I saw an old thread discussing the book, but it's like 4 pages back so for my essay i decided to start a new one!
this essay is MINE (thoughI do credit Dumbledoreisnotdead.com and hp-lexicon for info some info) please credit if used. it took me 2 hours of scouring my book for the Regulus reference!
JK Rowling (JKR) is well known for planting clues in the Harry Potter series. On close re-reading of her 6th book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince I have come to several conclusions; Dumbledore is not dead, Snape is not really a death eater and is working under Dumbledore’s orders even though he “killed” Dumbledore, and I have identified the mysterious RAB.
I believe Regulus Black is RAB. He is the only character with the initials of R and B. (we know he had an Uncle Alphard who was wiped off the family tree for giving Sirius a considerable sum of money after he ran away from home, so it is assumed this is where the A comes from.) Also, we do not know how he died. We are under the assumption the Voldemort killed him (or had him killed) because all we do know about him is that Regulus deserted Voldemort and died shortly afterwards. JKR usually gives some other detail as to who/what did kill a character, but so far we have nothing. If Regulus is RAB, we can assume that the potion in the cave or possibly the inferi killed him. But this begs the question, how did he drink the potion/ who fed it to him? A popular hypothesis is that Regulus took his house-elf, Kreacher, into the cave with him and ordered him to keep force-feeding him. So, with the problem of the second person solved, we are left with only one more question; where is the locket? If you re-read Order of the Phoenix (OotP) you will discover that ‘a heavy locket which none of them could open' (OotP Canadian Edition pg 106) is found by the kids and Sirius as they are attempting to clean out Grimmauld Place. The Slytherin horcrux that is described in the memory as “A heavy gold locket carrying Salazar Slytherin's mark (an ornate serpentine S)” (Harry Potter Lexicon (HPL)) It is also doubtful that it is sheer coincidence that Regulus and the vague story of his desertion and murder only 2 pages earlier in the chapter.
According to most who read the 6th book, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore dies in Chapter 27 “The Lightening-Struck Tower”. However there are several facts that contradict this simple conclusion. Why did Dumbledore freeze Harry when they arrived on the tower? Harry was already concealed by his invisibility cloak and casting the charm forfeited Albus’ only chance of saving himself before being disarmed. The only reasonable explanations for his actions are that Dumbledore already knew that he would die (or at least pretend to do so) on that tower and needed Harry to be a witness and to not interfere with his plan. This supposition is further supported because Dumbledore did not hesitate to cast the charm on Harry, even in his weakened state after drinking the potion in the cave.
Another interesting piece of evidence lies in an omission from the UK/Canada edition of the 6th book. It reads
"He told me to do it or he'll kill me. I've got not choice." "Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban...when the time comes we can protect him too...come over to the right side, Draco...you are not a killer..." Malfoy stared at Dumbledore. (HBP UK Edition pg 552)
The USA edition reads
"He told me to do it or he'll kill me. I've got no choice." "He cannot kill you if you are already dead. Come over to the right side Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Nobody would be surprised that you had died in your attempt to kill me -- forgive me, but Lord Voldemort probably expects it. Nor would the Death Eaters be surprised that we had captured and killed your mother -- it is what they would do themselves, after all. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban...When the time comes we can protect him too. Come over to the right side, Draco...you are not a killer..." Malfoy stared at Dumbledore. (HBP US Edition pg 591)
Dumbledore is guaranteeing Malfoy that he can make him disappear. If he can hide Draco and the entire Malfoy family, then why not hide himself?
Another clue is that Dumbledore was sent flying off of the astronomy tower. Never before in the books have we seen the killing curse send the victim flying backwards. Both Cedric Diggory and Frank Bryce just dropped to the ground dead. So why did Dumbledore fly? What makes this death so special? Perhaps it was not really the Adava Kedavra curse that Snape cast but another curse, perhaps a non-verbal one? If you look earlier on in the book to Snape’s first DADA lesson, you will discover that the entire class is about non-verbal spells. Perhaps Snape just hit him with some non-verbal green “lightening” while verbalizing the Killing curse. We learn from Mad-Eye Moody’s impostor (Barty Crouch) that you need to mean the curse to make it work, not just say the words. This is repeated when Harry attempts to cast Crutatius on Bellatrix Lestrange at the end of the 5th book, but cannot muster up enough hatred to do so. If Snape is really enacting a plan by Dumbledore and not wanting to kill him, perhaps Snape only injured him badly. The Name “Lightening-Struck Tower” could be implying that it was just lightening, but an unforgivable curse.
Another point of interest is the fact that Fawkes did not come to Dumbledore's rescue. Fawkes saves Harry in the Chamber of Secrets (CoS) and he comes to Dumbledore’s aid in OotP. This makes it very possible that Dumbledore planned his “death” and told Fawkes to stay away. Also, in the chapter after the next chapter, we hear the “phoenix Lament” echoing throughout the school. We see this bring Madame Pomphrey to tears while the others take no notice of it except the pleasant feelings it invokes. If one remembers that Phoenix tears have powerful healing powers then maybe more people would have clued into the idea that perhaps Fawkes was healing someone. We cannot think that the tears can bring back the dead, but if Snape cast a non-verbal lightening curse of some kind, then all Dumbledore would need is healing after the fall. It brings Poppy Pomphrey to tears because she is a healer and perhaps she understands the special-ness of the song, on some minor level at least if she is not totally sure of what exactly is happening.
It is also interesting to note that we do not actually see the body again after Harry sees him at the bottom of the tower. A bundle we assume to be Dumbledore’s body is at the funeral, but we never see an actual body. Also at the funeral, the body bursts into flames surprising the crowd. After the fire subsides the White Tomb is revealed and seems to have encased the body. Harry also thinks he saw “a phoenix fly joyfully into the blue” (HBP Canadian Edition pg 645) This suggests that Dumbledore is able to be reborn again from his ashes in the same manner as the Phoenix (under either his own power or Fawkes’ healing powers) It is also important to note that it has been stated that flames and burning mean nothing to wizards. “The witch or wizard would perform a basic Flame Freezing Charm and then pretend to shriek with pain while enjoying a gentle, tickling sensation.” (Prisoner of Azkaban (PoA) Canadian Edition pg 2)
Also, where is Dumbledore’s wand? After chapter 22 we learn that is it customary for a wizard’s wand to be snapped in half when they pass on, but there is no mention of it after it goes flying off the astronomy tower. Perhaps Dumbledore still needs it because he’s still alive!
It is also the belief of many that since Snape killed Albus that he must be evil. But if Dumbledore staged his own death then Snape would have had to have been in on the plan. We overhear Hagrid talking after Ron’s near-death by poisoning that Snape is definitely being ordered to do something for Dumbledore that he does not want to do. (HBP Canadian Edition pg 405) After all, we know after the second chapter that Snape had to take the vow or Bellatrix would have killed him or reported to the Dark Lord. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
It is also worthy to note the fact that Snape was repulsed by the act of what he was doing, not Dumbledore himself when you read “...somebody else had spoken Snape's name, quite softly.” "Severus..." The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading. Snape said nothing, but walked forward and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. ... Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. "Severus... Please..." (HBP pg 595)
It is interesting that the same descriptions of revulsion and self loathing are used when Harry is force-feeding Dumbledore in the previous chapter. The revulsion is at the act itself. Snape did not want to kill Dumbledore (and he could not use the killing curse for that reason). Also, Dumbledore was probably pleading for his death, not life. If Snape had promised to carry out the plan, then he would be putting Albus out of his misery because he was already dying as an effect of the potion. (Then Albus is saved by Fawkes after all have lost hope). It is also important to note that Snape and Dumbledore gazed at one another for a moment. Keep in mind, they are two of the most accomplished occulmens and legilimens in the wizarding world, there must have been an exchange between the two of them during that time, but because we are stuck in Harry’s biased point of view, we miss it entirely.
Perhaps the most important point of all is a quote from the Chamber of Secrets by Dumbledore himself, “I will have only truly left Hogwarts when none here are loyal to me!” and with all this evidence, can we really believe he’s gone? Or does JKR just enjoy messing with us?
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Topic: HBP Essay (SPOILER/THEORY warning) (Read 4114 times)