Dumbledore's death

[Rebecca Hoskins]

No: HPFGUIDX 139193

 "Derek Thorburn" 
> I have twice read HBP, and must confess that I was shocked by the 
ending - 
> it just left you feeling floored.

You and me both!

Derek 
> On my second read, however, I felt there was something very strange 
about 
> DD's death.  When Snape's curse hit him, after being blasted off 
his feet, 
> we read that he stayed under the dark mark for a second, then 
slowly fell 
> over the tower and out of sight.  

I wondered that too, and I've seen it discussed at length here.

One theory is that Snape, whilst saying the words 'Avada Kedavra' did 
not actually put the menace behind the spell for it to actually make 
it a killing curse (think of bellatrix and harry at the end of OotP). 
And that maybe Snape used an alternative non-verbal spell to make 
Dumbledore fly up in the air. 
If this was a way out of killing D it certainly did't work as D fell 
to his death at the foot of the tower. 
I have to admit that this doesn't make sense, except for the fact 
that it explains away the fact that the hold of D's petrifics totalis 
spell doesn't break as D is AK'd, it doesn't break until D hits the 
floor several seconds later.

It is certainly odd, which ever way you look at it. I mean, Cedric 
and Frank Bryce just fall to the floor. The fox and the spider just 
die. They don't fly up in the air. I can't help thinking that JKR 
doesn't tend to make mistakes, so there's likely to be a reason for 
the difference in this case.

Derek
> DD is really dead, and Harry returns to Hogwarts, DD's portrait 
will surely 
> need to brief McGonigal, who, as we know, is now Headmistress.

Yeah, I wonder how much the portrait can tell her. The headmasters 
and mistresses of Hogwarts are bound to help the current Head of 
hogwarts - does that mean Dumbldore will have to tell McGonegal all 
he knows? (presuming that he wakes up at some point).

Rebecca