The Answered and Unanswered Questions

* Where do Snape’s real loyalties lie?
- Dumbledore’s man through and through

* Why does Dumbledore trust Snape?
- Snape is regretful about Lily’s death which convinces Dumbledore to trust Snape.

* Why doesn’t Dumbledore tell Harry about his reasons for trusting Snape?
- Snape asks Dumbledore not to.

* What are the remaining horcruxes?
o The diary
o The ring
o Voldemort has a piece of soul in him
o The Slytherin locket
o The Hufflepuff cup
o The Ravenclaw diadem
o Nagini o Harry?
But doesn’t that become a eight part soul rather than seven?

* Who is R.A.B?
- Regulus Arcturus Black

* How does one destroy a horcrux?
Using the Gryffindor sword, the fangs of the Basilisk and the Fiendyfire.

* Who accompanied R.A.B to retrieve the locket?
- Kreacher

* Which were the murders which Voldemort used to create horcruxes and why?
- Not answered

* What is the process of creating a horcrux?
- Not properly explained… although Hermione finds a book that does provide some explanation.

* What is the importance of Lily’s and Harry’s eyes?
- Harry’s eyes are just like Lily’s which keeps reminding Snape that Harry is Lily Evans son and Lily died protecting him.

* Why did Voldemort give Lily a choice to live?
- On Snape’s request.

* Did James and Lily know about the prophecy?
- Not mentioned, but I don’t think so.

* Was Lily's protection something she did on purpose?
- No. A mother’s instinct.

* Who were Dumbledore’s other spies among Voldemort's followers? (Fudge says in POA that there was more than one).
- Not mentioned.

* How did Dumbledore know so soon as to what had happened to James and Lily before he sent Hagrid to Godric's Hollow?
- Dumbledore also lived in Godric’s Hollow.

* If until the night of the attack, Dumbledore wasn’t so sure that the Potter’s were being targeted by Voldemort, did it mean that the Longbottoms have similar protections set up?
- No Dumbledore was sure it was the Potters because Snape informs him that Voldemort is behind the Potters.

* What happened to the bodies of Lily and James? The wands? The 3 wands are unaccounted for in the books.
- Lily and James are buried in Godric’s Hollow along with their wands… although James and Lily did not have wands when they faced Voldemort.

* What is Wormtail’s life debt to Harry? How will he repay it?
- Wormtail helps Harry escape from the Malfoys, and is killed in the process.

* What is the importance of the gleam in Dumbledore’s eye in Book 4, when Harry tells Dumbledore that the protection that Harry’s mother left him, Voldemort would have it too.
- Although this has been explained, the explanation is not clear. I believe that it has something to do with Lily’s protection as mentioned in the book, but I still do not know what exactly it does that gives Dumbledore a gleam of hope.

* What did Lily and James do for a living? What were their professions?
- Not answered/mentioned.

* Did Snape love Lily? Did anyone ever love Snape? Is Snape married?
- Yes, Yes and No idea! I believe Lily too had some feelings for Snape, until he started experimenting with Dark Magic.

* What is Dumbledore’s background?
- Explained in detail… what really impressed me was the fact that the holier than thou Dumbledore is shown in a very dark grey shade! Thank you JKR!

* Why did James leave his invisibility cloak with Dumbledore?
- Dumbledore borrowed it from James to investigate it as he was sure that it was one of the three Hallows.

* “The power the Dark Lord knows not” is love. So why is it a big deal?
- Well love brings Snape back to the good side, saves Harry a lot of times from being possessed by Voldemort. Further Harry love for his people prompts him to go to Voldemort defenceless. He is prepared to die for his loved ones, and that gives them a similar protection the way Lily left Harry.

* Where did Snape learn Legimency and Occlumency from?
- I am inclined to believe it was Dumbledore, but I think Snape just learnt it himself.

* Does Snape’s hesitation to the third and final condition of the unbreakable vow have any greater significance?
- Yes, as the final condition meant that Snape would definitely have to kill Dumbledore, which he doesn’t want to.

* Why was the effect of Avada Kedrava different on Dumbledore? No one we know was blasted into the air!
- Not answered, not important, as Dumbledore is dead.

* Was Dumbledore’s plea on the Astronomy Tower the one which said “Save me?” or the one which said, “Kill me?”
- Dumbledore’s plea was the one of “Kill me!!”

* What is the meaning of the conversation Hagrid heard at the lake, between Snape and Dumbledore, about how Dumbledore took too much for granted?
- Dumbledore asks Snape to kill him and Snape is having doubts about wanting to be the one to kill his own mentor.

* Why could Snape pass through the invisible barrier? Was it because of the death mark?
- Yes.

* Was Dumbledore an animagus?
- Not mentioned, but I think not.

* What did Dumbledore see when he drank the potion in the cave that made him think that he was responsible for something dreadful?
- The memories of Grindelwald and the fight that kills his sister. Dumbledore doesn’t know which one of the three killed his sister.

* Is Dumbledore a parselmouth?
- I don’t think so. But then maybe.

* What does Dumbledore’s will say?
- Leaves 3 valuable things behind for Harry, Ron and Hermione.

* What’s with the veil in the Ministry building? What are the sounds? What’s the mystery?
- It’s called the veil of death… although how it works, no one knows.

* What will happen to Draco Malfoy?
- Nothing. He is as big a git as he always was.

* Does Godric’s Hollow and Godric Gryffindor have any relation? Or is it just a co-incidence?
- Yes, Godric Gryffindor was born there and hence the name Godric’s Hollow.

* What made James and Sirius distrust Lupin and trust Pettigrew instead?
- Not answered.

* What does Dumbledore see when he looks in the Mirror of Erised?
- His family reunited or maybe Voldemort finally dead.

* What does Dumbledore visualize when he faces the Dementors?
- His sister’s death.

* What shape would Dumbledore’s boggart take?
- Harry dead? Not really answered.

* Who has Dumbledore’s wand now that he is dead?
- Dumbledore’s wand was buried with him in his grave. It is also the Elder Wand which Voldemort steals.

* What form would Snape’s boggart and patronus take?
- Boggart: Lily Potter dead.
- Patronus: A silver dove.

* What is the core/description of Snape’s wand?
- Not mentioned.

* What will Snape see in the Mirror of Erised?
- He and Lily married.

* How did both Harry and Voldemort survive the killing curse? JKR says this is the "crucial and central question" of the story.
- Harry remained alive because of his mothers protection and also because a part of Voldemort’s soul rested in Harry and Voldemort survived because of the horcruxes.

* What destroyed the house?
- Not mentioned, not important.

* What good was the Fidelius Charm, if others (Sirius, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Peter) knew where the Potters were anyway?
- Not mentioned.

* What exactly was in Dumbledore's "last" letter to Petunia?
- No idea. Maybe the last letter he left with Harry?

* Had Dumbledore created other protections on the Hollow? I'm thinking of the multiple protections that the Sorcerer's Stone had.
- Maybe. Anyways, they all turned out to be useless.

* Why wasn't Harry hurt if the house exploded?
- No idea.

* What did Dudley see when the Dementors attacked them in book 5?
- Dudley is a muggle and hence he can't see the Dementors.

* What happened to Sirius’s motorcycle which Hagrid had borrowed?
- It was still with Hagrid… and now with Mr. Weasley.

* Which is the character that manages to do some magic in desperate situations?
- Merope I believe.

* What happened to Ollivander?
- He was abducted by Voldemort. Harry rescues him later.

* Does lighting bolt shape of the scar on Harry’s head have any significance?
- No.

* How and when will Ravenclaw have its day?
- One of the Horcruxes is the Ravenclaw diadem.

First Reactions to the deaths in Deathly Hallows!!! Major Spoilers!

Charity Burbage - The Muggle Studies teacher: Duh! Who the hell is she??

Hegwig: Sob sob sob!

Mad Eye: Well I can sort of live with that… I think.

Scrimgeour: Well redeemed for not selling Harry but who cares about Scrimi!

Ted Tonks: Okay… so fine… not pleasant but…

Bathilda Bagshot: I really didn’t know she was alive… so it really doesn’t matter!

Pettigrew: Really lame death… hoped he would die a little more dramatically… but happy he is gone!

Dobby: J.K. I am going to kill you! Dobby?? I mean come on!

Grindelwald: Again, I never realised he was alive… thought Dumbledore had finished him off in 1945!

Colin Creevy: Unnecessary!

Crabbe: Again unnecessary! I mean the three of them weren’t pleasant… but killed?

Fred Weasley: Hello! Cried my eyes out! Why Fred?? What was the use?

Tonks and Lupin: I was beyond myself with grief! Just because she didn’t want to keep any of the Marauders alive!

Death Eaters: Scums… so who cares.

Snape: Redeemed… although the way he died was really an insult to the otherwise special wizard! J.K… couldn’t you have shown some more respect??

Nagini: Well she was not really a snake right?? So…

Bellatrix: I loved the fact that Mrs. Weasley killed her… brought back some colour to my face… it had gone white after Lupin’s death!

Voldemort/Riddle: So?? What were we expecting? :)

More analysis later… 10 straight hours… my eyes are tired! :)

1. Bertha Jorkins
2. Dentistry
3. Percy, Bill, Molly, Arthur ... the Weasleys
4. Badger ... (The mascots of the four houses)
5. Crucio ... (The incantations of the unforgivable curses)
6. Pure Blood
7. I am saying the very first password to enter the Gryffindor common room in the HP series
8. Unspeakables are the spies or the people who work in the Department of Mystries at the Ministry of Magic and no one knows what they do.
9. a. Minerva
b. Sybill
c. Alastor
d. Cornelius
10. Ordinary Wizarding Levels and Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests.

Congratulations to all of you who attended the quiz. You all pass.

Love Remus

HP Quiz for the First Years!

Guest Post! :)

My good friend Remus has come up with this quiz I thought was quite good! So as we await the release of the final book... let's scratch our brains for the answers and get our memories refreshed a little! :)

Remus Lupin:

As we embark on the final 7 days for the release of the 7th book, Hermione asked me to test her skills and that of her fellow witches and wizards. And so here is the test for all you first graders at Hogwarts.

Harry Potter Quiz for First Years

1. Who's the witch/wizard that Lord Voldemort uses to find out about the Quidditch world cup?

2. What muggle profession do Hermoine Granger's parents practice?

3. Complete the series ... Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, ______, Charlie, _______, _____________, ______

4. Complete the series ... Lion, Snake, Raven, __________

5. Complete the series ... Avada Kedavra, Imperio, ___________

6. Whats the first and only Slytherin house password to be mentioned in the books?

7. If I am saying 'Caput Draconis', then what am I doing?

8. If I am talking about 'unforgivables', then I am talking about curses, if I am talking about 'unspeakables' then who/what am I talking about?

9. Complete the first names a. ________ McGonnagal b. ________ Trelawney c. ________ Moody d. ________ Fudge

10. What do O.W.L's and N.E.W.T's stand for?

Answers and Scores in a day... put in your answers as comments. Do remember that I have put anti-copying charm on this Quiz. Till the next instalment comes along, jump into the frenzy and have fun.

Cheers!!! Remus Lupin

I don't buy them!

With barely 20 days to go for final book to go... I have been surfing the internet… and reading theories that fans have been posting on sites all over the world… Some of these theories are really cool, very believable and something that every keen reader can relate to! But this post is not about those theories… this post is about those theories that kind of crack me up! Of course just because I don’t believe it doesn’t mean they can’t be true! So keep predicting!

- Dumbledore the Gryffindor heir: Don’t know why but this doesn’t sound convincing as it doesn’t serve any purpose in the storyline!
- Dumbledore asked Snape to make a horcrux by killing him: Come on again… why would anyone want to do that?
- Ron will die in the final book: While this isn’t really unbelievable, I just don’t see why Ronald Weasley should perish!
- Snape is really evil: No way!
- Some form of Sirius will come back: Well unless it is something like Harry’s parents coming out of Voldemort’s wand… I genuinely don’t believe any of the dead are going to rise from their grave!
- Ginny is a horcrux: I have seen this one on a lot many websites… and Ginny as a horcrux, no matter what the reason, doesn’t seem acceptable.
- Harry a horcrux: I have seen this all over the place too! If Harry is a horcrux… then JK definitely hints at killing Harry off! If the horcrux has the go… Harry has to go too! Which despite all those talks about Harry not living upto adulthood, is still unrealistic!
- Kreacher accompanies RAB (Regulus) to the cave: Don’t know why but no… it’s too huge a job for a Kreacher to do it! Thus, I also rule out the Kreacher having the locket theory!
- Dumbledore is alive because he made a horcrux: Anyone who has followed Dumbledore will laugh and it won’t be a happy one!
- Crookshanks is an animagus: Some people actually said Crookshanks may actually be RAB J. I really don’t think so!
- Snape was in love with Lily: Somehow, it’s difficult to think that a person in love would call the object of his admiration mudblood…
- Wormtail accompanied Voldemort to Godrics Hollow: Once Voldemort got the information, I don’t see any reason why Wormtail would be taken to the Potter house.

Feel free to add your share of theories you don’t believe in… or any other comment you so wish!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Mystery behind the title

Trust JK Rowling to come up with a bouncer! The excitement behind the release of the last book, the mystery behind the plot, and the theories swarming all over the place, the title takes the cake! She couldn’t have managed a more mystifying title than this! We know the title today, but that does not bring us any closer to understanding the final plot? I really don’t think so! The title is ambiguous, it mysterious and it’s impactful.

All the titles of the Harry Potter series so far, with an exception of book 5, were definite and indicative.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone indicated that the book was about a thing.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets indicated that the book was about a place.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban indicated that the book was about a person.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire indicated that the book was about a thing.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was as vague as Deathly Hallows. We had no clue that Order of the Phoenix was an association or a group.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince indicated that the book was about a person.

So what exactly does Deathly Hallows mean? What is it trying to communicate? Well, I am going to list a few possibilities that I can think of and then elaborate on the one’s I feel strongly about.

The meaning of the word Hallow: The word deathly is pretty clear… the mystery however, surrounds the word hallow. WordWeb (A software by Microsoft, is a well known dictionary) provides three synonyms for the word Hallows – blesses, consecrates, and sanctifies. Let’s take one word at a time.
If we consider Hallows means blesses, then we can say that deathly hallows can mean something like a deathly blessing. My conclusion on this is that Harry’s connection to Voldemort is a deathly blessing.
If we consider Hallows to mean consecrates (give entirely to a specific person, activity or cause) then we can say that Deathly Hallows means, giving in to a deathly task completely.
If we consider Hallows to mean sanctifies (make pure or free from sin), then we can say that Deathly Hallows might come to mean something like Harry trying to free the magical world from Voldemort in a deathly battle.

The problem with the exact translation theory is that it goes into many tangents. Each word can mean a million things and each meaning can sprout a million other interpretations. So I am not totally convinced that exact translation is the way to demystify this title.

My gut lies strongly with the following theory.
The Halloween theory: The term Halloween, and its older rendering Hallowe'en, is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the evening of/before "All Hallows' Day"(also known as "All Saints' Day"). The holiday was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints' Day from May 13 to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although we now consider All Saints' (or Hallows') day to be on the day after Halloween, they were, at that time, considered to be the same day. In Ireland, the name was All Hallows' Eve (often shortened to Hallow Eve), and though seldom used today, it is still a well-accepted label, albeit somewhat esoteric.

I think Hallows has a direct reference to Halloween for the following reason:
- The story of Harry Potter began on a dark night on Halloween, when Voldemort entered the Potter house and killed Harry parents. It would be a fitting conclusion to the series to conclude the series on a deathly Halloween night.
- The entire Harry Potter series has given tremendous importance to Halloween, especially the 1st four books. A number of things have happened before/during/after the Halloween fest. For example:
o In the 1st book, the troll enters the Hogwarts castle during the Halloween festivities. It is during this time that JK gives various clues about Snape and Quirrell.
o In the 2nd book, the first attack happens during the Halloween celebrations, when Harry finds Mrs. Norris petrified.
o In the 3rd book, Sirius Black enters the castle and attacks the fat lady.
o In the 4th book, the Triwizard’s Tournament officially begins on Halloween, when the names of 4 champions is announced.

With so much importance given to Halloween, I have a feeling that the Deathly Hallows refers directly to a deadly Halloween! Hence, I go with this theory.

What do you think??

Dumbledore and the truth about Sirius?

Why didn’t Dumbledore try to find out the truth about Sirius? This question has been haunting me for a while now. After I read book 6… I have been wondering, why Dumbledore didn’t try to find out the truth about Sirius Black, when he was charged of murder and sent to Azkaban. Why did Dumbledore believe that Black had betrayed the Potters, and turned a spy for Voldemort?

In book 6, we have 2 instances where Dumbledore tries to find out the truth about two alleged murderers, Morfin and the house elf Hokey! Despite Morfin’s history of breaking the law, and his natural instinct towards cruelty, Dumbledore refused to believe that Morfin had killed Tom Riddle Sr. and his family. Dumbledore also refused to believe that Hokey the house elf had poisoned Hepzibah by mistake.

Other than this, Dumbledore’s natural instinct is to give people a fair chance. He gave werewolf Lupin that chance. He supposedly gave Snape a second chance (supposedly because I don’t believe Snape was ever really a death eater to begin with). Why then did he not give that chance to Sirius Black? Why didn’t he try to find out the reason as to why such a trusted friend of Potters suddenly turned a spy for the enemy and as good as killed them!

I have since read and re-read all the books in search of this answer. The only reason I can think of, and I agree it’s a weak reason, is that Dumbledore genuinely believed that Black was capable of the act. Surprised? So was I, when I first came to this hypothesis. Maybe this will help you a little to understand my point of view.

At the age of 16, Black did something that almost killed a fellow student he didn’t like. I am of course talking about Severus Snape. It was Black who devised a plan to play a… for lack of better word, prank on Snape for being nosy. We all know about the incident where Snape was lured into the Shrieking Shack when Lupin was hiding in the Shack as the werewolf. If it wasn’t for James’s heroic act, Snape would have been bitten, worse still, even killed. In order to save the neck of his best friends, James risked his own life. If Snape would have come to any harm, Sirius, James, Peter and Remus would be in big trouble. But, would they be the only ones to get into trouble? Of course not. The one person who would be in deep waters too, had this incident taken an ugly turn was Albus Dumbledore himself! Dumbledore had allowed Lupin into the school against the better judgment of a lot of professors. Lupin was an experiment. If Dumbledore could help a werewolf to get through school successfully, it would benefit the other werewolves who wanted to lead a normal life. So, thanks to Sirius, that experiment almost failed, and had it caused any serious problem, Dumbledore would have been taken to task for doing what he did.

These were the repercussion of what was possible, if anything had happened to Snape. Conversely, we have Sirius and Remus telling us that Snape entered school knowing a lot more hexes then even the fifth year olds of the time. Which means, had he seen a werewolf trying to attack him, he could have attacked the werewolf himself. I am not too sure whether the ministry would have considered it an offence if someone had attacked and possibly killed a werewolf trying to attack a human! Remus could have lost his life had the whole incident turned ugly.
But the initiator of this little prank, Mr. Sirius Black, did not think of any of these consequences. The impression he gave was that he just didn’t care if he hurt the enemy. In fact, in book 3 we get the impression that even after so many years, he doesn’t understand the gravity of his actions or regret his little prank.
POA: “It served him right,” he (Black) sneered. “Sneaking around trying to find out what we were up to… hoping he could get us expelled.”

Black may not have meant it to turn ugly. From the way he describes it, it looked like he just wanted to scare Snape a little. But, he did come across as a rash, slightly unthinking sort of a person who didn’t care about the complicated consequences of his actions. In short, he didn’t care if he was cruel to his enemies! Sirius’s behaviour, I am sure, would not have gained him any accolades from Dumbledore, to put it mildly.

So the only conclusion I can draw is that Dumbledore believed that Sirius was capable of committing the heinous act he was believed to have committed. Therefore, he didn’t go to verify whether Sirius was being fairly accused and punished. I also have a feeling that after the unfortunate Snape incident, Dumbledore had any strong liking for Sirius. This, I realized when Dumbledore spoke to Harry about Sirius’s death at the end of OoTP.

I know it’s a weak explanation, for it suggests that a man like Dumbledore too can get a tad bit petty. But other than this, I do not have any other explanation as to why Dumbledore so readily believed that Sirius Black, a member of the Order, James and Lily’s best friend, Harry Potter’s godfather, would actually betray his friends and turn to the other side! Especially, when Sirius used the word “Voldemort” instead of “He-who-must-not-be-named” or “You-know-who”. No Death Eater would say his name!!! So you have any thoughts?

That Rat!

There are certain aspects of JK Rowling’s writing that most of her readers are aware of by now. Her deliberate attempt to hoodwink and possibly mislead the reader till the very end. Quirrell was the spluttering, scared, timid teacher until he proved to be the carrier of Voldemort. Snape was the supposed Harry killer, until we found out that he was trying to save Harry. Sirius Black was this villain who betrayed Harry’s parents, until he proved to be the most faithful. Barty Crouch as Mad Eye appeared to be Harry’s well-wisher until he turned out to be a death eater! JK often tries to get the attention off the main events by giving stress on unimportant things.

And this has led me to analyze the rat! Ever since the third book, Peter Pettigrew has been someone we all have detested, hated even, for betraying the Potters and falsely convicting Sirius. We have considered him to a leach, a pest, who deserves to die the most painful death ever! Of all the dark characters in the book, Peter is probably the most unlikable character. We all like Snape, even in his unfair, miserable, sadist attitude, there is something attractive about Snape. Voldemort is a glorified villain. But Peter… he is definitely someone we would all like to think doesn’t exist! Or isn’t too important.

And yet, there is something about Pettigrew that does not fit logic. Every time Peter is mentioned, JK has tried to shove something very different in our face to get the attention away from Peter. And dislike him as we all do, we are happy to get distracted. I thought let me take a look at someone who played such an important role in Harry’s misery from birth till date!

Of what we know about Peter is mainly through half a dozen people. Rosemarta, McGonagall, Fudge, a little of Harry’s interpretation, Remus, Sirius and Voldemort.
And what do these people have to say about Peter?
Rosemarta: “Pettigrew… that fat boy who was always tagging around them at Hogwarts?”
McGonagall: “Hero-worshipped Black and Potter. Never quite in their league talent-wise. Stupid-boy, foolish-boy, he was always hopeless at dueling.
Fudge: It was little Peter Pettigrew, another of Potter’s friends.
Harry: Sirius Black blasting Peter Pettigrew (who resembled Neville Longbottom)
Sirius:
- You always liked big friends who would look after you.
- Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they’d use a weak, talent less thing like you.
Lupin: Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius.
Voldemort:
- Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice.
- Wormtail I need someone with brains.
And of course JK herself has tried her level best to dismiss Peter as someone not that important or useful!

Let’s take Rosemarta’s description first. According to her Peter is a fat boy who is always tagging around Sirius and James. What does that mean? Does that mean that this fat boy can’t be dangerous? No, but the impression we get is, he is utterly useless ball of flesh tagging along James and Sirius.

McGonagall says that he was never quite in the league of James and Sirius. Whatever does the word quite mean? Not on par? Alright, so he wasn’t on par with them, but does that mean he was useless? No… does that mean he didn’t have talent? No… it only means that he was maybe not as good as them. Okay, so he wasn’t good at dueling. But very honestly, Hermione isn’t very skilled at dueling either. She gets flustered, at times frozen, when she is faced with a really nasty curse. Will we call Hermione stupid and foolish?? So why do we conclude that Peter is…

Fudge calls him little Peter… another one of those things we say when we mention someone who is not up to the mark!

Harry listens to the conversation between Rosemarta, McGonagall and Fudge and concludes that he was like Neville Longbottom. Immediately we think he is this scared, stupid fool. Of course, he proves very un-Neville like in the end of book 3, but we, as readers, do not really let go of the Neville like impression do we?

Sirius makes him look like a sucker, ready to milk as much as he can from useful people and not give anything back. Weak and talent less he calls him.

Remus confesses that James and Sirius had to help Peter to become an animagus, which we conclude to mean that he was pretty ill-equipped to do it on his own, or just plain dumb.

Lord Voldemort himself confesses that he knows Peter is staying with him out of cowardice. He also dismisses Peter as a brainless guy! After all the years of Pettigrew's service, why does Voldemort feel the need to say he was brainless?

Alright, now let’s look at a few things objectively.

- I am a rat! Peter needed all the help in the world to become an animagus. But do you think he could have managed it, if he didn’t have some meat of his own?? Do you honestly think someone like Dean or Luna can become an animagus if Harry, Ron and Hermione broke their heads over it? And if they did manage, I would not consider them stupid or talent less to say the least!
- I am the spy! If Peter managed to spy on James and company for Voldemort for over a year before James’s death without getting caught, can he be considered dumb? Can a stupid person manage to remain an undetected spy for so long? Can someone trust you with their life then? Peter managed to hoodwink not just Sirius or James but also Dumbledore, thoroughly!! And that is no work of a stupid, foolish boy!
- I cut my toe! To think on your feet when cornered and come up with a master plan is no easy feat! And yet Peter managed it. He blew off the street, escaped and made sure that Black is arrested! Even Black himself didn’t understand that Peter was alive that long as a rat! Cowardly maybe, but not dumb!
- I am from Gryffindor! If Peter was in Gryffindor, there has to be some qualities of a typical Gryffindor in him. (Although that’s slightly questionable. There are lots of undeserving Gryffindorites too.) I think he was better suited in Slytherin.

All this apart, Peter Pettigrew caused more damage than any of us are ready to acknowledge.
- It was Peter who was a spy for Voldemort when Voldemort was chasing the Potters.
- It was Peter who passed on the information to Voldemort, which led to the murder of the Potters.
- It was Peter who had the sense to flick Voldemort’s wand from Godrics Hollow!
- It was Peter who put Sirius in Azkaban for more than 12 years.
- It was Peter of all the other Death Eaters who found Voldemort.
- It was Peter who found Bertha Jorkins and brought her to Voldemort, allowing him to create a master plan.
- It was Peter who helped perform the act that brought Voldemort back to his body.
- It was Peter who was sent to spy on Snape in HBP.

Has any single person in the Harry Potter series done so many destructive things? Has any other character caused such mayhem? And yet, JK tries to convince us that he is no good???

Well, something is amiss in this whole Peter Pettigrew episode. We all know that he owes his life to Harry and Harry will be repaid for the same… but… that can’t be all. I have a feeling that Peter has a role to play, a major role to play, for that rat is no timid mouse!

The Great Mystery Of Dumbledore's Death!

My first reaction when I read the last part of the chapter “The Lightening-Struck Tower” of the Half-Blood Prince was JK Rowling is really going too far. Sirius perished in book 5, and she is actually finishing of Albus Dumbledore in book 6! I was lightening struck…

But a year down the line, with so many pro and counter arguments regarding Albus Dumbledore’s death, I have finally made my peace and looked at the rationale behind why Dumbledore is discarded in the book. Despite JK’s very public declaration, “Dumbledore is definitely dead.” I still have my doubts about the whole mystery surrounding Dumbledore’s death. As a reader I am beyond consolation… for there is simply no justification as to why an author would want to kill such a lovable character. But as a literary person, I think I can understand where JK Rowling comes from. Before I go on to Dumbledore’s death strictly from a technical point of view and present the pro and counter clues… a quick word on the literary significance of Dumbledore’s death.

JK Rowling created a series on the story of a boy-wizard Harry Potter who is destined to lead a difficult, dangerous and uncertain life. The series has 4 main characters… Harry Potter himself, Lord Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore and after book 6, Severus Snape. I am not saying that Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Lily, and the likes are not important. But, they are not vital to the storyline… at least anyone of them dying isn’t going to affect the story all so drastically. Sirius Black’s death proved as much! But any of the four main characters affected in any way, today has a direct impact on the storyline.

We all unanimously agree that Harry left to himself is incapable of handling the task at hand (destroying all the horcruxes) and he is going to need help. Very honestly, I feel that the only people who can truly help Harry with the actual task are Dumbledore and Snape. Literary speaking, it also means that, the protagonist is not fully equipped to deal with the hurdle. We found out the strength of Dumbledore in book 5, when he saved Harry from Voldemort. Needless to say, if it wasn’t for Dumbledore, Harry would be a goner by now. There are times in the story, when Harry is almost side-tracked and as the protagonist of the book, we cannot let that happen. As long as Albus Dumbledore was alive, Harry could never truly be the hero. The title of the book may as well change to Albus Dumbledore and the…
Therefore, for the Harry Potter series to be truly about Harry Potter, the wise-old man with the beard had to die! So, somewhere JK has got her basics right. The only counter argument I can give to this in the literary sense is that, you cannot leave the protagonist without any emotional support! His parents are dead, his relatives are useless, his Godfather is killed and now his mentor is gone. A hero cannot be left emotionally high and dry! Harry needs to belong somewhere… and every time he does, that support system is snatched away. That’s a bit cruel.

Now coming to Dumbledore’s death. The big question in the minds of all Potter addicts… Is Albus Dumbledore really dead? Again before I give my opinion, let’s look at the clues…

The mysterious circumstances:
1. The mystery of the missing phoenix: Where was Fawkes when Dumbledore was in trouble this time? We saw him save Dumbledore in the ministry of magic, when he swallowed the death curse. Mere loyalty towards Dumbledore brings Fawkes to the rescue… so the mysterious disappearance of the phoenix is very suspicious, unless the phoenix had orders to stay away. Which then points to the fact that Dumbledore wanted to die.
2. Immobile Harry: Why did Dumbledore waste time in performing the freezing charm on Harry, when Harry was already under the invisibility cloak and in no immediate danger? This I suppose has just one explanation. Dumbledore didn’t want Harry to interfere. Which again points us to the fact that Dumbledore had something in mind, a plan which did not include Harry or need Harry interference.
3. The Avada Kedavra effect: A person flung into the air, suspended in the air and then toppled over a wall out of sight! Can this really be Avada Kedavra? I don’t remember seeing anyone thrown away by whatever I have read of the curse. The spider just rolled onto his back, dead. Harry didn’t actually see Cedric die, but as far as the text goes, Cedric collapsed next to Harry. He wasn’t thrown away! Frank Bryce too just crumpled… no way was he thrown anywhere. So why the difference with Dumbledore? Was Snape performing his famous non-verbal spell, something different, something maybe less damaging?
4. The Plea: Anyone who has followed Dumbledore in the series will tell you that Dumbledore is just not the type to plead for anything, keep aside his own life! So the “Severus please…” seems very dicey to me.
5. The flames: Why did Dumbledore’s body turn to flames? I have nothing to say about it, as I don’t understand it…

These are the mysterious situations. Now for some questions.
Why did Dumbledore jump off in the air as if hit multiple expelliarmus spells at the same time (something similar hiiting Snape in POA)?
If Dumbledore is dead, the unbreakable vow is fulfilled. If Dumbledore is not dead, then Snape should be dead right? Well, as far as we know, he is still hail and healthy.
Dumbledore’s portrait and gargoyle’s acceptance of the deputy headmistress as the new headmistress.
The spell on Harry is broken the moment Dumbledore is thrown off the tower. That can happen only when the person who puts the spell dies.
Where is Dumbledore’s wand? Or why is his body not shown after Hagrid carries him off? Further we never see his body actually buried, but just a white tomb stone. Do we really know if the body is inside?
Harry sees an apparition of a Phoenix just before the flames engulf the grave. Could it be Dumbledore going off as an animagi?

All the clues, mysterious circumstances and unanswered questions make it difficult to judge if Dumbledore is really dead. Yet, for me, I think the old man is really dead. I am not saying this because the author spelt it out, but because, I believe that he is truly dead. I believed once that Black will be back in the next book, but we now know that he is truly dead. JK doesn’t kill off her characters to bring them back. However, I have no doubts that Dumbledore will play a vital role in the next book. Maybe through his portrait, that’s the closest I can get. But it is equally true, that now it is truly Harry battle. He will have to do it alone. That’s the way it works doesn’t it? The hero has to conquer the evil alone! He will have help from his friends, the Order, even Snape and Draco maybe (I am a firm believer that Snape is not on Voldemort’s side), but the final battle, that’s between Harry and Voldemort, and that’s all there is to it, really :).

Was Severus Snape Ever Really a Death Eater?

Sirius stared at the cave wall, then made a grimace of frustration.
“There’s still the fact that Dumbledore trusts Snape, and I know Dumbledore trusts where a lot of other people wouldn’t, but I just can’t see him letting Snape teach at Hogwarts if he had ever worked for Voldemort.”

Ever since I read these lines way back in July of 2000, I haven’t been able to rid myself of suspicions about Snape’s loyalty, Dumbledore’s trust in Snape and Snape’s behaviour where he goes out of his way to be misunderstood. The suspicions grew more and more as the next two books released, and by the end of Half-Blood Prince, I am thinking that Severus Snape in fact may never have been a real death eater!

Of course I have a theory and nothing more, but the theory helped me solve a few important questions apart from proving Snape’s loyalty.
- Why does Dumbledore trust Snape?
- Where do Snape’s loyalties lie?
- What makes Snape hate Harry?
- Why does Dumbledore with hold the truth about Snape from Harry?

To answer these questions let’s take a look at a few events, timelines and facts…

By now, we know that the entire Harry Potter series is really based on two things. Prophecy and choices made around the prophecy. I have been thinking about this, ever since I read the Half Blood Prince, and it had taken me a number of re-readings and then some more to get something right. I am sure I am not the first one to come up with this, but all the same.
Professor Dumbledore tells Harry that while Trelawney made the prophecy, there was an eavesdropper who heard first half of the prophecy, but due to sheer luck, he was identified and thrown out of the building. This is impossible. And we have 2 solid proofs and common sense to back us up here. Let’s deal with the proofs here. The pensive which Dumbledore shows Harry, shows Professor Trelawney saying the whole prophecy in one go. We do now see anyone getting up, identifying the spy and throwing him out of the building. Two, professor Trelawney tells Harry in HBP that while her interview with Dumbledore was on, she started feeling a little odd, but then she was interrupted rudely by Severus Snape. Since the pensive doesn’t show anything, we can easily conclude that Snape interrupted after the whole thing was said because Trelawney was aware that they were interrupted. These are proofs. Now let’s turn to common sense. We found out first in Prisoner of Azkaban that Trelawney doesn’t remember anything she has said when she makes these “genuine” predictions. It will be impossible for Professor Trelawney to go into a trance, utter the first half of the prophecy, then be interrupted, wait for the eavesdropper to be thrown out of the building, then go back into trance and finish off the prophecy. This means that no one interrupted Dumbledore and Trelawney until the entire prediction was over. So we can safely conclude that if Snape heard the prophecy, as Dumbledore confesses he did, he heard the entire prophecy. The questions that arise now are:
- Why did Dumbledore lie to Harry about the intruder?
- Why did he deliberately gave Harry half, incompletely and misleading information?
- And finally, why did Snape provide only half the contents of the prophecy to Voldemort?

To answer this question, let’s take a look at a few timelines. There are several timelines thrown in the entire Harry Potter series. Closely examining these timelines reveals that some of them simply don’t match. I agree that JK is not particularly keen on keeping tracks of the accuracy of the dates (September 2 can’t always be a Monday for six consecutive years after all!), but her timelines don’t go off hand and miss out years! Take a look at these timelines listed here and then go on to the text for the theory.

- Harry Potter was born on July 31, 1980. (He just celebrated his 26th birthday on July 31, 2006.).
- Professor Trelawney made her prophecy on a cold wet night, 16 years ago. So I am assuming somewhere around the New Year of 1980. Since Harry was born in July 1980.
- Voldemort came to the Godric’s Hollow on the Halloween of 1981 and killed Harry’s parents. So Lily and James died in October/November 1981.
- Lord Voldemort also disappeared in October/November 1981.
- Harry started school on September 1, 1991.
- Lord Voldemort returned to power in June of 1995. (Harry’s fourth year at Hogwarts in GoF)
- Around Christmas of 1995, i.e. OotP, Umbridge asks Snape how long he has been at Hogwarts and he says 14 years. So Snape joined the staff on September 1, 1981. James and Lily were still alive. And Lord Voldemort was still alive too.
- Same time in 1995, in OotP, Umbridge asks Trelawney how long she has been at Hogwarts and she says sixteen years. So we can safely assume that she joined the Hogwarts staff in the second term of school after Christmas in January 1980.
- Harry turned 16 years old on July 31, 1996.
- During the same time, in HBP, Snape tells Bellatrix that he gave Voldemort 16 years worth of information on Dumbledore, as a welcome back gift. This means, Snape is claiming that he has information on Dumbledore since 1980. If Snape joined Hogwarts in 1981, how does he have one extra year of information?
- Secondly, as we believe to know, Dumbledore provided testimony regarding Snape to the Ministry of Magic in GoF, that he in fact joined Dumbledore before the fall of Lord Voldemort, Snape joined him in 1981 and James and Lily were still alive. So his story about regret and remorse at James and Lily’s death as the reason to join Dumbledore can be trashed and it definitely doesn’t hold true.
- And finally, if as Snape himself claims, he has been around Dumbledore for 16 years, i.e. since 1979-1980, then has Snape been around Dumbledore during the time Trelawney made her prophecy, helping Dumbledore?

The question then arises is, if Snape knew the contents of the prophecy, why did he pass on half information to Voldemort? Here comes the crux. And here’s where Sirius’s words hit me, again and again.

My theory is, Snape joined Voldemort as a death eater on Dumbledore’s orders. Snape was friends with most prospective death eaters, knew and loved dark arts and was most definitely not popular. And yet, Snape was never portrayed as being cruel. Evil, impartial, unfair, yes, but never cruel. “But as far as I know, Snape was never even accused of being a Death Eater!” – Sirius says in “Padfoot Returns” in Book 4. Which somehow points to the fact that Snape may never have been a genuine death eater. I think Dumbledore planted Snape as a death eater to spy on Voldemort.
When Dumbledore heard the prophecy, he saw a plan. Dumbledore knew that Voldemort wanted to be immortal. So he also knew that Voldemort would go on the trail of the boy who might vanquish him, and try to kill him. Then, did Dumbledore use the prophecy to lure Voldemort into some sort of a trap by sending Snape to Voldemort with half information? Think about it. Almost a year passed between the prophecy proclamation and the death of the two Potters. It most definitely couldn’t have taken Voldemort a year to hunt them down? In Prisoner of Azkaban Fudge tells Rosmerta that not many people were aware that the Potter’s knew that Voldemort was after them. Fudge also tells them that Dumbledore had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped Dumbledore off regarding Voldemort’s hunt of the Potters.

This is very important bit of information missed. Who was the spy who tipped Dumbledore off that it was in fact the Potters and not Longbottoms who Voldemort is after? If as Dumbledore said, there was no way for anyone to know who Voldemort might “mark as his equal,” then how did he have a tip off regarding the same? And think about it, why did Voldemort mark out the Potters?

It probably was a well thought out plan between Snape, Dumbledore and the Potters to use the prophecy as a bait to trap Voldemort. Pettigrew turning a spy ruined the plan for the three. If this theory has even a slightest truth in it, then it answers a lot many questions.
- Dumbledore trusts Snape because Snape is and has always been Dumbledore’s man!
- Snape’s loyalties always lay with Dumbledore!
- Snape hates Harry because Snape was jealous of the attention Dumbledore gave Harry, the attention which was prior to Harry’s entry, Snapes’.
- As for why Dumbledore lied to Harry, the answer is two-fold. Telling Harry such important information always came with a risk that Voldemort may find out about it, in which case Snape’s life would be in danger. Secondly, in confessing to Harry that he used the prophecy as a bait to lure Voldemort to attack the Potters, indirectly makes Dumbledore responsible for the death of Harry’s parents, which is something that Dumbledore wouldn’t want Harry to know yet!

Well that’s about it! I am a self-confessed Severus Snape fan. Call it the sinister attraction or the bad boy, good girl phenomenon. Severus Sinister Sexy Snape is my favourite character of the book, and I shall try to prove his innocence!!!