Divination Fourteen: Atonement
‘And why was Snape looking at Malfoy as though both angry and … was it possible? … a little afraid?’ (HBP15)
Into the Pensieve: Bellatrix Lestrange has wanted revenge on Snape since the death of Dumbledore; now she seizes her opportunity. Desperate to discredit him utterly, Bellatrix risks all: involving her nephew, Draco Malfoy, the youngest Death Eater, in a dangerous plot to bring down her rival. Malfoy approaches Snape as a refugee from the Dark side, claiming that he wants out of Voldemort’s organisation. Snape has always been affectionate to Malfoy (who reminds him of himself as a child) and above all he is mindful of Dumbledore’s monumental sacrifice to save Malfoy’s soul. It does not take long before he cracks and volunteers to hide Malfoy. The trap is sprung and a dozen Death Eaters descend on Snape and begin shooting curses at him. At the last moment, appalled by what he has done, Malfoy’s composure breaks and he moves to defend his former teacher. Bellatrix, furious at seeing her nephew so hysterical, is roused to madness and shoots an Avada Kedavra at Draco Malfoy, killing him instantly. She is momentarily stunned, as Snape, maddened with rage and grief, turns and fires the killing curse at her: Bellatrix is dead, Snape is captured by the other Death Eaters and must face Voldemort’s wrath. The Dark Lord reveals that he has never trusted Snape since his return: ‘Do not lie to Lord Voldemort … for he knows … he always knows…’ In a dramatic confrontation, Snape breaks Voldemort’s wand, depriving the Dark Lord of a powerful weapon (and possible eighth Horcrux) before being subdued. (Voldemort takes Snape’s wand.) Incandescent with rage, Voldemort sets Nagini on an already weakened Snape and leaves him to die. The spy Tonks alerts Lupin and Harry who both Apparate to his side. Snape has killed the snake, but is dying slowly from the venom. Harry offers him absolution and praises his courage. He believes that Snape has destroyed the final Horcrux, but it is Snape’s painful duty to tell him otherwise. Nagini was never a Horcrux: Dumbledore, blinded by love of Harry, ignored the obvious truth: that the remaining soul fragment is embedded in Harry’s forehead and can only be destroyed at the cost of Harry’s own life. Harry and Lupin stay with Snape until he dies.
Omens & Portents: Canonical Clues & Questions
1. Concerning Snape & Malfoy…
- ‘Harry pressed his ear still more closely against the keyhole … what had happened to make Malfoy speak to Snape like this, Snape, towards whom he had always shown respect, even liking?’ (HBP15) There is much textual evidence that Snape is genuinely fond of Draco Malfoy, irrespective of his dealings with Draco’s father. Apart from his willingness to swear the Unbreakable Vow with Malfoy’s mother (when he needn’t have listened to her at all) and his horror on discovering that Malfoy had been the victim of Sectumsempra, he appears to favour Malfoy even above other Slytherins and to respond warmly to his flattery. In HBP, despite his impatience, Snape speaks to Malfoy with more understanding than he has shown to any other student and he seems genuinely concerned for the boy, apart from his interest in Malfoy’s mission. On his part, Malfoy has worked hard to nurture the relationship for his own benefit, so that his sycophancy is mocked by fellow students.
- Deservedly unpopular with most students, Snape nonetheless seems to like being liked. When Malfoy urged him to apply for Dumbledore’s job in COS, he reproved Malfoy gently but ‘couldn’t suppress a thin-lipped smile’. Moreover, Snape seems to strongly identify with Malfoy at certain times. Malfoy’s rivalry with Harry Potter is a constant reminder of the antagonism between Snape and Harry’s father and Malfoy’s need to conform to the expectations of his bullying father might put in mind Snape’s childhood as well, especially if Snape was also a victim of Lucius’s bullying. Malfoy’s defining characteristic seems to be jealousy. Through his own bad nature, he has suffered from Harry’s fame, talent and success almost as much as Snape suffered from James Potter’s popularity, though Harry has none of his father’s arrogance. Malfoy might be supremely undeserving, but he still covets the esteem Harry has earned from Dumbledore, he relishes the chance to please Umbridge (of all people) and his efforts to win Slughorn’s approval in HBP (when he should be preoccupied with Voldemort!) seem rather desperate. Snape will understand that Malfoy’s craving for favour and attention makes him easy prey for the Dark Lord. We know that Malfoy is very able, as was Snape in his youth, but HBP has revealed the essential loneliness of Malfoy’s position, to which Snape must also relate; for while Harry has trusted friends in Ron and Hermione and a much larger support network, Malfoy has no confidante. Another parallel between Snape and Malfoy is the love of their mothers. We know that Eileen Prince was very important to Snape, so we should not underestimate the effect on Snape of Narcissa Malfoy’s overwhelming concern for her only son, reminding him of the one person who truly loved him. Snape’s father may well have been abusive, but with Lucius in prison, Snape seems to crave a paternal role in Draco’s life (something Draco rather resists). Besides, as a reformed Death Eater who was scarred for life by his experiences, Snape must be deeply worried about Draco’s propensity to go the same way. This is ultimately why I believe that Snape was prepared to commit the murder entrusted to Draco, to spare Draco from having to live Snape’s life.
2. Concerning Snape, Malfoy & Bellatrix…
- ‘Snape,’ she said curtly as she passed him. ‘Bellatrix,’ he replied, his thin mouth curling into a slightly mocking smile as he closed the door with a snap behind them. (HBP2) One of the most unwelcome aspects of the Unbreakable Vow, from Snape’s perspective, must be that the bonder was Narcissa’s sister, Bellatrix Lestrange, a woman of whom he could justly say (to quote Anne Boleyn) ‘she is my death and I am hers’. Bellatrix now knows an important secret about Snape: that he agreed to the Vow without Voldemort’s authorisation, for what purpose she cannot imagine. We do know that once her initial astonishment subsided, she was no more inclined to trust Snape than before, for she began teaching her nephew to resist the help of the very person Narcissa had chosen as Draco’s protector. There was a pause and then Snape said quietly, ‘Ah … Aunt Bellatrix has been teaching you Occlumency, I see. What thoughts are you trying to conceal from your master, Draco?’ ‘I’m not trying to conceal anything from him, I just don’t want you butting in!’ (HBP15) It is worth noting that Bellatrix does not love Draco like his mother. On the contrary, she wants to use him to restore the family’s credit with Voldemort and she appears indifferent to all the claims of love. In a shocking moment, she tells Narcissa that: ‘If I had sons, I would be glad to give them up to the service of the Dark Lord!’ (HBP2) I think that ‘Aunt Bellatrix’ must be the source of Malfoy’s reluctance to confide in Snape, even when desperate, for she has convinced him that he is not to be trusted.
- Interestingly, the motivation that she has ascribed to Snape, that he wants Malfoy’s glory, is a reflection of her own jealous nature. Bellatrix’s goal in life is to become Voldemort’s most trusted advisor – a distinction that Dumbledore claims is unattainable, for Voldemort does not trust. Now that Snape has ‘stolen’ Malfoy’s task and killed Dumbledore, in spite of all her machinations to the contrary, Bellatrix will want revenge.
- ‘And why was Snape looking at Malfoy as though both angry and … was it possible? … a little afraid?’ (HBP15) I suspect that Draco Malfoy will prove to be Snape’s Achilles heel. After the events of HBP, in particular, Snape will automatically regard himself as Malfoy’s protector, even though such a role is a potentially dangerous distraction from the defeat of Voldemort. Moreover, I suspect that Bellatrix will want to use her nephew against Snape … maddened by Snape’s success in killing Dumbledore, she will risk anything to oust him in the Dark Lord’s favour. Bellatrix will remember the Unbreakable Vow and decide that Snape could have been acting to save Draco, without reference to Voldemort at all. This hypothesis she will determine to test, using Draco as a (willing or unwilling) accomplice….
- I have little doubt that Bellatrix, murderer of her cousin, would be prepared to sacrifice her sister’s child to the plot: treacherously incriminating Malfoy in order to trick Snape into betraying himself. Alternatively, in a tragically believable scenario, Draco Malfoy might allow himself to be used knowingly as a pawn against Snape, despite the residual affection he feels for his teacher, either to save his own skin, or in the belief that he was helping to keep his family alive. When all else fails, Voldemort uses coercion; hence Dumbledore’s emphasis on the choice ‘between what is right and what is easy’ (GOF37). By the end of HBP, even Harry feels ‘the timiest drop of pity’ for Draco. ‘Where, Harry wondered, was Malfoy now, and what was Voldemort making him do under threat of killing him and his parents?’ (HBP30)
- In any case, I suspect that some time after the events of HBP Malfoy will approach Snape as a refugee from the Dark side. Citing Dumbledore’s final words to him – which he might already have relayed to Bellatrix, who will have seized on this as evidence of Snape’s treachery – Malfoy will implore his old teacher to save him from Voldemort’s clutches. Faced with a terrified child – who is also a gifted Occlumens – how long will it be before Snape cracks and volunteers to hide Malfoy? (Dumbledore’s death has left him staggeringly vulnerable, emotionally.) Draco will demand proof of Snape’s true allegiance and – perhaps using Veritaserum – will extract enough evidence to destroy him utterly.
3. Concerning Snape & Voldemort…
- What exactly is Snape’s relationship with Voldemort? So far in the series we’ve never seen them together, which only serves to increase our sense of unease. I think it’s telling that in all six books, Voldemort has made just one (veiled) reference to Snape and it’s a threat: ‘One, who I believe has left me forever… he will be killed, of course’ (GOF23). Of course, post HBP we are meant to believe that Snape has regained Voldemort’s favour: ‘The Dark Lord’s initial displeasure at my lateness vanished entirely, I assure you, when I explained that I remained faithful, although Dumbledore thought I was his man. Yes, the Dark Lord thought that I had left him forever, but he was wrong’ (HBP2). Yet this seems to raise as many questions as it answers. If Voldemort always knew that Snape was a double agent, sending him to spy on Dumbledore in the first place, then how and why did he come to believe by the time of Quirrell that Snape had truly defected? Was this a post-downfall development, as Snape seems to think, or did it have its origins in something much deeper? And was it really possible for Snape to repair this trust in an afternoon? Must those of us who believe that Snape is loyal to the Order accept that in his own words, he: ‘somehow hoodwinked [Voldemort]? Fooled the Dark Lord, the greatest wizard, the most accomplished Legilimens the world has ever seen?’ (HBP2)
- Much as I would like to believe that Snape is successfully deceiving Voldemort, the attitude of some of the other Death Eaters, who apparently ‘whisper behind [Snape’s] back’ and carry ‘tales of [his] treachery to the Dark Lord’, makes me doubtful. Can the subtle Voldemort really be this complacent when Bellatrix is so distrustful and hostile? To my mind, the very fact that Snape brought Voldemort the (incomplete) Prophecy would have been a good reason to keep him close, but not to trust him, since this loyal-for-now servant knows it is possible for Voldemort to be defeated. (I very much doubt this is common knowledge among the DEs). Narcissa’s desperate attempt at flattery, ‘He trusts you so, Severus…’ may be safely discounted on the grounds that Dumbledore later explains Voldemort does not trust: ‘You will hear many of his Death Eaters claiming that they are in his confidence, that they alone are close to him, even understand him. They are deluded. Lord Voldemort has never had a friend, nor do I believe that he has ever wanted one.’ (HBP13)
- I can accept that Snape is ‘a superb Occlumens’, but Voldemort has been presented as a child prodigy, with a talent for Legilimency that exceeds even the ‘sufficiently accomplished’ Dumbledore. His catch phrase seems to reflect this perfectly: ‘Do not lie to Lord Voldemort … for he knows … he always knows…’ (GOF1). There are other indications that Voldemort may not be quite so credulous as Snape (and Bellatrix) seem to believe. What’s the use of having a spy at Hogwarts if you don’t confide in them? Yet Snape seems to be left out of the main plot, both in OOtP (when he has to ascertain via the Patronus that Sirius is indeed at Grimmauld Place) and in HBP (when McGonagall confirms that Snape had to be informed by Flitwick about the Death Eaters arrival). One cannot even be sure that Snape knew the true nature of Malfoy’s task before swearing the Unbreakable Vow in HBP2. (Indeed, throughout this scene, Snape seems to capitalise on the fact that Bellatrix is not in a position to verify his information, since Voldemort still blames her for ‘the fiasco at the Ministry’ and is evidently not speaking to her: ‘Have you discussed this matter with the Dark Lord? … He … lately, we … I am asking you, Snape!’) Then there is the matter of Wormtail, supposedly sent to ‘assist’ Snape at Spinners End, a limited role, which consists of making drinks and cleaning Snape’s house. Snape appears quite breathtakingly cool about the presence of this well known traitor and informant, ‘He has lately taken to listening at doors, I don’t know what he means by it’, but it is impossible to believe he does not suspect Voldemort of placing Wormtail there to spy on him. Most alarming of all, I believe, is the fact that Snape remained ignorant of Wormtail’s true role until after the events of Book 3. While Karkaroff explains that a certain amount of secrecy was normal ‘– we never knew the names of every one of our fellows – he [Voldemort] alone knew exactly who we all were –’ (GOF30) it does appear that this crucial information, available to the other Death Eaters, was purposefully withheld from Snape. Certainly, we learn in POA that Wormtail is well known to the DEs: ‘You haven’t been hiding from me for twelve years,’ said Black. ‘You’ve been hiding from Voldemort’s old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban … Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. … And not all Voldemort’s supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? … If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter –’ (POA19).
- It might, of course, have been a simple security measure not to inform the double agent of the spy’s identity, in case Snape was ever captured. And yet … I am struck by the fact that Snape not only missed Wormtail, he appears to have been the only one to suspect Sirius prior to the casting of the Fidelius Charm and the Potters’ murder, as if by deliberate misdirection. So is it possible that Voldemort is using Snape, while convinced of his treachery? Well, I imagine that Voldemort feels confident enough to toy with Snape in order to manipulate him, employ his talents and neutralise him as a potential rival, always on the understanding that he can be killed if necessary. Playing cat and mouse with Snape is certainly more profitable than listening to Bellatrix’s endless protestations of faithfulness. There is even, perhaps, an element of malevolent humour in his assigning ex-Marauder Wormtail to Snape as a servant: psychological warfare, indeed. Perhaps he even hoped that using Snape to kill Dumbledore would ensure Snape’s loyalty by default. But there can be no doubt at all that when his latest treacheries are exposed, Voldemort will turn on Snape and subject him to terrible torture, most likely in the presence of other Death Eaters; before leaving him for dead. Snape will remain true to the Order and not reveal what he knows about Horcruxes: the destruction of the ring and the locket. And if he is going to die, then I hope he will take Bellatrix with him; thus serving justice on the murderer of Sirius and torturer of the Longbottoms, while sparing Neville the nightmare of revenge. Neville has shown such heartbreaking innocence and courage, he needs to remain untainted.
4. Concerning Snape’s death…
- I predict that Snape will kill Nagini and be mortally wounded in the process. As he lies dying, Harry and/or Lupin come to his side, too late to save him but in time to learn some crucial information before he expires. In these circumstances, Harry would genuinely regret Snape’s death and attempt to offer him absolution. Apart from the morbid fact that Nagini’s venom would provide an appropriately lingering demise, it would also solve the (dramatic) problem of Harry having to fight another snake of Voldemort’s. Nor does Snape have much of a track record with animals; we know that he was badly injured by Fluffy. ‘Snape was holding his robes above his knees. One of his legs was bloody and mangled.’ (PS11) Nagini is a suspect Horcrux and must be destroyed; she is also a highly intelligent and dangerous animal – Voldemort’s pet! ‘Something was slithering towards him along the dark corridor floor, and as it drew nearer to the sliver of firelight, he realised with a thrill of terror that it was a gigantic snake, at least twelve feet long.’ (HBP1) Having been attacked by Nagini in the Department of Mysteries, Arthur Weasley had (by all accounts) an extremely lucky escape. He lost a lot of blood and might well have died were it not for Harry’s prompt action. ‘It seems there was some rather unusual kind of poison in that snake’s fangs that keeps wounds open.’ (OOtP22)
- ‘Snape stepped forward, waved his wand and the snake vanished in a puff of black smoke. Snape, too, was looking at Harry in an unexpected way: it was a shrewd and calculating look, and Harry didn’t like it.’ (COS11) So what will be Snape’s last disclosure to Harry? Something that only a Death Eater is likely to know … something that helps to explain Snape’s treatment of Harry throughout the series. Snape might have killed Nagini but he has not destroyed the final Horcrux. For Dumbledore, blinded by love of Harry Potter, has miscalculated (though I believe he was right about the items from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw and right to suppose that the Gryffindor sword is safe). The Horcrux is not contained in the snake, at all: it is embedded in Harry’s forehead.
5. Concerning Voldemort’s wand…
- Red Hen cites John Granger’s conjecture that Voldemort might have made his wand into a Horcrux, which I also find persuasive. The wand is clearly a significant object to Voldemort (the instrument of his power, symbolic of his magical heritage etc.), with the added security bonus that it never leaves Voldemort’s grasp. Plus, how many more valuable objects does the Dark Lord currently have in his possession? If Voldemort did make another Horcrux following the destruction of the diary (as postulated by Paritosh and Lady Lupin on Mugglenet) then I think this is a fairly good bet. We know that Voldemort recently completed another murder, in the first person, which seems to be what is required to make a Horcrux. ‘We think He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named may have murdered her in person’, says Fudge in HBP1. And the murder of Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement – by all accounts a ‘very gifted witch’ from a distinguished family – would seem to qualify as a significant death in Voldemort’s eyes. Plus, there’s the added fact of wand-maker Ollivander’s mysterious disappearance, which might be connected to Voldemort having outstanding questions about wands. ‘Ollivander was the best, and if the other side have got him it’s not so good for us.’ (HBP6)
- ‘So what happens when a wand meets its brother?’ said Sirius. ‘They will not work properly against each other,’ said Dumbledore.’ (HBP36) The Priori Incantatem effect suggests that Harry and Voldemort will not be able to fight one another properly with their own wands. Is it therefore be necessary for Voldemort to lose his wand before the duel? (Incidentally, my Mum – Mrs. Vablatsky, Senior – wonders what would happen if the wands became mixed-up. Can wizards be killed with their own wands?)
6. Concerning Harry-as-Horcrux…
- There are a number of reasons for thinking that – great man, though he undoubtedly is – Dumbledore might be in error on this point:
- Would Voldemort really have considered the murder of a Muggle servant, like poor Frank Bryce, to be particularly significant, let alone worthy of a Horcrux? We don’t know exactly what is involved in the creation of a Horcrux, but we witnessed the murder of Bryce (in Harry’s dream) and saw nothing unusual. ‘He was screaming so loudly that he never heard the words the thing in the chair spoke, as it raised a wand. There was a flash of green light, a rushing sound, and Frank Bryce crumpled. He was dead before he hit the floor.’ (GOF1)
- Wouldn’t Voldemort have been quite capable of possessing Nagini – as he possessed Ginny (and Harry, briefly, in the DOM) – without making her into a Horcrux? ‘You seem to have visited the snake’s mind because that was where the Dark Lord was at that particular moment,’ snarled Snape. ‘He was possessing the snake at the time and so you dreamed you were inside it, too.’ (OOtP24) Have we seen anything else from Nagini that is not explicable by the fact that Voldemort is a Parselmouth and has her very well trained? And if Voldemort has already made Slytherin’s locket into a Horcrux then would he really need Nagini to underline the Slytherin connection?
- Isn’t it more significant Dumbledore suspects that it is possible to make a living creature into a Horcrux? If an animal, then why not a human child?
- If Voldemort entered Harry’s parents’ house with the intention of killing the baby and making a Horcrux and he failed unexpectedly to kill Harry when the curse rebounded then couldn’t he have accidentally transferred part of his soul to Harry at the same time?
- Might this explain the significance of the scar and the enigmatic connection between Harry and Voldemort, which Dumbledore has never been able to account for satisfactorily? ’The Avada Kedavra Curse doesn’t usually leave any sign of damage … the exception sits before me,’ Dumbledore added, with a nod to Harry’s scar. (HB17) We know that there is something very unusual about Harry’s scar, which has enabled Harry to sense Voldemort’s mood and has allowed Voldemort to invade Harry’s mind from hundreds of miles away. The scar throbs excruciatingly when Voldemort is nearby or feeling particularly murderous. Harry has had visions of the Dark Lord and even experienced flashes of real time events from Voldemort’s POV. And it is thanks to the scar apparently, that Harry possesses certain of Voldemort’s powers including the ability to talk to snakes. ‘Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?’ Harry said, thunderstruck. (COS18 ) The connection between them is further underlined by the fact that Harry, as a twelve-year-old boy, even had a trace memory of the name Riddle (Red Hen). ‘And while Harry was sure he had never heard the name T. M. Riddle before, it still seemed to mean something to him, almost as though Riddle was a friend he’d had when he was very small, and half-forgotten.’ (COS13)
- Plenty of people have expressed suspicion of Harry’s scar – from Alastor Moody: ‘there’s something funny about the Potter kid, we all know that’ (OOtP22) – to Severus Snape: ‘The usual rules don’t seem to apply to you, Potter. The curse that failed to kill you seems to have forged some kind of connection between you and the Dark Lord.’ (OOtP24) Even Dumbledore has come close to the heart of the mystery: ‘I guessed, fifteen years ago,’ said Dumbledore, ‘when I saw the scar on your forehead, what it might mean. I guessed that it might be the sign of a connection forged between you and Voldemort.’ (OOtP37)
- Why then has Dumbledore failed to take this idea to its logical conclusion? Because it involves the strong possibility that Harry will only be able to defeat Voldemort by dying himself: a possibility that Dumbledore cannot bear to face. Dumbledore has already shown us that he is not infallible. ‘But you think you’re right?’ said Harry. ‘Naturally I do, but as I have already proven to you, I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being – forgive me – rather clever than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger.’ (HBP10) In fact, Dumbledore has already confessed to making one major mistake because of his love for Harry: ‘I cared about you too much,’ said Dumbledore simply. ‘I cared more for your happiness than your knowing the truth, more for your peace of mind than my plan, more for your life than the lives that might be lost if the plan failed. In other words, I acted exactly as Voldemort expects we fools who love to act. … What did I care if numbers of nameless and faceless people and creatures were slaughtered in the vague future, if in the here and now you were alive, and well, and happy?’ (OOtP37)
- Yet Dumbledore has not been the only one watching Harry. Someone else has watched him, relentlessly, suspiciously, for six years, with never so much as a smile. Severus Snape has kept Harry Potter under close observation; he has seen what Dumbledore was too blind to see. And we must consider the possibility that part of Snape’s problem with Harry – a very large part – arises not from his facial resemblance to his mother or father but from the fact that he has Voldemort’s scar on his forehead. Snape is mortally afraid of Voldemort. Indeed – though Harry never stopped to think it through – the main reason that Snape was using a Pensieve for the duration of the Occlumency lessons was not to conceal his thoughts from Harry but to protect them from Voldemort. What if Snape too has seen ‘a shadow of him stir behind [Harry's] eyes…’ (OOtP37)?
- Indeed, it is my conjecture that Snape has long guessed the secret of Harry’s scar; nor was he altogether lying when he told Bellatrix that there were rumours circulating ‘that he [Harry] was himself a great Dark wizard, which was how he had survived the Dark Lord’s attack.’ (HBP2) Snape himself seems to have tested these rumours, when he encouraged Malfoy to set a snake on Harry at the duelling club and delayed removing it until Harry had demonstrated his knowledge of Parseltongue: ‘Snape moved closer to Malfoy, bent down and whispered something in his ear.’ (COS11) Severus Snape has never been the bearer of good news … nor will he be so in his dying moments, when he reveals that the final Horcrux is Harry’s own scar.
Legilimency… what is JKR thinking?
‘Let’s go again … on the count of three … one – two – three – Legilimens!’ (OOtP24)
- Malfoy means ‘bad faith.’ [JKR, WBUR interview, 1999 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Draco is very gifted in Occlumency, unlike Harry. Draco can suppress “virtually all of the good side of himself.” [JKR, Mugglenet/TLC interview, 2005 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- “Draco would not have killed Dumbledore.” [JKR, Mugglenet/TLC interview, 2005 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Suddenly, after “having talked the talk [Draco's] asked to walk it for the first time and it is absolutely terrifying. I felt sorry for Draco.” [JKR, Mugglenet/TLC interview, 2005 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- When asked about Draco, Jo said that all of her main characters except for Voldemort could be considered redeemable. [JKR, RCMH1, 2006 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- We will learn more about the relationship between wands and their wizards/witches in Book 7. [JKR, RCMH1, 2006 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- For all his wisdom, Dumbledore is still a human being with human weaknesses. [JKR, Mugglenet/TLC interview2005 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- In choosing which child to kill (Neville or Harry) Voldemort was “choosing which boy to anoint as the Chosen One.” [JKR, website - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Voldemort “is not, in a biological sense, related to [Harry] at all.” [JKR, BBC Radio 4, 2005 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Harry’s scar gives him a “magical window into Voldemort’s mind.” [JKR, website - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Harry’s survival through his ordeals “has not depended wholly or even mainly upon his scar.” [JKR, website - Madam Scoop’s Index]
While I do enjoy your theories I do not agree that the final horcrux is Harry’s scar.
My reasoning is thus. Voldemort was not able to touch Harry until some of Harrys blood was used in the potion that regenerated him. Surely a part of Voldemorts soul residing within Harry would have suffured an instant death???
Furthermore dumbledore said that Voldemort is not aware when one of his Horcruxes is destroyed. The scar has forged a connection between Harry and Voldemort but the same cannot be said for the Horcruxes that we know of.
I beleive as Dumbledore did that Voldemort marked Harry as his equal that night and unwittingly transfered some of his powers to Harry nothing more.
Interesting points… I guess this is one of the issues that divides the fandom right down the middle!
My main reasons for believing in the scar theory are literary and aesthetic ones, namely…
a) I think far fewer people would believe in the scar-as-Horcrux theory if Dumbledore hadn’t fingered Nagini as a possible Horcrux. The idea that you can make a living creature into a Horcrux is incredibly dramatic and seems to require more of a payoff than a showdown between Harry Potter and another(!) poisonous snake.
b) Since Book 5, JKR has been setting up Dumbledore to be massively *wrong* about something. After HBP, a lot of people (understandably) decided that he was wrong to trust Snape. As someone who believes emphatically in Snape’s innocence, I think it makes more sense for Dumbledore to have been in error about Harry’s scar. After all, the Headmaster has already confessed to making one emotional mistake because of his love for Harry.
c) It seems very significant (to me, anyway) that Dumbledore’s guesses about the Horcruxes aren’t more definitive. He knows about the Cup and the Locket but he only thinks he knows about the mystery object and Nagini. And JKR’s confirmation that Harry has to get rid of four Horcruxes and then ‘go for Voldemort’ says nothing about the identities of the objects.
d) Most importantly, Harry’s scar is a mystery which requires an enormous solution. ‘What was this weird connection between them, which Dumbledore had never been able to explain satisfactorily?’ (OOtP18) Dumbledore’s suggestion in Book 2 that Voldemort accidentally “transferred some of his powers to [Harry] the night he gave [him] that scar” (COS18), simply isn’t good enough anymore. We need to know HOW it was possible for the Dark Lord to mark baby Harry as an equal and the simplest (and best) explanation (according to the principle of Ockham’s Razor) would be the Horcrux theory. Otherwise, JKR will have to invoke a completely new concept to explain the connection… a bit late at this stage in the series.
Of course, I could be totally wrong and you raise some good points… but I don’t believe that the difficulties you mention are insurmountable. It’s just that we still have a lot to learn about Horcruxes.
On your first point, although I like the notion of Harry’s blood being resistant to Voldemort’s soul fragment, it doesn’t quite work for me. Since Harry acquired the ability to speak Parseltongue, we know there must have been some contamination, so why not take this through to its logical conclusion? (If anything does have the power to dissolve Horcruxes then it’s likely to be dragon’s blood, IMHO, not Harry’s blood!)
On your second point, I’d counter that you wouldn’t expect a living Horcrux to behave in the same way as a Cup or a Locket. After all, Dumbledore speculated that Nagini might be a Horcrux because “he [Voldemort] seems to have an unusual amount of control over her, even for a Parselmouth.” (HBP23) This does sound eerily close to the connection between Harry and Voldemort, IMHO.
Anyway, thanks for your feedback, Patient Observer. I’d be interested to know what you make of divination sixteen, which explains why my theory (at least) requires Harry’s scar to be a Horcrux!
i trust snape because i think that Dumbledore knows something we don’t know about Snape. I think maybe that Dumbledore had him under an unforgivable(is it breakable?) curse. Off topic but still, why would Dumbledore think that Snape is trustworthy if he didn’t know something we didnt? Another off topic theory is that Snape didn’t kill Dumbledore. This is because everythime we wittnesed the Avada Kadvra, the vitim falls to the ground. In Dumbledore’s case, he fly’s back, which is the effect of Expelliaramus(spellong?).
My biggest problem with the scar as horcrux theory is this. It has, imho, been sufficiently established throughout the books that Harry has to be the one to kill Voldemort. Twice in your divinations you have cited the destroy 4 and go quote. If Harry has to kill himself to destroy the last Horcrux, then he won’t be alive to kill Voldemort. I am not saying that Harry will survive the final showdown, just that he has to live until Voldemort dies, and if he is a Horcrux and lives, Voldemort can’t die. Otherwise I think you have made some incredible and thought provoking speculations that are well backed up by the previous books.
Thanks for your time.
Les
additionally, while JKR has definitely adapted many prevalent literary devices, as well as historical and mythological standards, to fit her needs, i think the scar as Horcrux idea might be a little too cliche in this post “sixth sense” world.
“If Harry has to kill himself to destroy the last Horcrux, then he won’t be alive to kill Voldemort. I am not saying that Harry will survive the final showdown, just that he has to live until Voldemort dies, and if he is a Horcrux and lives, Voldemort can’t die.”
Yep, that sounds like a problem! (V. neatly explained, btw.)
Keep reading … and see what you make of my solution. :–)
Hi!
I think Voldemort unconciously put a bit of his soul into harry and made him horcrux. And before that the last murder happened by him is Lily’s. So, may be that’s why Harry has Liliy’s eyes. And i think one horcrux is in Lovegood’s. Because Luna’s mother died for some reason like a magic spell rebounded. May be she tried to do some experiment with the horcrux and it rebounded?
Tamanna.
This segment is absolutely fabulous! I think you’ve nailed the personalities involved. JKR already hinted that Bella would happily sacrifice Draco (she claimed to be willing to sacrifice a son of her own so a nephew is nothing) and your idea that Bella sacrifices Draco during an effort to discredit Snape out of jealousy has significant foreshadowing. I’m sold. I also hadn’t caught the analogy between Draco’s jealousy of Harry and Snape’s jealousy of James. I’m still of the mind that Snape loves Narcissa, but seeing himself in Draco is a nice added touch.
I too am suspicious we will find out that Voldemort never trusted Snape (we are told he trusts no one). But I do think there is one person that ensures Snape’s survival until the endgame regardless of whether Voldemort is given proof of Snape’s treachery: Harry. I suspect Voldemort needs Harry filled with hate in order to deal with Harry himself, which is now necessary for Voldemort to retain power (JKR even foreshadows this with comments by Voldemort in GoF – Voldemort says he will kill Harry himself so the Death Eaters realize there is nothing special about him. And, of course, Voldemort failed yet again.)
I strongly believe this hatred is why Voldemort wanted Draco or Snape to kill Dumbledore: to increase Harry’s hatred for the two people he already hated above all others (perhaps even including Voldemort per JKR). Perhaps Voldemort will again be able to possess Harry if Harry is focused on his hatred of Snape – because then Harry cannot fill himself with love for others to drive out Voldemort. Snape may be brutalized – but I think he will live until Harry confronts Voldemort. However I’m suspicious that when Harry confronts Voldemort Harry will no longer hate Snape…which will guarantee Snape’s instant demise.
As for the scar as a Horcrux, the idea is very compelling. And I do think Nagini is a red-herring. My guess is that Harry’s scar is indeed a Horcrux and Voldemort intends to transfer that soul bit into the Sword of Godric Gryffindor in the final scene (does Kreacher get the sword for Bellatrix who gives it to Voldemort to return herself to favor?)
Maybe it’s me being optimistic about a seemingly hopeless situation, but I was hoping that the horcrux in Harry’s scar would be destroyed by either a dementor’s kiss or puting his head through the veil (with Ron and Hermione nearby to pull him back)
Here’s Hoping….
I love the idea of Harry’s scar being a horcrux, but Dumbledore said that Harry was full of a good power that Voldy couldn’t bear. So if that’s true, then how could a fragment of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named be inside Harry, who posseses that force in such quantities?
‘That power took you to save Sirius tonight. That power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you.’ (OOtP37)
Very good point, Sora. I don’t know, but I think it’s worth noting that Harry’s scar is a source of pain and trouble to him, which suggests to me that it does have evil origins. It enables Voldemort to posses Harry with unnatural emotions (particularly disturbing in OOtP when Harry is moved to attack Dumbledore every time he looks at him). Was this (partly) the reason that Harry felt so angry during Book 5, before Voldemort started employing Legilimency against him? So I don’t think that what happens in OOtP36 when Harry’s overwhelming grief for Sirius drives out Voldemort, necessarily precludes the Horcrux theory. But it might provide a clue as to the means of Voldemort’s eventual defeat…
If Harry has a horcrux in his scar why did Voldermort try to kill him again in GOF. Remember in the graveyard, it was the Av curse that ended in stalemate between Harry and Voldermort, eventually alowing Harry to escape.
PS fantasctic theoties, great fun.
Two possible reasons, John:
a) Firstly, I’m not sure that Voldemort knows (or knew at that time!) that Harry is a Horcrux.
b) Secondly and most importantly, the first half of the Prophecy (which Voldemort knows) states that Harry is the (only?) ‘one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord’ so Voldemort seems to believe that by killing Harry he will make himself invincible and immortal, regardless of whether Harry might be an accidental Horcrux.
The Horcruxes were just one of Voldemort’s experiments in immortality.
a) Fair point.
b) Again fair point, killing Harry may mean destroying part of his soul, but ultimately leaves Voldermort stronger.
Hi. Very nice stuff you’ve done here. Going to a permalink.
Now, I absolutely agree that Harry’s being set up to be wiped out. But, personally, I just can’t stomach that. So, can we have Harry’s willing self-sacrifice to erase his scar save him this time, too?
Grasping at straws,
Linds
P.S. (I think JKR has at least a good novella’s worth of alternative universe and expansion (depending on how much is right) to be concerned about the extra authors. I hope we don’t lose this. It’s almost as great a read as from the woman herself (it could be as great, but, of course, for canon’s sake….)
I wonder: does Harry have to die if he’s a horcrux? what has happened to the other horcruxes? they didn’t crumble or burn up to ash. the diary is still usable… someone can read it and write in it, it just no longer has the magical properties…
the ring… it was cracked, or at least the stone inside was, but it’s still ‘usable’; someone could still wear it. in fact, Dumbledore DID wear it at Slughorns. More to the point, it still had a PURPOSE; it (along with Harry) helped entice Slughorn to teach Potions.
the diary, tho’ ripped up, still served a purpose; it helped with the ruse that freed Dobby.
Also, what purpose do the Dementors serve? I mean, it seems like magical beasts SERVE a purpose beyond their … occupations. Thestrals were there for other reasons than pulling the carriages. Buckbeak served a purpose other than being one of the subjects of a lesson.
Honestly, as a writer, couldn’t Rowling have made Azkaban ‘unbreak-out-able’ by soem other means? Why did she HAVE to make the Dementors?? She could have just as easily simply said: ‘Azkaban is un-break-outable’ and it would simply be something we have to take her word for because she hasn’t proven otherwise. In fact, it would have saved her a great deal of prose if Sirius did NOT have to explain about Dementors being blind and not being able to tell the difference between animals and man (which I still say is rubbish, but its HER world; we HAVE to take her word for that).
In fact, she could have said this:
Azkaban is un-break-outable because:
1) it’s guarded by mean people
2) there’s a massive Confundus Charm, Too-Many Thoughts Hex and Forgeto-Spell Jinx on the place; besides which,
3) the wizard doesn’t have a wand
So, even a wizard adept at non-verbal, wand-free spells would be hard press to concentrate on a single thought to cast a spell.
blah blah blah
But she didn’t do that, did she? She created the Dementors. Most of all, she gave them the ability to …. yeah, suck out souls. Then, we find that Voldy himself is putting his soul into things. This isn’t a magical DNA imprint… it’s not a schematic of his thought matrices… nothing of the sort. It’s his soul.
I wonder what you think of the idea of Harry using the Dementors to rid himself of the soul that he has, or even it accidentally happening because, in the final battle, a Dementor breaks past a perimeter the Trio/DA crew sets up and makes it to Harry. It begins to feed, Voldy freaks out, but, as mentioned in PoA, once those Dementors get going — they have no remorse, can’t be reasoned with. Nothing will stand in their way. Probably not even Voldy’s protests!
Imagine the irony! Voldy ‘accidentally’ made Harry a horcrux, accidentally chose him and marked him as the Chosen One; and his minions accidentally sucked the soul right out of Harry…. leaving Voldy mortal.
In fact, this jiibes with the last-minute “I-thought-I had-to-do-this-but-I-really-didn’t” bait-n-switch that Rowling makes Harry go thru.
Even in your scenario whereby Snape reveals the truth, HArry could be resolved to go thru the Veil, taking VOldy with him. That’s what the battle looks like it’s going. The DA/Trio surround the MoM to stop the DEs and other beasties from getting thru to help Voldy…. Voldy has his stand off with Harry, laughs because he knows that Harry’s a horcrux now and killing him won’t do anything… then he sees in Harry’s eyes that he intends to jump thru the Veil with Voldy in his arms… realises that Harry’s serious… Dementor(s) break thru… blam… soul suckage…
That, to me, is a satisfying end (provided Rowling has learnt to write action better), gives that final purpose to the Dementors (which hadn’t been satisfied the way other ‘creatures’ of the books had), and keeps Harry alive whilst still explaining the scar!crux.
So intent on this ending am I that I’ll probably be sorely angered if it doesn’t happen.
At any rate, I love your site! Can’t wait to read more!
Loving this site so far! Can’t wait ’til Book Seven’s released
Do you think there’s any significance in the fact that Draco’s the last remaining male in the Black bloodline? I suspect he was the character that JKR was going to kill off that later got a reprieve, she’s hinted at being very surprised at how much of a loyal fanbase he’s build up, despite being pretty one-dimensional up until Book Six.
If Harry’s scar was a horcrux then how come Voldemort tried to kill him in the graveyard in the goblet of fire
Well (Sibby, Brandon etc.), the Dementor theory is certainly popular. Perhaps they *do* have a use? (Btw, JKR’s fifth faq poll involved the question: “Does the destruction of a Horcrux involve more than the destruction of the object?” Unfortunately (IMHO), the question about Secret Keepers won instead!)
Chris H. … I agree with you that Draco Mafoy could well be the character who received a reprieve. Really hope it was Lupin though. :–) DD tried to give young Malfoy a chance. Still, you have to wonder what sort of future he’d have in the wizarding world.
Matt … see reply to John above:
a) Firstly, I’m not sure that Voldemort knows (or knew at that time!) that Harry is a Horcrux.
b) Secondly and most importantly, the first half of the Prophecy (which Voldemort knows) states that Harry is the (only?) ‘one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord’ so Voldemort seems to believe that by killing Harry he will make himself invincible and immortal, regardless of whether Harry might be an accidental Horcrux.
The Horcruxes were just one of Voldemort’s experiments in immortality.
Time travel could play a part again, to get around the “Harry killing himself” bit.
Perhap’s Dumbledore’s lovely watch (currently held by Ron) is the key to his time travel – Harry sends himself forward in time a few minutes, to just after the point Voldemort has killed him – the final horcrux is destroyed, Voldemort is feeling smug and invincible, Harry-from-the-past pops up and gives him a bit of a kicking, says goodbye to his friends then returns to his proper time, just in time to be killed by Voldemort.
Everyone’s dead, no-one’s happy, and JKR has a chuckle at all of the distressed fans who were convinced Harry had to keep on being “the boy who lived”.
Due to a editing error, a sentence was omitted from my previous post:
With all due respect to the “horcrux in the scar” theory; I don’t see how this is even remotely possible. Voldemort couldn’t even touch Harry due to Lily’s “love-blood” charm, yet you believe it is plausible that Voldemort could implant a portion of his ripped up soul on Harry’s forehead? It not only defies logic, IMHO, it makes no sense. We know from Quirrels demise that as of Harry’s first year at Hogwarts the charm was still intact, and it was only Voldy’s re-birth using Harry’s own blood, that negated the deadly “touching” portion of the charm. So if a Voldemort horcrux was implanted into the scar, that portion of the soul, by its location, would be destroyed by the effects of Lily’s charm.
Anything is possible, but I don’t consider Harry being a horcrux to be one of them.
Also, a bit off the topic, but any senerio that has Harry dying defeats the entire “good v evil” foundation of the series. If we take JK at her words, Harry is the last of the Potters, and his death would thus mean the end of the Potter bloodline (and by all indications the Gryffindor bloodline), and in a very real way mean that no matter what Voldemort’s end is, Evil would have triumphed. I don’t see JKR spending 17 years of writing to conclude that evil wins out.
And finally, Harry began the septology as the “boy who lived”, and will end the septology in the same manner, IMHO.
With all of that said, good discussion.
More evidence of Harry-as-horcrux. During his dementor attacks he feels a thick white mist/fog that is first around him and then in him. At first glance it sounds like the effect the Dementor is having on him, however, maybe it is Harry’s memory of being filled with the horcrux:
‘Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry’! ‘Stand aside, you silly girl … stand aside now’ … ”Not Harry, please no, kill me instead’ — Numbing, swirling white mist was filling Harry’s brain … (PA 133)
And then, from far away, he heard screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading screams. He wanted to help whoever it was, he tried to move his arms, but couldn’t…a thick white fog was swirling around him, inside him– (PA 84)
However, one little problem I have been having is if Harry will die, why all the plot turns about him becoming an Auror? He did not pass Snape’s class with a high enough mark to continue on the Auror route, but then McGonagall takes over and now he has a chance again. Just a red herring? But it seems like Rowling wants to provide a future for Harry.
Oops – accidentally deleted a comment just posted under 14.
So sorry … and please feel free to repost.
RE #1, I don’t recall there being any indications of Lucius being a bully. In fact,
it seems the school bullies were James and Sirius.
As for Voldemort’s trust, it seems that the Death Eaters believe Prof Snape to be
the favorite. In fact Draco throws the fact of Snape’s true loyalty into Dumbledore’s
face. Obviously Bellatrix had not completely indoctrinated him into believing Snape
to be a traitor. Narcissa and Bella both believe Voldemort to trust Snape. Bella did
not contradict Narcissa’s belief that LV trusted Snape, only that the trust was
misplaced. Probably both LV and Dumbledore felt they had reason to trust Snape.
It seems most of the friction between the Death Eaters is normal jockeying for favor.
In HBP prof. Slughorn says this about the process of ceating a horcrux: “”There is a spell, do not ask me, I don’t know!” said Slughoin shaking his head like an old elephant
bothered by mosquitoes. “Do I look as though I have tried it—do I look like a killer?”
However when Liliy died protecting her son, we are meant to believe that voldermort body was destroyed during the encounter. Did he cast the spell before he disappeared for Harry potter’s scar to have become a Hocrux, or does the Hocrux spell also perform the killing spell too.
I hadly doubt it that Harry potter’s scar is a hocrux, because killing in itself does not create the hocrux, its only a part of it. The person has to be alive to cast the horcrux spell for whatever object he wishes can become a hocrux. If killing could accidentally create a hocrux then it would not have been as mysterious as we are made to believe i HBP.
Anyway I enjoyed your postulations.
I believe that Nagini is a horcrux. In my reading of many fantasy works and of mythology, I stumbled upon something that supports this idea. In acient mythology there is a create known as a NAGA. A NAGA is a snake with human-like qualities. These qualities vary in different stories; some have the snake with a human face, while others have a normal looking snake that can speak and think like a human. IMHO what could be a more human-like quality than having a human soul (or in this case part of a human soul). Then you have to take into account that the snake is name NAGINI, which is rather close to NAGA, the name for the snake with human-like qualities. J.K. is usually very perticular about how she names various characters, places, and creatures. (http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=12). J.K. also is into mythology according to her website, so it makes sense that she would know of a NAGA and then name Voldemort’s snake NAGINI in reference to a connection that NAGINI has a human-like quality; a piece of Voldemort’s soul.
Keith, very nice deduction. Nagas in Hindu theology are in fact sentient snakes… they don’t necessarily have to resemble men or women and are often considered far more intelligent than men or women. They are capable of speech and to further support your view, the name Nagini is actually Sanskrit for “Female Naga”.
This implies two things – either Nagini is of a class of snake (maybe the Nagas are real?) that we haven’t known about before, or that she is harboring the horcrux. I think the incident with Harry at the zoo in the first book letting the snake go suggests that the snakes as a genus are entirely sentient… so the fact that the snake has human-like qualities might be more attributed to the Parseltongue ability more so than any sort of soul-vessel.
Great and interesting analysis. How about -Harry kill Voldemort, the scar erupts – a great ugly mist comes out – Snape somehow destroys the last vapor of Voldmort that was left in Harry…Harry dying in Snapes arms..lovely moment of truthfulness….Fawkes comes and cries on Harry’s head..all better
Ok – another thing I wanted to mention. I have a very difficult itme swallowing your statements that Snape was genuinely fond of Draco. I believe Snape kissed Malfoys butt to stay in the good graces of Lucius. It seems clear to me that Snape may have a high regard for Narcissa, but not enough to transfer any feeling for Draco. Snape, the ultimate double crosser knows who to flatter and when ….he would not be alive if he were not so good at it.
I do not see any similarity between Draco and Snape. Draco seems the type of nasty, spoiled brat that would have beat up on and tortured Severus if they had been contemporaries.
I hope Draco dies in book seven. He is a nasty self centered evil child that has brought about the destruction of Snape.
Hello Miss Cassandra,
You have made me reconsider the plausibility of Harry-as-horcrux, but only by invoking Occam’s Razor, and the idea that JK must explain how the scar came to be – which is simplest if Voldemort had the horcrux spell primed with Harry’s death as catalyst, and somehow Voldemort’s psuedo-death caused the spell to be cast on Harry.
However: the scar can be explained as a mark from the Avada Kedavra spell. It does not need any significance other than the mark of Voldemort’s original death spell, except in reference to the prophecy.
Please humor me, because the reasons I had against it were (1) Harry’s love, that protected him from Voldemort’s possession, and therefore, spirit, (2) Voldemort needed, not a carrier, but a death to create his horcrux – and Harry’s death was, reportedly to be it, and (3) the prophecy, over which all this is about, tells us that they cannot both live at the same time.
You have shown me that (1) we don’t know what a living horcrux would experience. That alone allows room to conjecture that Harry is a horcrux. I still argue against it, due to the difference between Ginny’s experience of being possessed by a horcrux, both with Harry’s possession by Voldemort, and Harry’s connection through the scar, all three indwellings different from each other.
For another, since (2) Voldemort need not know, nor have intended that Harry is a horcrux, that allows him to be one accidentally, which fits with (1).
Finally, you have pointed out that (3) the prophecy does not they cannot both die, just that they cannot both live.
I think it much more likely that Harry is a horcrux, especially given the idea that the dementors have their sub-plot (Brandon calls it ‘a purpose’) yet to be resolved.
I am sticking with my theory that Nagini is a horcrux for certain, whether or not Harry is one as well, because (1) I noted all of JK’s aptly named characters, (2) JK does not necessarily need to explain the how of the scar (as no one in Harry’s world can) and (3) the prophecy implies that one will triumph.
I have taken a bit of space here, but thanks for hearing me out.
Oh, and karen – Draco is very similar to Snape, and I’m appalled by your inability to see it.
Jared
Rowling specifically states that Harry is not a horcrux.
If Harry is a horcurx then why is voldemort trying to kill him??? wouldn’t he rather keep his soul alive especially if his other horcruxes are being destroyed???
The short answer, joey08 is that Voldemort wouldn’t care, if (as appears to be case) he believes that killing Harry would make him immortal anyway (thanks to the Prophecy). Duumbledore tells Harry in Book 6 that: ‘”He believed that in killing you, he was destroying the danger the prophecy had outlined. He believed he was making himself invincible.”‘ (HBP23)
No she didn’t, Book. JKR has deliberately kept this question open as one of the great fandom debates! If you don’t believe me, check out the most comprehensive collection of JKR quotes on the web: http://www.accio-quote.org/
“Anything is possible, but I don’t consider Harry being a horcrux to be one of them.”
Well, Huntington you may well be right! You make an excellent point about Voldy being unable to touch Harry; however, there is still the matter of Harry’s mysterious connection to Voldemort which (JKR tells us pointedly) ‘Dumbledore had never been able to explain satisfactorily’ (OOtP18). Harry has the ability to speak Parseltongue. Voldemort has the ability to get inside his head. Then there’s Harry’s famous cri de coeur: ‘Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?’ (COS18). If nothing else, it’s a great red-herring…
“I don’t see JKR spending 17 years of writing to conclude that evil wins out.”
Of course not, but Harry’s death might take the form of a redemptive sacrifice – as in numerous examples throughout world mythology. JKR makes clear that *Voldemort* not Dumbledore sees death as the ultimate evil.
“And finally, Harry began the septology as the “boy who lived”, and will end the septology in the same manner, IMHO.”
Well, if you keep reading you’ll see this is (sort of) what I think too – in a less literal way ;–)
To respond to me: you’re certainly right that JKR is leaving that path open but I suppose I would argue that it’s only natural for the teenage Harry to be planning for his post-Hogwarts future and he *would* make an excellent Auror (well, effectively, he is one already – talk about work experience!)…
To respond to your point, silentblythe, I am not suggesting that Lucius bullied Snape at school, but that he has the character of a bully as a grown man (leading the Death Eaters in the DOM) and he struck me as being cold rather towards his own son in COS4…
JKR indicates that at least some Death Eaters mistrust Snape. As he says to Bellatrix in HPB2: “You can carry my words back to the others who whisper behind my back, and carry false tales of my treachery to the Dark Lord!”
To respond to Potterreader, I think the problem is that we really don’t know enough about Horcrux creation (or the rebounding curse that failed to kill Harry) – if only Slughorn had been more explicit! I’m merely suggesting that a lot of mysterious things happened on that night so it seems reasonable to allow for this further mystery – though (as I do say later on), I have my own reservations about Harry as a Horcrux…
Thanks to Keith Pastorek and Varun for that fascinating info on Nagini, which I admit I had not seen before (but should definitely have researched given the importance of etymology in canon!). Perhaps it is wrong to take DD’s words in vain … but I suppose I thought there was some room for doubt; the idea of Harry as a living Horcrux is somehow even more tantalising (though the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive)…
I’m not that fond of Draco either, karen, but is he redeemable? (My answer, I suppose, in this divination is yes and no. He didn’t really want Snape dead – my scenario, btw, not canon!) As for the young Snape, I tend to assume that the animosity between him and the Gryffindor boys wasn’t all one-sided (though that doesn’t excuse their behaviour). And Snape did call Lily ‘Mudblood’ (though I do think this was uncharacteristic of his behaviour towards her). But I pity Snape and I have to pity Draco as well. Bullies are hateful but wouldn’t Harry hate to *be* Draco Malfoy, especially now?
Thank you so much, Jared, for giving me your time! Your analysis seems very sensible – I have (as it turns out ) written two scenarios for the ending, one requiring Harry-as-Horcrux, the other not. The supposed Dementor-cure for Harry’s scar has been mentioned quite a lot; I see the logic but somehow – emotionally & aesthetically – it doesn’t work for me… I just can’t see the Dementors doing anything useful!
Casandra – [edit]- i cant wait to properly read this book, Great site by the way – I hope you’ll keep it open even after the release so we can all discuss what we thought of the book