Dumbledore Is Not Dead!

Well… maybe not. At least, I don’t think he is.

I must admit, J.K. completely got me. I fell for it all, hook, line and sinker.

dumbledore

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 “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, take a look at this non-Dumbledore-death-related example, which uses actual quotes from the book as we will be doing throughout this website (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 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)

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David Haber
David Haber

D.S. Haber (known to his friends as Dave) is a professional muggle computer programmer and web designer and lives in Los Angeles. He is proud of the fact that he is a new-blood wizard with no (apparent) previous magical blood in his family. His favorite Quidditch team is the Falmouth Falcons, who's motto is "Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads." He is also a West Ham United (Hammers) fan.

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Alyssa
Alyssa
17 years ago

There is another bit of evidence to indicate that this was part of Dumbledore’s plan. When Harry confronted Snape outside of the castle and called him a coward. Snape had a major reaction.

DON’T YOU……..CALL ME A COWARD Like he’s furious that Harry or anyone else could consider him a coward after what he had just done,after the sacrafice that Dumbledore made him make.

Jacob
Jacob
17 years ago

Its interesting that Dumbeldore’s favorite animal, and Patronas is a… PHOENIX!

leila
leila
17 years ago

i totally agree with you dumbledore can t have died by the hand of snape?!

Aashika
Aashika
17 years ago

i really feel dumbledore is dead…..inspite of the cool clues…..but, i really dont trust snape…..hes the worst charecter in the whole hp!

Dave Haber
Dave Haber
17 years ago

BUT! Dumbledore trusts him! Don’t you think Dumbledore knows (knew) what he was doing?

Toyin
Toyin
17 years ago

I dont think that dumbdore is dead because when he and harry came back from the cave he was holding a locket that was found in the potion which was a fake horcrux, when snape
killed him u know harry chased snape and the rest of the death eater and before he left dumbledore there the locket was still with him but when he went back to where DD was the fake horcrux wasn’t there anymore. so who could have taken? dumbledore? or who

Ellen
Ellen
17 years ago

I think that dumbledore is dead because without him the ending will be more exciting as with him! Also Harry could speak to him, because of the pictures of the headteachers in the headteacherroom! If he has got a problem he could go there!

me
me
17 years ago

jo said he was. jo doesnt lie.

sarah
sarah
17 years ago

i think that dumbledore may be dead but he told snape to kill him for some reason that we dont know about of course.

Someone
Someone
17 years ago

Two of my friends had this theory:
Since Snape had a reason to die, (wasnt Voldimort gona kill him?) Dumbledore and Snape SWITCHED POSITIONS. And you know Dumbledore had drunken a potion earlier? Well, it could’ve been Polyjuice Potion.

Anyway, J.K. Rowling will and HAS to tell us the plot behind it all in the 7th book. We’ll find about it soon enough.

Shruti
Shruti
17 years ago

the story has to go backward not forward.And no matter what you say Dave Haber-you ARE upset and feel that you might be worng by what JK said at the book reading with King and Irving.I HAVE PROOF OF THIS because you changed the site address from dumbledoreisnotdead.com to beyondhogwarts.com.Accept it,Dave-you area a loser in the HP Sleuths.I mean you had points and all-im not denying that.But what were hey?Red herrings-thats what.

Dave Haber
Dave Haber
17 years ago

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Shruti: Although I’ve never claimed on this site that I’m sure that Dumbledore is Not Dead, just that it’s a possibility, I did not change the name of the site from dumbledoreisnotdead.com to beyondhogwarts.com to admit defeat in my belief.

I created this new site, Beyond Hogwarts, and combined the old site dumbledoreisnotdead.com with it, because when Book 7 does come out, the Dumbledore question gets solved, one way or the other. But even after the last book comes out, there will still be many things about Harry and his world to discuss and debate, and that’s what this site, Beyond Hogwarts, is for.

So, as dumbledoreisnotdead.com was Half-Blood Prince therapy, Beyond Hogwarts will hopefully help us all understand and cope with the end of the Harry Potter books, and take us beyond them.

Dave Haber
Dave Haber
17 years ago

Someone correct me if I’m wrong… I don’t believe that is in a book. I believe JK said it in an interview.

Brett J.
Brett J.
17 years ago

Yeah, its not in the books. JKR hints at it in interviews.

Gabriele
Gabriele
17 years ago

Something else came to my mind today. DD’s patronus is a Phoenix, DD’s pet is a phoenix. A phoenix arrises from his own ashes (he burns up) Typical that DD is not being buried, but cremated, ey?

Ra�l Llavaneras
Ra�l Llavaneras
17 years ago

Yup, the fact that Dumbledore’s Patronus is a Phoenix was said by JKR in an interview.

I agree with Kelsey on the color of the Drought of Living Dead, that’s why I said like a week ago that it was something like DOLD, just that it had like a slow effect, lke Skele-Gro. Besides, didn’t Dumbledore say in the cave that the potion had been created by Lord Voldemort himself, or something like that?

I like what Brett said about Dumbledore being a white Phoenix, hadn’t thought about the COLOR of the Phoenix, I just though a plain red and gold Phoenix. Although it may be silver, I think the books say that Dumbledore has silver hair (not sure right now, it’s like 7 AM and I’ve been up all night studying for my math mid-term exam), so it he may be a silver Phoenix. Anyway, I had a question about Animagi: Are these powers hereditary? As far as we know, they may be hereditary (nothing to prove the opposite, the only Animagus that has a son, as far as we know, is James), so couldn’t Harry be an animagus? I read in a fan-fic (pre-OotP) that they were, so I thought it might be interesting to see if they are or not.

Great comments all, just one thing, Chris Faria: What hit Sirius was a stunner, it was a flash of RED light that made him stumble backwards and make hime fall through the veil.

Michael
Michael
17 years ago

I believe it is hinted the Dumbledore’s patronus is a phoenix in book 1 or 2 when Dumbledore is with Harry on Hogwart’s grounds and summons Hagrid. It wasn’t explicitedly called a patronus in the book but, and not sure of the exact wording, “A silverly thing flew from Dumbledore’s wand.”

Brett J.
Brett J.
17 years ago

Raul, I don’t think being an anigmaus is hereditary. Firstly, DD has said in one of the books that becoming an animagus is extrmeley difficult, and for someone young to accomplish it is quite a feat (Sirius and James were known to be great young wizards).
Secondly, JKR has said Harry will never become an animagus (at least not in book 7, specifically). Animagus’ need to train and work hard to be able to transform, and I don’t think parents or genes have anything to do with it, but nice question!

Yeah, DD would definitely be a white/silver phoenix. Think guys, remember in the first book, how McGonagle’s cat transformation resembled her? She had little circles around her eyes for her glasses, and resembled her overall color? I mean, DD is white haired, so basically he will become a white feathered phoenix… Harry thought he saw a white phoenix fly up in the end of book 6. Connect the dots people…

Angad
Angad
17 years ago

Hi, I think that this site is very cool and everything and the clues are fantastic. However why do we keep forgetting that Jo said a major character will die. I didnt read about any other major character dying. However I totally agree that Snape may be good and working on dumbledore’s orders. We all know that dumbledore’s the wisest wizard and I think he died only because he wanted to.Why did he tell harry about the horcruxes of LV. Because he knew that he would have to prepare Harry with all information before he dies. Otherwise he could have simply found & destroyed LV’s horcruxes without telling Harry. But I have to admit it that there is a strong relation beveen AD and his phoenix and his burial is very mistyfying. However he knew that Harry will come of age in a few months and it was about time that Harry began to hunt LV on his own and his protection will result in harry being unprepared when he faces the real thing all alone. I also think that Draco will play an important role in next book and he & harry may finally become allies for the first time. I think that Snape will also play a very important role because he would become LV’s most trusted Death Eater and may learn many of his secrets & finally assist Harry in the final task. I only hope that 7th book lives up to the expectations and doesnt kill both Harry and Voldemort. Well, I think it is a possibility…

Ra�l Llavaneras
Ra�l Llavaneras
17 years ago

Did JKR say that? I didn’t know, I haven’t read many interviews, well, NONE actually! But it was just the thought of it, you know? It’s just that the final course of Biology in High Schol in Venezuela touches genes and stem cells and stuff so I thought that magic may be linked to your genes, so, it was just a possibility. I know becoming an Animagus is extremly difficult and can get pretty uhm, BAD if it’s not done right and stuff, but was an idea.

So, JKR said Harry wouldn’t become an animagus, how about someone else? You know, it’s amazing how little JKR reveals about the characters besides the actual story that she tells. For example, we don’t know what Hermione wants to do after Hogwarts more than the fact of “something more important” which I believe were the words she used in OotP, I can’t remember well, Physic’s got me brain-dead.

By the way, something that just came to my mind: Does Voldemort know about the hunt for the Horcruxes? I mean, as far as he knows, only the Diary has been destroyed, and as he gives so little credit to other people, he may think they don’t know what it was, being Horcruxes something SO dark, and Dumbledore said he doubted he could feel if they were destroyed.

Oh, I also wanted to tell you that I think Hagrid KNOWS about the Horcruxes, because in book 1, when he went to take Harry his letter and took him to Diagon Alley, he told Harry that he (Hagrid) thoght Voldemort to be alive because there wasn’t much of a human side left of him, doesn’t this just SCREAM “Hey, I’m in on the secret!”?

Finally: What happens to Fawkes now that Dumbledore’s dead? I think that this ought to be explained in HP7, as should be Dumbledore’s will, as he’s really chucked it, as far as the world knows. I think he went underground so he could find and destroy the rest of the Horcruxes without anyone poking around�

Josh
Josh
17 years ago

Dumbledore is dead and Snape is a death eater. Snape definitely is a death eater because he stunned flitwick, and went to help the other death eaters. If he was really in the order he would have helped the aurors. I also think that Dumbledore is dead because it leads up to the theme of all of Harry’s parent figures dying, so that he will be alone to face Voldemort. (unless he’s with Ron and Hermione). And why did Dumbledore’s freezing charm wear off when Dumbledore was killed?

Gabriele
Gabriele
17 years ago

I still tend to believe he isn’t dead.
If you were a writer would you admit to other people’s theories about someone returning? I don’t think so. Natureally you want people to excpect nothing so you’ll be able to surprise them in the last book! Would we like it to know DD might do a Gandalf in book 7? No!
Of course we want yet another book that keeps us reading for hours on end!

I truly think Snape and DD had a plan. And I really doubt it DD had PLANNED his “real” death. We all know DD cares a lot about his students, he would never abandon them in a time like that. Not with Voldie on the loose!

TnT
TnT
17 years ago

well the clue about the unbreakable vow is not true. If you read through it clearly it says: “And should it prove necessary… if it seems Draco will fail… will you carry out the deed that the Dark Lord has ordered Draco to perfom” (p. 41). What means that snape could have killed dumbledore without breaking the vow cause Draco fail.
Another thing that should give you to think about is what Trelawney says on p 507. “The lightning struck tower, Calamity, Disaster. Coming nearer all the time…”
Of course i hope everything you say is true in the end and Dumbledore is still alive but these two things are really speaking against it.

huzaifah
huzaifah
17 years ago

hey what if dumbledore ghost comes back! (can ghosts use wands?)

darling polo
darling polo
17 years ago

I am thinking of everything you said of it even before i came to this page, another important thing that hasnt been mentioned in this page is that the portraits are real… I mean even if he is dead the portrait can talk, think and be present in time… you know what i mean? so I was thinking that maybe he will come back thuouth the portrait… harry anyways will have his help. but still I hope for him to come really for my own health I am so sick of thinking he is dead that I even started the book for the third time.. that is insane.. but anyway.. lets hope for his return. i will be loyal to him and that is enough.!

Katherine
Katherine
17 years ago

I highly agree with your thinking in HBP. However, some may find it difficult to believe that it is part of Dumbledore’s plan for him to fake his own death. We do not want to believe that Snape is innocent, because for six years Snape has loathed Harry and tortured him in any way possible. We want to have something against Snape. In almost every book, Snape is suspected of being guilty for whatever misfortune is taking place at Hogwarts. Yet every time the guilt belongs to another person. In HBP, Snape is finally guilty and we are satisfied. Your research is very convincing and changed my views on a few things. Of course, I am making no bets on the outcome of the seventh book until it has been published.

no0r
no0r
17 years ago

Alrite now, I hve been closely following the comments on this site about DD’s death and came to the conclusion that JO’s right. And why? Well, if we go back to end of the first book where DD’s talking to Harry at the hospital about Nicholas Flamel’s death, he says “After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”
Also, in book 5 during the duel with Voldemort, DD makes it very clear that death isn’t the worse thing to happen.
Now we all know that nobody can beat DD’s clever mind so right there in the first book itself it was made clear that DD doesn’t believe that death is the end or there’ll be an end of DD after a certain death. So, it means even if he’s dead, he’s still powerful and equally efficient. He may not be able to do things himself now but can make them happen. So, if this theory is to be followed then DD is surely dead but not OUT.
P.S. By calling JO a liar so blantantly is very disrespecting. She’s the captain of this ship and I am very sure she wont lie unabashadly like this and then in the 7th book revive DD and say “Oh, I was just lying”.

Michael
Michael
17 years ago

I have started rereading the HBP and there seems to be a theme concerning Fawkes.

As a majority of most people (myself included) feel that Fawkes is Dumbledore’s horcrux, while rereading I noticed that every time Harry compliants Dumbledore during their private lessons, JK writes that Fawkes lets out a noise.

Most of the time this is explicitly stated through the use of commas. For example (and paraphrasing since I don’t have the book) when Harry was telling DD about the converversation with Scrimouregor at the Weasley’s home during XMas, when Harry said “he is DD’s man through and through,” DD become weepy and Fawkes makes a noise.

It appears that Fawkes recognizes Harry’s compliments and feelings towards DD. I quickly looked in Chamber and never found this writing style to occur. There are parts in HBP where it is very explicit – statement by Harry, (followed by a comma) Fawkes making a noise, (followed by continuation of storyline).

Would this be because Fawkes and DD share a piece of soul?

theo
theo
17 years ago

if fawkes would be the horcrux, why would dumbledore ask harry to get the information. it seems to me that dumbledore is just guessing and doesn’t know what a horcrux is until harry tells him. and if he wasn’t sure what a horcrux was, as he said, then he can’t be able to make one.

Philip Chandler
Philip Chandler
17 years ago

I don’t want to believe that Dumbledore is dead; although JK Rowling has said that we shouldn’t “expect him to do a Gandalf”! Which to me seems conclusive, alas. Having said that, there are a LOT of clues in the book that he isn’t, and it seems difficult to reconcile these with the idea that Dumbledore is dead.

Michael
Michael
17 years ago

Theo –
Dumbledore asked Harry to get the information (I assume you mean from Slughorn) to determine how many horcuxes were made.

theo
theo
17 years ago

hmm u have a point that could be right, but slughorn said that it’s really bad for your body and your sould to make horcruxes, and if dumbledor would have done one he sure would have changed wouldn’t he`?

Kevin
Kevin
17 years ago

Getting back to the portrait for a moment…….
It never spoke…it just apeared to be sleeping…
Does any one else think its odd that with all that had just happened, DD wouldn’t have tried to reassure and encourage those in his office, especially the staff, if he’d had the chance?
How tired could he have been?
He was dead.
And… just how much of a person is in one of those portraits…
Is it just a shadow, like a ghost, or is it substatially more?
Or even better, can they cast spells?
Didn’t a which in one portrait threaten to curse N. Black when he was slow to do DD bidding?

Ra�l Llavaneras
Ra�l Llavaneras
17 years ago

Portraits casting spells? I don’t see that happening. Let me explain: Portraits and people share only two things: time and sound, there is no way (so far) to insert yourself in a portrait nor is there a way for someone in a portrait to come out and shake your hand. Portraits are something like ghosts, they share the same uncorporealness feature (neither can touch a living being), time means nothing to either of them, they can talk with living beings, they can provide guidance, etcetera, yet they don’t share our SPACE, which means what happens in there space doesn’t happen in ours.

Fawkes, Dumbledore’s horcrux? No way. You see, when Dumbledore and Harry talk about Horcruxes after they see Slughorn’s real memory, Dumbledore says something like “Voldemort was too eager to rip his own soul in the search of immortality that he didn’t stop the see the value of a soul which is hole and untarnished.” After reading this, I have no doubt that Dumbledore DID NOT make a horcrux.

Why do Fawkes and Dumbledore seem so alike? Well, haven’t you seen that Fawkes and Dumbledore have spent at least like 60 years together? (taking Voldemort’s wand as a refference) They are bound to have a great connection. Besides, phoenixes are loyal to the extreme, meaning that they share what you feel.

And Dumbledore knew, in some way, about Horcruxes, Slughorn said in his memory “Dumbledore is particullarly fierce about that subject” and Dumbledore said that he realized, after Voldemort came back, what the diary was.

parnparn
parnparn
17 years ago

I’ve been following this site since its establishment and i’m glad there is this comment function now so we can all discuss and share our thoughts in a more informal manner!
just wanted to say that i really hope that dumbledore isnt dead! the horcrux theory is very probable, i keep thinking about this everytime i reread the entire series:)

Mikey
Mikey
17 years ago

Here’s another way for Dumbledore to be present in book 7, dead though he might be. On the frog card he’s been accredited for 3 acheivements: Partner with N.Flammel, Defeat of a dark wizard in 1945, and 12 uses of dragon blood.

This last one has not been factored into the story…yet.
I believe in their 1st year Hermione was found studying the 12 uses although we don’t know what they are. Then no mention of dragon blood… until HBP.

In HBP Slughorn and Dumbledore were cleaning Slughorn’s home after he faked his deatheater attack. As Slughorn magicked blood off the wall, Dumbledore asked him what kind of blood it was. Slughorn responded it was dragon blood and that he hoped it was not contaminated because it was extremely rare.

I believe Dumbledore formulated a strategy using this dragon blood that we will discover in book 7.

Doris
Doris
17 years ago

I think that Dumbledore is not dead and would like to add one additional possible clue. In the HBP the “draught of living death” is introduced. As Harry stirs his potion in the Slughorn lesson, it gets paler and paler, so possible it is quite close to white. The potion that Dumbledore drinks near the end is green. However, there is a green light: A white potion, illuminated by a green light would be green.
It is a little bit far-fetched, as he who must not be named has no reason to hide his horcrux in such a potion.
And Dumbledore, who has planned his death, would hardly leave it to a coincidence.
But perhaps there was a good reason for he who must not be named to hide his horcrux in such a potion and Dumbledore knew?
And as this side says: The draught of living death is the only potion without function in the story.

Eileen
Eileen
17 years ago

That’s a very good thought, Doris. And I have a reason for why Voldemort would have that be the potion protecting his horcrux.
Do you remember when Harry was very worried about Dumbledore drinking it? Dumbledore said that it would not kill him, because Voldemort would want to know who he was, what he knew, etc. We don’t know how long the effects of the Draught of the Living Death last. Possibly there is a spell that must be done to lift it, in which case the intruder would remain there until Voldemort came, no matter how long that took. Also, if RAB did really plant that fake locket there, who’s to say that that potion is the one that Voldemort put there originally?

Jelly Pie
Jelly Pie
17 years ago

Well, I think that what Mikey is said is sooo totally right. HAs anyone else here come up with that? That is SUCH a brilliant observation! What does everyone else think? His comment is the last on page eleven, and it is the best clue in this entire index so far. So read it guys, and tell me what you think! I think he is so onto something!

DHayes
DHayes
17 years ago

I was rereading The Sorcerers Stone last night and in Harry’s very first Potions lesson with Snape, Snape taunts Harry with a series of questions that he knows Harry won’t be able to answer. The first is what do you get when you by mixing a root of Asphodel and an infusion of Wormwood. It is a most sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. As JK Rowling seems to never mention something so specific without another purpose, I propose that this potion, combined with whatever spell threw him over the tower, are what gave Dumbledore the appearance of being dead.

Aton
Aton
17 years ago

RAB is sirius’s bro regulus and he stole a horcrux and destroyed it, and then he tried to run, but got killed.

Also dumby isn’t dead because harry can’t kill voldi with just ron and hermione so he would need some help. Just as he would need help with snape so dumby must be alive.

I also think he is dead. This is because his portrait is in the head office and it only goes in there if YOU ARE DEAD!

Dave Haber
Dave Haber
17 years ago

Well, not deciding is, in a way, a decision. 🙂

I would like to point out that we do not know for sure you have to be dead to have a portrait. That is never said in the books.

Stella
Stella
17 years ago

ok on the second page Pavan Srivatsava says that it is Dumbledor’s brother, not Albus Dumbledor who is dead. That is a really cool idea but still, do you really think that Albus would really condem his brother to death. ok so all the piont you made are good, but there is no way he would do that. Even if he did, and Harry finds out, do you really think that Harry will forgive him. Harry is the one who has basically lost every parental figure he has ever felt close to. After Harry’s loss of family, why would he still follow Albus after giving up his brother like that?

Mark H
Mark H
17 years ago

Well, Stella… you have a good point. However, Dumbledore realizes he is at the top of the list for most powerful wizards of all time. He might have had to make a choice- let his brother die, or let the world perish. Dumbledore may be a caring person but he is definitely not stupid. Hmmm…. I don’t know though.

By the way, when DD and LV are dueling and DD says he wants more than death for LV what do you think he meant exactly? There are of course things worse than death, like insanity. (LV is already basically insane though.) What do you think DD had in mind?

Aditi
Aditi
17 years ago

Mark, I don’t know exactly but I am hazarding a guess that DD meant a condition similar to what Dementors do. Suck the soul out of you. I am not saying that’s what DD had in his mind (using dementors on LV) but something similar to it. When you exist as an empty shell without any sense of self. Or maybe he was being enigmatic as usual.

As for the death of Aberforth, he’s more than a 150 years (being DD’s elder brother and DD himself being 150). I think for Aberforth ‘death will be but the next great adventure as he has a fairly organised mind.’ (In DD’s words). But if you ask me, I don’t think it was Aberforth who died that night. I don’t think anybody died at all.

Mistral
Mistral
17 years ago

Good question Mark�.what did Dumbledodre mean when he said to Voldemort: We both know that there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom�

I am speculating that AD was talking about that other Dark Lord called GRINDELWALD. The same he defeated in 1945. My guess has always been that Voldemort, after finishing school at Hogwarts, met Grindelwald.

Does it not say in HBP Chapter Twenty �LORD VOLDEMORT�s REQUEST� that LV had vanished for some years, after he had stolen The Locket and The Cup� from Hebzibah Smith?

I would not be surprised if he met Grindelwald, How goes the saying: �Birds of a feather flock together�. This infamous DARK Wizard did definitely know about HORCRUXES. I mean he was important enough to be vanquished by Professor Dumbledore!

When reading the dialogue between Dumbledore and Voldemort in OotP, it gives the impression as if Dumbledore is reminding LV of an event that has happened in the past. Something HE, Voldemort knows about���

It never says AD KILLED Grindelwald but defeated him.( Though we know from Jo�s interview that he is deceased.)

What if Grindelwald had made ONE Horcrux and he Voldemort knew about his dark secret? That would explain why it does not say KILLED but defeated.

Voldemort being �delusions of grandeur� snatched this opportunity to be himself THE NUMBER ONE of all dark Wizards!

Aditi
Aditi
17 years ago

Mistral, I think you’ve got a good thing going on there. I’m completely in favour of thinking that there was some communication between the 2 dark wizards. But, though Grindelwald may have made a Horcrux I don’t think that has anything to do with what DD might have referred to in the Ministry about other ways of destroying a man.

Mistral
Mistral
17 years ago

Aditi
I got so carried away writing about Voldemort, MAYBE knowing about Grindelwald�s Horcrux that I hadn�t finished my article completely.

What if we are searching too far for an explanation? Why do I say this? We shouldn�t forget that this sentence was written before �Half-Blood Prince� and we did at that time know absolutely nothing about Horcruxes!

Having that in mind, the mentioned phrase would all of a sudden make sense! We know from the talk Dumbledore had with Harry (remember the destroyed DIARY in CoS?), that AD suspected LV of having made a Horcux. So when Dumbledore says to LV: We both know that there area other ways of destroying a man, Tom� he could have had that in mind.

Remember what Voldemort says in GoF to his Death Eater? I quote: Aaah�pain beyond pain, my friends; nothing could have prepared me for it. I was ripped from my body, I was less than spirit, less than the meanest ghost�but still, I was alive�.ect.

But I admit your explanation of the said sentence is also very logical. DEMENTOR�s yes, and so far Voldemort is left with only one piece of soul. TWO are already destroyed, THE Diary and the THE Ring.

It would almost seem that having your soul sucked out is not as bad as the description given by Voldemort. I mean, who would want to live who knows where, not being able to move, eat, all alone without anybody for company? Or I am being to dramatic?

Aditi
Aditi
17 years ago

Mistral, I guess what you’re trying to say is DD thinks Voldemort is already destroyed as he has made Horcruxes. He mentions somewhere in the HBP that LV was in such a hurry to mutilate his own soul that he did not understand the power of a whole, untarnished soul.

Maybe DD was trying to convey to Voldemort that Harry one day is bound to destroy him as his soul is pure and innocent. That’s why LV possessed Harry and asked DD to kill them. Like DD said, LV hoped that he would destroy Harry as well in hopes of killing LV.

Am I making sense or does it sound weird?

Shreyas
Shreyas
17 years ago

What if dumbledore was an animagus.
That is he could transform himself into a phoenix.
He might have escaped during the funeral,when his body caught fire.
Read the last chapter of HBP. It is mentioned that harry saw a phoenix fly joyfully into the blue.