I think Dumbledore

[Snow_Crystal]

Yeah someone else said that and I still don't know where this darkness fear came from. Please explain?

[Asphodel]

Afraid of darkness and dead things.

Dead things he doesn't mind! It's himself being one of them that's the problem!
Darkness? Since when?

DD specifically said that LV was afraid of death and darkness.

[HogwartsHQ]

Think that would be "DEATH". the darkness is from when he was powerless, remeber all alone in the darkness fighting to stay alive.

[PotterPotty]

Dumbledore comes back from one of his "journeys" with an injured hand/arm...

Not dead, just hurt. now... Is DD getting old or losing power/the will to go on etc? he's one of the most powerful wizards there is and i find it hard to believe that he could get injured AND escape. he'd either finish the fight or die trying...

what about this? DD isn't really DD... Polyjuice etc. but! the DD who died, killed by Snape, who has been at Hogwarts all this time, not really in the loop with whats going on 'out there', that DD isn't DD after all... and rather someone else sent by Voldemort (who incidentally, has DD as a prisoner/accomplice, you decide) to infiltrate the castle, secure the place for V and KEEP HARRY ALIVE FOR VOLDEMORT TO FINISH PERSONALLY!

Neither can exist without the other, remember!? but not everyone knows that do they?! so... maybe the dead DD is actually:

-Peter Petigrew (Just a thought, injured hand you see)
-Another Deatheater
-Purely Magical (eg; boggart? another magic being?)

I for one do not believe we have seen the last of DD. Also, i wouldnt be surprised if we find that DD is Dark. In the Pensieve scene in GOF DVD, watch DD's face when Karkaroff says he has 'one more name...' DD fills his knickers!!

Any re[ply to this would be appreciated cos i think we may be on to something here... what say you chaps?

[Snow_Crystal]

Hi

I don't think it was Polyjuice potion and believe the real DD was actually killed. How do you explain the phoenix leaving and the portrait appearing in his office.

Sorry just think he's really dead. Harry will have to face LV alone.

[Athena Appleton]

I think Dumbledore was a bit foolish in weakening himself by taking the potion and then stunning Harry (his only defense when he was under attract) leaving himself completely vulnerable to attack

Forgive me ahead of time for a double post.

I think that Dumbledore did the only thing he could do, seeing as he is who he is. Dumbledore doesn't fear death, so that's not a good enough motivation to save himself if it puts someone else in danger.

Also, had the Death Eaters not shown up when they did, Dumbledore probably would have persuaded Draco to not kill him, but to reconsider which side he was on. In fact, Draco was beginning to put down his wand. Then the Death Eaters showed up. Even then, though, Dumbledore would have believed himself safe, because he didn't believe that Snape would kill him. JK Rowling herself has said that Dumbledore is trusting to a fault. He honestly believed that Snape was on his side, simply based on the fact that Snape said so.

Dumbledore recognised, more than anyone else, that Harry is the one to keep safe, and if that means that a few others are in a little more danger than he would like, he'll do that for the greater good (meaning that Harry alone can take down Voldemort.) It's war, and in war, you have to assume that you'll take losses, but if you really believe in what you're fighting for, those losses are a sacrifice you're willing to take. Sounds harsh, but the people who are the "losses" joined on knowing the risks involved.

[Athena Appleton]

Dumbledore comes back from one of his "journeys" with an injured hand/arm...

Not dead, just hurt. now... Is DD getting old or losing power/the will to go on etc? he's one of the most powerful wizards there is and i find it hard to believe that he could get injured AND escape. he'd either finish the fight or die trying...</quote>

First, a big HOWDY! Welcome to B&O.

Now, I really don't think that's the case, actually. There's nothing dishonorable about getting injured. Also, I know he never really explains what happened in the book, but I don't think he was technically fighting Voldemort. I think he got his hand messed up by trying to get a Horcrux.

<quote>what about this? DD isn't really DD... Polyjuice etc. but! the DD who died, killed by Snape, who has been at Hogwarts all this time, not really in the loop with whats going on 'out there', that DD isn't DD after all... and rather someone else sent by Voldemort (who incidentally, has DD as a prisoner/accomplice, you decide) to infiltrate the castle, secure the place for V and KEEP HARRY ALIVE FOR VOLDEMORT TO FINISH PERSONALLY!

Neither can exist without the other, remember!? but not everyone knows that do they?! so... maybe the dead DD is actually:

-Peter Petigrew (Just a thought, injured hand you see)
-Another Deatheater
-Purely Magical (eg; boggart? another magic being?)

I for one do not believe we have seen the last of DD. Also, i wouldnt be surprised if we find that DD is Dark. In the Pensieve scene in GOF DVD, watch DD's face when Karkaroff says he has 'one more name...' DD fills his knickers!!

Any re[ply to this would be appreciated cos i think we may be on to something here... what say you chaps?

Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say no........ I don't think so, anyway.

I'm sorry, but Dumbledore's dead. Sirius is dead. Sirius and Dumbledore are dead. Dead, you see? Dead. As a doornail. Not comin' back.

There is no evidence to support the theory that Dumbledore was taking Polyjuice Potion.

Firstly, in the end, there's nothing suspicious about his behavior. Through the whole thing, he behaves exactly like himself, he shows a sort of problem-solving and logic, as well as talents, that is just the same as always. The only suspect behavior he has is that he keeps disappearing, but that's easily explained once you find out he'd been off looking for information and Horcruxes.

If Peter Pettigrew were taking Polyjuice Potion to become like Dumbledore, he wouldn't have an injured hand. He'd take on all of Dumbledore's physical attributes.

Denial's the first stage of grieving. Move on, honey.

[espionage]

exactly, all these people saying hes still alive - look at the facts! JK killed him double, to make sure noone could think he was still alive + hiding away for some insane reason. just beacuse you want him back, doesnt mean you can change what happened. just accept it - DD is dead. he needs to be for the plot to move towards a close, and for harry to, as JK has said, face voldemort ALONE.

[FawkesthePhoenix]

JK killed off DD to show that LV could be killed. Case closed.

[Athena Appleton]

I disagree. The entire sixth book was about showing that once the Horcruxes are gone, Voldemort would have to face mortality. That point could have been made without Dumbledore being killed.

I think that it would have been the most logical thing to assume Dumbledore, the great and powerful wizard for good, would do the fighting, if you remove the whole backstory about the prophesy.

She had to tear down any chance of Harry being "rescued" by the people who care about him, so that the final battle is his. Of the people Harry knows (other than Hermione and Ron), Sirius and Dumbledore would definately have topped the list of people who would have tried to spare him the responsibility of fighting the worst wizard on the planet.

If my theory is right, though, there will probably need to be a way to keep Lupin, Arthur, Molly and the other Weaselys from getting to him in the final showdown, either by killing them off (she's so far said two principles have been killed in the final book) or by circumstances keeping them from him.

[DucksRMagical]

I definitely think that Harry will have to do the final fight with Voldemort on his own. No one will be able to help him with that.

Something had to happen to show that Snape is still on Voldemort's side. Snape killing Dumbledore showed that.

Dumbledore dying also showed Dumbledore's weakness. He trusts people. He trusted Snape even when he shouldn't have. Since Dumbledore is the powerful good wizard and even he has a weakness, even Voldemort must have a weakness. I think Dumbledore was killed to show that even the most powerful wizards have weaknesses. Voldemort must have one.

[FawkesthePhoenix]

Deffinitly. I wonder if snape is gonna die in the seventh book, or if he's gonna try to worm his way out of going to Azkaban, or go there.

[Athena Appleton]

FINALLY!!!!!

Two levelheaded people who were able to read the sixth book and go, "Hmmm, well whatdya know, Snape was bad after all..."

It's amazing the number of people who still insist he's good, Dumbledore isn't really dead, Dumbledore was on some sort of suicide mission to allow Snape to continue undercover, whatever....

Disillusioned loons....

Anyway, the cynical side of me thinks maybe nothing bad will actually happen to Snape, he'll just be outed for the bad guy he really is. I know that doesn't make for a happily ever after, but until Rowling hints that there will be some kind of happy ending (she is adament about the fact that Harry's survival is not a sure thing), it could end like all realistic conflicts, where not all evil sympathizers have much more than a prison sentence.

At the moment, Azkaban doesn't seem like a very effective prison system, so I think it's fair to say that he won't be shipped off to Azkaban anytime soon for punishment.

I'd like to see Hermione turn him into a goat and sic Dumbledore's brother on him.

[Simatra]

I believe that Snapes a git, DD dead, and Harry wouldn't care anymore whether Snape was good or evil! (to be so blunt.)

[Athena Appleton]

Makes sense. He never believed Snape was "good" anyway. He finally learned to accept that Dumbledore had faith in him, but he also felt like Dumbledore wasn't making a very good decision in putting his faith in Snape.

Personally, I think the story of what will happen to Draco is much more interesting. From what I gathered, he's now "in", but he didn't follow through with Voldemort's orders, Voldemort was most likely putting him in that position to get him killed, and I think he probably had a moment there on the roof of "Oh, cr*p, I chose the wrong side".

I don't think he'll be alive much longer, but I'm curious to see if he does anything to kind of redeem himself before he kicks the bucket.