Ten Bold Predictions: Number 9

Just like with the previous prediction, I'm not going too far out on a limb here. I've said this since the moment my wife broke the news to forced the ending of the story on me. I just didn't have the specifics to handle my claims then.

9. Dumbledore is Not Dead

Again, it's not a big stretch. And I certainly don't have to rehash the old arguments; that's been done here. But, I'll do a quick recap.

a.) You have to really, really hate someone for the avada kedavra curse to work, and I seriously doubt that Severus Snape could pull it off, since they'd been fairly friendly throughout the book (Dumbledore moreso toward Snape than the other way around, for obvious reasons).

b.) C'mon. Dumbledore had a pet Phoenix (Fawkes). Fawkes saved Harry when he was envenomated by the basilisk, I'm sure he could take care of Dumbledore in his wounded state.

c.) Why put Hagrid out by the woods to "overhear" the fight between Snape and Dumbledore? That's either a dead end (something that doesn't happen in fantasy literature NOT written by Robert Jordan) or a classic misdirection (or bait-and-switch...whichever you prefer). Aragog had served his purpose in the second book and had no real purpose in this one except to have Hagrid in the right place at the right time.

d.) Just like with Regulus, we never saw his body. We saw a shroud wrapped around something roughly Dumbledore-shaped, but no one ever looked at his corpse and identified it. Except Hagrid. And anyone who thinks that Hagrid is smart enough to see through the ruse that Dumbledore had going is fooling themselves.

Why pretend to die then? Why not just sit back, gather your armies of good wizards, and have a showdown with Voldemort? Simple: This isn't the O.K. Corral. With Dumbledore "dead", Voldemort can move more freely in the world. His only fear is a seventeen-year-old boy. Dumbledore, being a canny old coot, knew this, and him pretending to die will only embolden Voldemort further. And we all know what happens when the evil mastermind gets too emboldened: he effs something up and the hero wins the day. Tragic flaw is the proper term for it (notice how the frustrated fantasy author is all over the literary devices here).

And Snape's role? Ah, well, that's going to be another bold prediction. Stay tuned.