There is no spoiler warning today; it’s pretty simple: If you haven’t read Book 6… tough.
The Theory
By a combination of the Draught of the Living Death, Apparition, and the privileges of being not only a wily old rascal but also the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore faked his death.
Part 2 of 2
- The Scene & The Apparent Death
- Pleading, Taunting & Blasting
- Reading Between the Lines
- Hidden in Plain Sight: The Draught of Living Death Gets Its Due
- More Faked Death
- You Can’t Apparate at Hogwarts… Unless You’re the Headmaster
- The Odd Phrase at the Funeral
- Mischief Managed
The Scene & The Apparent Death
Let’s revisit the text. The passage below is from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 27: The Lightning-Struck Tower, p. 595-596, U.S. hardback edition:
But somebody else had spoken Snape’s name, quite softly.
"Severus…"
The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading.
Snape said nothing, but walked forward and pushed Malfoy roughly out
of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word. Even the
werewolf seemed cowed.Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face.
"Severus… please…"
Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A jet of green light shot from the end of Snape’s wand and hit
Dumbledore squarely in the chest. Harry’s scream of horror never left
him; silent and unmoving, he was forced to watch as Dumbledore was
blasted into the air. for a split second, he seemed to hang suspended
beneath the shining skull, and then he fell slowly backward, like a
great rag doll, over the battlements and out of sight.
Sounds pretty convincing, right? The Killing Curse, Snape’s "hatred", and the blasting of Dumbledore right over the bloody battlements, all the long way down from the top of the tallest tower at
Hogwarts.
Pleading, Taunting & Blasting
And yet, there are a few problems with this:
-
"Dumbledore was pleading". For his life? Since when has
Dumbledore ever been the pleading type? Or for Severus to go on with
what he had to do, no matter what? Or for Severus to also do as Dumbledore
ordered, as Dumbledore had also made Harry promise? -
No taunting. No one loves a jibe, a taunt, a vicious snipe of a
remark, like Severus Snape. Hogwarts students, members of the Order, fellow faculty; it doesn’t matter — no one is safe from Snape’s tongue. And yet, if his "revulsion and hatred" is all towards Dumbledore, where is the monologue? Snape’s been at Hogwarts for a long, long time — where’s the sarcasm, the defiant triumph of the release of all that festering hatred? Where is the final, "Ha, you old fool, keeping me safe all these years, when all I have lived for is this moment! Your fall is the rise of the Dark Lord! Ha-ha-ha-havada-kedavra!" Didn’t happen. Funny that someone so full of rage, and so quick to taunt and curse, would say nothing to the man he was betraying. -
"Dumbledore was blasted into the air." Since when does Avada
Kedavra blast people into the air? It doesn’t. The spell leaves no damage, and does nothing to the victim, except that it kills them. Period.
Reading Between the Lines
Here’s an alternative version of what happened:
- Dumbledore was pleading with Snape not to blow his cover, even if it meant the end of Dumbledore’s own life
- Snape, calculating the precariousness of the situation, performed a
spell similar to in appearance to Avada Kedavra, except for the added
theatrics and lack of lethality. Remember: you have to mean the Killing
Curse, as both Bellatrix Lestrange and Mad-Eye Moody have reminded us:"You need to mean them, Potter! You need to really want to cause
pain — to enjoy it — righteous anger won’t hurt me for long."
[Bellatrix, Order of the Phoenix, p. 810, Chapter 36, American
paperback edition]“Avada Kedavra’s a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind
it — you could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say
the words, and I doubt I’d get so much as a nosebleed." [Moody, well,
supposedly Moody, anyway; pg. 217, Goblet of Fire, American edition]
To put it another way, Avada Kedavra might be a powerful spell, but
it also stands to reason that it takes so much to pull off for real,
that it could actually be very easy to fake.
Now, here’s where things might get a bit hard to believe.
Dumbledore, indeed, fell out of sight to us readers. As far as we knew, he was dead. But if he wasn’t…
Then he was falling through midair, and quite aware of it. He could have muttered some words — he’d already done so earlier:
"Harry heard, over the whistling of the night air in his ears, Dumbledore muttering in some strange language again. He thought he
understood why as he felt his broom shudder when they flew over the
boundary wall into the grounds: Dumbledore was undoing the enchantments
he himself had set around the castle" [Chapter 27: The Lightning-Struck
Tower, p. 595-596, U.S. hardback edition]
And then he Apparated.
Not far, mind you. It wouldn’t do for him to disappear, when the
Death Eaters would be expecting a body at the bottom of the castle, and
Dumbledore would be far too crafty for that. He Apparated down a bit,
so the fall wouldn’t kill him. But it could injure him, and enough for
him to appear dead. He only needed one more thing.
He would have reached into his robes and pulled out a vial of
potion, something that has been alluded to in two HP books, but has
never played a role. Now is its time:
Dumbledore drank a Draught of Living Death, fell into a deathlike sleep, and hit the ground.
Hidden in Plain Sight: The Draught of Living Death Gets Its Due
"For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. [Sorcerer's Stone, pg. 138]
We are first introduced to this powerful potion in Harry’s first year. It
is not mentioned again until Book 6, when at the first Potions lesson
the students identify five powerful potions — all of which either figure
into the events of Book 6, or have featured in previous Harry Potter
books:
- Veritaserum, which in Book 4 Dumbledore administers to Barty Crouch Jr.
- Polyjuice Potion, which figures in Book 2 (when Ron, Harry
and Hermione brew it), Book 4 (so Barty Crouch can keep up his Mad-Eye
impersonation) and Book 6 (so Draco can disguise Crabbe and Goyle as
lookouts) - Amortentia, which Ron accidentally ingests in Book 6, resulting in his near-poisoning on the tainted mead in Slughorn’s office
- Felix Felicis, which Harry uses to get the memory from
Slughorn, and which helps save Ron, Hermione and Ginny’s lives during
the final battle of Book 6
And then there’s the fifth, the Draught of Living Death, the neglected stepchild of Harry Potter potions. It’s mentioned in Book One, and then fades away (save for a passing mention in the logic puzzle Hermione solves near the end of Book 1).
Not only does Book 6 give this potion its second mention, but Slughorn even has the class brew it. Yet we hear nothing more of it. Doesn’t that seem odd?
Of course, Rowling loves to hide things in plain sight, or slip by a description that may not be as innocuous as it first seems. One of the best examples of that is Book 4, at the World Cup:
"Winky looked as if she were being dragged by an invisible person".
Such a harmless, if odd, description… except of course that it’s
the literal truth. She was being dragged by an invisible person, in
this case Barty Crouch Jr. Could this phrase also be more literal than it seems?
Dumbledore’s eyes were closed; but for the strange angle of his arms
and legs, he might have been sleeping." [Chapter 28: Flight of the
Prince, p. 608, U.S. hardback edition]
In the context above, Dumbledore could indeed be sleeping, just as Winky really was being dragged by an invisible person.
To be clear, I’m not aware of Rowling making any further mention of the Draught of Living Death, and I’ve not noticed or gleaned any mention of Dumbledore keeping a flask of it, or any other potion, about his person. As far as I’m aware, there is no contextual evidence of Dumbledore carrying a flask of potion with him.
Yet Rowling does note the Draught of Living Death, and in a context with other potions that have figured into the action and plot of the Harry Potter novels. There is something else that Rowling does do, though. She details Dumbledore, along with Harry, seeking the aid of someone who is fairly good at faking his own death: Horace Slughorn, early in Book 6.
More Faked Death
Early in Book 6, we find Horace Slughorn attempting to fake his own death. Throughout the Harry Potter novels, events, spells and other happenings or details early in the text, generally factor in later.
Take Summoning Charms, for example. In the beginning of Goblet of
Fire, Molly Weasley uses Accio, the Summoning Charm, to take away all of Fred and George’s joke candies. Then Harry usees it to win the First task. And then, at the end of the book, it is the Summoning Charm that enables Harry to
get the Triwizard Cup portkey, and escape Voldemort.
Or, in Book Two, a Flying Ford Anglia factors heavily into the
book’s early chapters. Ron, Fred and George use the car to rescue Harry
from the Dursley’s. Ron and Harry fly the car to Hogwarts — only to
land in the Whomping Willow. After a solid thrashing from the tree, the
car ejects the boys and disappears into the woods and from the text.
The car is hardly mentioned again until nearly the end of the book —
when it saves Harry and Ron from the spiders in the Forbidden Forest.
Or, in Book Six, where the sixth-year students focus on learning
non-verbal spells. You know, the kind where you can just say the spell
in your mind, and not out loud, or even say something that isn’t
actually the spell you’re performing, in order to pull one over on the
enemy? (Kind of like Snape and the supposed Avada Kedavra, but I digress.)
And now, near the beginning of Book Six, we encounter an elaborate,
if impromptu, faked death: the morbid scene facing Dumbledore and Harry, when they call on Slughorn. Despite this, faked death seems not to crop up anywhere again in this book:
"Maybe there was a fight and — and they dragged him off, Professor?"
Harry suggested, trying not to imagine how badly wounded a man would
have to be to leave those stains spattered halfway up the walls."I don’t think so," said Dumbledore quietly, peering behind an overstuff armchair lying on its side.
"You mean he’s — ?"
"Still here somewhere? Yes."
And without warning, Dumbledore swooped, plunging the tip of his
wand into the seat of the overstuffed armchair, which yelled, "Ouch!"
[Chapter 4: Horace Slughorn, p. 63, U.S. hardback edition]
Slughorn fakes his death, hoping that Dumbledore will accept the
charade and leave. Note that it’s Slughorn. The Potions Master. The
professor who also instructs his students to whip up a batch of the
very potion that would be most handy for someone needing to seem dead.
Rowling has set up the Draught of Living Death, yet nothing happens with it. Could it just be a red herring? Or might Slughorn’s faked death, and the 5 potions brewing in Book 6′s first Potions class, contextualize the early-book mentions for Dumbledore’s attempt at faking death, near the end of HBP?
The potion is not enough though. There is something else that happens earlier in Book 6, that sets up the possibility for the other part of this theory: Apparition.
You Can’t Apparate at Hogwarts… Unless You’re the Headmaster
A Draught of Living Death is all well and good, but falling from the
top of the tallest tower of Hogwarts is still going to bloody well kill
you, especially when you’re wandless, and even if you’re Albus Dumbledore.
Unless you’re also, like Albus, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, that is.
Throughout the entire Harry Potter series, it’s been drummed into us
that you cannot Apparate within the castle or the grounds of Hogwarts.
Snape has said it. Hermione drums it into our heads every time she
berates Harry and Ron for not having read Hogwarts: A History.
Yet in Book 6, we learn that the rule against Apparition has an exception:
"As you may know, it is usually impossible to Apparate or
Disapparate within Hogwarts. The headmaster has lifted this enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to practice."
So let’s try it again, shall we? You cannot Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts… unless the Headmaster says otherwise. And things that factor into earlier parts of a Harry Potter book, tend to figure in at the end. The Sixth-Year students are learning Apparition, and we learn that the Headmaster can make it possible to Apparate at Hogwarts. So…
Back to where we were earlier, somewhere between the top of the tallest tower of Hogwarts, and the ground below.
Dumbledore is falling. He presumably doesn’t have his wand. But Apparition is wandless magic. He lifts the Apparition enchantment — from the passage above, we know that the lifting can be limited and precise — just enough for him to cut the distance, so that the fall will not kill him. Either just before or just after he Apparates, Dumbledore prepares the bottle of Draught of Living Death, swigging the potion before impact. He passes beyond unconsciousness. He hits. He is not dead, but sufficiently wounded to appear so.
The important thing here is that Dumbledore still must seem dead. Yes, if he could Apparate, it stands to reason that he could have Apparated out of harm’s way. Yet he didn’t. Snape’s cover must be protected, for one. But that’s not the only reason: with Dumbledore at least seeming to be dead, then Voldemort will believe that his greatest foe is no more. That will draw Voldemort into the open, and into the eventual, final confrontration with Harry. Dumbledore needs to seem dead, in order that Harry will become the hero he must be, in order for Voldemort to come out of hiding, and for the final battle to occur.
There is one last bit of evidence that could lead us to see Dumbledore as being alive. It’s an odd phrase at Dumbledore’s funeral.
The Odd Phrase at the Funeral
Remember earlier, about how Rowling likes to hide things in plain
sight, and with very subtle yet very precise phrasing? You can often tell, because the phrasing is just a touch awkward. Such as a house elf moving strangely, seeming as if she is being dragged by an invisible person. Or an apparently dead wizard who looks as if he could be sleeping. Or in Dumbledore’s funeral at the end of Book 6…
"Hagrid was walking slowly up the aisle between the chairs. He was crying quite silently, his face gleaming with tears, and in his arms,
wrapped in purple velvet spangled with golden stars, was what Harry
knew to be Dumbledore’s body."
Not, "was Dumbledore’s body." Rather, "what Harry knew to be Dumbledore’s body."
A bit of odd phrasing, isn’t it? Note that whatever Hagrid is
carrying, it is wrapped up. No one sees it, just the wrapping. Could be
Dumbledore. May well be. But it doesn’t have to be. And "what Harry
knew to be", and what actually is, could easily be two different
things. It may even be Dumbledore’s body — but not necessarily a corpse. Dumbledore could just as easily be in a deep, deep sleep, couldn’t he?
Mischief Managed
In short, Dumbledore could have faked his own death. Book 6 sets up this possibility by setting up a faked death in the beginning, yet there is no mention later. There is a description of the Avada Kedavra that does not correspond with the actual effects of the spell. Book 6 also focuses on non-verbal spells, so it is entirely possible that what Snape said at the top of the tower, and the spell he actually cast, are not the same thing.
Book 6 also mentions many powerful potions, all of which have played an important role in at least one of the books of the series — except for the Draught of Living Death. Even though it has been mentioned in two books, and even been brewed by the students in Book 6, it nevers seems to be used or have any apparent, major role in the plot. However, if Dumbledore needed a way to fake his own death, the Draught would provide him the perfect means.
Lastly, of course, is Apparition. Rowling’s clever writing has programmed us into forgetting about Apparition when it comes to Hogwarts, yet in Book 6 we learn that the Headmaster can change rules such as the protections preventing Apparition at Hogwarts. Dumbledore, after being "blasted" off the tallest tower, could have used Apparition to cut the distance he fell.
When you add these up, there is a strong possibility that Dumbledore faked his death by means of Snape casting a different spell, and Dumbledore using a combination of Apparition and the Draught of Living Death. The one would have preserved his life; the other, the perception that he was dead.
And that, is that. There you have it: a theory, based on evidence from the books, that Dumbledore could be alive. It may be right, it may be wrong, but it is thought-provoking. What do you think? Did he fake his death? Is he
really dead?
As for me, I think he is alive, and he’ll turn up in Book 7. In the meantime, I, like you, will be waiting to see what J.K. Rowling has in store for us — Apparition, a Draught of Living Death, or a Dumbledore dead or alive.
Again, this is just a wee theory, cooked up in my odd head because the actual text of Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince got me wondering. I could be wrong. But I could also be right.
Please add your own thoughts below.
Links
For more on Harry Potter, Dumbledore’s maybe-death, and heaps more, check out:
- Dumbledore Is Not Dead
- MuggleNet.com | The ULTIMATE Harry Potter Site
- The Leaky Cauldron: Harry Potter News: Updates on J.K. Rowling, book six (Half-Blood Prince, HBP), movie four (Goblet of Fire – GoF) and a lot more.
- The Harry Potter Lexicon
- HPANA – Harry Potter News and Rumors – Book 7, Movie 5 and More
Oh man–this is good. I’m going to need to think about it….I think that, in actual fact, Rowling isn’t nearly as tight a writer as you make her out to be; there have, in fact, been any number of stray comments and descriptions that haven’t developed into anything in her books. (Grindlewald, anyone?) But you make many good points, and put it together well. Hmmm…
Anthony,
what you wrote is indeed interesting.
If your idea is going to become true in Book 7, I guess that we’ll need to understand how Snake managed to apparently break the unbreakable vow and survive… also we need to explain how was he able to cheat Voldemort…
One idea that came to my mind was that he could have actually not made the unbreakable vow: it could have been Dumbledore faking to be Snake. That could be the reason for Dumbledore got his hand wounded: he was able to break the vow in some way at that price.
But I can also imagine a good reason why Dumbledore could have wanted to die at the end of Book 6. He could have acted so to re-give Harry the same kind of protection that Lily Evans had granted him to make him survive the deadly curse in Book 1. Then in Book 7 Harry could complete the destruction of Horcruxes and then kill Riddle by rebouncing onto him the Avada Kedavra as in book 1 (we don’t think that Harry could really kill Voldemort by normal means, do we?)
One thing is sure. No respectable muggle will believe that Dumbledore was so naive to believe that Snake was on his side while he wasn’t. The reason why Dumbledore blindly trusts Snake is still to be discovered as well.
One possibility could be that he was in love with Lily, and she was going to leave James for him (James didn’t look a really nice person in Book 5, did he?), but then she discovered to be pregnant. This would also explain why Snake hates Harry. But I think that JK will find a better explanation for that.
Does anyone know when is Book 7 expected to go to press?
Ah, please forgive my poor English, this is not my mother toungue…
Mario
good analysis
I’m looking forward to finding out the truth in the 7th book.
Russell – glad I could give you some food for thought! I still find Rowling’s writing to be pretty tight – she’s extremely good at leading you by the hand, without you even knowing it.
As for things like Grindelwald, ah, sure it’d be nice, but maybe not essential. Or maybe it’s being saved for 7? Hard to say, of course. I see those things, such as the 12 uses of dragon’s blood, as being more for driving the plot and building the universe. But we’ll see… if Book 6 was about Voldemort’s past, maybe Book 7 will show us more of Dumbledore’s?
Mario – I’m curious about Snape and the Unbreakable Vow too. There’s been heaps of speculation and theorizing, and it’s one I haven’t been able to think around yet.
Something I am really curious about comes down to how Harry will destroy Voldemort. I don’t hold with the automatic thinking that to destroy Voldemort means killing him, and therefore, “Avada Kedavra”. It’s too much of an assumption.
I agree with you about Snape being in love with Lily. I think that’s what broke him and made him so penitent for Dumbledore – and I agree too that this is also much of why Snape despises Harry. Not only is he the child that Snape could never have with Lily, Harry is also the reason she died. And Snape is holding, as usual, a really, really big grudge.
And by the way Mario, your English is fine! Thank you for commenting!
Leah – Same, and thank you. I thought you might enjoy it
just thought? you weren’t sure?
I want to know a few more things — did you figure out who RAB was yet? (I still haven’t read book 5 to check the thought we tossed around last time we chatted about it being Regalus.) Also, did you decide on your choice for what each horcruxe might be?
Leah,
about R.A.B., you may want to have a look at http://encyclopedia.tfd.com/R.A.B.
Regulus Black (or whatever is his name in the UK/US versions of the book) is considered the most likely choice for R.A.B., but other options are outlined.
About the horcruxes, you may find them in the same place:
http://encyclopedia.tfd.com/horcrux
Mario
I tend to agree that JK’s writing is very tight. She has pretty much laid out who everybody is linked to and their back story on her own, but that doesn’t mean she has to share it with her readers. There are so many things that she has planned out and we have only a vauge knowledge of what is going on behind the scenes.
Yup – Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius’ brother. I’m curious to find out how he managed to discover and steal the Horcrux before his death – and all without Voldemort knowing.
As for the other Horcrux… I don’t know. I’m wondering what Harry is going to find in Godric’s Hollow. What happened to the remains of the place where his parents were staying? Has it been built over? Have they been left as-is? If so, maybe there’s something in the rubble.
I’ve heard all the theories that it’s Harry and/or his scar. There’s a chance, but something about it just doesn’t hit my instincts right. I don’t know. Otherwise… I’m inclined to say something of Ravenclaw’s. I’ve heard other theories about this roping Luna, a Ravenclaw, more into the last book. Perhaps the “experiment” that killed her mom had something to do with the Horcrux?
I think that Dumbledore is not alive… I mean, has JK ever done something like that? He had to die sometime. This theory is very complete, but not quite convincing enough for me. And the hand injury, I think that he got it from that battle with Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic. I don’t get why people don’t understand the meaning of UNBREAKABLE Vow! It is extremely annoying. You can’t break an Unbreakable Vow! It is as simple as that. And if Voldemort would have found out that they broke it, which they can’t, they are the most important evil characters and they would be dead by the next book. And Bellatrix would NEVER lie to her master, a.k.a. Voldemort. So I think that the effects happened because it is hard to kill a wizard as powerful as he, so it took a while for him to die. Not enough, however, for him to apparate or admimister a sleeping draught. I don’t care how tall Hogwarts is, I just care that no one, not even a wizard would be able to do anything that fast.
Great theory, but I also think Dumbledore is dead. He has to be dead. If not, he have to help Harry, which is impossible in my opinion. Harry will be hero, but only when he will stand against voldemort himself, without anyone around.
There is also one more thing worth to mention: there are ghosts! We saw them before, and that’s why they can arrive to scene again. I think Dumbledore will show up himself with James and Lily in the most important scene.
Sam – thanks for the comment, good food for thought. Some things I’m wondering though…
- “had to die sometime” Yes and no. In general literature and mythology, a figure such as that may indeed die, but comes back. Gandalf from LOTR is a good example.
- “the hand injury, I think that he got it from that battle with Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic”. Erm, no; HBP is quite clear on that. He got the injury from the ring horcrux.
- “I don’t get why people don’t understand the meaning of UNBREAKABLE Vow!” That’s a bit much. It’s quite understandable – vows, oaths and suchlike are pretty literal things. Which means there’s pretty much always a loophole. The Unbreakable Vow is one of the weaknesses in my theory, or to put it another way, I didn’t address that at all.
Offhand, I might note that never during the binding is it literally said that Snape must kill Dumbledore – it’s implied, of course. If in fact Snape did not murder Dumbledore with the AK curse, somewhere in Book 7 we’ll find out the loophole that was in the Vow.
- “Bellatrix would NEVER lie to her master”. I agree. She didn’t. If there was a loophole to be found in the vow, Snape found it – and if he’s capable of fooling Voldy this far, he can certainly keep on it a whiile longer.
- “not even a wizard would be able to do anything that fast”. Falling from a great distance takes time. We don’t know how tall the tower is – but it may be just tall enough to have given Dumbledore the few seconds to do the things I describe in the theory.
Thanks Poland!
You make a good point – that’s another element of the mythology side of it. At some point, the hero has to feel like they no longer have protectors – and it leaves them with the choice to carry on their own.
Dumbledore *not* helping Harry though? I don’t know. I’m sure there’d be ways he can help, that don’t conflict with Harry getting things done.
As for the ghosts bit, I disagree. Nearly Headless Nick points out in OotP that wizards choose to become ghosts only if they want to hang onto some bit of life. It’s not something you just happen to come to later, it happens when you die.
We shall see, eh?
i think you’re right and that Dumbledore isn’t dead. Another thing to back that theory up is something that Dumbledore said way back in the first book: ‘I will have only left this school when none here remain loyal to me.’ Maybe when Dumbledore said those words, a sort of protection spell was cast over him that made him unable to die until no one was loyal to him.
Also, it mentions in the 6th book that Harry and Hermione were talking to Hagrid. Hagrid accidentally lets it slip that he has overheard Dumbldore arguing with Snape. Hagrid says, “I was comin’ outta the forest the other evenin’ an’ I overheard ‘em talking — well, arguin’. … I jus’ heard Snape sayin’ Dumbledore took too much fer granted an’ maybe he (Snape) didn’ wan’ ter do it anymore … Dumbledore told him flat out he’d agreed ter do it an’ that was all there was to it.” there is a possibililty that Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him at the end of the year and that was the thing that Snape didn’t want to do anymore. Maybe that’s why in the scene when he (supposedly) kills Dumbledore, he says avada kedavra but says a different spell inside his head.
Also, you have to remember that shortly after that scene, Harry is chasing Snape and attempting to jinx him, but Snape doesn’t fight back! Could that be because Snape is loyal to Dumbledore and NOT to Voldemort and therefore can NOT hurt Harry? I think so.
PS
Oh yeah, 1 more thing. I think I know who R.A.B. is. there is a possibility that it is Serious Black’s brother Regulus Black. First of all, he has at least 2 of the correct initials (I’m not sure about the third) and second of all, when the members of the Order of the Pheonix are cleaning out 12 Grimauld place, they run across a ‘locket that none of them could open’. That locket was probably the Horcrux that Harry and Dumbledore went to look for shortly before Dumbledore’s ‘death’. Since the locket was found in 12 Grimauld Place, signs point to a Black family member as being the one who destroyed the real one.
Also, someone mentions that Regulus Black was killed by Voldemort himself for highly disobeying the Dark Lord. Now what could Regulus have done that caused Voldemort HIMSELF to murder him? maybe it was because he destroyed one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes.
only one problem — Voldemort can’t know that one horcrux was destroyed, or else he’d just make a different one, and then there’d be even more problems.
I think we’ll just have to wait until the 7th book and see how this all shakes down. I’m excited
Didn’t JK actually say that the thing about Dumbledore asking Snape to kill him was wrong? I’m trying to remember where I heard that – if anyone knows, or knows I’m wrong, please post.
Maya – that bit about Snape not fighting Harry was on my mind a lot too. He easily could have incapacitated Harry and taken him to Voldemort – but he didn’t. My opinion is that Snape is a jackass… but not a villain.
Was Regulus killed by Voldemort? I thought he wasn’t. Back to Book 5…
i think somone made mention of this already but in book 2 harry says to young voldemort, “dumbledore will always be around as long as those who remain are still loyal to him”. jk herself said that there is mention of something with great importance in book two, of course she could have been reffering to the diary as a horcrux. which brings me to my next comment: after harry says those words in comes fawkes, talk about pets looking like their owners. and when fawkes showed up in the chamber of secrets he seemed to know exactly what to do, where to go, and what to bring… thats one smart bird, or perhaps an animagus in disguise. and dumbledore is quite fond of them(he has one for a pet)so if you enjoy simbolism, and believe dumbledore is alive, you might like to ponder the thought that dumbledore can change into a phoenix(the fire bird that dies and is reborn from the ashes), ofcourse the simbolism only works if he comes back. wadda ya think?
There is a lot of symbolism with the phoenix, especially as Dumbledore’s funeral – right down to flames and, if I remember right, smoke or light or something phoenix-shaped that rose up from Dumbledore’s tomb and flew off (sorry, don’t have the text at-hand).
I don’t think Dumbledore’s an Animagus though. For one, we could’ve already known – Hermione has been over the Animagus records (in Book 3); technically JK just could have left it out, but narratively it would follow that Hermione would have mentioned that Dumbledore was an Animagus. He could of course be unregistered, but that just doesn’t strike me as likely.
I soo happy I’m not the only person that believes this. I went onto a forum for Harry Potter and stated what I thought, which was the close to the same as you. But I was quickly shot down by other people.
Dumbledore is too powerful to die like that. “Death is the next great adventure.” why would someone who quotes something like that cower?
He definitely wouldn’t cower. I think JK’s using some well-crafted writing to play on *the reader’s* fears of death.
Don’t forget, Dumbledore told Draco that the Order could make Voldemort *think* that he and his mother were dead, therefore bringing into the open the possibility of faked deaths.
Also, in terms of the unbreakable vow…I don’t remember anything about a time limit on it. The vow was essentially that Snape would do what Draco promised Voldemort he would do (which was kill Dumbledore). If Dumbledore’s not dead yet, then Draco theoretically could still kill him, and Snape could still do this job for Draco. Therefore, he hasn’t tried to break the unbreakable vow, at least not yet. I think the way out of it for Snape is for Voldemort to be killed first. This would relieve Draco of his promise to kill Dumbledore for Voldemort and therefore Snape won’t have to do this for Draco.
That’s a good point and a definite potential loophole. The vow bit is the part that has had me flummoxed, but you may be on to something.
The “Draught of Living Death”is described in the Half-Blood Prince p.190. Rowling writes: “Harry now squinted at the next line of instructions. According to the book, he had to stir counterclockwise until the potion turned clear as water.” Harry only succeeds in making his potion turn “palest pink.” However, when done perfectly, it should be clear. This may be very important because it may be what is in the in the basin in Chapter 26, described as “emerald liquid emitting that phosphorescent glow.” (p.567). As Dumbledore trys some magic over it with his wand on p.568, “Nothing happened, except perhaps that the potion glowed a little brighter.” This implies that the liquid may not be green, but a spell has been placed on it that makes it glow. In fact, earlier in the chapter Rowling describes the water in the lake as “black water”(p.565) and she makes the comment that Harry looked into the “blue eyes that had turned green in the reflected light of the basin.” What this implies is that the potion in the basin may just look green, due to the reflection. Rowling writes on p.569 that Dumbledore says: “this potion must act in a way that will prevent me taking the Horcrux. It might paralyze me, cause me to forget what I am here for, create so much pain I am distracted, or render me incapable in some other way.” We know what happens to him after drinking it. On p. 571 Rowling writes: “Dumbledore did not answer. His face was twitching as though he was deeply asleep, but dreaming a horrible dream.”
Yes, there is possibly evidence of Dumbledore taking the Draught of Living Death right in front of our eyes. And if he is already “dead” then perhaps he can’t be killed on the tower, even if Snape did really use the Avada Kedavra curse. Dumbledore says just that on p. 591: “He can’t kill you if you are already dead.”
Oh, and also, if Snape really uses the Avada Kedavra curse then he has fulfilled the unbreakable vow. However, since Snape can read Dumbledore’s thoughts, he may even have thought that he was being ordered to really kill Dumbledore. Perhaps only Dumbledore knows he can’t die from the curse. But I agree with you, I am not convinced he is dead. There are too many vague lines that imply otherwise.
To follow up..
The potion could have also contained some “befuddlement” ingredients. Dumbledore also drinks a good deal of it. It seems to affect him the most strongly at first. Then, after Harry uses the “rennernate” spell he perks up a bit, but fades again. But being the great wizard that he is, he is able to somehow combat confusion effects and though he is weak, he is able to think clearly after that. He also seems to do some sort of ‘rising from the ashes’ (as a phoenix does) when he gathers enough strengh to combat the inferi. There is “fire dancing in his eyes.” The words Rowling uses throughout are references that refer to sleep (even the dark mark acts like a stimulant). This is also why Dumbledore wants Harry to find Snape – he needs the antidote. What we can’t know is if the Draught of Living Death techinically means he is dead, but living, rather than just in a very deep sleep. But the name implies that. Perhaps that is why his body doesn’t respond in the normal way to the Avada Kedavra curse, because it can’t kill him. (What did it do to Harry when it hit him? We don’t have an eyewitness account of that…but it didn’t kill him.) Regardless, I think Dumbledore is under the spell of the Draught of Living Death and possibly still needs the antidote. We heard the song of Fawkes and know he is there. Fawkes could have ‘healed’ Dumbledore, but he may not be able to wake him. But it is also possible that Snape knows that Dumbledore needs the antidote. But as long as he is still “sleeping” he appears dead and that serves the purpose of fooling Voldamort.
Just a couple more thoughts…
I agree on the unbreakable vow that all Snape may need to do to fulfill it is to “try” to kill Voldamort…which he does.
The beautiful irony of this is that Voldamort actually foils himself, because he is the reason that Dumbledore has taken the potion and yet this draught is also the reason that Snape is unable to kill Dumbledore with the Avada Kedavra curse. What we have to assume with this theory is that Dumbledore has figured out that he has been given the Draught of Living Death before he reaches the tower, but he should know all the effects of these potions and after he has taken it, he should be able to guess at what is in it – so this is not an impossibility. Rowling’s emphasis on Snapes revulsion would indicate that he is angry and disgusted with what Dumbledore has asked him to do (not unlike Harry in the Cave). But Snape is being asked to perform an “unforgivable” curse. However, if it fails to “kill” then it is not completed (like Harry’s attempt at an unforgivable curse) and this may not be damning. I am inclined to think that Snape knows that Dumbledore needs the antidote and that his curse will not kill Dumbledore, but that it disgusts him to perform it nonetheless. Also, Voldamort certainly knows the antidote because he would have used it to revive the person who is trying to get the locket, so that he could question them.
What this also means is that RAB had to know a way around it, which leads to a whole new area of speculation (if its the same potion). How did he get away? Was someone else with him? RAB may have been Voldamort’s watchdog for the Cave and knew how to switch the lockets without drinking the potion. This seems like the only way that RAB could have escaped with Voldamort still being unaware that he has switched the lockets…unless the basin refills itself magically (like Dumbledore’s cup empties itself magically). One other possiblity is that RAB also drank the potion, and that Kreacher helped RAB get out and then hid the locket in the Black house. This occurred about the time Voldamort attacked Harry. Perhaps RAB realized that Voldamort was possibly dead and it gave him the chance to carry out his plan to switch the lockets without him knowing. We are not really told how RAB/Regulus died…only was “killed by Voldamort or on Voldamort’s orders,” according to Sirius. But RAB must be dead now, or Kreacher would not have to follow Harry’s orders – unless Living Death is technically death according to rules of the magical world. Kreacher is likely the key to the story and may even know that the locket is a Horcrux.
Food for thought…
Chloe, wow, thank you for some in-depth and thought-provoking comments. You’ve definitely got some neurons working in my brain.
I don’t think Dumbledore took the Draught in the cave. From what we’ve seen in the Potterverse so far, potions begin to work pretty much as soon as they’re ingested. If the same holds true for the Draught of Living Death, I don’t think D would’ve given himself something that could begin to incapacitate him and potentially leave Harry vulnerable.
You’ve got some great stuff in here, but in particular I want to jump to your last comment and RAB. Just thought of something here – someone could’ve been with RAB, it’s true. Perhaps one of the Potters, even?
I’m doubting that Kreacher knows the locket is a Horcrux. If he does, then it only must’ve been something he figured out; I don’t think Voldy would’ve told anyone the true nature of such wee artifacts, and I can’t imagine RAB letting it slip.
Sigh. C’mon JK – we have a bare place on our bookshelves for once 7 gets here…
yeah, I agree that its unlikely that Kreacher knows, but he still could have helped RAB switch the lockets – just out of loyalty to RAB and the Blacks…and he’s little and powerfully magical…so he and RAB could have fit in the boat. I have a feeling we are going to see and hear more about Kreacher in Book 7.
What do suppose is in the potion in the basin then? The effects are really pretty immediate…It could be a combination potion with the Draught of Living Death being just part of it. I have been combing the books for a green potion…none to be found. That’s why I wondered about the reflection. Dumbledore does get frenzied pretty immediately then terribly sleepy. I guess the reason I think this so much is because it would be the perfect thing to disable someone who was trying to get the locket. At the very most they might get confused and thirsty and then be killed by the inferi. But Voldamort wouldn’t want to KILL the person…he wants to incapacitate them so he question them…so the potion has to be diluted or something because they would have to drink so much of it. Voldamort would then have to come and use the antidote before the person would be revived. Problem is that we just don’t know enough about the Draught of Living Death’s effects because there is no clear case of anyone taking it in the books yet. But I think its very prominently positioned in the books for a reason…and all those sleepy references JK uses…it sure seems like Dumbledore has taken something like that at least. I am also not sure that potion effects are hard and fast rules all the time. We know that they are always being made better or worse and that gifted potion makers like Snape (and Lily) are capable of doing creative things with ingredients.
Also, I think only Dumbledore could have revived himself (well, Harry’s ‘rennervate’ spell might have helped too). That’s where the rising from the ashes might be important. It almost seems like he has some of the properties of a phoenix about him. (Maybe even like a cat’s nine lives? – he rises from a living death – or he rises from the tomb.) Just a thought…
Ok, the theory may be a bit wild, but I am really sure that Snape is on the Order’s side and I also feel pretty sure that Dumbledore isn’t really dead…and its got to be the Draught of Living Death if he isn’t dead. The only proof we have of his being dead is his Painting on the wall…which he could have planted there. In it in Book 6, he is just sleeping I believe…he hasn’t talked or moved yet…could still be faking his death.
Thanks for the Harry Potter 7 roundup! (The links are great.
I looked back into book 2 and found this quote: “Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes.” Also at the end of book 2: “Then, as the music reached such a pitch that Harry felt it vibrating inside his own ribs, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar. A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling.” Its interesting that we don’t actually see Dumbledore at the time the ring of fire erupts in the cave in book 6 – but just before that “Dumbledore’s breathing was fading.” This might be the moment of ‘death’ – of the ‘Living Death’ anyway. Dumbledore also makes an interesting comment when he is talking to Draco just before he is “killed”. He says: “Well, I certainly did have a drink…and I came back…after a fashion.” Is he operating somehow on borrowed time and even though he has managed to return, does he know that this borrowed time is about to run out?
Fawkes has appeared instantaneously in desprate circumstances twice (as I can remember): once to save Harry in the end of book 2, and once in the end of book 5 – to swallow the curse that Voldamort has shot at Dumbledore. We know Fawkes can carry heavy objects, so it is completely possible that he could have appeared and carried Dumbledore down to from the tower and/or could have healed his wounds. But the antidote would still be what is needed to wake him.
Last, remember Dumbledore’s comment in book 1: “to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” Death may have more than one form in the magical world.
Dumbledore didn’t need to apparate after he fell from the tower…he did what wandless Neville did when he fell…he bounced. Why do you think Rowling put that story of Neville’s in?
Lorain – interesting catch, I hadn’t thought of that one. Possible, though I don’t even want to try to wrap my brain around the magical physics
Thing is though, D. did have injuries, and descriptions that sounded like broken arms and legs. That to me also sounded like what could make the draught more likely – sustaining injury would be more realistic, yet he would not be able to feel the pain of it.
Chloe – I’ve wondered too about Fawkes and the fall. There’s plenty of evidence that Fawkes comes out to help, and that could have some role here.
I’m not sure about the death having different forms in the magical world, though. Things such as ghosts and the veil (from the Dept. of Mysteries in OotP) hint at what death is, but I can’t recall anything suggesting that death in the magical world is different from death to muggles.
At http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_potter_7,
JK states that Dumbledore is definately dead.
well this is certainly an interesting concept but i can safely say now i have sped read the book in under 6 hours that “how did the “corpse” come to have the Eldar wand with it” he left harry a mission which he left sufficient evidence to get the job done…but in albus’s own special way. with every possibility writhed out to every possible outcome. but no fully explained to the boy wizard.
all i can say not ruining the hallows for all who havent read is that “severus Snape” is well…il let you find out
C.Sloper
Head Auora
Warlock OF The Wizengamot
Department For The Regulation And Control Of Magical Creatures.
Yep, it was fun to right – but having just finished HP7 too, well, I guess I can’t yet say much else either. But like I said, it was a fun thing to write
Dumbledore wouldn’t have needed to Apparate- he could have used arresto momentum the same spell he used to save Harry when he fell off his broom during Quidditch after his encounter with a dementor (HP3). This would slow his descent enough that he would have time to drink the potion, and not fall to his death.
Actually, after finishing the last book, I was a little frustrated not to really know a little more about Dumbledore’s fate. It was interesting that he didn’t appear in the woods with the others when Harry used the stone…but rather in the ‘limbo-head trip’. I hope Rowling gives us a little more about Dumbledore at some point. (Also, how DID he get that scar that is a perfect map of the London Underground???)
There’s more than enough about Dumbledore to merit a book of his own – and one far better than Rita’s, I’m sure. I was pretty happy with how she wrapped up his character. Much of what I’ve liked about the series is the gradual untangling of Dumbledore the man, from Dumbledore the perfect legend. He is flawed, he made great mistakes too, but he tried to make up for them.