Beyond Hogwarts


<Latest Articles
Comments Index
Save Last On

Search Beyond Hogwarts:

Reference Desk:
Beyond Hogwarts FAQ
Wizard to Muggle Currency Converter
Harry Potter Spelling Reference


Who is R.A.B. and where is Slytherin's Locket?

by David Haber

In the dramatic climax of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore and Harry recover a locket from Voldemort's secret cave. Only after Dumbledore "dies" does Harry open the locket and find the note from R.A.B. But who is R.A.B., and where is the locket now?

> Read the full article

Pages:  <<  <  32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 ...  >  >>

Reader Comments: (Page 42)

I don't think that The Bloody Baron is R.A.B because...

a) Have we been given a date of when the Bloody Baron d? We know that Nearly Headless Nick has been for over 400 years (can't remember actual number). If the Bloody Baron d around Nicks time, then it would be impossible for him to have destroyed one of Voldemorts horcruxes... Voldemort was only at school 54 years ago.

b) If the Bloody Baron destroyed a horcrux then surely he would be good and therefore not a Slytherin Ghost.

I like the suggestion but I don't think it is right.

Posted by Will from London on April 26, 2007 09:37 AM

Keep in mind that while the locket at Grimmauld Place could be Slytherin's, Regulus could still have destroyed it. We have seen that dumbledore destroyed the ring (causing his hand to go black), but was still wearing it. Evidence therefor indicates that the item/thing/person containing Voldemort's soul survives the removal of the Horcrux. "Destroying" the Horcrux does not mean the item itself has to be destroyed. So Regulus could have got the locket, removed the Horcrux curse, and kept the locket as a memento in the house (and was then ed by a Eater or Voldemort). That would of course mean that there are only 5 for Harry destroy.

Following this logic of course, you could make a further argument for Harry being a Horcrux. He wouldn't have to , but Voldemorts soul would simply have to be extracted from his body.

Posted by reveille from Kingston, ON on April 26, 2007 6:40 PM

Hermione didn't find Regulus' name when she looked because she only looked for names of people who were still alive I think. Another possibility is that Regulus did not actually have a middle initial (otherwise it likely would have been on the tapestry), and just added it himself (like Snape calling himself the Prince) perhaps as a honour to a family member (likely not the uncle that gave Sirius the gold, however as he sounds 'good' and Regulus fancies himself 'evil').

Posted by Reveille from Kingston, On on April 26, 2007 6:54 PM

Dante: don't forget that in some foreign languages, the horcrux chaser is not called RAB but RAZ.

Posted by herve from strasbourg on April 26, 2007 11:23 PM

Will - The world isn't separated into good people and Slytherins. Just because someone is in Slytherin doesn't mean he/she is "not good". The only real qualifiers for Slytherin are clever, cunning, and unafraid of using less than legitimate means to get what they want. It seems to me that Mundungus might have been sorted into Slytherin if he had not been Muggle-born, and Dung isn't bad, just a bit shady. Dante's suggestion that R.A.B. might be the Bloody Baron really can't be thrown out just because the Bloody Baron was the Slytherin ghost.

Posted by Monkeeshrines from orlando FL on April 27, 2007 12:30 PM

This is a further question to the Mundungus has the locket theory.

This is believed because he had the case full of stolen goods from HQ in Hogsmeade. But it's problematic for several reasons. He was talking to Aberforth. We have been told that Mundungus is banned from the Hog's Head (which is why he was disguised as a witch in OOTP) for offending Aberforth. But he was there for the Order. So did Aberforth lift his ban on Dumbledores orders? Can't have, because we are told he is in disguise mostly because he was banned. Does this mean Aberforth isn't in the Order this time around? Unlikely, as what could he have done to be excluded after being in the order last time? But if he is in the Order, then why couldn't Dumbledore ask his brother to allow Mundungus to be in the bar to guard Harry? Perhaps he knew Mundungus was there and the disguise was solely so that he could guard Harry and the other students better.

But why then were they talking? Did Dumbledore ask Aberforth to look into Mundungus' dealings? Clearly he acts outside of the Order and they can't control him much. Perhaps Dumbledore wanted to find out if he was stealing stuff from HQ. If that is the case, why would he care so much? He's got other things to worry about.

If Aberforth isn't in the Order, then what were his dealings for? Is he also outside of Dumbledore's control? And if he has the locket, why wouldn't Dumbledore know about it? Dumbledore obviously wouldn't know the locket from the cave is a fake since he doesn't even know what he'll find there let alone that someone would have beat them to it. It seems to me that if Aberforth found out that Mundungus had Slytherins locket he would notify his brother who would discover it was a Horcrux (and he would then tell Harry).

So with this logic, we can surmise that Aberforth likely didn't get the locket from Mundungus (assuming he even has it of course). Why then does Rowling have Aberforth as the person Mundungus is talking to? She could have made it anyone as it is primarily purposed to show Harry that he is stealing stuff from HQ.

Having Aberforth there makes us think that something else is going on, which means, well there has to be something there (like Mundungus has the locket). Maybe she just wanted to draw our attention to him again as a subtle clue that becomes important later on.

Perhaps Aberforth never received it, but noticed it and told Dumbledore, who then be able to instruct Harry (perhaps in a letter or some other form like through his portrait) how to get it.

We know Mundungus was sent to jail, and perhaps it is hidden somewhere, or perhaps Dumbledore knows he has Slytherin's locket from his brother and can instruct Harry where to find it. Maybe Mundungus has it with him in Azkahban and Harry have to go there to retrieve it (we actually haven't been there in the story, which is peculiar since most places she references, she has characters go there).

So many possibilities.

Posted by Reveille from Kingston, ON on April 27, 2007 9:43 PM

from london:

thats ASSUMING that he d around nicks time

Posted by Dante on April 28, 2007 04:04 AM

monkeyshines makes a good point. Take Slughorn into consideration. Im not saying he's the greatest character. Id even go as far as saying that he is a rather Umbrige-like character, what with stealing Aragogs venom at his , discussing Horcruxes with the Dark Lord, and breaking and entering muggle houses for a year straight, but hes not EVIL. Given the chance, I think he wold seize the chance to destroy any Horcrux that crosses his path, so even IF the Baron is NOT good, he cant be EVIL, can he? Or he wouldnt be a Hogwarts ghost. I think he would destroy a Horcrux, too.

MONKEESHRINES, per speculation on you earlier comment about Sirius's opinion, I believe that evidence concerning R.A.B. as Regulus, coupled with that of my evidence of it being the Baron, leads to the fairly safe conclusion that IF IT IS one of them, it all depends on how Regulus was ed. There is a 50/50 chance of R.A.B. being either the Baron or Regulus, IF Regulus was ed by Voldemort personally. If he was ed on the Dark Lords orders, he probably wasnt strong enough to destroy a horcrux, which means that the probability that it WAS Regulus decreases substantially. Of course, it could have been that Voldemort ed Regulus personally, and the Baron is still R.A.B., or he WAS ed on orders and still destroyed the Horcrux and replaced it.

Posted by Dante on April 28, 2007 04:25 AM

Theres one thing bothering me. If the heavy locket WAS the Horcrux, wouldnt Harry's scar hurt unbearably? His scar is so sensitive to the Dark Lord, it hurts when Voldemort is angry, not necessarily just when he is close. If his scar is that sensitive, it would at least prickle a bit when coming in contact with the Dark Lords Horcrux, even if it did get destroyed before then. I think just the fact that it used to belong to Voldemort would trigger Harry's scar hurting.

Then again, I could be wrong. The fact that the locket belonged to Voldemort alone maybe isnt a trigger to his scar hurting. I say this because during the private lessons Harry had with Dumbledore, when he showed Harry the ring with the black stone on it, his scar did not hurt, and the ring DID belong to Voldemort. Harry even walked past it once, on his way out after one of the lessons.

I just realized something MONUMENTAL! If Harry's scar hurts when Voldemort is near, HE CAN USE HIS SCAR AS A SORT OF RADAR TO FIND THE REMAINING HORCRUXES! I'll be ing to bet that the first thing that happens in book 7, when he goes to Godrics Hollow, is that his scar starts to prickle!

Posted by Dante on April 28, 2007 11:37 PM

Sirus mentioned that his brother was not the brightest wizard, but he could have been great at some things. Take Albert Einstien. As a child people thought he was slow, but he turned out to be a genius. Now when he took the locket and replaced it he may have been able to get away. HE may then have returned home, hid the locket (after several atempts to destroy it) and made a run for it. Then several long years later, Harry not yet realising what it was tossed it to the side. Mundungus Fletcher found, stole, and possilbly sold Salazar Slytherins Locket. I also think that maybe after Regulus replaced the locket he sent the real one home, hoping to destroy it later. Voldemort may have then appered, and ed him and pushed him into the lake with the other inferis.

Posted by Jenna on April 29, 2007 05:18 AM

But are we perfectly sure that Regulus Black could possibly be the person who can ACTUALLY have the guts to destroy a Horcrux? I wonder whether he was one of those really faithful servants who knew about horcruxes. I mean, malfoy had no clue about the diary...though he has been chosen to work for voldemort.

Posted by Shambhavi from Delhi, India on April 29, 2007 08:12 AM

Well, Shambhavi, it takes much more than guts to destroy a horcrux. I just dont think that someone who could have been destroyed by Voldemorts underling could have had the magical prowess to destroy a Horcrux, and I think it is a strong possibility that he WAS destroyed by a Eater, because it was SIRIUS's opinion, and he's a member of the Order of the Phoenix, which knows a lot about Voldemorts plans, so I think his opinion is a little more than a wild guess...

Posted by Dante on April 30, 2007 11:01 AM

Pages:  <<  <  32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 ...  >  >>



Latest Discussions | Comments | The Septology | Harry's World | Harry Potter Movies | FAQ


BeyondHogwarts.com is not affiliated with or approved by
Scholastic Books, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros., or J.K. Rowling
Original Content Copyright © 2006-2009 David Haber, All Rights Reserved