Boaz
Happy Easter!
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2005
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My nephew Jack (Arthur Weasley is Laocoon) and my friend George's four kids (the Hallows are the gifts promised by the goddesses to Paris) have given me theories of Rowling's inspirations as they have studied Greek mythology and history.... and I've enjoyed reading theories online, but I have one of my own to share. This is the theory...
Dumbledore created a horcrux…. or at least something very similar.
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”
This quote is from the penultimate chapter in the Harry Potter series. I think upon my first reading that I glossed over how Dumbledore said this. Of course, at the end of every book Dumbledore gives a massive plot exposition, so maybe I just assumed he showed up to deliver this information to Harry and me. Forget why…. How was Dumbledore there at King’s Cross Station?
To combat Voldemort’s insidious eternal world conquest, Dumbledore studied horcruxes. Slughorn said murder was required to splinter a person’s soul. Is it doing evil that fragments the soul? Is it doing the ultimate evil in taking a life? Or could the soul be splintered by a heartbreak so agonizing that it pierces the soul? I mean if someone confessed in their heart of hearts that another person’s death was their responsibility, could they consider themselves a murderer? I submit that Ariana’s death was so traumatic for Dumbledore that he viewed himself a murderer.
We know he is the cleverest wizard in the story. He knew much that Voldemort never understood. He claimed his memory was much richer, more vivid, and full of details compared to any other Harry had seen. So when Dumbledore said he did not know who killed Ariana, I don’t believe him. I think he knew exactly how she died. But in his mind, it did not matter if it was him, Aberforth, Grindelwald, or Ariana herself because in his mind his choices and actions led directly to her death. Whether he killed her or not, he accepted the responsibility. This belief allowed him to create a horcrux or something like one.
I think Dumbledore figured this horcrux thing out sometime after Voldemort’s first fall. Sometime before the fifth book, he figured out Voldemort’s unintended horcrux of Harry. I think this gave Dumbledore the idea to plant the splintered part of his soul into Harry. Dumbledore told Harry in Phoenix and in Prince how precious an unshattered soul is. Dumbledore did not tell this from sympathy for Voldemort…. no, he said it from personal experience. In Hallows, Snape complained that killing Dumbledore might damage his soul. But Dumbledore pleaded with Snape that he’d save Draco’s soul… and that he’d be doing Dumbledore a mercy.
So I think Dumbledore put the piece of his soul into Harry on the top of the tower while Harry was immobilized. Non-verbal spells are introduced in the sixth book. Dumbledore waited until the final moment before committing to this plan. Harry reflected that he felt the immobilization spell wear off…. but maybe it was the insertion of Dumbledore’s soul instead.
Dumbledore did this because of his commitment as Riddle’s foe.
I find this the only satisfactory explanation. Dumbledore did not appear in the limbo of King’s Cross Station because he’s God or an angel. He did not show up because it’s his job to give the major plot exposition at the end of every book. He did not show up because he was the person Harry most desire to see… no, those four people showed up in the previous chapter; Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus. Dumbledore did not appear because he was dead… if so, where were the recently slain Remus, Tonks, Fred, and the Creevey brothers? And Dumbledore did not show up because Harry imagined him…. that would mean that it’s not real. (And it would mean Harry figured it all out on his own and he could be wrong.)
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”
Since it is real, this means Dumbledore could only arrive the same way as Harry and Voldemort. Dumbledore’s soul was killed along with Harry.
I think Dumbledore inserted his splintered soul into Harry just before the moment of his demise. Harry was immobilized when Snape stepped up to Dumbledore.
This put Dumbledore into the very position to give Harry the final wisdom before the afterlife. Dumbledore knew he had to convince Harry to go back.
Dumbledore created a horcrux…. or at least something very similar.
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”
This quote is from the penultimate chapter in the Harry Potter series. I think upon my first reading that I glossed over how Dumbledore said this. Of course, at the end of every book Dumbledore gives a massive plot exposition, so maybe I just assumed he showed up to deliver this information to Harry and me. Forget why…. How was Dumbledore there at King’s Cross Station?
To combat Voldemort’s insidious eternal world conquest, Dumbledore studied horcruxes. Slughorn said murder was required to splinter a person’s soul. Is it doing evil that fragments the soul? Is it doing the ultimate evil in taking a life? Or could the soul be splintered by a heartbreak so agonizing that it pierces the soul? I mean if someone confessed in their heart of hearts that another person’s death was their responsibility, could they consider themselves a murderer? I submit that Ariana’s death was so traumatic for Dumbledore that he viewed himself a murderer.
We know he is the cleverest wizard in the story. He knew much that Voldemort never understood. He claimed his memory was much richer, more vivid, and full of details compared to any other Harry had seen. So when Dumbledore said he did not know who killed Ariana, I don’t believe him. I think he knew exactly how she died. But in his mind, it did not matter if it was him, Aberforth, Grindelwald, or Ariana herself because in his mind his choices and actions led directly to her death. Whether he killed her or not, he accepted the responsibility. This belief allowed him to create a horcrux or something like one.
I think Dumbledore figured this horcrux thing out sometime after Voldemort’s first fall. Sometime before the fifth book, he figured out Voldemort’s unintended horcrux of Harry. I think this gave Dumbledore the idea to plant the splintered part of his soul into Harry. Dumbledore told Harry in Phoenix and in Prince how precious an unshattered soul is. Dumbledore did not tell this from sympathy for Voldemort…. no, he said it from personal experience. In Hallows, Snape complained that killing Dumbledore might damage his soul. But Dumbledore pleaded with Snape that he’d save Draco’s soul… and that he’d be doing Dumbledore a mercy.
So I think Dumbledore put the piece of his soul into Harry on the top of the tower while Harry was immobilized. Non-verbal spells are introduced in the sixth book. Dumbledore waited until the final moment before committing to this plan. Harry reflected that he felt the immobilization spell wear off…. but maybe it was the insertion of Dumbledore’s soul instead.
Dumbledore did this because of his commitment as Riddle’s foe.
I find this the only satisfactory explanation. Dumbledore did not appear in the limbo of King’s Cross Station because he’s God or an angel. He did not show up because it’s his job to give the major plot exposition at the end of every book. He did not show up because he was the person Harry most desire to see… no, those four people showed up in the previous chapter; Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus. Dumbledore did not appear because he was dead… if so, where were the recently slain Remus, Tonks, Fred, and the Creevey brothers? And Dumbledore did not show up because Harry imagined him…. that would mean that it’s not real. (And it would mean Harry figured it all out on his own and he could be wrong.)
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”
Since it is real, this means Dumbledore could only arrive the same way as Harry and Voldemort. Dumbledore’s soul was killed along with Harry.
I think Dumbledore inserted his splintered soul into Harry just before the moment of his demise. Harry was immobilized when Snape stepped up to Dumbledore.
This put Dumbledore into the very position to give Harry the final wisdom before the afterlife. Dumbledore knew he had to convince Harry to go back.
