The Boy Who Lived came to die... in the Harry Potter World Cup, at least.
Despite his status as the main character of the series (not to mention the namesake of this tournament), Harry James Potter himself was defeated during the Elite Eight round of the World Cup. His destroyer? None other than longtime nemesis turned misunderstood role model Severus Snape, the same man who risked life and limb to protect the boy at all costs.
Snape has performed fantastically throughout this competition, so it's not the biggest shock in the world that he's moving on to the Final Four. What is surprising is the fact that he beat Harry by almost 60,000 votes. Really, poor Potter never stood a chance.
But while the masses didn't choose the Chosen One to move onto the next round of the Harry Potter World Cup, his legacy lives on in the form of his two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, who emerged as the champions of the Godric's Hollow and Hogsmeade divisions respectively. The "Potter" power couple have their work cut out for them on their way to the final round — Hermione duels against the aforementioned Snape, while Ron must contend with the fearsome Sirius Black, who just barely edged out Draco Malfoy in the previous round — but it's certainly very possible that two members of the Big Three could end up making it all the way to the very end… but this time, they'll have to get by without Harry.
Voting for the Final Four begins later today and will last until Sunday (July 10) at midnight. The final duel launches promptly at 12:01 AM EST on July 11 and will be announced later that day during our live-stream coverage of the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" red carpet in New York City.
Wands at the ready, folks… the show's almost over.
Who do you think will win the Harry Potter World Cup? Let us know in the comments section and on Twitter!
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