Don’t read any further if you don’t want to know, otherwise, I’m taking a poll and want opinions.
Who thinks Dumbledore is really dead? I don’t, I think he and Snape planned the whole thing. They way Snape kept telling Harry not to call him a coward - it was like he was telling him he was doing the bravest thing he could.
Now, who called it? I did, I figured it was Dumblerdore who had to go because this book was merely a set-up for the final installment. We had to be left with Harry and the gang at their lowest point and without the one person who could protect them. Be honest, did you call your shot?
BTW, at midnight, while everybody was standing in line on both sides of the Barnes and Noble building, I simply strode into our local Ralph’s supermarket, bought the book, and was home by 12:07.
Nah I think he’s dead and the final battle, as you said, will start with Harry and the two people he trusts the most, Herminoe and Ron, but by the end it will be one on one. similar to how the 1st book went
The same idea also went through my head though. or that Dumbleodre planned with Snape knowing he was dieing, to ensure Snape could remain close to V. but that may just keeping hope alive…
If someone bitches about spoilers I will pee on them. It says it in the title.
I didn’t call it because it was ruined for me about two weeks ago. I didn’t even get a chance to speculate when I went to my favorite message board (somethingawful.com) and BAM, “SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE!” with a picture of the page from the book. Nice.
Also, Dumbledore is dead. At least, he damned well better be dead. If he comes back in next book “It’s a trick lol!” then I’m going to have to have a few words (punches) with JK Rowling. That’s hack-work.
Past that; if Dumbledore is alive then Snape is dead because he did that Unbreakable Vow thing to finish Malfoy’s job (kill Dumbledore). Had he just pushed him over the edge and had him play dead, his ass would be grass.
Now, that phoenix that rose from his death table, that could show up later. And also, we have Dumbledore’s painting in the headmaster’s office.
But he’s dead and Snape cemented his place as the best character in the whole damned series.
But Snape isn’t pure evil. He and Dumbledore knew this was going to happen, that’s why Dumbledore said “Please”; as in “Please do your job”.
That’s why he reacted so strongly to Harry calling him a coward; he just had to kill the one person in the world who trusted him and thought he was a good person. Safe to say he’d take that hard enough without this little spoiled shit who gets everything handed to him insulting him.
Good writing in that section, for sure (except “I’M THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE!”… yawn).
Snape is a bad-ass and I love him. He’s extremely powerful (obviously) and very complex.
I’m thinking RAB is Regulus Black. As for Dumbledore, I’m not sure…it would be very Tolkien/Gandalfish for him to return in the next book. I think he is probably a mort, but I also think that this was setup between him and Snape.
Okay, Adam, I could go for most of that. Certainly, Dunmbledore wanted the “scene” because he could’ve taken out Malfoy rather than freeze Harry. I just thought that no way would Dumbledore be that defenseless at any time, and especially not so in his own office. The “murder” had to at least be a set-up between the two.
Snape is a great character, and I think he’ll come to Harry’s rescue to allow him that one-on-one final battle with Voldemort. I like the actor who plays Snape, though, I can’t remember his name at the moment, and I dig that Ralph Fiennes (sp?) is Voldemort - great casting.
Spoilers galore in this thread, you’ve been warned.
I’m sure Dumbledore is gone, just like Sirius is, however my money is on Snape having done the deed not out of his own volition, if you remember at the beginning of the book he had to take that binding oath that he was going to do whatever it took to help Malfoy on his mission, and later in the book they explain that if he had tried to break it he would die on the spot: I think he took the oath on Dumbledore’s orders and Dumbledore gave him those fully knowing how it might end up. I think in book 7 we’ll learn that Snape is not bad and he might end up helping Harry defeat Voldemort after all.
From a writing perspective it was quite obvious both the last book and this book who was going to buy the farm as both Sirius and Dumbledore had been written into a corner by the time they left: the only purpose of Dumbledore in the series was as a surrogate father figure for Harry and a repository of knowledge, as soon as he revealed all he knew and as soon as Harry had grown up enough there was no reason for him to stick around.
Sorry about somethingawful ruining things, last book was ruined for me as well and this time I was REALLY careful not to go anywhere near any sort of board where people might spoil things: although I did have the feeling it was going to be Dumbledore, at least I had no idea how that was going to happen until Snape burst on the scene.
Harry is still a pretty lame wizard.
Snape was making up his own spells when he was Harry’s age and Harry is still busting out junior league crap and not doing a very impressive job of it.
Rowling is really inconsistent with Harry, sometimes he’s this extremely powerful figure (big-ass Patronus) and other times he sucks (can’t apparate, can’t do silent spells, can’t do that mind-reading-blocking stuff Snape tried to teach him).
He’s got a lot of growing up to do in Book 7. He’s going to have to become a major league bad-ass really really fast.
I just finished it myself. Damn fine read. Some unresolved issues: Dumbledore never told Harry how he damaged his hand. He always vowed that he would, but always later. I think it is possible Harry finds a pensive with this info in the next book. The cave scene was VERY Tolkien. I think the big D is out. I think other posters are right in saying he is not out for good…ie. the frames in the headmaster’s office. Also I think it is a reasonable interpretation of Dumbledores pleading last words to Snape were reminding him of his pledge to finish him. Remember that when Dumbledore was injured, he asked Harry to find Snape. I think D knew that the potion he drank would be fatal.
**Dumbledore never told Harry how he damaged his hand. He always vowed that he would, but always later. I think it is possible Harry finds a pensive with this info in the next book. **
That was explained - kind of - killing the horcrux that was in the ring. You don’t get the specifics but he did splain what caused it and that Snape helped him stop whatever spell or curse was on it.
You’re right. I was hoping for a story from Dumbledore about how excatly to kill a horcux. Obviously we saw Harry kill Tom Riddle’s diary but there was several things going on when that happened. Is it just as simple as smashing the item? Surely they have protective charms and curses that are above Harry’s pay grade.
Snape is evil and killed Dumbledore to save Draco. Snape has done nothing in the series to show that he is nothing more then a coward who looked to the dark side to help cover his weakness, an inability to function on a human level. He is the best character.
If Dumbbledore did want Snape to kill him then we are going into shitty Star Wars “Strike me down and I will be more powerful then you can ever imagine” garbage and I will be very bitter. Sometimes the evil people are evil and the good guys die.
Harry is a bad ass wizard because even though he might not be the greatest spell caster his loyalty and ability to think on his feet have saved his life and everybody elses more then once.
My favorite character is Longbottom. I have to say I adore all the characters but little Longbottom in the end always over comes his insecurties and shows his bravery in battle and his loyalty to his friends. Where I am in my life right now Longbottom is my hero.
"Rowling is really inconsistent with Harry, sometimes he’s this extremely powerful figure (big-ass Patronus) and other times he sucks (can’t apparate, can’t do silent spells, can’t do that mind-reading-blocking stuff Snape tried to teach him). "
Harry learned how to apparate. He’s the one who apparated him and DD back to Hogsmeade. He didn’t on the way to the cave as he still isn’t old enough to do it legally.
Didn’t he do the leviacorpus spell silently when he did it on Ron in the dorm?
You think Snape was actually trying to teach Harry occlumency? My guess is that Snape wasn’t trying very hard especially considering how Snape has turned out.
Dumbledore is gone. His picture is on the headmaster’s wall and everything. He’ll provide advide through his picture, but that’s it. My guess is the phoenix will become Harry’s.
I think Dumbledore is really dead. But that doesn’t mean he won’t make an appearance, in some form, in Book 7.
Could Dumbledore have been one of the remaining horcruxes? It makes some since in that it would explain his death and Snape’s role. We’ve learned that animals can be horcruxes, so why not a human? Also, Voldemort knew before he met with Dumbledore that he would never get the D.A.D.A. job. So what was his reason for being there? I suspect that was when he made Dumbledore a horcrux. Remember when he was leaving Dumbledore’s office, Harry saw Voldemort fidget with his wand in his pocket. We’re introduced to the idea of inaudible spells in this book. Voldemort could have been silently performing the incantation to make Dumbledore a horcrux.
Dumbledore as horcrux would also explain his blackened hand. We only learn that it happened when he was trying to destroy a horcrux. While the implication is that it was the ring, Dumbledore’s hand was black at the beginning of the book, while Harry sees the ring intact during his first lesson with Dumbledore. So Dumbledore’s hand was injured before the ring was destroyed. I suspect Dumbledore (perhaps with Snape’s help) was trying to destroy the horcrux part of him and injured his hand. It was then when he learned that the only way to destroy the horcrux would require him to die. And he made Snape promise to do it. That’s why he pleaded with Snape just before Snape killed him. He was asking him to “please” carry out the task.