Headmaster Portraits (was Re: Dumbledore dead?)

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 151697

houyhnhnm:
*(even huger snip)*
> > What purpose would it serve to have DD still be alive? It would 
exonerate Snape in a way that could be accepted by all readers, and 
while I'm not certain about whether or not Dumbledore is alive, I am 
absolutely certain that he was not treacherously murdered by Snape.

Alla:
> That's the key though, isn't it? The only reason for Dumbledore to 
be seems to be the exoneration of Snape. My question is what are the 
other possible plot related reasons for Dumbledore to be alive?

Ceridwen:
I'm not pushing anything on this.  Though I'm not as sure as I used 
to be that Dumbledore is dead, I'm not sure that he's alive, either.  
It seems like a nice exercise, though.

When Gandalf came back, he worked with the peripheral characters 
while Frodo and Sam continued across Mordor on the main quest, 
beliving Gandalf to be dead.

I think something similar would happen with Dumbledore.  *IF* Snape 
was set up to get closer to LV through killing Dumbledore, then there 
would have to be some reason for the Order members to accept 
intelligence from him.  We've all wondered about how that would 
happen.

Some speculation centered around changing Patroni (pl?) based on the 
changes in Tonks's Patronus.  Order members would know Snape's 
Patronus, and Dumbledore's.  If Snape's changed into a facsimile of 
Dumbledore's, then there's the proof of loyalty.  Other speculation 
centered around a message being left, either with an Order member who 
was not present in the hospital scene, or via a memory or two for the 
Pensieve.

But the clincher for every Order member, once they checked DD's jam 
preference, would be DD himself standing alive and well in front of 
them and vouching for Snape's loyalty.  Because Snape's loyalty isn't 
just a thing to itself, as in keeping him out of Azkaban or from 
taking on the Judas role in the WW for eternity; it has to do with 
real-time information being gathered from the enemy camp.  If 
Dumbleodre was *not* betrayed, then Snape's information would be 
accepted, and the cause enhanced.

Another Gandalfian role would be to marshall the Order to 
troubleshoot for Harry & Co as they search for the Horcrux.  There 
must be some other front the Order could fight on, as the Men of 
Gondor stood outside the gates of Mordor, drawing Sauron's attention 
and his resources.  If Dumbledore has some manageable plan (despite 
his not being a military leader, in my opinion), then he's kept it 
close to his chest, especially if getting Snape in deeper with the 
enemy is a part of it.  His being 'dead' in Voldemort's mind would 
give him the freedom to manage things in the background at a time 
when LV thinks he has the upper hand.  And, some speculation for an 
Alive!Dumbledore mentions Dumbledore helping to hunt for Horcruxes, 
though I think that's the hero's task in book 7.

And another reason, which we all missed in HBP, is Dumbledore summing 
everything up for Harry and for us.  Also, his approval validating 
Harry's efforts and results.  But these are just emotional.

Anyway, just some possibilities for reasons JKR might consider bring 
Dumbledore back.

Ceridwen.