Harry Potter Mania

Like millions of others, I had Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince delivered to my door on Saturday, July 16. But my husband got to it first. He tried to hide it under his shirt when he brought it inside. I told him he had two hours and then it was my turn.

We traded once more that day, but I was really looking forward to Sunday when Larry would be gone for hours and I could read in peace. I finished it shortly before he got home that afternoon and wanted him to hurry up and finish so I could talk to him about it.

Meanwhile I decided to reread the whole series to see how Rowling planted clues. She had to have so many things figured out well before completing the first book. I wonder if that takes away any of the fun of writing. She must have reams of notes, outlines, diagrams, etc. Just knowing all the relationships between all the characters is staggering.

Spoiler Warning

(If you haven't finished book 6, don't read any further.)

I was also looking for evidence that Dumbledore isn't really dead. His death shocked me, but it makes sense to keep raising the stakes for Harry. Ron and Hermione better be careful in book 7.

So after re-reading the whole series (book 6 included), I've marshaled some textual evidence. It certainly isn't conclusive, but I think it's suggestive enough to consider the possibility that Dumbledore isn't really dead and that Snape isn't Voldemort's man.

1. Why does Dumbledore freeze Harry under his invisibility cloak after they land on the tower? Harry proved that he's a capable fighter at the end of book 5. Since Dumbledore was weakened from drinking Voldemort's potion, preventing Harry from fighting was an idiotic thing to do. I think Dumbledore wanted a witness to his "murder" by Snape, a witness that the Death Eaters didn't know about and therefore couldn't see and a witness that members of the Order would believe.
   
2. When Malfoy confronts Dumbledore on the tower, Dumbledore tries to persuade Malfoy that there are ways to convince people of a wizard's death. Dumbledore says to Malfoy, "'He cannot kill you if you are already dead. Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine.'"
3. Hagrid told Harry about an argument he overheard between Snape and Dumbledore. It could have been about other things, certainly, but it was probably about Snape's double agent duties, and if my theory is true, it may have been about Snape's reluctance to "kill" Dumbledore and return to Voldemort's side. If Snape truly is a good guy, then he has a most dangerous job.
4. Dumbledore has a brother. He was mentioned briefly in book 5 when Mundungus showed Harry a group photo of Order members. I suspect the brother may be involved in a switcheroo.
5. Dumbledore mentions his own brainy powers two or three times in book 6 and his resultant capacity to make huge mistakes. I think he's setting up Harry to believe that he really is dead.

My brother thinks that the appearance of Dumbledore's portrait in the headmaster's office is conclusive evidence of his death. And what about Fawkes's singing and departure? And if wasn't Dumbledore's body, then whose?

All good questions. What do you think?

Reader Reaction

This summer my high school graduating class celebrated its 20th year reunion. I volunteered to put together the reunion booklet (I do a lot of writing/editing and document layout in my day job, so it was pretty painless for me). After I got the whole thing laid out, it occurred to me that it needed something in the beginning. Some kind of reflective piece maybe.

I emailed the reunion organizer/class president and suggested that he write something. He sent back "i before e except after c" and other silliness. I think the strain of organizing the whole event himself was wearing him down. So I decided to write something.

My inspiration was a photo from the senior year book. All the kids who'd gone to school together since kindergarten were gathered together for a group photo. There were between 30 and 35 kids, nearly half the graduating class. A good number of these kids had never been the "new kid." So I decided to write about my first day at Nashua High School. I thought my former classmates might be mildly entertained by this glimpse from an outsider and about the consequences of tiny decisions. I've changed the names of the people, but the rest is as it appears in the booklet.

Thoughts from a new kid

A few days before school started sophomore year, I moved to Nashua with my mom, three younger sisters, and two-week old brother. We had no money. My parents were on the verge of splitting up. And I had a freakishly short hair cut.

Starting at another new school (my tenth) was the last thing I wanted to do. Abby and Donna were my escorts that first day. Although I didn't know anything about either, I knew they had to be popular, friendly girls because that's the only kind that guidance counselors hook up with the new kid.

I was glad to have them as guides, although I knew our association would be short-lived. I was shy, quiet, a "good girl," who didn't get into trouble. I was not the popular type.

Since the school renovations weren't done yet, the first assembly of the year was at the football field. Kids swarmed the bleachers. I'm sure Abby introduced me to many people, but I particularly remember meeting Alan, Mike, and Brian that morning. They seemed odd but nice.

Classes were a blur that day, but in biology Deeann and Melanie expressed some curiosity about me. I'd learned to be on the lookout for the slightest spark of interest--it indicated possible friend material.

At the end of the day, the whole sophomore class met in Mr. Smith's room for a class meeting. I was sitting on the floor near Abby and Donna and their friends.

Ellen asked me, "Do you party?"

For an instant, I pondered my answer, sensing that the ramifications could be significant. But I said, "No." That brought the conversation to an immediate close.

What would a "yes" have done for me? It's fun to wonder. But ultimately my destiny lay elsewhere.

About 40 classmates showed up for the reunion, including all the people named above except Abby, one of the girls who'd showed me around my first day. The reunion booklet was passed out, and people thumbed through it.

At one point Ellen approached me and asked why I'd included the last three paragraphs of my new kid piece because she didn't think they were appropriate. Maybe it was self-indulgent of me, but I didn't think it was inappropriate and said so. She kept using that word, inappropriate. She said she'd talked to some other people and they thought so too. I thought, but didn't say, that they were probably just agreeing with her to appease her. Because really, what's the big deal?

"This is just your opinion," she said.

I said, "Of course."

"Then it shouldn't be in here. Do you think Alan liked being called 'odd'?"

Alan, who was standing behind Ellen, caught my eye and mouthed, "Is she pissed?"

I shrugged and she went away in a huff. Ellen never really articulated what exactly she thought was inappropriate, but my guess is that she didn't like being reminded what she was like then.

After she left, Alan said, "I thought being called odd was a compliment."

Good. It was.

When I was writing the piece above, I wondered if I should name people, particularly Ellen. I wasn't trying to show anyone in a bad light. Would she possibly interpret it that way? At our 10th reunion, Ellen approached me and we chatted briefly. She seemed perfectly friendly. So I honestly thought that if she reacted at all to this piece, she'd just laugh about it. I mean it did happen 23 years ago.

I guess you just never know how some readers will interpret and react.