Dumbledore's Death (TBAY) (WAS Dumbledore's dispensib...

[elfundeb at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 39635

Debbie catches Cindy on her way out of the Dead Flamingo Bar and grabs her by 
the FEATHERBOA.  "So you want Dumbledore's death to Bang?  You don't think 
natural causes can be Bangy?"


> I can't see death by natural causes.  I just can't.  No, even the AK 
> curse isn't good enough for Albus.  Albus is going to have to 
> *suffer* a very inventive death right there where the Bangers can 
> see it and enjoy it.
> 
> When Dumbledore goes out, he has to go down *swinging* and everyone 
> has to be right there watching but unable to help.  Ideally, he'll 
> save a few people on his way out, preferably Harry.  Any cliche at 
> all for Dumbledore's death is fine by me.  He can be diffusing a 
> bomb and can accidently cut the *red* wire, if you like.  Just so 
> long as Dumbledore makes an enormous *Bang* when he dies, I'll be 
> satisfied.
> 
"You don't think Dumbledore's deathbed can't be Bangy?  That would depend on 
what really makes for a good Bang, wouldn't it?"  

"Kill the spare" was Bangy because (a) nobody had died onstage before and (b) 
he didn't kill Harry first.  But that wasn't the Bangiest part of GoF, IMO.  
No, I think the biggest bang was when "Moody" says he put Harry's name in the 
Goblet.  Because, Bang! The great Auror suddenly became Evil!  

The Shack was Bangy because of all the rapid changes in who the characters 
were.  First Sirius was Evil!  Then Sirius and Lupin were Evil! together.  
Then Bang! Scabbers became Peter.  Then Bang! Peter became Evil! and Lupin 
and Sirius were redeemed.  In fact, I think the Biggest Bang of PoA, was the 
a bit of quiet conversation at the end of ch. 18: "'That's not a rat,' 
croaked Sirius Black suddenly.  'What d'you mean -- of course he's a rat --'  
'No, he's not,' said Lupin quietly.  'He's a wizard.'  'An Animagus,' said 
Black, 'by the name of Peter Pettigrew.'"

Noisy?  No.  But dramatic?  Bangy?  Absolutely.  The best Bangs, you see, are 
the ones that reinvent the story.  

So now that we've seen a DE kill an innocent bystander on Voldemort's orders, 
what would be Bangy about Dumbledore being knocked off the catwalk by some 
DE?  We already know that's what DEs do.  That's just a big fizzle.  There's 
no Bang in that unless, say, McGonagall was doing the pushing.

<Cindy admits that McGonagall would add Bang to Dumbledore's catwalk ending>

Dumbledore's death cannot help but be Bangy, as long as he gets his last 
words in.  C'mon, Dumbledore's got just a few secrets up his sleeve.  Look 
how slowly he's been parceling out information to Harry about his past.  
There's a lot more coming, and I doubt it's *all* sparkling and light.  
There's an ugly revelation down the pike somewhere, and if Dumbledore dies 
after the revelation but before the explanation, it could leave a huge Bang 
inside Harry's head.  Not because Dumbledore's dead, but because Dumbledore's 
last words told Harry something  that completely upends a fundamental 
assumption of ours.   And it doesn't have to be in bed.  He could have a 
spectacular collapse in the Great Hall.  

In fact, I suggest that, short of dying peacefully but unexpectedly in his 
sleep with all his secrets intact, the least Bangy death he could suffer 
would be the one where he just falls off the rickety catwalk into the fiery 
lava below.  Because if he does that, he won't have an opportunity to reveal 
-- or half-reveal -- any of those secrets he's carrying around.  Because 
those are the best Bangs.  Right?

And anyway, what if his death only *appears* to be natural causes?  What 
about Snape's stopper of death?  What about his Draught of Living Death 
(PS/SS ch. 8)? Maybe Dumbledore will fake his own death, or someone will 
poison him. That would be quite Bangy, and different, too.  In that case 
Dumbledore's apparent weakness in GoF could be an important bit of 
misdirection.  So never fear, Cindy, if Dumbledore appears to die of natural 
causes.  In fact, the first thing I'd do is go to Snape's storeroom and check 
his supplies of asphodel and wormwood.

<Cindy nods, swings her FEATHERBOA over her shoulder, and prepares to leave.  
Debbie does the same, but suddenly veers back into the Dead Flamingo Bar.>  
"George, are you going to stay there awhile?  How about if I pop by later for 
a drink or two?  We need to talk about Snape."

******************************

Debbie


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]