One of the themes of the series is that the white council wizards are conservative old biddies who are having difficulty adapting to the changing world.  Harry being the exception.  The classic is Harry mocking Morgan for creating the 'star wars rip-off" hologram of the world to show danger spots. 

So my question is this.  What "very modern" element of the world should Harry leverage in his next magical innovation.  Cutting edge science?  Leapfrog off a technology?  Cultural ah-ha? 

My personal item would be Harry creating a magical sensor using a cell phone case -- so it basically looks like he is taking selfies while actually doing a detailed scan of the magical nature of the area.    Or alternately, using cell phones "connectivity" to provide a structure to a complex spell that needs to effect a very large area. 

Coincidence is one of the classics of fiction.  And a common coincidence is that person X is really an unknown blood relation of Y (someone very different) -- with that connection discovered at some dramatic moment. 

Of course, JB has used this already with Thomas, but I think there is another good prospect that has not been explored: Kumori.    All the speculation around Kumori is around "which female character introduced in the series is really Kumori".   I have to admit that none of the theories seemed very probable to me.  I agree that there is some connection there, but I think we are asking the wrong question.   I want to change the question to:  "Who among the people Harry knows is Kumori related to? "

When you ask the question that way, you get an easy answer loaded with all sorts of strong emotional connections with Dresden and many of Dresden's allies.      Well you get two answers.

1) Dresden's older sister would obviously have the most powerful effect on Dresden himself.   We also have had some foreshadowing that other siblings might exist.   This is not my favorite simply because it was done before with Thomas.  JB does not repeat things often. 

2) Charity has a powerful magical bloodline.   If she had a sister or close cousin who did receive magical training (aka - Kumori), that would also create a very powerful connection to Harry, Michael, Charity, Molly/Winter Lady, and indirectly to all the other human allies of Dresden.  It is a connection that the Outsiders would have every incentive to leverage against Dresden.  It is also a connection that is likely to blindside Harry simply because he trusts the Carpenters so much.   This idea has possibilities!   

Ok Uriel saw to it that Harry had possession of one of the Swords at the end of Death Masks and another at the end of Small Favor.  However, the Harry in the Mirror Mirror world was already on a darker path at this time.  Would Uriel have seen this and NOT given Harry the swords?   

If so, then there could very well be three knights of the sword in the Mirror Mirror world.   Presumably Sanya is one.  The others might be new characters.  I do not see Butters getting there without Harry's encouragement and I do not see Karin being a knight while dealing with the emotions of Harry going dark.    Anybody else as an obvious candidate?   I kinda like Georgia as a candidate as she is somewhat of an underutilized character and a genuinely good person.     




PS:   My own believe is that dark harry believes he is doing the right thing through dark means.  As such, he would avoid his former allies as he would not want to hurt them.   Harry is LOYAL to his friends.   This means that there is a good chance that Harry's friends are going to be still around in the mirror mirror world.   Not really friends anymore to the dark harry, but around.   

My guess is that Dark Harry is now sufficiently dark that he would kill his old friends if they got in the way, but enough remains that he still "tries" to avoid situations where they would be in the way.  But Harry's old friends are probably under no illusions about how dark "dark harry" has become. 

Ok we know the next book is Peace Talks, which is basically about the Peace Talks to end the Supernatural WWIII pitting the White Council, Fellowship (mostly dead), Ventori, Winter, Summer against the alliance of the Red Court (mostly dead), White court, Black Court and no doubt some other unofficial allies like the (ahm) black council. 

The lay members of the White Council, especially the older ones, probably just want the war to end as quickly as possible.   They have no interest in continuing to fight and (collectively) little thought of the aftermath beyond some agreements to avoid a future war in the next few decades.   

What does the Merlin want?   A few books ago, I would say he is agreement with the above.  Seeing him in Changes, he was pretty militant. 
a) Is he going to go with a quick end to the war -- aka how we ended WWI by laying the groundwork for WWII

b) Is he going to go with a careful/prepared conclusion that might take longer, but leaves the White Council in a far stronger position and with solid allies  (aka - how we ended up WWII), but with well established enemies like the black/white court still quite powerful. 

c) Is he going to want to keep the war going until he can exterminate the black or white vampire court (or both).  Total victory in other words - while he has the alliance of Winter and Summer as allies.  After all, these two great supernatural powers may not be allies in the next war. 


2nd question - what about the Formor and other supernatural nations that did not fight in the war, but now insist on having a pieces of the spoils and/or seat at the table.   Will he welcome their presence (unlikely!) or fight their involvement fiercely or moderately oppose, but not spend his political capital on this fight.   

Ok You are Harry Dresden and you are going to spend 200K on a brand new house for yourself.   You picked a prime location that is at the convergence of three helpful ley lines, away from innocent bystanders most times, in a part of Chicago that is easily accessible and covers a half acre lot (so plenty of room, but not ridiculous like the Marcone or White court mansions).   There is already a long occupied house on the lot that can be heavily remodeled, but still retain "most" of the threshold benefit that the house had accumulated.    (ie - location is nearly perfect). 

What are the key elements of the design?   Assume you are Dresden's architect and are designing him the right house. 

Obvious Bits
1) The house will be built of thick stone or similar sturdy material that is not flammable.
2) Doors will be heavily reinforced security type doors - although not obviously so
3) Good wood burning stoves provide central heat and/or the basics of a stove/oven in the kitchen
4) Good spacious underground basement for the laboratory
5) The lot will be surrounded by a 5' tall brick or stone wall that will (slightly) slow down attackers, keep out ghosts, and give some degree of privacy so neighbors are not easily annoyed by the zombies attacking
6) the place will look like a residence, not a fortress. 
7) multiple guest rooms
Big freezer to hold the pizza

In Proven Guilty, someone attacked Arctus Tor.  They killed a lot of fey.  They left traces of hellfire.  Key questions: 
*  Who attacked?
*  Why did they attack?


Second Key Question - why did they survive (if you believe they survived)?  Presumably Mab is fully capable of defending her realm and is a frigging nightmare.   Mother Winter is an order of magnitude more dangerous even without her staff and presumably could do the same thing.   Almost inconceivable that Mab could not "hold them off" long enough to summon ten thousand winter fey guardians to defend her castle.   Yet none of this happened -- or at least no obvious evidence in the books that this mega-battle occurred. 

All

I know it has been talked about before, but on many levels Proven Guilty does not make sense.  There seemed no reason for the Fetch to get involved and there are all these mysterious events at Arctus Tor.  Given this story is the prime candidate for the “time travel” experience of Harry, I wanted to poke at it.

Facts
•   “Darby” was booked a year in advance to attend the Con – by his lawyer
•   Madrigal (aka – Darby)’s lawyer/flunky was killed by the Fetch
•   Someone killed a bunch of Mab’s troll guards with Hellfire
•   Lilly and Maeve conspired to lure winter into leaving their borders to allow summer to attack the Red Court
•   Mab allowed Harry to recover Molly
•   A portal exists from the theater to Winter
•   The Fetch took Molly to Arctus Tor
•   Maeve slowed time in Winter so that winter armies would not threaten Summer for sufficient time -- such that Summer could attack the Red Court
•   The Red Court did a major attack on the White Council during the events in Proven Guilty – including targeting Luccio’s boot camp (ie – really important battle)
•   Somebody fixed Little Chicago (although this is more evidence of time travel than something relevant to the questions below)
•   Mab could NOT have sent the fetches to kill people at the con.  She is not allowed to do this due to the rules of Fey Queens.  Either someone else gave the command or the Fetches were killing on their own. 

Reasonably Certain
•   The Fetch killed the lawyer to shut him up because he knew things
•   The fetch knew enough about Molly to trick her into inviting them into the house (not a high threshold, but not complete ignorance)
•   The Fetch attacked the theater owner to keep the theater closed – presumably to allow them to feely use the portal
•   Madrigal was set up for some reason – somebody (- or something ) wanted him at the con
•   Molly did her first Black magic just days (or at most weeks) before the events in Proven Guilty – as she did not discover her friend was pregnant until then.
•   Nik was surprised (and very unhappy) to learn that Denarians were involved in the attack on Arctus Tor
•   The Fetch were involved because of orders from the Queen – but which one is unclear

Decent Guesses
•   Molly’s presence could not have easily been predicted without foreknowledge.  Not assuming foreknowledge as foreknowledge is a boring answer. 
•   The Fetch used the beacon that is Molly’s fear casting to enter the mortal world
•   Harry suggested Madrigal was set up to be the patsy to take the blame.  I would argue that Madrigal was set up to be the beacon.  But since Molly ended up being the beacon, Madrigal was thus unneeded.   
•   Thorned Namshiel was involved in the attack on Arctus Tor
•   Nik is afraid that a fallen is nemfected
•   Maeve might have been nemfected, but not so badly that her actions were highly influenced.
•   The Fetch were there for a reason beyond killing people at a con.  They are both spies and assassins after all.  Neither mission seemed to be relevant to what they did at the con. 


Questions
•   Which queen gave orders to the Fetches – or was the Fetch acting on their own?
•   If Madrigal was set up a year in advance, why.  I cannot have been related to Molly’s use of black magic or the battle with the Red Court as neither could have been reliably predicted a year in advance.    If he was set up from the begining, it had to be for another reason. 
•   Was the portal to winter always in the theater --- or did someone create the portal for this purpose?  The first might suggest a longer term plot while the second might suggest it was created by a Winter queen. 
•   Why did Mab not destroy those who killed her guards?
•   Did slowing time in Winter serve some other (less obvious) purpose?
•   When did Maeve and Lilly learn about the attack on the White Council?   Well in advance or only during the events in Proven Guilty? 
•   What else is going on that might justify time travel? 

It is pretty clear that wizards are old school.  They teach via the ancient model of apprentice/master.    But times have moved on.  We have seen with Luccio that they created a boot camp for new wardens that was quite successful.   I can see the possibility that they extend that model to create a wizard academy to more easily train wizards in larger numbers.  Something like this would be essential if Harry's ideas regarding training Paranet members is implemented.   

How would such a magical academy work?  I doubt it would be very Harry Potter, but I can see something comparable to a old style college format.   A dozen different "schools" each focused on a particular discipline that combines lecture and practice.   Each taught by an expert in that type of magic.   Everybody takes the basics, but students generally continue in a specific school based on success/skill/aptitude.   

They certainly do not have enough students right now to have a dozen concurrent schools taught, but they could teach a few schools every month and just alternate.   As student populations increase, they can run more classes concurrently. 

The advanced classes might continue via the apprentice model - especially as the WC is still paranoid about wizards misusing their power.  They would want experienced wizards to personally evaluate candidates before teaching them advanced magical techniques.