Dumbledore fading; British-to-North-American

[katzefan at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 24911

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Jennifer <nausicaa at a...> wrote:
> (re: Dumbledore's future) 
 
> 1) We could *think* he's dead for a book or 2, and then he 
>returns in the last one (heh...or he disappears right before the 
>climactic ending of #7 & returns saying "oh what happened?" 
>with a sly grin).
> 
> 2) He could actually be dead.  Remember his association with 
>Fawkes.  It could be that he's really a LOT older than he is, but 
>keeps dying & returning to the scene (interesting thought -- 
>maybe he *IS* the Merlin).
> 
> 3) He could die to protect Harry somewhere, in the style of his 
>mother.  Thus giving Harry protection (whether we are sure of 
>that or not...I'm sure JKR can make us wonder up until the very 
>last moment).
> 
> 4) This one I think would be very interesting, but destroys the
> Harry-dying-at-end theory (although not necessarily the
> can't-really-continue-the-series-now-can-I part).  Remember, 
>when Harry first went into Dumbledore's office, Fawkes went 
>poof and was reborn from his own ashes.  Symbolic of 
>something perhaps?  I've briefly wondered if that means that 
>Dumbledore will either die or  retire or something...and Harry 
>will take his place.  Not necessarily as Hogwarts'
> headmaster (but that *would* be interesting), but they have 
>said that Harry could be a very impressive wizard (look at the 
>patronius he made at such a young age, for example)...and we 
>all know that  Dumbledore is a rather awesome wizard.  Also 
>goes along with the Order of the  Phoenix title -- perhaps all of 
>the masters went like this (don't remember what was said 
>about the previous headmaster, except that he wouldn't have
> been so nice)?
> Thoughts?  Comments?  The more I think about it, the more I 
>like #4...or something very similar to that.

I'm intrigued by #2 - perhaps it is The Merlin who keeps coming 
back in a variety of forms (Merlin, Gandalf, Dumbledore ... heck, 
even Obi-wan ...) when he is (or *will be*, considering how long 
Dumbledore's been around) most desperately needed. 
I didn't quite understand #4; were you suggesting Harry will, in 
some fashion, literally morph into a `new' Dumbledore?
My own feeling is that Dumbledore *is* going to die, most likely 
in some epic struggle as Voldemort tries to re-assert his power, 
and unlike Gandalf, Dumbledore won't reappear - he really will 
be gone. Harry will ultimately be his successor (not immediately 
- he needs a lot more training and hands-on  experience) but I 
think it's definitely in the cards. Oh, yes, and the  other
person  who will come into his own will be Neville. I like the 
theory that he's blocked his abilities because of what happened 
to his parents -- but back  him into a corner and watch out!


--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Steve Vander Ark" <vderark at b...> 
wrote:
> ...In the meantime, you should really check out the resources 
>on the  Lexicon. I added the "fairy lights" bit to the Strictly
>British page  earlier this evening. 
> 
The Canadian versions (published by Raincoast Books) seem 
to have come through with pretty much all the `Britishisms'
intact. 
Most were easy enough to pick up from the context, but I'd never 
have guessed the Knight Bus was a pun (it's been 20 years 
since I was in Britain), and I couldn't figure out whether the 
Knickerbocker Glory was a British version of a banana split or a 
Big Mac. 
Curiously, I thought sherbet lemons were something like 
popsicles (triggered by the  phrase "... Dumbledore, who was 
unsticking two sherbet lemons...." [PS/SS] We used to buy 
popsicles and then go outside and smash them against the 
corner of the building to split them apart.) I did wonder why they 
weren't melting all over his cloak....
One thing I've noticed in the books -- JKR uses `dived'
as the past tense of `to dive'  (CoS: `Through a haze of
rain and pain he dived for the shimmering, sneering face below 
him  and saw its eyes widen with fear: Malfoy thought Harry was 
attacking him.") Is that a Britishism? I was taught the past
tense of `dive' is `dove';  i.e. "he dove for the
shimmering,..." etc. etc.

**********************************
But Ron was staring at Hermione as though suddenly seeing 
her in a whole new light. "Hermione, Neville's right - you
*are* a girl..."
"Oh, well spotted," she said acidly.