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CSI: Hogwarts

by Galadriel Waters and E.L. Fossa

It's not enough to have a feeling that Dumbledore's not dead, or to want him not to be dead. What you need is a way to prove he's not dead. We at Wizarding World Press are happy to help you work on techniques needed for doing that. Sleuthing Harry Potter has become a popular sport -- er, pastime -- for thousands of series fans.

> Read the full article

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Reader Comments: (Page 3)

I don't think Dumbledore's and I think his injured hand in book 6 is a clue. I have a theory that the books mirror themselves from the halfway point (book 4 starts and ends with a major tournament) One of the major plots of book 2 (opposite of book 6) is someone taking polyjuice potion. What if someone was using polyjuice potion to disguise themselves as Dumbledore and that person didn't have a hand; maybe their hand would appear to be . And who was living with Snape just before he went back to school and we all know, owes a to Harry Potter? Peter Pettigrew! Just a theory, but I can't believe Dumbledore's really !

Posted by cassandra from New Zealand on February 16, 2007 3:23 PM

Cassandra! I just posted the same thing about Pettigrew on another thread, and the hand! And him having been with Snape in Spinners End! And the life to Harry!

Dumbledores hand is described as having the flesh melted off, which is how I believe Wormtails hand would have ended up looking. Plus there was a lot of polyjuice potion in the basement! The things that Dumbledore said in the cave, after drinking the potion really made me wonder if it could be wormtail too,
'It's all my fault, all my fault'
'Please make it stop, I know I did wrong, oh, please make it stop and i'll never, never again..'
'Don't hurt them, don't hurt them, please, please, it's my fault, hurt me instead...'
'Please, please, please, no... not that, not that, I'll do anything...'

Wormtail could have returned to Dumbledore to help save Harry after PoA, (or he could have been helping Dumbledore all along, but that is a different story) because of the life that he owes Harry. In GoF, after Dumbledore is told by Harry that Voldermort has Harrys blood in his veins, there was that gleam of something like triumph that Harry thought he saw in Dumbledores eyes, suggesting that Dumbledore wanted that blood in Voldermorts veins for a reason.
Fawkes did not come to the rescue either, another big clue. Wormtail is a pretty good Wizard really, he was able to become an animagus as a teen, fool the world about his , frame Sirius, and hide for years if you think about it. Although I am not sure that was all entirely his own thinking, but again, that is a different story:)

I cannot believe that Dumbledore is either.

Posted by karen from C Texas on February 17, 2007 9:26 PM

Cassandra,
I like your comment about the books mirroring each other. A lot of fans believe book 4 is a "bridge" book.
In book 3 we are introduced to Sirius and in book 5 he s.
In book 2 Polyjuice Potion is a major part, in book 6 Dumbledore has to drink a potion to retrieve the locket.
In book 1 Harry has to face a series of challenges and face Voldemort, and in book 7 he have to find 4 Horcruxes and again face Voldemort.
There are so many other similarities than these between the books which mirror each other.
Excellent idea, Cassandra.

Posted by Patty from Quincy, Massachusetts on February 18, 2007 05:31 AM

karen... that is a really good point you touched upon... i was wondering if I was the only person who noticed this...

Maybe Dumbledore HAD to do something with the Potters' (that's why he was moaning "i know i did wrong..." etc.) and he definately knows more about Petunia than meets the eye... i hope he's not though...

Posted by sumeetha from dubai on February 18, 2007 08:44 AM

As far as Petunia goes, she sealed the Bond of Blood by taking Harry in we are told.

We are lead to believe that this was when Hagrid placed him on the doorstep with the letter, but I am thinking now that it actually happened before that.

In order for the Bond of Blood to protect someone, three things have to happen.
1. A blood relative has to sacrifice their life for you 2. Someone has to cast a charm to activate the Bond of Blood
3. Another blood relative has to take you for their own before the protection can begin.

So I am thinking that there had to have been some drastic steps taken that night to make that AK Curse rebound off of Harry. I am thinking that Dumbledore was there, and he was able to use his time turner after Lily was ed to bring in Petunia, possibly with James's invisibility cloak, so she could take Harry as her own BEFORE Voldermort tried the AK Curse on Harry. If somehow the three steps were not all taken, I do not see how Harry would have survived that AK curse.

I think the letter addressed to The Dursleys, and having Hagrid leave Harry on the Doorstep, was just for the benefit of Vernon Dursley, so he would not realize that Petunia had kept up the relationship with her sister, and the magical world. I think early on he may have forbidden her to have anything to do with her sister.
She had recognized the name of Sirius Black when he escaped Azkaban, when it came on the news. She knew what Dememtors do. She explained this by saying she had once overheard Lily and that 'awful boy' talking. And she seemed to react as someone in the Wizard World when Dumbledore mentioned Voldermort by his name, instead of saying you-know-who. As for her terrible treatment of Harry, that could be explained as her resenting him, feeling that he caused the of his mother.

Posted by Karen from Texas on February 18, 2007 7:21 PM

Hi Patty thanks for your comment! And also to Karen who had the same idea at the same time - maybe we're onto something!
I just wanted to bang on about my theory of the books mirroring each other (my favourite at the moment is that in book 2 Ginny was being instructed by a past student's book while in book 6 Harry was) & wanted to put forward an idea of who might in Book 7.
Following my mirroring theory, I think it may be Ron because in book 1 he sacrifices himself on the chess board so Hermione and Harry can move forward through the clues. Since this thought entered my head, I now can't read the books anymore without seeing a cloud of doom hanging over him. I've noticed that alongside Harry's need to save everyone, Ron has a tendency to sacrifice himself for the greater good. I now feel sad everytime he does something!

Posted by Cassandra from New Zealand on February 19, 2007 6:29 PM

Cassandra, I have thought for a long time now that Ron may be one of the major characters to . I too think that the first book may have foretold his fate in how he sacrificed himself for Harry's greater cause. I am so saddened by this, and I really hope we are wrong!

Oh, by the way i often go in search of JKR's quotes and i felt slightly better after reading one of her early quotes. In reference to Ron, she said something like As if I'ld off his (Harry's) best mate. Unfortunately her later quotes hide way too much when it comes to Ron's fate, so we really can't be sure. (i read so many quotes, so i forgot where i got that one---if someone REALLY needs me to look it up again i try to search it out. let me know.)

Posted by Heather from NJ on February 19, 2007 7:16 PM

Ref post by kevins sister december 29-2006 old bones old reflexes

"and with the sudden agility of a much younger man. Dumbledore slid from the boulder, landed in the sea and began to swim with a perfect breast stroke."

page 520 uk edition. not sure if this has been mentioned.

Posted by gordon from uk on February 20, 2007 03:19 AM

It seems our best hope for Dumbledore�s continued existence is the living potion.
This seems possible to cover the two main problems. Namely jkr being truthful. And the unbreakable vow. The other potions have been used and this one I strongly believe is a clue. It looks difficult to fit into the tower chapter, but remember jkr wrote the story and if it is
a clue with regard to the tower scene then it work. this clue I hope maybe the salvation of
those fans that are hoping and praying for Dumbledore�s survival. Also page 63 Horace slughorne UK editions
You have not asked me, for instance, what is my favourite flavour of jam, to check that I am indeed professor Dumbledore, and not an impostor (I didn�t, Harry began,) for future reference, Harry, it is raspberry�although of course, if I were a eater, I would have been sure to research my own jam preferences before impersonating myself.� er � right said Harry. This seems to me to be a clue to survival (emphasis on Harry)
Well that�s it just a few thoughts gleaned from this site. but I really do feel a genuine chance
For Dumbledore�s survival. long live Dumbledore if only in a story. he is kind of real to me.
From an ancient old softy. mind you not as old as dumbly
Very best to all fans. great story.JKR has made a lot people happy if only for a while

Posted by gordon from uk on February 21, 2007 10:33 AM

Honestly, I think Dumbledore IS , JKR has made that pretty clear, though I don't really like to accept it, but I think many people are overlooking the Pensieve. Dumbledore himself says "it becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form" (GoF, page 519). I think Harry use the Pensieve to finish off what Dumbledore started, to paste together the clues that he had gathered before he d.

Also, about the books mirroring each other. I think the fact that McGonagall is an Animagus hasn't really been this "important" since the first book... so surely there must be something related to this. Perhaps the Order use McGonagall's ability to turn into a cat in order to spy on someone, or protect Harry, without others, including himself, knowing.

Posted by Joanna on February 23, 2007 3:05 PM

I think Dumbledore WAS , as JKR made explicitly clear. But heres the thing: the key word, WAS. Phonixes are reborn from their ashes, so if Dumbledore was , he would be reborn. So that way JKR could say "Yes Dumbledore is , dont expect him to do a Gandalf" and it could be true. Phoenixes do , but they get another shot at life. But Dumbledore is half-human, only an Animagus phoenix. So when Dumbledore was reborn from the flames at his , and flew "joyfully into the blue", he was reborn a grown man, because his Animagus form is an adult phoenix!
Brilliant huh? Congratulate my friend Tonks, I took the idea from her.

Posted by Ashley from Missouri on March 8, 2007 7:02 PM

Ashley,
Sounds awful like Gandalf being reborn as Gandalf the White to me...

Posted by Patty from Quincy,Massachusetts on March 9, 2007 4:14 PM

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