Who killed Dumbledore? WAS: Re: Karmic justice in Potterverse again.

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 144998

Pippin:
> > Are you saying you can logically  *rule out*  poison as the cause 
> of death? That you KNOW he died of the shot?
> > 

Lupinlore:
> Well, do we KNOW that John F. Kennedy died of a gunshot wound?  Some 
> people say he was sick that day in Dallas.  Maybe he had been 
> poisoned by orders of Lyndon Johnson and was collapsing even as 
> Oswald's shot hit him?  Perhaps the physicians and policemen were 
> then co-opted into the conspiracy with bribes or threats?  I don't 
> mean to be snarky, but the various theories about what "actually" 
> happened on the tower have an eerie conspiracy theory/Oliver Stone 
> feel to them.

Pippin:
And JKF's body was examined only by a teenage boy with a grudge
against Oswald and a gamekeeper who'd never graduated high school? 

And the teenager saw JFK drink a substance that made
him seriously ill ( a poison, then, whether it was a fatal dose or not) , 
in fact actually fed it to him, but  forgot to mention it? 

We don't know if Harry's told anyone the full story, even Ron
and Hermione, definitely not McGonagall or Scrimgeour. It's
not some dodgy conspiracy theory that Dumbledore took poison
or that the experts  don't have all the facts. It's canon.

Lupinlore:
> The fact is that one can always come up with "possible" 
> alternatives.  But that is why proof of guilt is NOT certain 
> knowledge, but evidence that convinces beyond a reasonable doubt.  
> And yes, based on that standard, I would say we know with great 
> confidence that Snape killed Dumbledore.

Pippin:

Considering the evidence, I'd say poisoning was a reasonable 
alternative, not just a possible one. Maybe not as likely as 
AK. But likelihood  is not the standard of proof. 

If we go meta and discuss the cheesiness factor, we also have
to discuss that Harry Potter is the lead character in a mystery
series. He is unlikely to reach a correct conclusion before the
final chapters, and  we have been told that the ending
of HPB is less final than the endings that have gone before.

So what if it would be cheesy ? As cheesy as  Harry going back 
in time to save himself with a device we never even 
heard of, dead characters turning up alive and well (twice!), memory 
charms that make innocent people confess to murder? How cheesy can
you get?  Pass  the fondue! :)

You've already pronounced yourself dissatisfied with several aspects
of JKR's writing. No harm in that. But as she's proved herself capable
of doing so, there's no reason to suppose she won't disappoint you
again. Sorry.


Pippin