The Pensieve

Deathly Hallows discussions

2007-06-30T17:15:00.000Z

MTV conducted this roundtable discussion on a few of the big questions that are going to be answered by Book 7. Have a look at all the three videos, there are some clever points raised.

Will Harry live or die?
Which side is Snape on?
Is Harry a Horcrux?

The Traingle symbol

2007-06-13T17:14:00.001Z

Yet another appearance of the triangle symbol, this time behind the door on JKRowling.com.

Update : Beyond Hogwarts discusses the symbol in great detail.

More Deathly Hallows Cover Art!

2007-06-08T20:24:00.000Z

I was just about to go to sleep when I opened MuggleNet.com and saw that Scholastic had released another cover art for the Deathly Hallows—the one for the deluxe edition of the American Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

"Set during a highly dramatic sunset, Harry, Hermione, and Ron--clothes in tatters--cling atop a flying dragon in this astonishing artwork created by Mary GrandPré for the deluxe edition. As mist creeps down towering hillsides to a village below, questions arise about where the trio is headed and what has led them to this spellbinding moment."

When the hell did they start flying on dragons! Last I remember about 12 wizards were needed to control one of them. And which village is that—Hogsmead, Little Hangleton, Godric's Hollow (I doubt) or is it one we don't know of yet? But I guess the bigger question is how they landed themselves in this situation seeing as they're clearly not headed for that village. Ron and Hermione appear to be what I'm assuming are their school robes whereas Harry isn't. It looks like they're headed somewhere rather than fleeing their place of departure but then why are their clothes in tatters? Maybe that was the dragon's doing but you never know!

Boy oh boy, this is starting to get out of hand for me.
Must.....hold.....on.....41...days...more

C'mon people, speculate in the comments – you know you wanna say something!

Update:I'm pretty sure the village is neither Hogsmead not Hangleton cause there's a river flowing right next to it. River...hmm..Spinner's End...nah wasn't in a hilly area, well not in my imagination atleast.

Order of the Phoenix - The movie

2007-06-02T19:34:00.001Z

I downloaded the 720p High Definition Trailer 2 of HP and OoTP yesterday. You've just gotta love the quality of these hi-def videos. Here are a few shots from the trailers that I found interesting.

This is one of my favourite shots from the trailer - Harry imagining Voldie at 9¾.

I'm not sure what this is supposed to be but I guess its Azkaban. The art on the side of Bloomsbury's children's edition of Deathly Hallows is strangely similar. Coincidence? I think not.

The Hall of Prophecies - looks good but a bit over done according to me. I'd imagined the shelves to be only slightly taller than an average human / wizard.

The Ministry of Magic - not quite what was on the back cover of Bloomsbury's children's edition of OoTP but I think it looks brilliant!

Ofcourse all images are copyright and property of Warner Bros. Studios etc.

Order of events in Deathly Hallows

2007-05-22T11:09:00.000Z

The excitement is pumping up in me by the day - just 59 more!

In an effort to liven things on this blog, what are your predictions for the order of events in Book 7 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?

Here's what I think - Privet Drive - Burrow - [possible diversion] - Godric's Hollow - Hogwarts [via Hogwarts Express? I think not] - Grimmauld Place - [no clue] - Voldie!

Post your speculations in the comments.

'Deathly Hallows' Cover Art Released

2007-03-28T12:44:00.000Z

With each passing day we are getting closer to the big day, 21st July. I know all u HP fans must be feeling the same way.... "CAN'T WAIT!!".

Well.... the cover art of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' has been released.

Click here for the Scholastic one. And here for the Bloomsbury one. Make sure u check out both the adult edition and the child edition at the Bloomsbury site. Also visit The Leaky Cauldron for the summaries.

Above courtesy to: The Leaky Cauldron

Harry Potter and The Deathly Gallows

2007-02-05T17:24:00.000Z

So finally the suspense of the waiting game is nearing its culmination, with the last final book of the Harry Potter series, being announced for a July-2007 release.

Titled Harry Potter and the Deathly Gallows, it is little wonder that it is going to be a cliff hanger, and hopefully the best book of the Harry Potter series, given that J.K. Rowling has only improved with each word.

It is going to be a gripping experience, and few shall dare to breathe while reading it. [Sincerely not reccomended for the weak of heart who have been unfortunately following the adventures of Harry Potter]!

I suggest you pre-order your copies asap, if you are a fanatic.

Can't wait...and am sure neither can you! Especially after the enthralling suspense she left us with the ending of the previous book and the controversy about the death (or the lach thereof), of Albus Dumbledore...the only wizard known of whom he-who-must-not-be-named was afraid.

JKR confirms that which we all dreaded

2006-08-05T09:53:00.000Z

Not surprisingly, DumbledoreisNotDead.com seems to think not.

Even though Rowling confirmed that Dumbledore is definitely dead, it was such a relief to finally hear something of substance about HP from the lady. At her recent New York public appearance with a couple of other authors, Jo took a lot of questions, gave a few answers, and said that she just changed the title of Book 7 that very morning when she was in the shower. No news on when to expect Book 7. I'm hoping for a mid-2007 release.

Hibernation...

2006-06-01T04:23:00.000Z

As this blog's been in hibernation for more than 2 months now, and since finally we have some time, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to update it.
Or would it?Because I hardly have much to write anyway on HP.So this is more of a name-sake article.

Anyone seen the hindi version of the Harry Potter movies [on Pogo]?I tell you, if you haven't, then must see them for the ultimate comedy.They have mutilated Harry Potter.They've horrendously changed names of the 4 houses, which were actually names of their founders, and have ironically stuck with the english name "Harry Potter".[Lord knows how I would have reacted if they would have changed it to Harish Patel too].

They've got some nerves, these people.

Ok, another thing I noticed, in the GOF movie.When Voldemort takes back his bodily form, and when he's about to fight a dual with Harry, he takes out his wand.And I remembered a thing that Harry was told years ago in Olivander's, by Olivander himself, that "the one who had given him the mark had an identical wand with the same phoenix's feather", or something.But the wand they show in the GOF movie is anything but identical.Seems more like a withered piece of wood.

Anyway,
Ciao.

Sneaky Snivellus

2006-03-28T16:32:00.000Z

The pensive's been pretty inactive for the past few days, so decided to put some of my thoughts in it. Look at the advantages - A new post, less distraction for me once I empty myself of those thoughts, and more distraction for the ones who read them! ;)

Anyways, this is a topic that I'm sure anyone who's given the slightest amount of thought to the sixth book would've come across. The one about Snape (who also happens to be one of my favourite characters). The second chapter 'Spinner's End' was just as amazing to read as the first chapter of Book 4 'The Riddle House'. Both those chapters left my mind spinning with more Riddles than the ones they answered. Thankfully enough, the riddles set by The Riddle House were answered in Book 4 itself, which leaves us with Spinner's End. Even after the events there and the events on top of the Astronomy Tower, I believe that Snape was loyal to Dumbledore. Even so, it does not pass through me that he could fool the 'most accomplished legilimens ever'. Now we all know 'Professor Snape' is very skillful in Occlumency too, but we're talking about Lord Voldermort here.

Would love to know your views. Whose side do you think 'The Prince' is on? How do you think he so perfectly fooled Voldie/Dumbledore (well if he was trying to fool Dumbledore, I don't think it could've been done in a better way)?

!! @@ !! !! ^^ !! -- !!****

2006-02-24T00:56:00.000Z

that's something we could have guessed , isnt it ? what happens to the secret once the secretkeeper dies, thats something we could have figured it out , maybe thats why she said that she wouldnt have chosen that question . my question still remains ..... is it that ,only the curses cast by the dead person that vanishes and the charms still remain .... its probably that way !!

To get something going, are we all agreeing that harry is going to die in the next book, the last book of the series. Harry is our hero now and he is undertaking this journey alone , ya ya , ron hermione everyones there , but harry is the main subject and object now isnt he? will he survive , will he do it ? will he able to rid us from Lord Voldemort ?
The war is not between evil and good , its beteen harry and Lord Voldemort , which is not good and evil , even if voldemort is destroyed , there will still be evil , it was not like evil was born when voldemort was born, evil is something that voldemort pursued , though for him its Power , it is pure evil for us ! so therefore, its war between harry and voldemort not evil and good, they are representatives of evil and good not as such "evil" and "good" themselves.
Is harry going to die or is it going to be another fairy tale with ".... and they lived happily ever after" ...
Ofcourse, thats not what we are expecting from Jo , a fairy tale , though its going to be difficult for many of us accept harry's death , are all of us believing and predicting his death ? or are we waiting for jo to come up with something magical where harry stays alive .. ... .... .....

This is nothing relevant to above, but could someone please tell me the 12 uses of dragon blood if u know any or have hear of any. .?//...>>,<<.

About Secret Keepers!!!

2006-02-22T14:52:00.000Z

So J.K.Rowling has answered a F.A.Q poll question. Its about what happens to the secret after the secret keeper dies. So if anyone wasnt aware you can check it out here.

And plz get some discussions goin!!!

Cya.

The Ancient House of Black Updated!!!!

2006-02-21T05:38:00.000Z

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black has been updated. To see the retyped diagrammatic version click here and for more written info click here.

And ya dnt forget to leave your comments.

Cya!!

What IF? Oh Shit!!

2006-02-17T17:48:00.000Z

I just had a shocking realization...

What if, by some unfortunate stroke of luck, J.K.Rowling dies before the 7th book gets released? Or before she completes it?

Shocking thought, isn't it?

Makes us realize the uncertainities of life!

*

2006-02-17T16:46:00.000Z

someone's gotta post something .......
here's an awesome thot ,
professor quirrel used to stink a lot ...
whenever he walked around the corridors , he had a nasty odour ,
hagrid says quirrel was a nice chap until he had some kind of misfortune in some forest , probably somewhere near albania ,
well ...... the nasty odour , they all learnt it come from his turban ,
though fred and george said that he'd stuffed it with garlic , i m sure he became a skunk because voldemort lived in his head , a stinking soul , voldy isnt he , voldy spoke from the back of quirrels head and we know its a stinking spot ........
voldemort stinks physically , m sure he has no sense of hygiene , that fool , ........
hehehehe .... lol ..... jus tryin to post something !!!
i so want to be a weasley twin ...
U-NO-POO ............. hehehehe !!!

The Noble and Most Ancient House of BLACK

2006-02-13T17:04:00.000Z

The black family tree, from the lady herself.

In a recent auction for charity(?), Jo Rowling released the Black Family Tree that she'd partially revealed to us while Sirius and Harry were discussing its features in OotP. Even now she hasn't revealed the complete thing to us, and has had almost half of the family tree blurred out in its pictures. Obviously she's done this for a reason - Book 7. Now what family linkage among the Blacks could possibly be giving away some plot details?

Anyways, you can see the part that she has revealed here, and Leaky Cauldron has a retyped version too as the scan isn't exactly readable casually. There are some interesting things to be noted, starting with a certain Charlus Potter who was married to Dorea (1920-1977) and the couple had one son. Could that son be Harry's grandfather? Also funny is the fact that while Draco (who's not a Black) has his name mentioned, the others have 1s or 1d etc. written. That was probably because Jo wouldn't have thought it important to mention the others, or is it due to some other reason? Well have a look for yourself and pen down your comments.

!! !!! !!!!

2006-02-11T20:56:00.000Z

no ones posted anythin lately !!
nothins comin into the head !! the ones below r frm the comments that i left on nag's blog ! jus some views and thots !

u know wat ........ harry saves ginny's life in COS and so it created a special bond , a magical one too , nd ,......... OK !!!... i dunno where i m goin with that!in POA harry saves wormtail's life , and he's gnna come in handy in the next book for sure ..... !! jus tellin u !! ....... i cant wait , i seriously cant ... almost 17 more months to go !! its killing and depressing !! i truly believe Albus Dumbledore to be dead , i completely trust his death ... but there r many other ways that he can communicate with harry , and we also know that fawkes is gnna be with him !!the events that took place, is it possible that dumbledore's death happened fr good under the influence of felix taken by the others ..... the death was meant to and planned to happen , maybe it didnt get messed up because of the felix ?? .... : ..... "to the organised mind , death is just the next journey "..... i wanna kno more about his life ! theres so much to know about albus dumbledore !! "Nitwit, Oddment, Blubber, Tweak"..........is there anything u can think regardin this ? when JKR said new pet for harry it probably was buckbeak rite ...... could it be fawkes as pple thinkin it to be ?i believe snape to be on the good side ,, "never judge a book by its cover "... its gnna come up next book ... snape and everything ! dumbledore forced snape to take the unbreakable vow ...!!!the interview with jo is kinda confusing ...... i think in a way she's said that RAB isnt regulus black !! ... i dunno !!
8:47 AM IST

harry is not as half-blooded as lord voldemort, i mean lor voldemort was proper half-blood, his father was full muggle and mother was a witch , was she squib ? but she was pretty good at makin love potions wasnt she ? or maybe it was just the suppression from her stupid dim-witted father and brother that she had, .... she musta been talented !! .... harry's mum is muggle-born witch, he's not as half-blooded as lord voldemort. i hope there's more of dumbledore's pensieve, he must hv seen more and there must be more ... shouldnt there??grindelwald and voldemorts link is predicted in the next book ...

i really need the veil , and sirius' death explained properly !! ... :( .....

harry's been wrong about snape lots of times. this has just gotten him angered up over snape for which he seeks revenge,. snapes gnna sacrifice himself somewhere along the way .. it'll be good ! ... u kno when harry realises that snape was there in the hog's head on the night that the prophecy was made ! well also ... why was wormatail living with snape , why was wormtail serving snape ... u kno wat i think happened in hog's head that night , i think it was actually wormtail who overheard prophecy , and snape might hv tried to stop or something with wormtail, and being an animagus he was allowed to escape where as snape was caught up in the commotion during all this when he's caught by the barman , ( could be ... yeh ?? ) ... !! and then when harry bursts in on dumbledore askin to expalin this , dumbledore comes near to expalin something a different theory ... should also understand that it was time ofurgency another horcrux was jus realised by dumbledore and so in the urgency of that and harry all tensed bout knowin bout malfoy and he did realise the entry of death eaters and was more keen on saving his friends life and keepin lookout and keepin malfoy away that it was jus one of those moments when something really important has to be explained that one's attention is completely changed to some other matter of much more importance .... and it was nearing the re-opening of hogwarts that dumbledore went out to seek divination teacher , snape and trelawny have worked there the same number of years ??? .... dunno ... anyways snape was probably employed in hogwarts before trelawny was. ..... ............. why dumbledore trusts and wat happened that snape stopped being death -eater is still a mystery isnt it ?? ,,,, .........snape could have been employed there before trelawany yeh?? ........ maybe snape was jus accompanying dumbledore or the mere fact that snape was there in hog's head .... ihv a strong feeling its something to do with wprmtail on this matter .... and jo's also said that she's not satisfied with how little umbridge has suffered or struggled and ther's something more .... lol .... !! that'll be interesting !! and hv u thot bout wat she moght do with the time-turner, didnt the ministry infrm that all the time-turners had been destroyed , ?? .... i love time turner !! .... voldemort was able to possess harry on the end of the book for a short period of time , it caused harry immense pain but voldemort was able to do it for a short period of time , but the moment harry starts to think about sirius and how he will be able to meet sirius again if he died ,,.... voldemorts grip loosened ... and voldemort wasnt able to possess harry after that !! ... nice isnt it ? ... i dont want to hate snape at the end of the series ... i want him to trn out good !! yes he hates harry and he hated harry's father ,,, its there isnt it ?? the hurt thats in u at sucha youg age its part of ur present and future, it reflects wat one'll become later , he has his flaws and ia good person looked differently by different people... i completely get the fact that he hates harry as much as he hated james.... its a good human emotion and i really like it !!jo maybe a fantasy writer but its based on reality , its clearly linked to reality , dumbledore's dead , she wouldnt bring him back to life .... my love for jo and harry potter will completely reduce if such thing happens .... !! i'll lose respect towards both of them !! there has to be an insider from death eaters circle to help harry , snape will be it , with right mind .... whereas wormtails help will come in sudden change of decision frm wormatail , something by instinct !! by killing dumbledore himself , snape is on the better list of voldemort and has fulfilled the vow !u kno there's something about ginny that srikes me and reminds me a lot about lily !! dumbledore was the secret keeper for the order , do u kno wat kinda things can happen ? u got any idea ? u kno if the body-bind he was lifeted off harry when dumbledore died, is it that the magic , no matter what is taken off at the death of its caster ????? ?????/ ?????? ???? but then again it was a charm that was left behind by lily , charm of love, "she was very gifted at charms " .... it was kind of a charm !! and it exists doesnt it even after she died !! u kno i would love to work in the department of mysteries? u ? an auror also ... maybe !! bt i think i'll be much suited workin in the department of mysteries !! and if i ever joined hogwarts , i wouldnt be in gryffindor , either ravenclaw or hufflepuff !! ofcourse not slytherin ! but if u compaerd it to the colours of gsis , i truly belong to hufflepuff !! ... the sorting hat would hv been confused trying to put me in either hufflepuff or ravenclaw !! ... u ? if harry died , there's gnna be a part of me thats gnna believe that no matter what , hw good hw bad death is the ultimate !! i m gnna start having pessimist look towards life ... that there's no point in life.... there r times when its just that ... its gnna happen if harry dies ... .. its scary !! : ... !! grawp with his "hermy"is really sute, when i was watching king kong i was strongly reminded of grawp and hermione .... lol .... !!!

some of the facts up there are wrong .... snape's worked there fr 14 years in the fifth book which is 2 years after the employment of trelawny ! thats one year after the birth of harry and the same year of the downfall of lord voldemort ! isnt it ?? and u kno in the fifth book , when they r in the department of mysteries and the first orb they break they hear a prophecy , its between an young woman and a bearded man, do u think its relevant ? somewhere some how ?

anyways , i think i m gnna veto my theory bout wormtail being there that night in the hogs head ... it is a possibility but nt so sure .... anyways ... first question why was snape there in the hogs head first of all .... according to trelawny, at that time he came looking for job , so in order to get tips he eavesdropped on them , should we really believe trelawny's theory on that , i m nt sure !! why was snape in the hogs head ? ... could it be that he was sent by lord voldemort to spy on dumbledore or jus that he was the kind that hung around at hogs head .. we dnt hv any evidence as to snape being a regular in hogs head !! .... and dumbledore says that in order to get onto the better side of voldemort snape sneaked about him and when dumbledore reached the point to tell the reason why he returned to our side harry had already begun yelling , jk's work of art ... beauty isnt it .... its there something big and huge ... jus when it was gnna come out .... : ...... !! are u even reading these entries ?"neither can live while the other survives"..... either voldemort has to kill harry or harry has to kill voldemort or both of them will have to die !! ... the locket in the black house did not have an 'S' on it... it jus said , a locket that no one could open , it didnt have n 'S'on it ... all the evidence fr RAB points to regulus black , and lupin says , that igor karkaroff was found somewhere in the north dead , and that he couldnt believe karkaroff survived a year after he betrayed the death-eaters and that sirius' brother regulus did not last a week or something after he betrayed them , which means that he died because he had betrayed the death-eaters somehow , i m not ruling out the theory of regulus black as RAB ... but jus sayin , .... its very fishy ... like u said of course jk will nt introduce a new character , it must be someone we already kno of !! and regulus has been mentioned lodsa times b4 but we jus read past him to get to the important stuff !

Dumbledore made his own Horcrux?

2006-02-08T19:33:00.000Z

COURTESY DUMBLEDOREISNOTDEAD.COM

Though I told about this article as a comment in the previous post, I just thought It would be worth copy-pasting the article here for everyone's convenience.Here it is:

Dumbledore's Horcrux

A DumbledoreIsNotDead.com Guest Article
written by Jan-Marie Spanard

How does a wizard learn about the existence and properties of Horcruxes? Who knows what they are, how to make them, what they can do? What wizard would make a Horcrux? Under what circumstances? And for what reasons? And why are they so evil? Hermione is working very hard to answer these questions. As Hogwarts virtual library search-engine, she is coming up empty - no answers to these questions can be found at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry so far.

Fifty years ago, Tom Riddle, while still a student at Hogwarts, somehow learned of Horcruxes. How he did this is something of a mystery since Tom has no wizarding family, no connection with anyone in the wizarding world outside of Hogwarts (that we know of), and attended a school where Horcruxes were a banned subject and the headmaster, Dumbledore, was, as Slughorn explains (OOP, US version p. 499) "particularly fierce about it..." ("it" being the ban on Horcruxes). And yet by the end of Book 6, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, we believe that Tom Riddle-turned-Voldemort had probably divided his soul into seven parts and created six external Horcruxes in his lifetime.

How do we learn of the Voldemort Horcruxes?

Through Dumbledore's suspicions.

Dumbledore is the only wizard who suspected that Voldemort created Horcruxes. When the Avada Kedavra curse Voldemort used against Harry backfired and diminished Voldemort, Dumbledore suspected that Voldemort had made a Horcrux. Then Tom Riddle's diary came along in Chamber of Secrets and Dumbledore's theory gained some support. No mere memory, the being in Tom Riddle's diary began to come to life and behave like a Horcrux, restoring Voldemort to life.

But then Tom Riddle's diary was destroyed when Harry stabbed it with the poison basilisk fang, and Voldemort did not perish. So here Dumbledore must have begun to realize that either he was wrong about his theory that Voldemort had made a Horcrux or that there may have been more than one Horcrux. What an astounding idea this must have seemed! And in Book 6 when Harry returned from the graveyard and reported what Voldemort told his followers at the end of Goblet of Fire about having gone further than any other wizard, Dumbledore believed that this information provided support for the possibility that Voldemort may have been using Horcruxes, but had been using more than one of them. Remember, it wasn't until Harry finagled that bit of memory from Slughorn (in HBP) that we got any confirmation at all of Dumbledore's Horcrux theory. Slughorn's memory shows the first hard evidence linking Voldemort with the Horcruxes.

But Dumbledore suspected the possibility of a Horcrux from the beginning. Why? Why suspect a Horcrux? Was it because he was familiar with the concept? Was it because he had already created one?

Dumbledore create something as evil as a Horcrux! Impossible!

Or is it? (Hmmm, perhaps I should write for the Quibbler…)

Here's a thought: perhaps it is not the Horcrux itself that is evil, but killing someone in order to create a Horcrux that is evil. Slughorn explains that the Horcrux is created: "By committing murder. Killing rips the soul apart. The wizard intent upon creating a Horcrux would use this damage to his advantage: He would encase the torn portion (of his soul in a Horcrux)" (HBP p. 498).

Killing rips the soul apart. This is important: Killing rips the soul apart -- whether one makes a Horcrux or not. The evil act is in the killing. If a wizard had killed another person, regardless of his intent, the ripping of the soul would have occurred.

There are three possible forms of intent involved in the act of killing. The first is malice, the desire to inflict harm and affect a killing. We usually associate this with anger or hatred and Muggle and Wizard societies both punish this type of act. The second form of intent is self-preservation. Here the person who affects the murder is justified in doing so because he, his family, his friends or even his society as a whole are in danger from the person who is about to be killed. In this case the killer is not punished by society. And the third form of intent is actually lack-of-intent. This is the case when a person or persons are killed inadvertently, or accidentally. In the Muggle world this is sometimes punished, sometimes not. If the killer's lack of due diligence caused the death(s) -- as in drunken driving -- we tend to punish it, even though it was not intended by the killer. If the killer shows due diligence -- and someone simply jumps out onto the road in front of a moving car -- we tend not to punish the killer.

I do believe that killing under any of the three forms of intent causes damage to the soul. Maybe there is no blame to be laid, no guilt to be levied, but there would still be great anguish to the soul of someone who realizes he has taken a life. Whether through malice, self-defense, or completely by accident, the person who kills is diminished in some way by having taken a life. I believe this is the damage to the soul. It is not a punishment by society, but a natural result of destroying life. And I think this damage occurs no matter how good or evil the person who affects the killing is as a person. In fact, it is easy to imagine that the anguish of a good person who is pressed to kill is far greater than that of someone who feels no loss at ending someone's life.

The damage to the soul would be irreversible. And here a wizard could use this damage "to his advantage (by) encasing the torn portion in a Horcrux." Creating a Horcrux, in and of itself, is not evil. It is the murder that precedes the Horcrux creation that causes the soul to be ripped apart that is evil. Killing is, as Slughorn explains, "the supreme act of evil." The evil is done. And then you have a damaged soul. Encasing your now-damaged soul in a Horcrux neither extends nor eradicates the evil born of the murder. A Horcrux is simply a container for that already-damaged portion of the soul.

We know, from Albus Dumbledore's chocolate frog card (Philosopher's Stone, UK edition, p. 77), that "Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindlewald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner Nicolas Flamel." So, in 1945 Dumbledore defeated the evil wizard Grindlewald. How might he have "defeated" Grindlewald? Did he need to kill him as perhaps Harry needs to kill Voldemort? There is no mention of Grindlewald in Azkaban. I suspect that the defeat did involve a killing.

If Dumbledore had killed Grindlewald, then perhaps Dumbledore might have created a Horcrux. Not necessarily an evil Horcrux, but the product of opportunity rather than the product of an evil act. Dumbledore is a very intelligent, logical being. If the killing of Grindlewald was necessary, then the possibility of creating a Horcrux might be a logical follow-up. And if the killing was a positive event eliminating evil from the wizard world, then perhaps Dumbledore's Horcrux -- though borne through dark magic -- would not be an evil thing. Not creating a Horcrux would not have changed his need to kill Grindlewald.

Why would Dumbledore even consider making a Horcrux? In Book 1, McGonagall has a conversation with Dumbledore in which she points out that he knows all of the Dark Magic, but that she believes he chooses not to use any of it. Perhaps he has had good reason to use Dark Magic for some positive purposes. And remember, Dumbledore's old friend, Nicholas Flamel, sought eternal life with the Philosopher's Stone. Why is it hard to suppose that Dumbledore may have sought eternal life as well? A different means to that end, yes, but still with a goal to the same end.

But would Dumbledore have committed this supreme act of evil? If Dumbledore has committed a killing, he would have to have a damaged soul. The damage done by killing another is absolute. Does Dumbledore have a damaged soul? Having a soul like Harry's that is "untarnished and whole" (p. 511) is certainly wonderful but may not be something that every witch and wizard can claim. Dumbledore is 150 years old and has been battling evil in the wizarding world for quite some time. Is it possible that his soul is still untarnished and whole? That he has never harmed another witch or wizard, evil or otherwise? I think not. Only youth has such purity and innocence. As people go through life, wizards and Muggles alike, we are confronted with difficult choices and obstacles, points in our lives at which there is no easy answer.

So let's assume Dumbledore did need to finish Grindlewald to remove his evil influence from the world. What Horcrux would hold Dumbledore's damaged bit of soul? Gryffindor's Sword perhaps? One of the many silvery spindly objects in his office? I don't think so. I think Dumbledore's Horcrux is the phoenix Fawkes.

Isn't it most interesting that Dumbledore suspected that Nagini was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes? We know Voldemort to be a friendless person who collects inanimate artifacts and objects for his Horcrux keepers. Why would Dumbledore think that Voldemort might choose Nagini to guard a portion of his soul? Why suppose that a wizard would choose any animal as a Horcrux, unless of course you had already done the very same thing yourself.

There is no comparison between Nagini and Fawkes as viable soul-keepers, or Horcruxes. Nagini is a snake, a magical creature with questionable moral values. Fawkes is a magical creature known for extreme loyalty, the ability to heal wounds and transport very heavy loads for long distances. Fawkes seems to be all positive attributes. And even more importantly: Nagini can be destroyed. Fawkes, a phoenix, cannot be killed. He will continue to rise anew from the ashes, reborn to continue on. Fawkes is an excellent choice for a Horcrux. Fawkes will live forever.

All right, so let's say we allow the assumption that Dumbledore has made a Horcrux. And let's go on to the next step and allow that Harry discovers it. This is, by the way, quite necessary since the Harry Potter stories are all told from Harry's point of view and we would certainly not know of the Horcrux unless Harry knew of it as well. How would this Horcrux work itself into the story in Book 7? What would be the value and difficulty of discovering that Dumbledore had created a Horcrux?

The value is easy to spot. There is then the possibility that Dumbledore isn't gone for good. He may have died physically, but he could be reborn through the use of his Horcrux. This is, for everyone except Voldemort and the Death Eaters, a very uplifting possibility. Dumbledore's abrupt departure from the quest to destroy Voldemort at the close of Book 6 is quite disturbing. It is as though, after so many, many years of his research and discovery to identify Voldemort's weakness(es), Dumbledore simply vanishes.

What if Harry is not the only one to learn of Fawkes's role as a Horcrux? Then what? Who else might be trying to recover Fawkes at the same time as Harry?

The most likely wizard to join Harry in the pursuit of Fawkes would be -- Severus Snape. Somehow, Snape will know that Fawkes was Dumbledore's Horcrux and will be trying to get Fawkes. Harry will discover this. Not knowing whether Snape is good or evil, we won't know whether Snape should get Fawkes or not. Hermione will tell us we should trust Dumbledore's faith in Snape; Harry will be convinced Snape is up to something evil. It is possible Snape is supposed to acquire Fawkes, that Dumbledore wants him to, and that Snape was aware -- at the moment of the Avada Kedavra curse on top of the tower -- that there would be further steps to having Dumbledore return to make sure that Voldemort was vanquished.

Furthermore: How would Dumbledore have protected Fawkes from Voldemort? Surely Dumbledore would have foreseen that someone on the Dark Side might have discovered Fawkes's value as a Horcrux. How might he have provided protection for Fawkes? Perhaps in was in the same way he protected the Philosopher's Stone. Remember the protection Dumbledore placed on the Stone in the Mirror of Erised? "You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone -- find it, but not use it -- would be able to get it..." (PS p.217) Perhaps Harry will need to want to recover Fawkes, but not activate Dumbledore's Horcrux in order to gain Fawkes.

Maybe when Harry discovers that Dumbledore has a Horcrux -- Fawkes -- a choice has to be made about bringing Dumbledore back or going on without Dumbledore's help. What if the choice was there and Harry has to decide whether to rely on Dumbledore's help or to move on as a now-adult wizard (Harry comes of age at the start of Book 7 on July 31) and accept his role as The Chosen One? A choice between what is right and what is easy, perhaps.

Somehow, I have found it hard to believe that Dumbledore would so easily leave the battle with Voldemort. Dumbledore has spent many years researching Voldemort's background and looking for ways to finish him. Why would he bow out so easily, before he could see his work brought to closure? Completed by Harry, yes, but brought to closure.

And the wording of Professor Trelawney's prophecy is curious, as well, "one cannot live while the other survives…" If Harry, himself, does not directly cause Voldemort's death, Harry will retain his pure, untarnished, virgin soul. He will remain in many ways childlike and pure. Is this desirable? Or does Harry need to pass through a gauntlet of sorts to become an adult? Perhaps Harry must kill Voldemort to become an adult. Perhaps this is a painful process that must be done. Harry came awfully close to damaging his soul with the Septumsempra curse on Malfoy. It is not impossible to believe that Harry will have to suffer the consequences of his anger and hatred toward Voldemort (and maybe Snape). As a minor (under the age of 17) Harry still has a pure untarnished soul. But is it realistic to expect that this will continue throughout his adult life? I think not. Life is not that simple.

Meanwhile, there is one other important player in this search: Hagrid. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, is our resident expert in Magical Creatures. That's Fawkes, a magical creature. Hagrid will know how to recover and capture Fawkes (just like Hagrid knew how to lull Fluffy to sleep) because Dumbledore would have told him. Dumbledore tells Professor McGonagall in Book 1, "I would trust Hagrid with my life," and he has. Dumbledore has shared with Hagrid Fawkes's secret.

So while we know there will be a search going on for Voldemort's Horcruxes in Book 7, we may learn that a parallel search will commence for Dumbledore's Horcrux, Fawkes.

I really do believe that Dumbledore does have a Horcrux. The Horcrux is Fawkes, his soul mate, literally. And Hagrid is the Secret keeper of the Horcrux secret.

Hagrid will likely die protecting this information. And what does that mean? Hopefully we'll find out soon, because J.K. chose this topic as one of the three FAQ questions she would like to answer on her web site: What happens to a Secret after the Secret keeper dies? I don't think this is of terribly vital importance to 12 Grimmauld Place, but I do think it will matter even more when it comes to losing Hagrid.

We learn of the existence of Horcruxes out of the blue in Book 6 of the seven book series. No mention of them in any of the thousands of pages preceding Half-Blood Prince in Books 1 through 5. Will we learn in Book 7 that there is another Horcrux? Dumbledore's Horcrux?

Jan-Marie Spanard is a visual artist who tends to notice many of the small details in light, color, language, people's expressions, coins in the parking lot, and life in general. She says she is over-educated (with two masters degrees and a PhD) and has read each of J.K.'s Harry books at least a half-dozen times (so far).

Article Copyright © 2006, Jan-Marie Spanard

Leave your opinions!

Hitting a very generically hot topic

2006-02-07T17:18:00.000Z

Ok, first of all thanks to the blog owners for letting me put my 3 cents!

After the HBP, one of the hottest topics in Harry Potter, and the subsequent wait before the next release, is, obviously the death of Albus Dumbledore.

There are 1001 reasons, philosophies, and arguments pertaining to the nature of his death, *ahem*, and some, pertaining to the very fact whether he did "Die" or not.

There are many a reasons associated with that topic.I am going to lend one here as an example:

Extreme stress has been laid down upon the usage of non-verbal spells in this book, and they have been mentioned now and again in the previous one too.

So one speculation is, that while Snape carried out the "Avade Kedavra" spell, he accompanied that with a completely opposite non verbal spell, to counter the effect, and highly limit it[ of avada kedavra].
Also, in a previous book, Harry was told by Bellatrix Lestrange, in the Hall of Prophecies, that the unforgivable curses are not so lightly used.You really have to mean them, you really have to want to hurt the other person, when you use them.
So maybe Snape didn't mean the curse much, and therefore the net resultant curse, kind of stupefied Dumbledore, and also injured him to an extent.

This has been explained IN MUCH MORE DETAIL AND ALONG WITH MANY MORE PROOFS, at this web site:
Here

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Sumedh
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2006-02-05T21:01:00.000Z

good to see you !!
this blog is completely or (better) almost completely dedicated to harry potter and thoughts nd predictions fr the 7th. i kept posting my comments on rohits blog ... was reeli lazy to start one of my own and i guess pple visiting his blog and he, himself (jk) ... fr u rohit ( :P ) ... got fed up of it ... anyone would .... it was atleast hundred lines and i just went on and on and on ...so thats when rohit suggested to start a blog with three contributors !! nag , rungta (if he accepts) and myself ..

if u've read harry potter u'll obviously realise wat pensieve is and thats wat our blog is about , to look deeper into harry potter and its clues !! sounds obsessive doesnt it ?? well my friends'll know better by now ! .... for those of you who do not kno wat a pensieve is .... it Albus Dumbledore's silver instrument where thoughts or memories (these cannot be altered), are kept , ( silvery strings that are neither gas nor fluid floating around in the basin ) .... one can revisit it to find clues or something they might have missed out while it was actually happening, its not time travelling its just plunging into ones thoughts just to examine it.......
therefore .... The Pensieve(the blog) is dedicated to look back upon the books , put in our thoughts , and examine it as we await the ultimate , .......
thats fr now ! c u soon ! bye take care !! g'nite !

2006-02-05T20:28:00.000Z

hello and welcome !!