Eko Suprapto Wibowo

But, my prediction is … He is Dead. We just have to accept it. It must be really hurt for Harry, but that way, Harry can be more brave then he is today !!!
Long live … Griffyndor !!!

Dumbledore Is Not Dead!
Well… maybe not. At least, I don’t think he is.
Hi! My name is Dave Haber, and I’ve written everything on this site,
except for the pages in the "Sluggish Memory" section, where our guest
articles are featured. I’m also the Managing Editor of Wizard News. I
must admit, J.K. completely got me. I fell for it all, hook, line and
sinker. I waited on line at midnight on July 16 to be among the first
to get a copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, like millions
of others around the world, and I had it completely read by the
afternoon of the next day. Caught up in the roller coaster of J.K.’s
marvelous and fantastic mysteries, Snape’s betrayal and the death of
Dumbledore caught me completely by surprise. Dumbledore was dead, and
on top of that, Snape had done it.
My brand-new copy of Half-Blood Prince became as tear-stained as one
of Hagrid’s notes, and I remained upset about it all the rest of the
day. But after sleeping on it, the next day I realized that there were
important clues about Snape and Dumbledore that I had missed. And the
more I looked back, the more clues I found, realizing that they had
been there all along. And all of the clues point to two possibilities,
that Dumbledore’s not really dead, or at the very least, that Snape’s
not really a Death Eater, and he killed Dumbledore because Dumbledore
ordered him to, as part of a grand plan.
I’ve created this web site for Harry Potter fans who were just as
upset as I was upon first reading the new book, to help them
understand and feel better about the mysterious "death" of Dumbledore.
Think of this site as Half-Blood Prince therapy. While of course only
J.K. knows for sure, at least we can comfort ourselves with the
possiblity that there’s more going on at the end of Half-Blood Prince
than meets the eye.
I don’t think finding these clues is wishful thinking. We know J.K.
intentionally hides many clues in her books, daring her readers to be
what our friends at Wizarding World Press call "HP Sleuths",
uncovering the details of the mystery she so masterfully weaves into
the fabric of the Harry Potter books.
If you need more convincing that J.K. hides clues in her books, using
actual quotes from the book, as we will be doing throughout this
website, take a look at this non-Dumbledore-death-related example:
(page numbers from US edition/UK edition)
This left Harry, Ron and Hermione to share a table with Ernie. They
chose one nearest a gold-colored cauldron that was emitting one of the
most seductive scents Harry had ever inhaled: Somehow it reminded him
simultaneously of treacle tart, the woody smell of a broomstick
handle, and something flowery he thought he might have smelled at the
Burrow. (HBP pg 183/174)
"You recognized it, I suppose, by its distinctive mother-of-pearl
sheen?" "And the steam rising in characteristic spirals," said
Hermione enthusiastically, "and it’s supposed to smell differently to
each of us, according to what attracts us.." (HBP pg 185/176)
"Hang on," a voice said to Harry’s left ear and he caught a sudden
waft of that flowery smell he had picked up in Slughorn’s dungeon. He
looked around and saw that Ginny had joined them. (HBP pg 192/182)
There, in the span of approximately nine pages, J.K. has laid out
clues that Harry likes Ginny, and we know now that in the course of
the book he does come to that conclusion.
On this site we’ll discuss, and with your help, debate the various
clues all throughout Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that will
help us get through the tragedy at the end of the book.
And while we do this, we will be declaring our love and admiration for
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and stand together with Harry
in declaring that we’re "Dumbledore’s man" (or woman), never giving up
on him, and never forgetting what he means to Harry, Hogwarts and us.
As Harry so poignantly reminded us upon Scrimgeour’s insistance that
Dumbledore was dead:
"Such loyalty is admirable, or course," said Scrimgeour, who seemed to
be restraining his irritation with difficulty, "but Dumbledore is
gone, Harry. He’s gone." "He will only be gone from the school when
none here are loyal to him," said Harry, smiling in spite of himself.
(HBP pg 648/604)
- Dave Haber, July 19, 2005
P.S.: I’ve gotten so many messages since that the Owl-Post Service has
stopped allowing deliveries to me, saying I tired out all their owls!
Thank you, everyone, who offered suggestions for more clues, and for
your outpouring of support, it is greatly appreciated!<!–
D(["mb","Think of this site as Half-Blood Prince therapy. While of course only
J.K. knows for sure, at least we can comfort ourselves with the
possiblity that there\'s more going on at the end of Half-Blood Prince
than meets the eye.
I don\'t think finding these clues is wishful thinking. We know J.K.
intentionally hides many clues in her books, daring her readers to be
what our friends at Wizarding World Press call "HP Sleuths",
uncovering the details of the mystery she so masterfully weaves into
the fabric of the Harry Potter books.
If you need more convincing that J.K. hides clues in her books, using
actual quotes from the book, as we will be doing throughout this
website, take a look at this non-Dumbledore-death-related example:
(page numbers from US edition/UK edition)
This left Harry, Ron and Hermione to share a table with Ernie. They
chose one nearest a gold-colored cauldron that was emitting one of the
most seductive scents Harry had ever inhaled: Somehow it reminded him
simultaneously of treacle tart, the woody smell of a broomstick
handle, and something flowery he thought he might have smelled at the
Burrow. (HBP pg 183/174)
"You recognized it, I suppose, by its distinctive mother-of-pearl
sheen?" "And the steam rising in characteristic spirals," said
Hermione enthusiastically, "and it\'s supposed to smell differently to
each of us, according to what attracts us.." (HBP pg 185/176)
"Hang on," a voice said to Harry\'s left ear and he caught a sudden
waft of that flowery smell he had picked up in Slughorn\'s dungeon. He
looked around and saw that Ginny had joined them. (HBP pg 192/182)
There, in the span of approximately nine pages, J.K. has laid out
clues that Harry likes Ginny, and we know now that in the course of
the book he does come to that conclusion.
On this site we\'ll discuss, and with your help, debate the various
",1]
);

//–><!–
D(["mb","clues all throughout Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that will
help us get through the tragedy at the end of the book.
And while we do this, we will be declaring our love and admiration for
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and stand together with Harry
in declaring that we\'re "Dumbledore\'s man" (or woman), never giving up
on him, and never forgetting what he means to Harry, Hogwarts and us.
As Harry so poignantly reminded us upon Scrimgeour\'s insistance that
Dumbledore was dead:
"Such loyalty is admirable, or course," said Scrimgeour, who seemed to
be restraining his irritation with difficulty, "but Dumbledore is
gone, Harry. He\'s gone." "He will only be gone from the school when
none here are loyal to him," said Harry, smiling in spite of himself.
(HBP pg 648/604)
- Dave Haber, July 19, 2005
P.S.: I\'ve gotten so many messages since that the Owl-Post Service has
stopped allowing deliveries to me, saying I tired out all their owls!
Thank you, everyone, who offered suggestions for more clues, and for
your outpouring of support, it is greatly appreciated!

---

//–>

—

Dumbledore Clues
These are some of the clues contained in the pages of Harry Pottter
and the Half-Blood Prince which support the possibility that
Dumbledore is not really dead, and that everything that happened that
night was planned well in advance by Dumbledore himself.
Each one of these clues is perhaps, by itself not completely
convincing, but if you put them all together…
(Page numbers shown are for US Edition/UK Edition.)
1. Dumbledore’s Big Chill
Harry and Dumbledore are up on the top of the tower underneath the
Dark Mark. Harry is wearing his invisibility cloak, Dumbledore ordered
him to put it on before they mounted their brooms to ride to the top
of the tower. Harry hears footsteps and looks around, but Dumbledore
orders him with a gesture to retreat. Harry draws his wand and backs
away:
The door burst open and somebody erupted through it and shouted,
"Expelliarmus!" Harry’s body became instantly rigid and immobile, and
he felt himself fall back against the tower wall, propped like an
unsteady statue, unable to move or speak.(HBP pg 584/545)
It’s interesting to note that things are happening so fast, even Harry
is momentarily confused:
He could not understand how it happened — Expelliarmus was not a
Freezing Charm — Then, by the light of the Mark, he saw Dumbledore’s
wand flying in an arc over the edge of the ramparts and understood…
Dumbledore had wordlessly immobilzed Harry, and the second he had
taken to perform this spell had cost him the chance of defending
himself. (HBP pg 584/545)
Why did Dumbledore freeze Harry? Harry was already invisible to their
attackers and in no danger.
The only explanation could be that Dumbledore already knew, had
already planned, that he would die this night (or appear to die), and
not only did he not want Harry to become involved and possibly be
injured himself, he needed Harry to be a witness, to be able to tell
everyone else what happened. Dumbledore might have also promised Snape
that he would make sure that Harry would not be able to interfere,
knowing how Harry feels about Snape and what Snape was about to have
to do. The supposition that it was Dumbledore’s plan to do this all
along is supported by the fact that he acted so quickly to do it,
almost without thinking, when Draco burst in on the scene. Harry’s own
assumption that the Freezing Charm was done by Dumbledore is supported
by the fact the curse lifted when Dumbledore left the tower minutes
later.<!–
D(["mb","orders him with a gesture to retreat. Harry draws his wand and backs
away:
The door burst open and somebody erupted through it and shouted,
"Expelliarmus!" Harry\'s body became instantly rigid and immobile, and
he felt himself fall back against the tower wall, propped like an
unsteady statue, unable to move or speak.(HBP pg 584/545)
It\'s interesting to note that things are happening so fast, even Harry
is momentarily confused:
He could not understand how it happened -- Expelliarmus was not a
Freezing Charm -- Then, by the light of the Mark, he saw Dumbledore\'s
wand flying in an arc over the edge of the ramparts and understood...
Dumbledore had wordlessly immobilzed Harry, and the second he had
taken to perform this spell had cost him the chance of defending
himself. (HBP pg 584/545)
Why did Dumbledore freeze Harry? Harry was already invisible to their
attackers and in no danger.
The only explanation could be that Dumbledore already knew, had
already planned, that he would die this night (or appear to die), and
not only did he not want Harry to become involved and possibly be
injured himself, he needed Harry to be a witness, to be able to tell
everyone else what happened. Dumbledore might have also promised Snape
that he would make sure that Harry would not be able to interfere,
knowing how Harry feels about Snape and what Snape was about to have
to do. The supposition that it was Dumbledore\'s plan to do this all
along is supported by the fact that he acted so quickly to do it,
almost without thinking, when Draco burst in on the scene. Harry\'s own
assumption that the Freezing Charm was done by Dumbledore is supported
by the fact the curse lifted when Dumbledore left the tower minutes
later.

2. Let\'s All Play Dead Together Clue Updated 8/1/05
While Dumbledore is trying to talk Draco out of killing him,
Dumbledore proposes an interesting way out for Draco:
",1]
);

//–>

2. Let’s All Play Dead Together Clue Updated 8/1/05
While Dumbledore is trying to talk Draco out of killing him,
Dumbledore proposes an interesting way out for Draco:
"I can help you, Draco." "No, you can’t," said Malfoy, his wand
shaking very badly indeed. "Nobody can. He told me to do it or he’d
kill me. I’ve got no choice." "He cannot kill you if you are already
dead. Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more
completely than you can possibly imagine." (HBP pg 591/552)
Dumbledore then offers to expand his mother in the protection, and
even Lucius when he gets out of Azkaban. This is very interesting,
isn’t it? Draco doesn’t take him up on it, but Dumbledore is saying he
has ways that could make it appear that Draco died when he really
hadn’t. Doesn’t that sound exactly like what we suspect that
Dumbledore has planned for himself?<!–
D(["mb",""I can help you, Draco." "No, you can\'t," said Malfoy, his wand
shaking very badly indeed. "Nobody can. He told me to do it or he\'d
kill me. I\'ve got no choice." "He cannot kill you if you are already
dead. Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more
completely than you can possibly imagine." (HBP pg 591/552)
Dumbledore then offers to expand his mother in the protection, and
even Lucius when he gets out of Azkaban. This is very interesting,
isn\'t it? Draco doesn\'t take him up on it, but Dumbledore is saying he
has ways that could make it appear that Draco died when he really
hadn\'t. Doesn\'t that sound exactly like what we suspect that
Dumbledore has planned for himself?

IMPORTANT REVELATION!
UK Edition Missing Important Text!
The UK edition of Half-Blood Prince is missing some text that is
included in the American edition, and it\'s text that is very important
to this clue!
This is the text as it appears in the UK edition:
"He told me to do it or he\'ll kill me. I\'ve got not choice." "Come
over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely
than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the
Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Your father is safe
at the moment in Azkaban...when the time comes we can protect him
too...come over to the right side, Draco...you are not a killer..."
Malfoy stared at Dumbledore. (HBP UK Edition pg 552)
But this is the same passage from the American edition (text missing
from the UK edition highlighted):
"He told me to do it or he\'ll kill me. I\'ve got no choice." "He cannot
kill you if you are already dead. Come over to the right side Draco,
and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine.
What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight
to hide her likewise. Nobody would be surprised that you had died in
",1]
);

//–>

IMPORTANT REVELATION!
UK Edition Missing Important Text!
The UK edition of Half-Blood Prince is missing some text that is
included in the American edition, and it’s text that is very important
to this clue!
This is the text as it appears in the UK edition:
"He told me to do it or he’ll kill me. I’ve got not choice." "Come
over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely
than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the
Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Your father is safe
at the moment in Azkaban…when the time comes we can protect him
too…come over to the right side, Draco…you are not a killer…"
Malfoy stared at Dumbledore. (HBP UK Edition pg 552)
But this is the same passage from the American edition (text missing
from the UK edition highlighted):
"He told me to do it or he’ll kill me. I’ve got no choice." "He cannot
kill you if you are already dead. Come over to the right side Draco,
and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine.
What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight
to hide her likewise. Nobody would be surprised that you had died in
your attempt to kill me — forgive me, but Lord Voldemort probably
expects it. Nor would the Death Eaters be surprised that we had
captured and killed your mother — it is what they would do
themselves, after all. Your father is safe at the moment in
Azkaban…When the time comes we can protect him too. Come over to the
right side, Draco…you are not a killer…" Malfoy stared at
Dumbledore. (HBP US Edition pg 591)
Both of the ommissions are directly related, they are about having
Draco appeared to have died, so it would seem the ommisions are
intentional. Did J.K. include those lines originally, and then decide
she had gone too far and made the clue too transparent and obvious? Is
it possible she decided to remove them, but the lines got accidentally
included in the American edition anyway?<!–
D(["mb","your attempt to kill me -- forgive me, but Lord Voldemort probably
expects it. Nor would the Death Eaters be surprised that we had
captured and killed your mother -- it is what they would do
themselves, after all. Your father is safe at the moment in
Azkaban...When the time comes we can protect him too. Come over to the
right side, Draco...you are not a killer..." Malfoy stared at
Dumbledore. (HBP US Edition pg 591)
Both of the ommissions are directly related, they are about having
Draco appeared to have died, so it would seem the ommisions are
intentional. Did J.K. include those lines originally, and then decide
she had gone too far and made the clue too transparent and obvious? Is
it possible she decided to remove them, but the lines got accidentally
included in the American edition anyway?

3. Fawkes doesn\'t try to save Dumbledore Clue Updated 8/2/05
We\'ve seen Fawkes come in at the last moment and save Harry\'s life in
Chamber of Secrets:
As Harry trembled, ready to close his eyes if it turned, he saw what
had distracted the snake. Fawkes was soaring around its head, and the
basilisk was snapping furiously at him with fangs long and thin as
sabers -- Fawkes dived. His long golden beak sunk out of sight and a
sudden shower of dark blood spattered the floor. (CoS pg 318/234)
And he also saved Dumbledore in Order of the Phoenix:
... one more jet of green light had flown at Dumbledore from
Voldemort\'s wand and the snake had struck -- Fawkes swooped down in
front of Dumbledore, opened his beak wide, and swallowed the jet of
green light whole. He burst into flame and fell to the floor, small,
wrinkled and flightless. (OotP pg 814/719)
We know Fawkes was nearby the tower, as he shows up after Dumbledore\'s
"death". So, why didn\'t Fawkes come to save Dumbledore this time? I
think the fact that he didn\'t makes it possible to believe that
Dumbledore didn\'t want his life to be saved, and this supports the
",1]
);

//–>

3. Fawkes doesn’t try to save Dumbledore Clue Updated 8/2/05
We’ve seen Fawkes come in at the last moment and save Harry’s life in
Chamber of Secrets:
As Harry trembled, ready to close his eyes if it turned, he saw what
had distracted the snake. Fawkes was soaring around its head, and the
basilisk was snapping furiously at him with fangs long and thin as
sabers — Fawkes dived. His long golden beak sunk out of sight and a
sudden shower of dark blood spattered the floor. (CoS pg 318/234)
And he also saved Dumbledore in Order of the Phoenix:
… one more jet of green light had flown at Dumbledore from
Voldemort’s wand and the snake had struck — Fawkes swooped down in
front of Dumbledore, opened his beak wide, and swallowed the jet of
green light whole. He burst into flame and fell to the floor, small,
wrinkled and flightless. (OotP pg 814/719)
We know Fawkes was nearby the tower, as he shows up after Dumbledore’s
"death". So, why didn’t Fawkes come to save Dumbledore this time? I
think the fact that he didn’t makes it possible to believe that
Dumbledore didn’t want his life to be saved, and this supports the
theory that it was Dumbledore’s plan all along to "die" up on that
tower that night.<!–
D(["mb","theory that it was Dumbledore\'s plan all along to "die" up on that
tower that night.

//–>

4. The Flying Avada Kedavra
As soon as I read the description of exactly what happened the moment
that Snape killed Dumbledore, little red flags were popping up in my
brain, but I didn’t pay attention to them at first. This was actually
the very first clue that alerted me to this whole thing.
Every other time we’ve seen the Avada Kedavra performed, the victim
simply falls over dead:
He was screaming so loudly that he never heard the words the thing in
the chair spoke as it raised a wand. There was a flash of green light,
a rushing sound, and Frank Bryce crumbled. He was dead before he hit
the floor. (GoF pg 15/19)
From high above his head, he heard a high, cold voice say, "Kill the
spare." A swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the words
to the night: "Avada Kedavra!" A blast of green light blazed through
Harry’s eyelids, and he heard something heavy fall to ground beside
him. Cedric was lying spread-eagled on the ground beside him. He was
dead. (GoF pg 638/553)
However, in Half-Blood Prince, when Snape curses Dumbledore with the
same spell, Dumbledore violently flies up and away from the tower:
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; silently 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 slowly fell backward, like a great rag
doll, over the battlements and out of sight. (HBP pg 596/556)
Why would this application of the Avada Kedavra be so different from
every other time we’ve seen it? Perhaps his spell was different
because even though those were the words Snape said, he didn’t perform
the killing curse at all. Remember all the importance this book gave
to "nonverbal" spells? Perhaps Snape said Avada Kedavra, but the curse
he was really thinking, the nonverbal one, was a different curse, one
that only made it appear that Dumbledore was dead. Even the title of
the chapter this all takes place in is suspicous, "The
Lightning-Struck Tower". Even though this is the name of the ominous
tarot card that Trelawney was worried about back on page 543/507 in
Chapter 25, is it possible that J.K. is hinting here that the spell
was not Avada Kedavra, just some green lightning sparks for show?<!–
D(["mb","the killing curse at all. Remember all the importance this book gave
to "nonverbal" spells? Perhaps Snape said Avada Kedavra, but the curse
he was really thinking, the nonverbal one, was a different curse, one
that only made it appear that Dumbledore was dead. Even the title of
the chapter this all takes place in is suspicous, "The
Lightning-Struck Tower". Even though this is the name of the ominous
tarot card that Trelawney was worried about back on page 543/507 in
Chapter 25, is it possible that J.K. is hinting here that the spell
was not Avada Kedavra, just some green lightning sparks for show?

5. Don\'t Point That At Me Unless You Mean It
In Order of the Phoenix, we learn something interesting and important
when Harry tries to curse Bellatrix:
Hatred rose in Harry such that he had never known before. He flung
himself out from behind the fountain and bellowed "Crucio!" Bellatrix
screamed. The spell had knocked her off her feet, but she did not
writhe or shriek with pain as Neville had -- she was already on her
feet again ... "Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you,
boy?" she yelled. "You need to mean them, Potter! You need to really
want to cause pain -- to enjoy it ..." (OotP pg 810/715)
If Snape was really working on Dumbledore\'s orders to make it look to
the world as if Snape had killed him, even if he had used the real
Avada Kedavra, if he had not really meant it, if he really didn\'t want
to kill Dumbledore, then isn\'t possible that the curse didn\'t kill
Dumbledore, but only injured him badly?

6. Fawkes\' Lament
Directly after Dumbledore\'s murder, as everyone assembled in the
hospital wing, Harry tells everyone Snape did it. He stops, overcome
with emotion, and right then, something very important happens:
Madame Pomfrey burst into tears. Nobody paid her any attention except
Ginny, who whispered, "Shh! Listen!" (HBP pg 614/573)
",1]
);

//–>

5. Don’t Point That At Me Unless You Mean It
In Order of the Phoenix, we learn something interesting and important
when Harry tries to curse Bellatrix:
Hatred rose in Harry such that he had never known before. He flung
himself out from behind the fountain and bellowed "Crucio!" Bellatrix
screamed. The spell had knocked her off her feet, but she did not
writhe or shriek with pain as Neville had — she was already on her
feet again … "Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you,
boy?" she yelled. "You need to mean them, Potter! You need to really
want to cause pain — to enjoy it …" (OotP pg 810/715)
If Snape was really working on Dumbledore’s orders to make it look to
the world as if Snape had killed him, even if he had used the real
Avada Kedavra, if he had not really meant it, if he really didn’t want
to kill Dumbledore, then isn’t possible that the curse didn’t kill
Dumbledore, but only injured him badly?

6. Fawkes’ Lament
Directly after Dumbledore’s murder, as everyone assembled in the
hospital wing, Harry tells everyone Snape did it. He stops, overcome
with emotion, and right then, something very important happens:
Madame Pomfrey burst into tears. Nobody paid her any attention except
Ginny, who whispered, "Shh! Listen!" (HBP pg 614/573)
Everyone was there, Ron and his parents, Hermione, Lupin, Tonks. Yet
it is Madame Pomfrey who J.K. tells us is struck by this turn of
events. Continuing:
Gulping, Madame Pomfrey pressed her fingers to her mouth, her eyes
wide. Somewhere out in the darkness, a phoenix was singing in a way
Harry had never heard before; a stricken lament of terrible beauty.
(HBP pg 614/573)
J.K. spends another paragraph on how the phoenix song echos their
grief, but while doing so mentions:
Harry felt, as he had felt about the Phoenix song before, that the
music was inside him, not without … How long they stood there,
listening, he did not know, nor why it seemed to ease their pain a
little to listen… (HBP pg 615/573)
And then McGonagall enters, changes the subject, and the phoenix song
is forgotten.
Many minutes later, after all the retelling of the night’s affair,
J.K. mentions Fawkes is still at it:
They all fell silent. Fawkes’s lament was still echoing over the dark
grounds outside. (HBP pg 621/579)
…but Harry’s thoughts move right on to other things, like wondering
where Dumbledore’s body is now. Many minutes later still, as this
meeting breaks up and Harry is following McGonagall up to what is now
her office, J.K. interjects:
The corridors outside were deserted and the only sound was the distant
phoenix song. (HBP pg 625/583)
Whatever it was he was doing, Fawkes was working hard at it, and not
giving up. Yet we are supposed to believe, as in the title of this
chapter, "The Phoenix Lament", that it is only Dumbledore’s pet
echoing everyone’s grief? Are we so easily to forget that phoenix
tears have powerful healing powers? Significantly, it is the healer,
Madame Pomfrey, who is brought to tears by the phoenix song. She knows
the healing power of the phoenix well. She gulps with eyes wide. She
recognizes something special is going on. Also, J.K. goes out of her
way to point out the healing qualities of the phoenix song, Harry
feels it inside, the way he did last time he was healed by one, and
most importantly, it seems to ease their pain! From these passages, it
certainly seems that J.K. wants us to know that Fawkes is doing some
healing! Perhaps Fawkes is not powerful enough to bring someone back
from the Avada Kedavra, but what if Dumbledore was not really hit by
an Avada Kedrava, and instead hit with half a spell, or a spell to
make him appear dead (as explained in the clues above)?<!–
D(["mb","Everyone was there, Ron and his parents, Hermione, Lupin, Tonks. Yet
it is Madame Pomfrey who J.K. tells us is struck by this turn of
events. Continuing:
Gulping, Madame Pomfrey pressed her fingers to her mouth, her eyes
wide. Somewhere out in the darkness, a phoenix was singing in a way
Harry had never heard before; a stricken lament of terrible beauty.
(HBP pg 614/573)
J.K. spends another paragraph on how the phoenix song echos their
grief, but while doing so mentions:
Harry felt, as he had felt about the Phoenix song before, that the
music was inside him, not without ... How long they stood there,
listening, he did not know, nor why it seemed to ease their pain a
little to listen... (HBP pg 615/573)
And then McGonagall enters, changes the subject, and the phoenix song
is forgotten.
Many minutes later, after all the retelling of the night\'s affair,
J.K. mentions Fawkes is still at it:
They all fell silent. Fawkes\'s lament was still echoing over the dark
grounds outside. (HBP pg 621/579)
...but Harry\'s thoughts move right on to other things, like wondering
where Dumbledore\'s body is now. Many minutes later still, as this
meeting breaks up and Harry is following McGonagall up to what is now
her office, J.K. interjects:
The corridors outside were deserted and the only sound was the distant
phoenix song. (HBP pg 625/583)
Whatever it was he was doing, Fawkes was working hard at it, and not
giving up. Yet we are supposed to believe, as in the title of this
chapter, "The Phoenix Lament", that it is only Dumbledore\'s pet
echoing everyone\'s grief? Are we so easily to forget that phoenix
tears have powerful healing powers? Significantly, it is the healer,
Madame Pomfrey, who is brought to tears by the phoenix song. She knows
the healing power of the phoenix well. She gulps with eyes wide. She
recognizes something special is going on. Also, J.K. goes out of her
",1]
);

//–><!–
D(["mb","way to point out the healing qualities of the phoenix song, Harry
feels it inside, the way he did last time he was healed by one, and
most importantly, it seems to ease their pain! From these passages, it
certainly seems that J.K. wants us to know that Fawkes is doing some
healing! Perhaps Fawkes is not powerful enough to bring someone back
from the Avada Kedavra, but what if Dumbledore was not really hit by
an Avada Kedrava, and instead hit with half a spell, or a spell to
make him appear dead (as explained in the clues above)?

7. Anyone Seen Dumbledore\'s Wand Lately?
At the very begining of the big scene between Draco, Dumbledore and
Snape, one of the first things that happens is Dumbledore loses his
wand:
The door burst open and somebody erupted through it and and shouted,
"Expelliarmus!" ... by the light of the Mark, he saw Dumbledore\'s wand
flying in an arc over the edge of the ramparts ... (HBP pg 584/545)
But where is his wand now? We know a wizard\'s wand is very important
to him, and a wand that belonged to a wizard as powerful as Dumbledore
would be a very important item to know the whereabouts of, something
you wouldn\'t want falling into the wrong hands.
This clue might not mean as much if we didn\'t know the customs of
wizards in such occasions, but we do! Five chapters ago, when Harry
and Slughorn were consoling Hagrid over the death of Aragog, Hagrid
and Sluggy sang a song about a wizard called Odo, and Sluggy sang the
lines:
And Odo the hero, they bore him back home,
To the place that he\'d known as a lad,
They laid him to rest with his hat inside out
And his wand snapped in two, which was sad. (HBP pg 488/456)
But as far as we know, they didn\'t snap Dumbledore\'s wand in two.
After the scene at the top of the tower, Dumbledore\'s wand is simply
never mentioned again.
Is it possible that Dumbledore\'s wand is missing because Dumbledore
",1]
);

//–>

7. Anyone Seen Dumbledore’s Wand Lately?
At the very begining of the big scene between Draco, Dumbledore and
Snape, one of the first things that happens is Dumbledore loses his
wand:
The door burst open and somebody erupted through it and and shouted,
"Expelliarmus!" … by the light of the Mark, he saw Dumbledore’s wand
flying in an arc over the edge of the ramparts … (HBP pg 584/545)
But where is his wand now? We know a wizard’s wand is very important
to him, and a wand that belonged to a wizard as powerful as Dumbledore
would be a very important item to know the whereabouts of, something
you wouldn’t want falling into the wrong hands.
This clue might not mean as much if we didn’t know the customs of
wizards in such occasions, but we do! Five chapters ago, when Harry
and Slughorn were consoling Hagrid over the death of Aragog, Hagrid
and Sluggy sang a song about a wizard called Odo, and Sluggy sang the
lines:
And Odo the hero, they bore him back home,
To the place that he’d known as a lad,
They laid him to rest with his hat inside out
And his wand snapped in two, which was sad. (HBP pg 488/456)
But as far as we know, they didn’t snap Dumbledore’s wand in two.
After the scene at the top of the tower, Dumbledore’s wand is simply
never mentioned again.
Is it possible that Dumbledore’s wand is missing because Dumbledore
still has his wand, still needs his wand, because he’s not dead?<!–
D(["mb","still has his wand, still needs his wand, because he\'s not dead?

8. No Body, No Crime
The last time we really saw Dumbledore\'s body was when Harry is
kneeling over it shortly after he has been killed by Snape the
previous day.
Now, we see Hagrid carry the body of Dumbledore into his funeral, but
it\'s covered:
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. (HBP pg 643/599)
We never really see Dumbledore\'s body at the funeral. How do we know
it was there at all?

9. Caution: Dumbledore Is Flammable
As part of the funeral service, a fire ignites around the body of
Dumbledore, and when it subsides, his body is encased in a white
marble tomb. Again, we don\'t see the body, either before or after the
fire.
But more importantly, no one lights the fire, it just happens on its
own. A body bursting into flame on its own. That sound like anyone we
know? We\'ve seen Fawkes do that several times now in the course of the
Harry Potter books, and you know what happens to Fawkes after every
time it does.
Earlier in the book, we saw several instances where Dumbledore uses
fire, an important aspect of the symbol of a phoenix. When he first
meets Tom Riddle in the orphanage, to demonstrate he\'s a wizard, he
sets Tom\'s wardrobe on fire. And he conjures fire to protect Harry and
himself from the infiri in the cave.
And after all this, in case we didn\'t get the allusions to a phoenix,
J.K. reminds us just in case:
White smoke spiraled into the air and made strange shapes: Harry
thought, for one heart-stopping moment, that he saw a phoenix fly
joyfully into the blue, but next second the fire had vanished. (HBP pg
645/601)
All these clues seem to suggest that if Dumbledore really did die, he
",1]
);

//–>

8. No Body, No Crime
The last time we really saw Dumbledore’s body was when Harry is
kneeling over it shortly after he has been killed by Snape the
previous day.
Now, we see Hagrid carry the body of Dumbledore into his funeral, but
it’s covered:
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. (HBP pg 643/599)
We never really see Dumbledore’s body at the funeral. How do we know
it was there at all?

9. Caution: Dumbledore Is Flammable
As part of the funeral service, a fire ignites around the body of
Dumbledore, and when it subsides, his body is encased in a white
marble tomb. Again, we don’t see the body, either before or after the
fire.
But more importantly, no one lights the fire, it just happens on its
own. A body bursting into flame on its own. That sound like anyone we
know? We’ve seen Fawkes do that several times now in the course of the
Harry Potter books, and you know what happens to Fawkes after every
time it does.
Earlier in the book, we saw several instances where Dumbledore uses
fire, an important aspect of the symbol of a phoenix. When he first
meets Tom Riddle in the orphanage, to demonstrate he’s a wizard, he
sets Tom’s wardrobe on fire. And he conjures fire to protect Harry and
himself from the infiri in the cave.
And after all this, in case we didn’t get the allusions to a phoenix,
J.K. reminds us just in case:
White smoke spiraled into the air and made strange shapes: Harry
thought, for one heart-stopping moment, that he saw a phoenix fly
joyfully into the blue, but next second the fire had vanished. (HBP pg
645/601)
All these clues seem to suggest that if Dumbledore really did die, he
has the ability to be reborn out of the ashes of his death, either
under his own power, or with the help of the healing powers of Fawkes.<!–
D(["mb","has the ability to be reborn out of the ashes of his death, either
under his own power, or with the help of the healing powers of Fawkes.

---

Snape Clues
These are the clues contained in the pages of Harry Pottter and the
Half-Blood Prince which support the possibility that Snape is not
really a Death Eater, has remained loyal to Dumbledore, and all
through the book, Snape is working on Dumbledore\'s Orders.
Since the book is virtually about Snape (it\'s titled Harry Potter and
the Half-Blood Prince, which we know now is the same thing as saying
Harry Potter and Snape), we can\'t possibly list here every mention in
the book the relates to the mystery of Snape. But here are some of the
ones that stood out as important to me.
(Page numbers shown are for US Edition/UK Edition.)

1. Snape Lies to Narcissa and Bellatrix... Twice
During the meeting that Snape has at his house with Narcissa and
Bellatrix in Chapter 2, Snape tries to explain to them why he never
killed Harry all those years at Hogwarts when he had ample
opportunity:
"Of course, it became apparent to me very quickly that he had no
extraordinary talent at all. He has fought his way out of a number of
tight corners by a simple combination of sheer luck and more talented
friends. He is mediocre to the last degree..." (HBP pg 31/36)
But we know Snape knows this is a lie. We know Snape knows that Harry
is a powerful wizard. We know he knows Harry is a parselmouth. We know
he knows Harry could conjure a corporeal patronus when he was just 13
years old. We know he knows Harry has stood up to and prevailed
against Voldemort five times! But not even one whole page later,
Narcissa is crying to Snape she has something she wants to say, but
has been forbidden to talk about by Voldemort. Snape immediately
replies that she should follow Voldemort\'s orders, and sister
Bellatrix agrees. But Snape appears troubled by the conversation:
",1]
);

//–>

—

Snape Clues
These are the clues contained in the pages of Harry Pottter and the
Half-Blood Prince which support the possibility that Snape is not
really a Death Eater, has remained loyal to Dumbledore, and all
through the book, Snape is working on Dumbledore’s Orders.
Since the book is virtually about Snape (it’s titled Harry Potter and
the Half-Blood Prince, which we know now is the same thing as saying
Harry Potter and Snape), we can’t possibly list here every mention in
the book the relates to the mystery of Snape. But here are some of the
ones that stood out as important to me.
(Page numbers shown are for US Edition/UK Edition.)

1. Snape Lies to Narcissa and Bellatrix… Twice
During the meeting that Snape has at his house with Narcissa and
Bellatrix in Chapter 2, Snape tries to explain to them why he never
killed Harry all those years at Hogwarts when he had ample
opportunity:
"Of course, it became apparent to me very quickly that he had no
extraordinary talent at all. He has fought his way out of a number of
tight corners by a simple combination of sheer luck and more talented
friends. He is mediocre to the last degree…" (HBP pg 31/36)
But we know Snape knows this is a lie. We know Snape knows that Harry
is a powerful wizard. We know he knows Harry is a parselmouth. We know
he knows Harry could conjure a corporeal patronus when he was just 13
years old. We know he knows Harry has stood up to and prevailed
against Voldemort five times! But not even one whole page later,
Narcissa is crying to Snape she has something she wants to say, but
has been forbidden to talk about by Voldemort. Snape immediately
replies that she should follow Voldemort’s orders, and sister
Bellatrix agrees. But Snape appears troubled by the conversation:
But Snape had gotten to his feet and strode to the small window,
peered through the curtains, and then closed them again with a jerk.
He turned around to face Narcissa, frowning. (HBP pg 32/37)
What happened to make him jerk the curtains closed all of a sudden and
turn back to the women, frowning? Has he had a revelation? It is only
at this point that he confides in them that he already knows the plan,
that Voldemort has already told him. He’s lying again! If he already
knew the plan, why would he have taken the position, just one moment
earlier, that she should follow Voldemort’s law and not speak of it?
We know Snape is a powerful Legilimens, we learned that in the
Occlumency scenes with Snape and Harry in Order of the Phoenix. Just
in case we forgot about Legilimency, J.K. mentioned it just a few
pages ago. Questioning Voldemort’s trust in Snape, Snape interrupts:
"You think he is mistaken? Or that I somehow hoodwinked him? Fool the
Dark Lord, the greatest wizard, the most accomplished Legilimens the
world has ever seen?" (HBP pg 26/31)
Having just been on the verge of spilling the beans to Snape, Draco’s
assignment must have been top-most in Narcissa’s thoughts, and in the
quiet moment at the window, Snape saw it in her mind. He then lies to
them about already knowing the plan, to gain their trust.
So, at the same time that Snape is trying to convince Narcissa and
Bellatrix that he’s worthy of Voldemort’s trust, we can see he is
lying to them, several times. That can only mean that Snape isn’t as
loyal to Voldemort as he’d like Bellatrix and Narcissa (and us!) to
believe.<!–
D(["mb","But Snape had gotten to his feet and strode to the small window,
peered through the curtains, and then closed them again with a jerk.
He turned around to face Narcissa, frowning. (HBP pg 32/37)
What happened to make him jerk the curtains closed all of a sudden and
turn back to the women, frowning? Has he had a revelation? It is only
at this point that he confides in them that he already knows the plan,
that Voldemort has already told him. He\'s lying again! If he already
knew the plan, why would he have taken the position, just one moment
earlier, that she should follow Voldemort\'s law and not speak of it?
We know Snape is a powerful Legilimens, we learned that in the
Occlumency scenes with Snape and Harry in Order of the Phoenix. Just
in case we forgot about Legilimency, J.K. mentioned it just a few
pages ago. Questioning Voldemort\'s trust in Snape, Snape interrupts:
"You think he is mistaken? Or that I somehow hoodwinked him? Fool the
Dark Lord, the greatest wizard, the most accomplished Legilimens the
world has ever seen?" (HBP pg 26/31)
Having just been on the verge of spilling the beans to Snape, Draco\'s
assignment must have been top-most in Narcissa\'s thoughts, and in the
quiet moment at the window, Snape saw it in her mind. He then lies to
them about already knowing the plan, to gain their trust.
So, at the same time that Snape is trying to convince Narcissa and
Bellatrix that he\'s worthy of Voldemort\'s trust, we can see he is
lying to them, several times. That can only mean that Snape isn\'t as
loyal to Voldemort as he\'d like Bellatrix and Narcissa (and us!) to
believe.

2. What Hagrid Overheard
Harry is talking to Hagrid after the poisoning of Ron, and Hagrid lets
it slip that he overheard something he shouldn\'t have:
I was comin\' outta the forest the other evenin\' an\' I overheard \'em
talking -- well, arguin\'. ... I jus\' heard Snape sayin\' Dumbledore
",1]
);

//–>

2. What Hagrid Overheard
Harry is talking to Hagrid after the poisoning of Ron, and Hagrid lets
it slip that he overheard something he shouldn’t have:
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." (HBP pg 405/380)
This clue comes right out and tells us that Snape is following the
orders of Dumbledore, although we now see whatever Snape has promised
to do for Dumbledore is difficult or unpleasant. We also now have
comfirmation that Dumbledore has a plan, which involves Snape, and
Dumbleore is confident that the plan that Snape has agreed to will
proceed.<!–
D(["mb","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." (HBP pg 405/380)
This clue comes right out and tells us that Snape is following the
orders of Dumbledore, although we now see whatever Snape has promised
to do for Dumbledore is difficult or unpleasant. We also now have
comfirmation that Dumbledore has a plan, which involves Snape, and
Dumbleore is confident that the plan that Snape has agreed to will
proceed.

//–>

3. No DADA Teacher Has Lasted More Than 1 Year Clue Updated 7/31/05
For every Hogwarts year that is documented in the Harry Potter books
so far, it stands out prominently that there has been a different
Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher each year.
They even joked about it at the beginning of the previous book, when
the kids are looking over their just arrived book lists for the year,
and they’re wondering who assigned the Slinkhard book, as it meant
Dumbledore had found a new DADA teacher:
Fred told Harry … "Dumbledore was having real trouble finding anyone
to do the job this year." "Not surprising, is it, when you look at
what’s happened to the last four?" said George. "One sacked, one dead,
one’s memory erased, and one locked in a trunk for nine months," said
Harry, counting them off on his fingers. "Yeah, I see what you mean."
(OotP pg 161/146)
And in Half-Blood Prince, Harry, Ron and Hermione talk about this
again when they are surprised at the sorting feast that Snape will be
DADA teacher that year:
"Well, there’s one good thing," [Harry] said savagely. "Snape’ll be
gone by the end of the year." "What do you mean?" asked Ron. "That
job’s jinxed. No one’s lasted more than a year…Quirell actually died
doing it…" (HBP pg 167/159)
Ironically, it turns out, Harry was literally right. When Tom Riddle
returned after a ten year absence to again request to be a teacher at
Hogwarts, Dumbledore rejected him, and upon Harry’s questioning,
Dumbledore gave us some important insight into the Hogwarts DADA
teacher situation:
"Was he after the Defense Against the Dark Arts job again, sir? He
didn’t say…" "Oh, he definitely wanted the Defense Against the Dark
Arts job," said Dumbledore. "The aftermath of our little meeting
proved that. You see, we have never been able to keep a Defense
Against the Dark Arts teacher for longer than a year since I refused
the post to Lord Voldemort." (HBP pg 446/418)
So, Dumbledore himself is admitting he knows that Voldemort cursed the
DADA teacher job. This means he knew about the curse when he assigned
Snape to the job this year. But he never intended Snape to be in the
job for longer than a year to begin with, as his plan for Snape to
kill him and flee at the end of the year must have already been in
place.<!–
D(["mb","returned after a ten year absence to again request to be a teacher at
Hogwarts, Dumbledore rejected him, and upon Harry\'s questioning,
Dumbledore gave us some important insight into the Hogwarts DADA
teacher situation:
"Was he after the Defense Against the Dark Arts job again, sir? He
didn\'t say..." "Oh, he definitely wanted the Defense Against the Dark
Arts job," said Dumbledore. "The aftermath of our little meeting
proved that. You see, we have never been able to keep a Defense
Against the Dark Arts teacher for longer than a year since I refused
the post to Lord Voldemort." (HBP pg 446/418)
So, Dumbledore himself is admitting he knows that Voldemort cursed the
DADA teacher job. This means he knew about the curse when he assigned
Snape to the job this year. But he never intended Snape to be in the
job for longer than a year to begin with, as his plan for Snape to
kill him and flee at the end of the year must have already been in
place.

4. Don\'t Judge A Book By Its Cover
When Snape comes into the bathroom after being alerted by Moaning
Myrtle, he knows instanly that the Sectumsempra curse was used to
injure Draco, because he goes right to work on him using the proper
countercurse to reverse the damage. He then takes Draco to the
hospital wing, ordering Harry to wait for him there.
When Snape returns, he asks Harry where he learned the curse, and
Harry says he saw it in a book in the library. Snape puts his
Legilimency to work again:
"Liar," said Snape. Harry\'s throat went dry. He knew what Snape was
going to do and he had never been able to prevent it... The bathroom
seemed to shimmer before his eyes; he struggled to block out all
thought, but try as he might, the Half-Blood Prince\'s copy of Advanced
Potion Making swam hazily to the fore-front of his mind. (HBP pg
524/490)
Snape then demands Harry bring him his books, Harry makes a detour and
",1]
);

//–>

4. Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover
When Snape comes into the bathroom after being alerted by Moaning
Myrtle, he knows instanly that the Sectumsempra curse was used to
injure Draco, because he goes right to work on him using the proper
countercurse to reverse the damage. He then takes Draco to the
hospital wing, ordering Harry to wait for him there.
When Snape returns, he asks Harry where he learned the curse, and
Harry says he saw it in a book in the library. Snape puts his
Legilimency to work again:
"Liar," said Snape. Harry’s throat went dry. He knew what Snape was
going to do and he had never been able to prevent it… The bathroom
seemed to shimmer before his eyes; he struggled to block out all
thought, but try as he might, the Half-Blood Prince’s copy of Advanced
Potion Making swam hazily to the fore-front of his mind. (HBP pg
524/490)
Snape then demands Harry bring him his books, Harry makes a detour and
hides the book in the room of requirement, bringing Snape Ron’s copy
of the book instead. Snape must know Harry’s trying to pull a fast one
on him, he knows Harry has the book, he saw it in his mind. But
instead of pressing the point, Snape just gives him a dozen
detentions. Why would Snape do this if he wasn’t still working for
Dumbledore? He lost his temper with Harry when he demanded Harry bring
him the book, but then even though Harry lies to him about it, Snape
remembers who’s side he’s on, and backs off.<!–
D(["mb","hides the book in the room of requirement, bringing Snape Ron\'s copy
of the book instead. Snape must know Harry\'s trying to pull a fast one
on him, he knows Harry has the book, he saw it in his mind. But
instead of pressing the point, Snape just gives him a dozen
detentions. Why would Snape do this if he wasn\'t still working for
Dumbledore? He lost his temper with Harry when he demanded Harry bring
him the book, but then even though Harry lies to him about it, Snape
remembers who\'s side he\'s on, and backs off.

5. Severus... Please...
If you believe that Snape is acting on Dumbledore\'s orders to kill him
(or possibly just make it look like he killed him, although he\'d
probably still be hurting him), then Snape\'s demeanor and Dumbledore\'s
final words take on a whole new meaning.
...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.
... Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion
and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. "Severus...
Please..." (HBP pg 595/556)
In that passage the reader is supposed to believe that Snape hates
Dumbledore and feels revulsion for him.
But to help us understand the real meaning of Snape\'s feelings of
revulsion and hatred, J.K. used almost the exact same words for what
Harry was feeling just one chapter previous:
"You...you can\'t stop, Professor," said Harry. "You\'ve got to keep
drinking, remember? You told me you had to keep drinking. Here..."
Hating himself, repulsed by what he was doing, Harry forced the goblet
back toward Dumbledore\'s mouth ... (HBP pg 571/534)
Even though Snape was to kill Dumbledore on Dumbledore\'s orders, it
must have been something that was still really emotional and difficult
",1]
);

//–>

5. Severus… Please…
If you believe that Snape is acting on Dumbledore’s orders to kill him
(or possibly just make it look like he killed him, although he’d
probably still be hurting him), then Snape’s demeanor and Dumbledore’s
final words take on a whole new meaning.
…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.
… Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion
and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. "Severus…
Please…" (HBP pg 595/556)
In that passage the reader is supposed to believe that Snape hates
Dumbledore and feels revulsion for him.
But to help us understand the real meaning of Snape’s feelings of
revulsion and hatred, J.K. used almost the exact same words for what
Harry was feeling just one chapter previous:
"You…you can’t stop, Professor," said Harry. "You’ve got to keep
drinking, remember? You told me you had to keep drinking. Here…"
Hating himself, repulsed by what he was doing, Harry forced the goblet
back toward Dumbledore’s mouth … (HBP pg 571/534)
Even though Snape was to kill Dumbledore on Dumbledore’s orders, it
must have been something that was still really emotional and difficult
for Snape to do, exactly as it was for Harry to make Dumbledore drink
the potion.
The feeling of revulsion on Snape’s face was not for Dumbledore, but
the act he knew he had to commit. The hatred was not for Dumbledore,
but for what Dumbledore was making him do. And when Dumbledore said,
"Severus… Please…" he wasn’t begging "please don’t". What he was
really saying was, "Severus, please kill me, as you promised you
would."
Way back at the end the first book, when Dumbledore confirms for Harry
that Flamel would die now that the philosopher’s stone was gone,
Dumbledore explained:
"To one as young as you, I’m sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas
and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long
day. After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next
great adventure." (SS/PS pg 297/215)
Does that sound to you like someone who would beg to save his own life?<!–
D(["mb","for Snape to do, exactly as it was for Harry to make Dumbledore drink
the potion.
The feeling of revulsion on Snape\'s face was not for Dumbledore, but
the act he knew he had to commit. The hatred was not for Dumbledore,
but for what Dumbledore was making him do. And when Dumbledore said,
"Severus... Please..." he wasn\'t begging "please don\'t". What he was
really saying was, "Severus, please kill me, as you promised you
would."
Way back at the end the first book, when Dumbledore confirms for Harry
that Flamel would die now that the philosopher\'s stone was gone,
Dumbledore explained:
"To one as young as you, I\'m sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas
and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long
day. After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next
great adventure." (SS/PS pg 297/215)
Does that sound to you like someone who would beg to save his own life?

---

Unanswered Questions
These are elements of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that
would seem to be related to either the Dumbledore or Snape mysteries,
but they have loop-holes or unresovled bits of information, and we\'re
not sure about them and are still checking into them...
(Page numbers shown are for US Edition/UK Edition.)

1. If Snape Didn\'t Fulfill The Unbreakable Vow, Why Isn\'t He Dead?
There are three unanswered aspects to this question.
First, do unbreakable vows have a time limit? It\'s unlikely they do,
because you\'d think it would have to be stated when the vow was made,
and no such time limit was set. But if they don\'t have time limits,
then it\'s sort of hard to enforce an unbreakable vow, isn\'t? "Hey! You
didn\'t fulfill your promise! You\'re dead!" "No wait! I just haven\'t
gotten around to it, you can\'t kill me yet!"
Second, I believe if you re-read all of Chapter 2, you will see that
",1]
);

//–>

—

Unanswered Questions
These are elements of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that
would seem to be related to either the Dumbledore or Snape mysteries,
but they have loop-holes or unresovled bits of information, and we’re
not sure about them and are still checking into them…
(Page numbers shown are for US Edition/UK Edition.)

1. If Snape Didn’t Fulfill The Unbreakable Vow, Why Isn’t He Dead?
There are three unanswered aspects to this question.
First, do unbreakable vows have a time limit? It’s unlikely they do,
because you’d think it would have to be stated when the vow was made,
and no such time limit was set. But if they don’t have time limits,
then it’s sort of hard to enforce an unbreakable vow, isn’t? "Hey! You
didn’t fulfill your promise! You’re dead!" "No wait! I just haven’t
gotten around to it, you can’t kill me yet!"
Second, I believe if you re-read all of Chapter 2, you will see that
the exact details of Draco’s task are never spoken outloud in that
scene, we only learn of the details later. If the exact nature of what
Snape’s promising to do are not spoken exactly, but possibly only an
understanding between the parties, what promise is he held to,
exactly? Can he be held to details of a vow that weren’t expressly
stated? Am I watching too many lawyer shows on TV?
One of Draco’s main tasks was to fix the vanishing cabinet so he could
sneak his Death Eater pals into Hogwarts. Perhaps that’s what Snape
vowed to help with, and in that case, Draco suceeeded, so Snape’s off
the hook. Third, this unanswerable question is based on the assumption
that Dumbledore isn’t really dead, so Snape didn’t kill him, so he
didn’t fulfill the vow.
But what if the person you made the vow with thinks you fulfilled it?
The world, including Narcissa and Bellatrix (and you, possibly, up
until you read this site! thinks that Dumbledore is dead. So does
that fulfill Snape s vow? This one is possibly unanswerable until we
can either dig out some more clues buried elsewhere in the book, or
possibly we won’t know until book 7.<!–
D(["mb","the exact details of Draco\'s task are never spoken outloud in that
scene, we only learn of the details later. If the exact nature of what
Snape\'s promising to do are not spoken exactly, but possibly only an
understanding between the parties, what promise is he held to,
exactly? Can he be held to details of a vow that weren\'t expressly
stated? Am I watching too many lawyer shows on TV?
One of Draco\'s main tasks was to fix the vanishing cabinet so he could
sneak his Death Eater pals into Hogwarts. Perhaps that\'s what Snape
vowed to help with, and in that case, Draco suceeeded, so Snape\'s off
the hook. Third, this unanswerable question is based on the assumption
that Dumbledore isn\'t really dead, so Snape didn\'t kill him, so he
didn\'t fulfill the vow.
But what if the person you made the vow with thinks you fulfilled it?
The world, including Narcissa and Bellatrix (and you, possibly, up
until you read this site! thinks that Dumbledore is dead. So does
that fulfill Snape s vow? This one is possibly unanswerable until we
can either dig out some more clues buried elsewhere in the book, or
possibly we won\'t know until book 7.

2. Doesn\'t Dumbledore\'s Portrait Mean That He\'s Dead?
Does it state anywhere in a Harry Potter book that you have to be dead
to be on the wall in the headmaster\'s office? I can\'t prove this, but
I think it\'s just more likely the only requirement is you have to be a
former headmaster, and it just so happens all of the former
headmasters previous to Dumbledore are currently dead.
The book says:
...a new portrait had joined the ranks of the dead headmasters and
headmistresses of Hogwarts: Dumbledore was slumbering in a golden
frame above his desk, his half-moon spectacles perched upon his
crooked nose, looking peaceful and untroubled. (HBP pg 626/584)
Yes, we see it says Dumbledore joined the ranks of the dead
headmasters. But that doesn\'t necessarily mean he is dead, it just
",1]
);

//–>

2. Doesn’t Dumbledore’s Portrait Mean That He’s Dead?
Does it state anywhere in a Harry Potter book that you have to be dead
to be on the wall in the headmaster’s office? I can’t prove this, but
I think it’s just more likely the only requirement is you have to be a
former headmaster, and it just so happens all of the former
headmasters previous to Dumbledore are currently dead.
The book says:
…a new portrait had joined the ranks of the dead headmasters and
headmistresses of Hogwarts: Dumbledore was slumbering in a golden
frame above his desk, his half-moon spectacles perched upon his
crooked nose, looking peaceful and untroubled. (HBP pg 626/584)
Yes, we see it says Dumbledore joined the ranks of the dead
headmasters. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he is dead, it just
means the others of the ranks he was joining were dead.
2a. If Dumbledore Is Alive, Where Is Umbridge’s Portrait?
So, you may say, if all the portraits on the wall in the headmaster’s
office aren’t necessarily dead, then where’s the portrait of Dolores
Jane Umbridge? She was temporarily headmistress last year. First of
all, we don’t know there’s not a portrait of Umbridge. It’s never been
mentioned, but it’s never been mentioned there isn’t one, either. But,
some have asked, the event of the death of the headmaster is surely
what triggers the creation of the new portrait. Unfortunately, we just
don’t know enough about this. For example, it’s possible that you may
have actually had to have worked in the office to be honored there.
That would leave the toad-lady out, since she was locked out of the
headmaster’s office during her tenure. Or, perhaps, it is a
declaration by the Hogwarts board of governers which creates the
portrait, in which case, Umbridge wouldn’t have one because the
ministry appointed her. Of course, it’s also possible that Dolores is
so hated, that the other portraits got together and banned her
portrait to a closet someplace…<!–
D(["mb","means the others of the ranks he was joining were dead.
2a. If Dumbledore Is Alive, Where Is Umbridge\'s Portrait?
So, you may say, if all the portraits on the wall in the headmaster\'s
office aren\'t necessarily dead, then where\'s the portrait of Dolores
Jane Umbridge? She was temporarily headmistress last year. First of
all, we don\'t know there\'s not a portrait of Umbridge. It\'s never been
mentioned, but it\'s never been mentioned there isn\'t one, either. But,
some have asked, the event of the death of the headmaster is surely
what triggers the creation of the new portrait. Unfortunately, we just
don\'t know enough about this. For example, it\'s possible that you may
have actually had to have worked in the office to be honored there.
That would leave the toad-lady out, since she was locked out of the
headmaster\'s office during her tenure. Or, perhaps, it is a
declaration by the Hogwarts board of governers which creates the
portrait, in which case, Umbridge wouldn\'t have one because the
ministry appointed her. Of course, it\'s also possible that Dolores is
so hated, that the other portraits got together and banned her
portrait to a closet someplace...

3. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
And speaking of Umbridge... Everyone who was everyone in the Wizarding
world showed up for Dumbledore\'s funeral, including Dolores! Weren\'t
you a bit shocked to see her there? She could have been there out of
respect, but we know she wouldn\'t mean it, and as she must surely be
way down on the Ministry ladder right now, who would she be trying to
impress by the act? I think it\'s much more likely that it was arranged
for her to be there, as a witness. If the plan was to have the world
believe that Dumbledore is dead, then having the toad-lady there as a
witness to his funeral would be pretty compelling proof for the
Dumbledore haters who Umbridge represents that Dumbledore really is
gone.
",1]
);

//–>

3. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
And speaking of Umbridge… Everyone who was everyone in the Wizarding
world showed up for Dumbledore’s funeral, including Dolores! Weren’t
you a bit shocked to see her there? She could have been there out of
respect, but we know she wouldn’t mean it, and as she must surely be
way down on the Ministry ladder right now, who would she be trying to
impress by the act? I think it’s much more likely that it was arranged
for her to be there, as a witness. If the plan was to have the world
believe that Dumbledore is dead, then having the toad-lady there as a
witness to his funeral would be pretty compelling proof for the
Dumbledore haters who Umbridge represents that Dumbledore really is
gone.

4. The Draught of Living Death Clue Added 7/31/05
Potions come into play a lot in the course of Half-Blood Prince. In
Chapter 9, Professor Slughorn presents four already-made potions to
his first class, three of which figure prominently in the story. They
are Veritaserum (truth potion), Polyjuice Potion, which we find out
later is being used by Crabbe and Goyle to disguise themselves as
girls while they’re lookouts for Draco, Amortentia (love potion),
which Ron accidentally injests from a candy meant for Harry, and Feilx
Felicis, which aids the members of Dumbledore’s Army later in the
climax of the story.
Then, in the same class, Harry, with the aid of the Half-Blood Prince,
produces a perfect Draught of Living Death, which was introduced to us
way back in Snape’s first lesson in the first book. Interestingly, in
pratically the same breath, Snape also mentions the bezoar which also
figures prominently in Half-Blood Prince, and also wolfsbane, which we
know helps Lupin later in Prisoner of Azkaban:
"For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping
potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A
bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save
you from most poisons. As far as monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the
same plant… (SS/PS pg 138/103)
Some fans are speculating that the fifth potion in this scene is
important too, that Dumbledore uses the Draught of Living Death to
somehow fake his death that night up on the tower. While this theory
is possible, besides the mention of the Draught of Living Death here
in Chapter 9, to my knowledge there is no other evidence to support
this theory.<!–
D(["mb","
4. The Draught of Living Death Clue Added 7/31/05
Potions come into play a lot in the course of Half-Blood Prince. In
Chapter 9, Professor Slughorn presents four already-made potions to
his first class, three of which figure prominently in the story. They
are Veritaserum (truth potion), Polyjuice Potion, which we find out
later is being used by Crabbe and Goyle to disguise themselves as
girls while they\'re lookouts for Draco, Amortentia (love potion),
which Ron accidentally injests from a candy meant for Harry, and Feilx
Felicis, which aids the members of Dumbledore\'s Army later in the
climax of the story.
Then, in the same class, Harry, with the aid of the Half-Blood Prince,
produces a perfect Draught of Living Death, which was introduced to us
way back in Snape\'s first lesson in the first book. Interestingly, in
pratically the same breath, Snape also mentions the bezoar which also
figures prominently in Half-Blood Prince, and also wolfsbane, which we
know helps Lupin later in Prisoner of Azkaban:
"For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping
potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A
bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save
you from most poisons. As far as monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the
same plant... (SS/PS pg 138/103)
Some fans are speculating that the fifth potion in this scene is
important too, that Dumbledore uses the Draught of Living Death to
somehow fake his death that night up on the tower. While this theory
is possible, besides the mention of the Draught of Living Death here
in Chapter 9, to my knowledge there is no other evidence to support
this theory.

5. Will The Real Dumbledore Please Stand Up? Clue Added 7/31/05
Another theory some fans have put forward involves a clue that has to
do with Dumbledore\'s pensieve.
When we first see the pensieve in Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore
",1]
);

//–>

5. Will The Real Dumbledore Please Stand Up? Clue Added 7/31/05
Another theory some fans have put forward involves a clue that has to
do with Dumbledore’s pensieve.
When we first see the pensieve in Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore
demonstates for Harry how memories are put into it:
Dumbledore drew his wand out of the inside of his robes and placed the
tip into his own silvery hair, near his temple. When he took the wand
away, hair seemed to be clinging to it — but then Harry saw that it
was in fact a glistening strand of the same strange silvery-white
substance that filled the Pensieve. Dumbledore added this fresh
thought to the basin, and Harry, astonished, saw his own face swimming
around the surface of the bowl. (GoF pg 597/519)
We saw the pensieve in operation in Order of the Phoenix also:
Snape pulled out his wand from an inside pocket of his robes and Harry
tensed in his chair, but Snape merely raised the wand to his temple
and placed the tip into the greasy roots of his hair. When he withdrew
it, some silvery substance came away, stretching from temple to wand
like a thick gossamer strand, which broke as he pulled the wand away
from it and fell gracefully into the Pensieve, where it swirled
silvery white, neither gas nor liquid. (OotP pg 533/471)
Both nearly identical descriptions of two different people putting a
memory of their own into the pensieve.
But now, take a look at this from Half-Blood Prince:
"…I have two last memories that I would like to share with you."
Dumbledore indicated the two little crystal bottles gleaming beside
the Pensieve. (HBP pg 430/402)
"And now for the very last recollection I have to show you" … Harry
got to his feet once more as Dumbledore emptied the last memory into
the Pensieve. "Who’s memory is it?" he asked. "Mine," said Dumbledore.
(HBP pg 440/412)
If this was his own memory, why would Dumbledore have stored this
memory in a bottle rather than just pull it out his head the way he
and Snape had done before? Although I consider this unlikely, fans are
pointing to this clue to theorize that Dumbledore hasn’t been
Dumbledore for all of, or at least a great portion of, the book, and
that the Dumbledore we see is someone using Polyjuice potion to
pretend to be him, and therefore the real Dumbledore isn’t dead. Only
a fake Dumbledore would have to have the memory in a bottle, because
only the real Dumbledore could take it directly out of his head. But
it’s also just possible Dumbledore sealed the important memory in the
bottle for safe-keeping…<!–
D(["mb","demonstates for Harry how memories are put into it:
Dumbledore drew his wand out of the inside of his robes and placed the
tip into his own silvery hair, near his temple. When he took the wand
away, hair seemed to be clinging to it -- but then Harry saw that it
was in fact a glistening strand of the same strange silvery-white
substance that filled the Pensieve. Dumbledore added this fresh
thought to the basin, and Harry, astonished, saw his own face swimming
around the surface of the bowl. (GoF pg 597/519)
We saw the pensieve in operation in Order of the Phoenix also:
Snape pulled out his wand from an inside pocket of his robes and Harry
tensed in his chair, but Snape merely raised the wand to his temple
and placed the tip into the greasy roots of his hair. When he withdrew
it, some silvery substance came away, stretching from temple to wand
like a thick gossamer strand, which broke as he pulled the wand away
from it and fell gracefully into the Pensieve, where it swirled
silvery white, neither gas nor liquid. (OotP pg 533/471)
Both nearly identical descriptions of two different people putting a
memory of their own into the pensieve.
But now, take a look at this from Half-Blood Prince:
"...I have two last memories that I would like to share with you."
Dumbledore indicated the two little crystal bottles gleaming beside
the Pensieve. (HBP pg 430/402)
"And now for the very last recollection I have to show you" ... Harry
got to his feet once more as Dumbledore emptied the last memory into
the Pensieve. "Who\'s memory is it?" he asked. "Mine," said Dumbledore.
(HBP pg 440/412)
If this was his own memory, why would Dumbledore have stored this
memory in a bottle rather than just pull it out his head the way he
and Snape had done before? Although I consider this unlikely, fans are
pointing to this clue to theorize that Dumbledore hasn\'t been
",1]
);

//–><!–
D(["mb","Dumbledore for all of, or at least a great portion of, the book, and
that the Dumbledore we see is someone using Polyjuice potion to
pretend to be him, and therefore the real Dumbledore isn\'t dead. Only
a fake Dumbledore would have to have the memory in a bottle, because
only the real Dumbledore could take it directly out of his head. But
it\'s also just possible Dumbledore sealed the important memory in the
bottle for safe-keeping...

---

Of Myth, Fantasy and the Death of Albus Dumbledore
A DumbledoreIsNotDead.com Guest Article written by David Nagore

//–>

—

Of Myth, Fantasy and the Death of Albus Dumbledore
A DumbledoreIsNotDead.com Guest Article written by David Nagore

Well, Rowling did it. She really did it. She said that a "major"
character would die and she was true to her promise. Yet despite her
warnings, the ultimate revelation of Dumbledore’s death nevertheless
sent shockwaves through her millions of readers, including yours
truly. Yet in retrospect, to me he seemed the most obvious choice from
a plot development point-of-view. I would have offed him had I been
Rowling, despite the reaction I knew such an incident would cause with
my readership. It fits the storyline perfectly, as far as I’m
concerned.
Still, as this site entails, Dumbledore’s murder begs one question: Is
ol’ Albus truly dead? Frankly, I have my doubts, and it has nothing to
do with any clues Rowling may or may not have in HBP. Part of her
genius as an author is that she leaves just as many red herrings in
her work as real clues, forcing us to guess wildly what will happen
until after the fact. Rather, my doubt comes from death possessing a
unique fluidity and transience, in deep connection with the
supernatural and myth, which is not without precedent in fantasy
works. In fact, the genre is replete with death/rebirth examples, not
only in modern literature but going back thousands of years to the
ancient myths and folklore that are modern fantasy’s progenitors.
It is important to note that, since the entire Harry Potter saga is,
at its core, a children’s story, the majority of its readership are
still young people who have not been around long enough to be
thoroughly read in the genre, although one would hope that current
education hasn’t degraded to the point where the most basic stories
are now out of the curriculum. By seeing that death and rebirth are
well established within the genre, as well as the many forms they
take, then perhaps Rowling’s younger audience will understand
Dumbledore may not be dead after all, or that his death, if it is
final, will have a more profound and positive result than we now
perceive.
As such, I will barely focus on the sonata of the Harry Potter saga
itself, but instead plant my attention squarely on the cacophonic
symphony that is all myth, folklore and fantasy that came before it,
and present to you, dear reader, with the tiniest snapshot to
illustrate my claims.
First, let’s take a look at two of the most influential early
civilizations in Western culture, Egypt and Greece. Ancient Egypt’s
religion was almost entirely based on the notion of death as a
transient state. Aside from the phoenix myth, which Rowling has tied
closely to Dumbledore, one of the most well-known Egyptian
death/rebirth stories relates to the murder of the god Osiris by his
brother, Set, and his subsequent resurrection because of his wife,
Isis, which signified the ancient Egyptian’s view of nature’s
self-renewal.
The ancient Greeks had many cyclic, death/rebirth myths. Zeus saving
his siblings after their father, Kronos, ate them is one. Another
Greek death-renewal myth concerned the death god Hades and his wife,
Persephone. According to this story, winter occurred during the time
of year Persephone spent with Hades to the netherworld, her absence
reflecting, like Osiris’ annual death and rebirth, the death and
rebirth of nature.
Jumping centuries ahead to the middle ages, we find the legend of King
Arthur and his own personal wizard, mentor and advisor, Merlin, the
archetype for almost every wizard character in modern fantasy. This
story, which has been and continues to be reinvented and reinterpreted
countless times in both print (Sir Thomas Marlory’s Le Morte d’Arthur,
The Once and Future King by T.H. White, The Mists of Avalon by Marion
Zimmer Bradley and many others) and cinema (Camelot (1967), the
adult-oriented Excalibur (1981; sorry kids, not for you), the
made-for-television stinker Merlin (1998) and again, others),
nevertheless (most of the time, anyway, depending on how the legend is
interpreted) depicts Arthur’s loss of Merlin near the end of the story
that is tied directly to death or is in some way symbolically
death-like. Yet there also is the promise of Merlin’s return when he
is needed, or he actually does return. Arthur himself makes a bid for
rebirth when, though mortally wounded at the end of his legend, he is
taken to Avalon to sleep until England needs him once more.
From this perspective, we can view Harry as a kind of Arthurian hero.
Near the end of his quest, he must now rely on his own skills to see
him through, whether Dumbledore comes back or not.
Next, on to the 20th Century and modern fantasy. My first example
needs even less of an introduction than Rowling and Dumbledore: J.R.R.
Tolkien, his masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien’s own nod
to Merlin, Gandalf the Grey. In Fellowship of the Ring, as the
Fellowship is trying to escape Moria, Gandalf battles a Balrog, a
demon from Middle Earth’s First Age when Sauron was just a glorified
yes-man to that world’s original Dark Lord, Morgoth. He defeats the
Balrog, but in the process Gandalf himself experiences a form of
death, only to be reborn as Gandalf the White, a more powerful
transcendent being. Tolkien leads us on initially, making his readers
believe Gandalf is indeed gone until a good way into the second book,
The Two Towers.
Michael Moorcock, one of the "New Age" fantasy and science fiction
writers of the latter 20th Century, has built an entire career out of
death and rebirth. The adventures of his Eternal Champion, a single
name for an infinite number of heroes inhabiting an infinite number of
alternate realities known as the multiverse, take up almost every
title in his huge catalogue of novels and short stories. Each Champion
fights and dies for the Cosmic Balance, only to be reborn in a
different universe to fight and die all over again.
Other modern fantasy works, such as in the dark fantasy/horror
sub-genre, also make the use of death and rebirth, but to more
terrifying effect. H.P. Lovecraft, viewed by many as the father of
modern dark fantasy, in his own fiction weaves a threatening undertone
of dead, mad gods that once ruled the earth and mean to live once more
and rule again. This darker side of the death/rebirth motif lives on
in the Potter novels, as Lord Voldemort regains his power and body in
a new bid for tyrannical power.
I should also note fantasy’s many appearances on both the big and
little screen (some already noted above), much of the time, in the
author’s opinion, falling well short of the genre’s great potential in
that medium. One movie, despite its shortfalls, does rate a mention
concerning the transient nature of death and life in fantasy. The
Paramount Pictures/Disney debacle, Dragonslayer (1981), is framed
around a wizard’s magical faux death, as well as some of the best
special affects for a dragon ever done in cinema, outstripping even
the CGI work in Dragonheart (1996).
One of the better examples in cinema concerning fantasy’s take on
death’s temporary nature comes from the original Star Wars movie
trilogy. Granted, this is science fiction, but it borrows liberally
from fantasy, particularly concerning the death of its wizard, Obi Wan
Kenobi. "You can’t win, Darth," Kenobi says in his last duel with
Darth Vader during the first movie, A New Hope (1977). "If you strike
me down I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."
And this is spoken to a character that, as the story goes, was
conceived by The Force! When he dies Obi Wan does become more
powerful, so much so he can even return from the dead in spirit form.
If Rowling brings Dumbledore back, how she will do it? There are many
other ways in Fantasy to rise from the grave besides those noted here.
Or she can, as she has done so many times in the past, think up a new
solution.
But we also must consider, just as we must now consider the
possibility that Harry himself will die in the last book as Rowling
also has hinted at, that Dumbledore is gone and gone for good. Does
this invalidate him as a character, or his affect on the rest of the
storyline? Certainly not. Harry and Company now have something that
Voldemort and his Death Eaters have already proved they are incapable
of comprehending: a martyr. When everyone thought Voldemort was killed
in his first encounter with Harry, did the Death Eaters regroup? No.
They scattered, were arrested, feigned ignorance or pretended to be
cursed. We don’t even have to look at myth or literature to see
examples of martyrdom’s power. Martyrs played a central role in early
Christianity’s growth, and our televisions show us daily examples of
sad, deluded fools blowing themselves up on what they think is
martyrdom’s path. Harry and Company now have a symbol from which to
derive a continuous and unlimited stream of inspiration and motivation
to defeat Voldemort and his chumps.
In the end, we must place our faith in Rowling, just as she as a
writer places her faith in the muse she follows as she writes. Her
readership has been with her for the past sixth books, and the most
important thing they need to believe is that she, like a good ship’s
Captain, will guide them through the storm and resolve Dumbedore’s
death with satisfaction, even if it is in a way that none of us
expect. That is another aspect of Rowling’s work I find admirable, as
I’m sure you do, too. And like everyone else, I’ll have to wait
another two years to find out.<!–
D(["mb","at its core, a children\'s story, the majority of its readership are
still young people who have not been around long enough to be
thoroughly read in the genre, although one would hope that current
education hasn\'t degraded to the point where the most basic stories
are now out of the curriculum. By seeing that death and rebirth are
well established within the genre, as well as the many forms they
take, then perhaps Rowling\'s younger audience will understand
Dumbledore may not be dead after all, or that his death, if it is
final, will have a more profound and positive result than we now
perceive.
As such, I will barely focus on the sonata of the Harry Potter saga
itself, but instead plant my attention squarely on the cacophonic
symphony that is all myth, folklore and fantasy that came before it,
and present to you, dear reader, with the tiniest snapshot to
illustrate my claims.
First, let\'s take a look at two of the most influential early
civilizations in Western culture, Egypt and Greece. Ancient Egypt\'s
religion was almost entirely based on the notion of death as a
transient state. Aside from the phoenix myth, which Rowling has tied
closely to Dumbledore, one of the most well-known Egyptian
death/rebirth stories relates to the murder of the god Osiris by his
brother, Set, and his subsequent resurrection because of his wife,
Isis, which signified the ancient Egyptian\'s view of nature\'s
self-renewal.
The ancient Greeks had many cyclic, death/rebirth myths. Zeus saving
his siblings after their father, Kronos, ate them is one. Another
Greek death-renewal myth concerned the death god Hades and his wife,
Persephone. According to this story, winter occurred during the time
of year Persephone spent with Hades to the netherworld, her absence
reflecting, like Osiris\' annual death and rebirth, the death and
rebirth of nature.
Jumping centuries ahead to the middle ages, we find the legend of King
",1]
);

//–><!–
D(["mb","Arthur and his own personal wizard, mentor and advisor, Merlin, the
archetype for almost every wizard character in modern fantasy. This
story, which has been and continues to be reinvented and reinterpreted
countless times in both print (Sir Thomas Marlory\'s Le Morte d\'Arthur,
The Once and Future King by T.H. White, The Mists of Avalon by Marion
Zimmer Bradley and many others) and cinema (Camelot (1967), the
adult-oriented Excalibur (1981; sorry kids, not for you), the
made-for-television stinker Merlin (1998) and again, others),
nevertheless (most of the time, anyway, depending on how the legend is
interpreted) depicts Arthur\'s loss of Merlin near the end of the story
that is tied directly to death or is in some way symbolically
death-like. Yet there also is the promise of Merlin\'s return when he
is needed, or he actually does return. Arthur himself makes a bid for
rebirth when, though mortally wounded at the end of his legend, he is
taken to Avalon to sleep until England needs him once more.
From this perspective, we can view Harry as a kind of Arthurian hero.
Near the end of his quest, he must now rely on his own skills to see
him through, whether Dumbledore comes back or not.
Next, on to the 20th Century and modern fantasy. My first example
needs even less of an introduction than Rowling and Dumbledore: J.R.R.
Tolkien, his masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien\'s own nod
to Merlin, Gandalf the Grey. In Fellowship of the Ring, as the
Fellowship is trying to escape Moria, Gandalf battles a Balrog, a
demon from Middle Earth\'s First Age when Sauron was just a glorified
yes-man to that world\'s original Dark Lord, Morgoth. He defeats the
Balrog, but in the process Gandalf himself experiences a form of
death, only to be reborn as Gandalf the White, a more powerful
transcendent being. Tolkien leads us on initially, making his readers
believe Gandalf is indeed gone until a good way into the second book,
",1]
);

//–><!–
D(["mb","The Two Towers.
Michael Moorcock, one of the "New Age" fantasy and science fiction
writers of the latter 20th Century, has built an entire career out of
death and rebirth. The adventures of his Eternal Champion, a single
name for an infinite number of heroes inhabiting an infinite number of
alternate realities known as the multiverse, take up almost every
title in his huge catalogue of novels and short stories. Each Champion
fights and dies for the Cosmic Balance, only to be reborn in a
different universe to fight and die all over again.
Other modern fantasy works, such as in the dark fantasy/horror
sub-genre, also make the use of death and rebirth, but to more
terrifying effect. H.P. Lovecraft, viewed by many as the father of
modern dark fantasy, in his own fiction weaves a threatening undertone
of dead, mad gods that once ruled the earth and mean to live once more
and rule again. This darker side of the death/rebirth motif lives on
in the Potter novels, as Lord Voldemort regains his power and body in
a new bid for tyrannical power.
I should also note fantasy\'s many appearances on both the big and
little screen (some already noted above), much of the time, in the
author\'s opinion, falling well short of the genre\'s great potential in
that medium. One movie, despite its shortfalls, does rate a mention
concerning the transient nature of death and life in fantasy. The
Paramount Pictures/Disney debacle, Dragonslayer (1981), is framed
around a wizard\'s magical faux death, as well as some of the best
special affects for a dragon ever done in cinema, outstripping even
the CGI work in Dragonheart (1996).
One of the better examples in cinema concerning fantasy\'s take on
death\'s temporary nature comes from the original Star Wars movie
trilogy. Granted, this is science fiction, but it borrows liberally
from fantasy, particularly concerning the death of its wizard, Obi Wan
",1]
);

//–><!–
D(["mb","Kenobi. "You can\'t win, Darth," Kenobi says in his last duel with
Darth Vader during the first movie, A New Hope (1977). "If you strike
me down I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."
And this is spoken to a character that, as the story goes, was
conceived by The Force! When he dies Obi Wan does become more
powerful, so much so he can even return from the dead in spirit form.
If Rowling brings Dumbledore back, how she will do it? There are many
other ways in Fantasy to rise from the grave besides those noted here.
Or she can, as she has done so many times in the past, think up a new
solution.
But we also must consider, just as we must now consider the
possibility that Harry himself will die in the last book as Rowling
also has hinted at, that Dumbledore is gone and gone for good. Does
this invalidate him as a character, or his affect on the rest of the
storyline? Certainly not. Harry and Company now have something that
Voldemort and his Death Eaters have already proved they are incapable
of comprehending: a martyr. When everyone thought Voldemort was killed
in his first encounter with Harry, did the Death Eaters regroup? No.
They scattered, were arrested, feigned ignorance or pretended to be
cursed. We don\'t even have to look at myth or literature to see
examples of martyrdom\'s power. Martyrs played a central role in early
Christianity\'s growth, and our televisions show us daily examples of
sad, deluded fools blowing themselves up on what they think is
martyrdom\'s path. Harry and Company now have a symbol from which to
derive a continuous and unlimited stream of inspiration and motivation
to defeat Voldemort and his chumps.
In the end, we must place our faith in Rowling, just as she as a
writer places her faith in the muse she follows as she writes. Her
readership has been with her for the past sixth books, and the most
important thing they need to believe is that she, like a good ship\'s
",1]
);

//–><!–
D(["mb","Captain, will guide them through the storm and resolve Dumbedore\'s
death with satisfaction, even if it is in a way that none of us
expect. That is another aspect of Rowling\'s work I find admirable, as
I\'m sure you do, too. And like everyone else, I\'ll have to wait
another two years to find out.

---

David Nagore lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife and three kids. A
University of Arizona graduate with a BA in Creative Writing, his
fiction and nonfiction work has appeared in Dream
International/Quarterly, Tucson Weekly, Western Outdoor News and
others. A great lover of speculative fiction and fantasy in
particular, his daughter turned him on to Harry Potter when she made
him promise to take her to see the movie version of Harry Potter and
the Sorcerers Stone. An admitted literary snob, he read the book
before taking her, and before he know it had read every volume
published to that point.
Article Copyright (c) 2005, David Nagore

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Message: 13
Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 10:48:03 +0700
From: Bolu The Snow Owl <annelumos@gmail.com>
Subject: Agenda Meeting NonBar: Proposal. Sponsor. Undangan

Hadi, dan teman-teman..
aku pengen undang pertemuan lagi buat para Panitia NonBar.

Berhubung terakhir udah sekitar 50 orang yang mendaftar, kukira udah
waktunya mulai bergerak, setidaknya untuk mulai cari sponsor. Lagipula
Proposal draft udah aku susun, aku butuh ide, saran, tanggapan, kritik
apapun itu. Lebih cepat lebih baik, kali ya. Udah hampir akhir
Agustus, lho ini...

Aku available aja, mungkin buat kalian yang bekerja yang bisa menetukan harinya.
",1]
);

//–>

—

Posted in Harry Potter | No Comments »

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