Of Caves and Tarot Cards

[mt3t3l1]

No: HPFGUIDX 135371

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at e...> 
wrote:
> Ladyljd:
> > The Cave:  What exactly was Dumbledore going through during and 
> > after drinking that potion?  Is he reliving his past?  Seeing the 
> > future?  Lost in a morbid fantasy?  And afterward, just what was
> > so fitting about the defense used (the potion)?  Is he truly
> > dieing or just severely weakened?  
> 
> Jen: I think he was reliving the worst moments of his life, his 
> fears and mistakes. Based on some of the things he said e.g. "It's 
> all my fault...Please make it stop, I know I did wrong" and "Don't 
> hurt them....please...it's my fault, hurt me instead." (US, chap. 
> 26, p. 572).
> 
> Also, JKR said in her interview to read Book 6 carefully if we want 
> to know Dumbledore's boggart. Well, there it is. His biggest fear 
> was making mistakes which led to other people being hurt, tortured 
> or killed. So the potion must magnify a person's greatest fears and 
> guilts, sort of like an extreme dementor attack, then also render a 
> person incapable of doing magic to defend against it. It's a 
> horrible thought.

I think Dumbledore is seeing his future. In spite of Harry's warning 
that Draco has fixed something and that Hogwarts is in danger, 
Dumbledore dismisses Harry's fears and chooses to go to the cave to 
hunt for the Horcrux. As a result, Hogwarts will be invaded by Death 
Eaters, including one who is a notorious werewolf.

I agree that Dumbledore's boggart is making mistakes which lead to 
other people being hurt, tortured or killed. I also agree that the 
potion magnifies a person's greatest fears, like an extreme dementor 
attack.

As Dumbledore drinks the potion, he says, "Make it stop;" "It's
all my fault;" "Don't hurt them;" "Please...no not that."  All of 
these are consistent with what he is going to learn when he arrives 
at the Astronomy Tower. Draco tells him that one the students has 
already been killed. (It turns out that it's Bill, who is alive but 
has been bitten by the werewolf, but Dumbledore doesn't know that.)

>From Dumbledore's conversation with Draco (and from his experience 
all year), 
he knows that the objective of the Death Eaters is to kill him. 
Hence, his death will probably cause the Death Eaters to leave the 
school and, thus, protect the children.

In the cave he next says, "I want to die." Logically, this 
corresponds with what he says wordlessly when he pleads, "Severus..." 
In the cave he finally shouts, "KILL ME!" This corresponds with what 
he thinks to Snape during the moment the two gaze at each other. It 
also explains why the look of revulsion and hatred did not appear on 
Snape's face until *after* they exchanged the mutual look. (Credit 
goes to justcarol for observing this.)
 
The similarity between the two events continues right down to 
Dumbledore's dead appearance after he finishes the tenth goblet-ful 
of potion, which matches the description of him at the foot of the 
Tower. His eyes are closed and his glasses are askew (not flung from 
the body, as you would expect in a fall from a great height).  [I'm 
not sure about the mouth being agape versus a trickle of blood coming 
from the mouth, however.] Dumbledore's expression is peaceful, 
suggesting that Snape has done what he asked, and that the remaining 
students will be safe from the Death Eater attack.

Comments?

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