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Unanswered Dumbledore Questions

by David Haber

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...

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Reader Comments: (Page 14)

My theory began when I started SS after reading most of the material here, which was a complete legend for all of the things that I had noticed were odd, too.
Very soon into book one are we given something very interesting.

�A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you�d have thought he�d just popped out of the ground.� (SS pg 8)

This information conflicts with every other apparition we�ve ever seen. Apparition, as I�m sure you know, is accompanied by a distinctive cracking or popping sound.

�... but before they had taken a few hurried steps, a series of popping noises announced the arrival of twenty wizards, appearing from thin air, surrounding them.� (GOF pg 129)

For some reason, it was this time through that the thought that Dumbledore could apparate silently hit me. Then, I got curious and reached for HBP. I already knew that Dumbledore had gotten thrown off of the tower, and there is no mention of the popping sound of an apparition occurring. �Ah ha!� you may say, �but you cannot apparate on the Hogwarts grounds!� While this is very true, I would also like to point out one more very interesting discovery.

�As they flew over the dark, twisting lane down which they had walked earlier, Harry heard, over the whistling of the night air in his ears, Dumbledore muttering in some strange language again. He thought he understood why as he felt his broom shudder when they flew over the boundary wall into the grounds: Dumbledore was undoing the enchantments he himself had set around the castle so they could enter at speed.� (HBP pg 583)

�How odd,� I thought when I re-read the book earlier this summer. What other barriers that protect Hogwarts have we ever heard about? Surely there are some to protect Hogwarts from the Dark Arts, but apparition inside Hogwarts is a topic that keeps reappearing in every single book�thanks to Hermione. Another piece of information from the article here "Who Is RAB and Where Is Slytherin's Locket?" shines a bit of light on our theory that Hermione has been chosen by J.K. to be the main foreshadower of our books.

�... when Hermione says something in a book, she's usually right. (Our H.P. Sleuth rules thanks to our friends at Wizarding World Press state that when Hermione says something, she's usually right, unless she's mad or upset, and whenever Ron says something, he's usually wrong, unless he's joking.)�

Could it be that Dumbledore was undoing the non-apparition zone surrounding Hogwarts? No, that would be sheer madness with the Eaters attacking! Or would it? The non-apparition zone around Hogwarts is a well-known fact. And once Draco Malfoy had fixed the Vanishing Closet which allowed the Eaters into Hogwarts, as they queued up inside Borgin & Burkes on the other end of the Vanishing Closet, would it have occurred to any of the Eaters that they would now be able to apparate into Hogwarts? Or, as they were fleeing Hogwarts, would it have occurred to any of them that they could flee safely by apparatition?

Could it make sense then that Dumbledore was able to apparate safely to the ground after he was out of sight of the others? Is it possible to apparate in mid air?
Regardless, I am going to continue on my theory that Dumbledore was somehow able to apparate after being flung off the tower with Severus Snape�s pseudo-Avada Kedavra.

The thing that had me thinking that perhaps Dumbledore had somehow drunk a Draught of Living , was when Slughorn was offering away a precious Felix Felicis to whomever can create the best DoLD in the time period provided. Also, I was very suspicious of the statement in HBP,

�... but there was still no preparation for seeing him here, spread-eagled, broken: the greatest wizard had ever, or would ever, meet.
Dumbledore�s eyes were closed; but for the strange angle of his arms and legs, he might have been sleeping.�

�He might have been sleeping,� is that so? Even though I know wizards are more resilient than most, for example, Neville falling a large distance after his first broom experience only managed to break his wrist, for a fall that would have seriously injured most. Still, the long fall from the top of the tower would certainly have left Dumbledore in a right state, even as powerful a wizard as he, would it not?

Posted by Anony-mouse on July 4, 2007 6:05 PM

Anony-mouse (cute name) - Throughout the books, and especially in Half-Blood Prince, it implies that more powerful wizards have quieter apparition. Even Harry acknowledge it "...bangs and smoke were more often the marks of ineptitude than expertise..." Narcissa's apparition was quieter ("a very faint pop") than Bellatrix's not really because Cissy was trying to be stealthy, but because she is really more powerful than Bella. That's my belief, anyway. So someone as powerful as Albus would be pretty much silent.

Posted by Monkeeshrines from orlando fl on July 5, 2007 8:22 PM

Ah, I didn't remember that part... Ah, well.. Be that as it may, it doesn't particularly change the rest of my post. Although thank you for the correction.

Posted by Anony-mouse on July 6, 2007 09:02 AM

Ive just had a thought, if pictures can move, see, talk etc while they are pictures, then what if a statue is made and it is able to move, see, talk etc the same way like pictures? Maybe a statue of dumbledore could be made.

Posted by Huzaifah from london on July 8, 2007 2:00 PM

on the topic of why dumbledore had the invisiblity cloak in the first place, it could be because albus dumbledore was at godrics hollow at the time of james and lilys and james before gave it to albus so that he could give it to harry afterwards, albus may have been there either by time travel or anyway he can be invisible without any clok as he himself said in philosophers stone.

also can anyone give their views on what may be the final horcux as i dont believe it to be harry.

Posted by Abhishek from India on July 10, 2007 02:51 AM

"I beleive that Hermione mentioned in POA that the Ministry provides the time-turner to students."

All of the time turners were smashed during the battle at the Ministry of Magic in Order of the Phoenix.

Posted by Lauren from Anywhere on July 10, 2007 12:18 PM

That was all of the time-turners that the Ministry owned. Who's to say that other people don't own them as well? Or that one or two weren't "checked out" at the time?

Posted by Monkeeshrines from orlando fl on July 11, 2007 12:16 PM

The reason, I think, that Dolorus' picture isn't up in the Headmaster's wall is because she wasn't allowed into the office while Dumbledore was gone, meaning that she was never eally a rightful Headmistress. So she wouldn't get a plaque on the wall.

Posted by Ewan Ross on July 13, 2007 6:37 PM

I agree with all the theories. I think it is possible, but if the Dumbledore we see is actually the real one, i don't think he would keep this memory out of his head for safe-keeping... Do you think there is a safer place than a human's mind?

Posted by Mitko from Plovdiv, Bulgaria on July 15, 2007 06:03 AM

someone just explain the Freezing Charm.

Posted by Drag on July 15, 2007 09:27 AM

I believe Dumbeldore has a horcrux inside of fawkes the phoenix. This means his body can be brought back just as voldemorts did. But who did he in order to create this horcrux? The dark wizard Grindelwald in 1745 as JK Rowling has told us many times. I think this may be important that she included this information about him defeating grindelwald because this could be the he committed to create his horcrux inside his loyal pet.

Posted by Mikey from Chester on July 15, 2007 11:47 AM

I really am stuck on one sentence in the fourth book. When Harry tells Dumbledore that Voldemort was able to touch him in the graveyard, it then said that Harry thought he saw a look of satisfaction in Dumbledore's eyes, but then disregarded it. I don't want to at all believe that Dumbledore could possibly be evil or betray Harry in some way, but I always did suspect that it could come in to play much later.

Posted by miki from California on July 18, 2007 02:43 AM

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