our winners: Charles Grenier, 15, of Sedro-Woolley; Carole Stoddard, 14, of Tacoma; Madison Etiz, 12, of Seattle; K. Masiello, 26, of Seattle; and Jenny Rose, 19, of Bellevue. NOTE: We initially planned to draw lots to break ties, but we wound up with so many entries that we modified the prizes to add some extras. Grenier and Stoddard (who both scored 8.5 out of a possible 12 points) each will receive $50 gift certificates to All for Kids Books and Music in Seattle.

Etiz, Masiello and Rose (who each scored 7.5) will receive the new "Harry Potter Scene It?" DVD game, which retails for $49.95 at Barnes & Noble (it includes a sneak look at scenes from the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" movie).

Thanks for all your impressive entries, from 7-year-old Kieran Boyle of Seattle (who garnered an impressive 7) to 85-year-old I.C. Robinson of Poulsbo, who just missed our winner's list with a 7.3.

P-I reporter Rebekah Denn can be reached at 206-448-8190 or rebekahdenn@seattlepi.com.

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