logisticslad | Harry Potter Spoilers

I've just finished and quite enjoyed Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and have some spoiling thoughts...

1) Dumbledore is not dead. He and Snape are masters of mind magic and could very well have communicated a plan prior to cursing him. Also his body is blasted out of sight so we don't actually see him die. Perhaps Snape mentally cast another spell while speaking the death curse incantation. Finally, Dumbledore's familiar is a Phoenix, so it would make good story sense for him to return from 'the dead.' It dose make good story sense for Harry to think him dead since Harry has been losing father figures left and right throughout the series and needs to come into his own as a hero.

2) If this is so, then Snape is still acting on Dumbledore's orders. He is now in the perfect position to be a deep cover double agent. Also, why didn't he take away his old potions book once he knew Harry had it (he must have known from either Harry's success in Potions or from his attack on Draco). Also, he kept stopping Harry from using Unforgivable Curses on him. I think he was in love with Harry's mother, which is why Dumbledore trusts him.

3) I think RAB is Regulus Black, Sirius' apparently deceased brother. Also, didn't they find a special locket in the Black family house last book? Maybe that was the missing Horcrux. Hmmm, that scene with Mundungus stealing things from the Black family house may be there to foreshadow a revelation that he had stolen that locket, too...

4) I think that Harry is the last Horcrux. We know that they can be living thinks like the Snake, and Voldemort was prepared to make one when he killed the Potters. Dumbledore also states that Harry's blood is more valuable than his own and Harry is curiously bonded to Voldemort...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

your thoughts are similar to many other people's thoughts. I had some long conversations about it with a bunch of people. Most think RAB is Sirius brother, and a lot think that Harry is the horcrux. There seems to be more disagreement about Snape and Dumbledore's death.

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who can read the patterns inherent in good storytelling! What do you think about these possibilities?

i think there might be something to the idea that Harry is the horcrux, but it is going to really piss me off if he has to die to kill off the evil of Voldemort. I think Dumbledore is really dead. I think that is going to be necessary for Harry to truly fight the evil himself. I don't think that means Snape is evil- Dumbledore held Harry frozen to watch the event so I think Dumbledore and Snape had it planned. I'm confused why Dumbledore would have wanted to continue Harry's belief that Snape is evil, though, so that is where I get stuck. It would be too easy for Snape to really be a bad guy after all these books of not being sure where his loyalties lie.

I've thought the possible same about Dumbledore and Snape, but I don't want to think it because I one thing I really like and admire in the series is that there is real cost, real pain and death matters. I always feel cheated when characters who die (and for whom we grieve) come back. While it fulfills us on the fantasy-wish level, it dishonors the reality of death.

I'm just hoping that Rowling didn't do that by having Dumbledore come back.

OTOH, I *still* have my doubts/confusion about Snape! (And that's fine and good--he can be either way so long as death remains real and painful and sacrifice actally *means* something!)

I agree that return from death should not be employed lightly. It's been way overused in comics, in soap operas, in D&D, and elsewhere. On the otherhand, if his death has been faked in order to serve the purposes of the plot, then I can better accept that. So why are we told that Dumbledore's new portrait in the Headmaster's office is sleeping? Is that because it takes some time for the magic to work, because there hadn't been a funeral yet, or because he isn't actually dead?

I think that Snape is one of the most interesting characters in the series and would love to hear more about his motives. I have been being annoyed at Harry's obsessive hatred of Snape in the last few books, as being unjustified.

Are the portraits only of dead headmasters, or retired headmasters? If the former, then he's dead as Queen Anne. If the latter, well, he might not be dead yet, but he won't be coming back to Hogwarts.

Don't forget that Harry is an adolescent. And most adolescents feel things very passionately. Snape has never been pleasant to Harry, and goes out of his way to taunt him and belittle him. My experience with adolescents is that they would really hate someone like that intensely. It wouldn't need to be justified or explained, but that hatred would be deeply passionate.

I agree with nOire. It has been pointed out that Gandalf comes back from the dead in LOTR and of course Aslan in the Narnia stories (yeah, yeah, he's a Christ-figure, I got it). Even though the Potterverse is one of magic, there are some things that can't be magically fixed, and death is one of them. I will be supremely disapointed if Dumbledore comes back, even though I really like the character. Besides, now there is only one wizard whom Voldemort fears: Harry. And this gives him the chance to kick some major butt in the last book.

As for Snape, I hope he remains evil. If he is a deeply planted double agent, I just may SPEW.

I agree that Dumbledore had to leave the picture in order for Harry to mature into the Hero that he needs to be. it makes excellent story sense. I see enough clues that may indicate that he has faked his own death (including him telling Draco that they could fake Draco's death to protect him, right before it happened), that I would not be surprised if this is revealed in the next book. I would hope that it would happen toward the end so as not to interfere with Harry's maturation process though.

God's wounds, I hope not. I've really enjoyed the "realism" of this magical universe, and I will be somewhat disappointed if she brings Dumbledore back. But you are probably right. *sigh*

1. I'm trying to be agnostic on the Dumbledore question. There's part of me that wants to say "Dumbledore is dead," but old Albus is going to have a trick up his sleeve. Even if he is dead, we haven't seen the last of him. I'll bet he left Harry something important in his will.

2. Snape. I don't think Snape loved Lilly Evans. She was muggle-born and better at Potions than he. She was nice to him (and everyone, really), but I don't think that means he loved her.

3. RAB. Rowling should have given us several RABs to choose from.

4. I don't think Harry is the last horcrux. Voldemort was trying to make the last horcrux when the Killing Curse bounced off Harry. If Harry were a horcrux, why does Voldemort work so hard at trying to kill him? If Harry were a horcrux, Voldemort ought to be having his minions keep Harry from dangerous activities like Quidditch. Yes, Harry is bonded to Voldemort, and that will probably give him additional skills at finding Voldemort's horcruxes (we still don't know how Harry is going to do that).

But back to Snape. Half-Blood Prince left me with the question "why was Snape on the stair when Sibyll Trelawney gave her prophecy? He couldn't have possibly anticipated it.

Harry Potter Spoilers

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Harry and the Horcruxes?