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Reader Comments: (Page 5)

Unfortunately, you left one out. GoF, pg. 15:

"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 crumpled. He was before he hit the floor. Two hundred miles away the boy called Harry Potter woke with a start."

As much as I want to believe that Dumbledore isn't , your clues cannot be considered conclusive, because as the above passage shows, although JK frequently described AK victims ing with their eyes open, here is an example where the eyes are not mentioned at all. So, one cannot say, "AK victims always d with their eyes open, except for Dumbledore."

And movies don't count.:-)

Posted by Dave Haber from Los Angeles, CA on October 11, 2006 10:10 AM

Well, Dave's counterpoint is valid, because Avada Kedavra s you right as you are, proof of this is in GoF, American Edition, Page 4:

"The police had never read an odder report. A team of doctors had examined the bos and had concluded that none of the Riddles had been posoned, stabbed, shot, strangled, suffocated, or (as far as they could tell) harmed at all. in fact (the report continued, in a tone of unmistakable bewilderment), the Riddles all appeared to be in perfect health - apart from the fact that they were all . The doctors did not (as though determined to find something wrong with the bos) that each of the Riddles had a look of terror upon his or her face - but as the frustrated police said, whoever heard of three people being frightened to ?"

You see, Avada Kedavra just takes your life from you and leaves you as you were in the moment of your , the Riddles were all frightened, Cedric was like O.O, but maybe Dumbledore was just with his eyes closed, as if he was prepared for what was going to happen, after all, "for a well organized mind, is only the next adventure"...

But I also like what Matt says about Dumbledore's body, it's interesting how JKR describes it, maybe it's a clue, maybe not, we'll just have to read HP7 and find out... Talking about HP7, does any of you got a clue about what it's going to be called? This is maybe the question that has me most expectant... LOL

Posted by Ra�l Llavaneras from San Antonio de Los Altos, Venezuela on October 11, 2006 10:00 PM

I have a some theories of my own about Dumbledore's "."

1. Nonverbal Levicorpus
Many people keep saying that Snape said one thing and meant another when "ing" Dumbledore. Why hasn't anbody suggested a nonverbal Levicorpus. On pg.238 in HBP it states that Levicorpus is a nonverbal spell. On the next page, it twice describes a flash of light when Harry attempts the spell. However, the color of the light is not revealed. I think this is for a reason, it would have been too obvious. After Snape says "Avada Kedavra" Dumbledore is blasted into the air and hangs "suspended." It it not stated how he is suspended (by the ankle, chest, etc.). We know that Levicorpus is nonverbal and causes a person to hang in the air. I think the color of the light created by Levicorpus as well as Dumbledore's orientation while suspended are omitted due to the fact that it would make it too obvious what had happened.
I think Snape cast two "half-curse's" at once, assuming the color of Levicorpus is green (same as Avada Kedavra). He said "Avada Kedavra", which has to be meant in order to cause (according to Bellatrix in OoTP). What he was thinking was "Levicorpus." This is the spell that likely took precedent, the witnesses didn't realize this because the light was green. Also Dumbledore fell slowly back to earth. Remember in PoA when Harry fell off his broom, Dumbledore "slowed him down" before Harry hit the ground. I think Dumbledore was still conscious and used this spell again, or Snape nonverbally used it to soften Dumbledore's fall.

2. Symptoms of the Potion
When Dumbledore drinks the potion in the cave his glasses are askew, mouth agape, and eyes closed (pg. 574 HBP). Harry then says "no, you're not " then procedes to revive Dumbledore.
When Harry approaches Dumbledore's body after the battle he straightens his glasses and notes that his eyes are closed. He also wipes a trickle of blood from Dumbledore's mouth (Pg. 608-609 HBP). The same three features are described in these two different situations; eyes, glasses, and mouth. The eyes are closed both times, the glasses are askew, and the mouth is mentioned. Two and a half out of three isn't bad. His mouth may have been open the second time as well, we don;t know. I think Rowling did this on purpose. Perhaps the potion had finally taken full affect. I also think Dumbledore knew what he was drinking, being as wise as he is. If he didn't know, he wouldn't have "sacrificed" himself for one out of the remaining four horcruxes. He would have had a house elf or something unimportant drink it. Snape "ed" him on orders, possibly another Unbreakable Vow. Dumbledore be influencial in Book 7 in one way or another. He had a plan all along and we'll discover it in book 7. Knowing Dumbledore, it probably be flawless and foolproof.

Those are my theories

Posted by Kevin Rook from Plainwell, MI on October 13, 2006 4:06 PM

what bothers me:
in the clues given, everyone hit by the expelliarmus curse is thrown off. yet, when dumbledore is hit after freezing harry, his wand simply flies off, as if he himself threw it away. as mentioned things were going to fast for harry, he might never have noticed dumbledore throwing away his wand.
using this theory draco might be good..

Posted by Jacco from Roeslare, Belgi� on October 14, 2006 06:25 AM

It is very curious that Hagrid overhead Snape and Dumbledore arguing in the woods. As he put it on page 405 "I dunno Harry, I shouldn'ta heard it at all! I-well, I was coming out of the forest the other evenin' an' I overheard 'em talking-- well arguin'. Didn't like to draw attention to meself, so Isorta skulked an' tried not to listen, but it was a - well, a heated discussion an' it wasn' easy to block out."

"Well- I jus' heard Snape sayin' Dumledore took too much fer granted an' maybe he- Snape- didn' wan' ter do it anymore-"

It doesn't say what they were arguing about.

Posted by Kay-Lynn Pack from Marysville MI on October 14, 2006 12:03 PM

"Knowing Dumbledore, it probably be flawless and foolproof."

Kevin: Dude, it may be Dumbledore, but he himself has admitted that his plans are not Flawless NOR Foolproof, like when he was explaining Harry about the Prophecy and his plan about Harry living with his uncles.

Kay-Lynn has a point, we never know what it is that they're arguing about. Well, we know it's their plan, we just don't know what it is about.

Posted by Ra�l Llavaneras from San Antonio de Los Altos, Venezuela on October 15, 2006 3:29 PM

Another clue:

In the first chapter of the first book, Dumbledore says "I would trust Hagrid with my life." That line just SCREAMS foreshadowing, especially since it was retained in the movie.

Oh, and who deals with Dumbledore's corpse?

That's right, Hagrid.

Posted by The_mad_linguist on October 16, 2006 1:36 PM

You've got a point, whoever you are. Although it seems kind of complicated, this about Hagrid, because of the Unbreakable Vow. Mind you, if someone else knows the Vow is not fulfilled, wouldn't it Snape.

Another thing about Unbreakable Vows, how do you reckon the person is ed? By the bonder, the person who the vow is made to or by the power of the Vow itself, maybe your own wand? Can Unbreakable Vows be somehow fooled?

I think they can't, but JKR can ALWAYS surprise us.

Posted by Ra�l Llavaneras from San Antonio de Los Altos, Venezuela on October 16, 2006 7:49 PM

Question; why is it that Dumbledore more than ones, even better: most private-lessons with Harry, states that he is more brighter, more intelligent and much quicker in his thinking-process than most if not all other (common) wizards. Maybe Rowling is trying to say, between sentences, that everything Dumbledore does is thought about. So when I'm right, it would mean that on the astronomytower Dumbledore acted from his ratio and that would mean that evertything stated on this site is all but gossip. Or am I being neurotic? Probably not, for in the last books Dumbledore has never said, read: not without apologizing in a humble way, he is better than most, again, if not all wizards.

Posted by Nick Batenburg from Rotterdam, The Netherlands on October 19, 2006 05:54 AM

Something that I read that has not been mentioned before is the fact that the "Bloody Baron" likes to haunt the Astronomy tower. Headless Nick says so when he alerts Harry to the fact that Dumbledore is back in school and the Bloody Baron let Headless Nick know. This has to mean something eh?

Posted by Sharon from Michigan on October 19, 2006 12:52 PM

As much as everyone hates to accept it, Rowling has said over and over again that Dumbledore is, in fact, . Not everything in the Harry Potter books has a loophole or an exception. Some things are just what they are, literally. I would love to be wrong and find out in book 7 that Dumbledore, the greatest wizard ever, is alive, but again, Rowling said that, one way or another, Harry had to act by himself, without the help of those who protected him (James and Lily, Sirius, and now Dumbledore). Of course, we saw James and Lily in the Mirror of Erised and the Priory Incantatem spell out of Voldemort's wand. There is also much thought on the Two-Way Mirror's connection with Sirius, and Dumbledore's portrait is now in the headmaster's office, but like Dumbledore said, "No spell can reawaken the ."

Posted by Gaby from Texas on October 21, 2006 5:16 PM

Yes. No SPELL. But he doesn't mention potions...

Draught of the living , anyone?

Posted by someone from london on October 23, 2006 6:57 PM

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