I know this has already been covered but...

[draconeedsahug]

Now before I start... I am a firm believer that Dumledore IS dead. And as much as I hate to admit it, I do believe that Snape really is a good guy. However, I recently reread the books, things other people have written and surfed the internet to come up with some theories of my own that are quite convincing as to the thought that Dumbledore faked his own death.

We all know Dumbledore is not afraid of death. Is that because Dumbledore has a Horcrux? They say a Horcrux is evil but isn't it the killing of another person that is the wicked part? You don't have to make a Horcrux after you've killed someone. Was Dumbledore just being opportunistic after he defeated Grindelwald?

What about Hagrid? Does Hagrid know that Dumbledore has a Horcrux? Could he be the Secret Keeper of Dumbledore's Horcrux? Dumbledore himself said to McGonagall in Philosopher's Stone "I would trust Hagrid with my life." Has he by making Hagrid Secret Keeper?

What could be Dumbledore's Horcrux, if indeed he has one? I believe it could be Fawkes. What better to guard Dumbledore's soul than a creature that can never die?

Right so these are the clues that I got as to why Dumbledore faked his death:

(1) Dumbledore froze Harry. Why? He was under the Invisibility Cloak and in no immediate danger. Did Dumbledore need Harry as a witness to tell the Order that he was dead?
(2) There is missing text in the UK version of the book that found it's way into the US edition. Here it is:

"He cannot kill you if you are already dead... Nobody would be surprised that you had died in your attempt to kill me - forgive me, but Lord Voldemort probably expects it. Nor would the Death Eaters be surprised that we had captured and killed your mother - it is what they would do themselves, after all." - Chap. 27 p.553 UK edition

Why would JKR leave this vital piece of information out? Was she tempting us? If Dumbledore is keen to fake Draco and Narcissa's death, does that mean he is already planning his own?
(3) Why doesn't Fawkes attempt to save Dumbledore? Fawkes has already proved his loyalty and value by saving Harry in CoS and even Dumbledore himself in OotP. We know he was close by when Dumbledore was struck as soon after, his sings his lament. Why not try to save his master?
(4) Since when did Avada Kedavra make the victim "fly violently up and away from the Tower" and be suspended in the air? When Snape performs the curse, Dumbledore is thrown backwards. However, we already know these are not the effects the spell produces. When Cedric dies, he just drops to the ground. Also, when Frank Bryce dies, he just crumples to the floor. So what spell do we know that prduces those effects? Simple. Expelliarmus. In CoS, Lockhart is thrown back and in PoA, Snape is thrown back. Is it possible that Snape made a non-verbal Expelliarmus and simply said Avada Kedavra?
(5) If, like me, you believe Snape is a good guy, can it be safe to assume that he never meant to kill Dumbledore at all? Didn't Moody tell us in the very first DADA lesson he taught Harry:

"Avada Kedavra's a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it -- you could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nosebleed."

So even if he did say Avada Kedavra and didn't mean it, is it possible he didn't kill Dumbledore, only injured him?
(6) Fawkes Lament. We all know about the healing properties of a phoenix, particularly in CoS when Fawkes heals Harry, so is it possible that when Fawkes is lamenting, he is using his song to heal Dumbledore from the effects of the non-verbal Expelliarmus or half hearted Avada Kedavra?
(7) What happened to Dumbledore's wand? Afetr losing it when Draco disarms him, we never hear of it again. And thanks to Hagrid and Slughorn's song about Odo, we know that a wizard's wand is snapped in two when he/she dies. As far as we know, Dumbledore's wand hasn't been snapped. Is it possible Dumbledore's wand is missing because he still has it, still needs it because he is still alive?
(8) The last time we see Dumbledore's body is when Harry rearranges Dumbledore's glasses shortly after his fall. At the funeral, Hagrid brings in what is supposed to be Dumbledore's body. However it is covered and we don't know for sure is really is him.
(9) At the funeral, Dumbledre's body bursts into flames. No one starts this fire and since when do bodies burst into flame on their own? Sound like anyone we know? Fawkes has burst into flame several times over the course of the books now and as if we need reminding of this, Harry thinks he sees "a phoenix fly joyfully into the blue."

And there you have it. Those are the theories/clues as to why Dumbledore could possibly still be alive having faked his own death. Write what you think...

[Chimera]

On Dumbledore having a horcrux, firstly: who's to say that the defeat of Grindelwald was necessarily the killing of Grindelwald. Secondly I don't think killing in defence could have the same soul-splitting effect as murder. As someone who has actually killed a person I can tell you killing someone affects you according to the manner in which they die.


1: Harry would have tried to fight, and would probably have been killed.

2: Faking deaths as part of like the witness protection programme is not the same as making a horcrux, and since when has Dumbledore's motto been anything other than a somewhat polite equivalent of "come and have a go if you think you're hard enough"?

3: Maybe Fawkes has a psychic connection with Dumbledore and could sense his death, like twins are supposed to have.

4: Excellent point, a very strong case for the "double-spell" argument.

5: Even if that was the case, the fall would have finished the job.

6: The healing is in the tears, and if Dumbledore was dead on hitting the ground then no amount of tears could bring him back.

7: I think in the Odo story his wand was broken as a result of combat, the song did call him a hero, maybe he fought something. I don't think wands are routinely snapped upon death, they're probably kept as mementos by the kin.

8: Hagrid is a terrible actor. He can't keep a secret from three kids, how is he going to be blinded by tears over a fake body?

9: I think the flame tomb was probably the work of Flitwick, or possibly McGonagall. They have magic wands, it's not like they have to rub two sticks together to get a fire going.

[sorcerer83]

"`how do you split a soul?`... `by an act of evil - the supreme act of evil. by comitting murder`" (book6, horcruxes, p.465)
so you see DD cant have a horc' he surely didnt murder any1 besides it's just not his himself to have one and it would be against everything JKR is trying to teach us - both him having a horc' or him not dying in any other way

1: so he won't be killed
2:dunno what to make of it - it could be a clue thats just JK`s talent making us doubt everything
3:he doesnt attempt to heal him because you cant heal someone hit by aveda
4:"...the spider rolled over ontoit's back... Ron had thrown himself backward and almost toppled off his seat as the spider skidded toward him" (book4, unforgivable curses, p.216) and thats just from a curse strong enough to kill a spider think what a curse strong enough to kill DD would do...
i think it is possible to cast a non-verbal spell and say a differant incantation, and we know snape is good in non verbals but i dont think this is the case
7: i think that it is possible that in the commotion that DD`s death created no one spared a thought to the wand and they just forgot about it thought i do agree with what u said about what we learn from Odo
8:i suppose it`s possible that hagrid knows something we dont - remember he was the who took the body, but i agree with Chimera
about hagrid`s acting abilities
9:it's probably just part of the ceramony otherwise everybody would be very surprised