What if Regulus is ALIVE? (LONG)

[juli17 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 161961

I've been pondering this question lately. What does it mean for Book 7  if
Regulus is alive? Would his being alive further the current plotlines,  i.e.,
tie up any loose ends, explain any conumdrums or resolve any standing
issues--or would his being alive add one more plotline to a book  that is 
already overextended in terms of plotlines.? I put the question that way 
because I can't see JKR introducing any additional characters unless 
those characters contribute almost solely to resolving the current  plotlines
rather than adding new ones. 
 
So, could the presence of Regulus in Book 7 help resolve certain  plotlines
even several plotlines at once, thus allowing those threads of the story  to
weave their way into a final, cohesive whole? Well, let's see...
 
Right now we know that there is another member of the Order we  haven't
really met. We also know that if we assume DDM!Snape, *someone*
will act as a gobetween for Harry and Snape, and as a font of  information
on Snape's character and motivations. I.e., someone must tell Harry  the
REAL reason Dumbledore trusted Snape, which is probably also the 
very reason Snape turned on Voldemort and is determined to take the
Dark Lord down. Perhaps also the reason Snape consistently protects
and teaches (if badly) a boy he so greatly dislikes. It is also likely  that
someone will act as an adult mentor for Harry. Even if he has to go  it
alone, he still needs someone to give him advice, help him shape his
character, and change his motives from revenge--be it against Snape, 
Voldemort, Bellatrix, whoever--to what is good of the WW, i.e.,  release
his hatred so his great weapon, love, can conquer the Dark Lord.
 
There are certainly more threads to be resolved in Book 7, but these
are some central ones, so let me start with them.
 
Member of the Order not really met: The top contender for this one 
seems to be Aberforth. Even though we have met him, including as
himself at Dumbledore's funeral, he's remained very much on the
sidelines. We haven't met him in any "official" sense, not as a  member
of the current Order (remember, he was in the old Order picture at 12
Grimmauld Place). And JKR did say Dumbledore's family avenue of 
speculation. 
 
Still, it's not clear what JKR meant by saying we really met this  person.
"Really" as in "not in his real role (Order member) " or "really" as in  "his
name has been mentioned but haven't seen him in the story yet." It 
could easily be the second, in which case our new top contender may
well be Regulus Black. We haven't met him because we were told he
is dead, killed by Voldemort's forces (though he wasn't important 
enough to be killed by Voldemort himself, according to Sirius). Yet,
Dumbledore told Draco, in the later deleted line from the original  U.S.
version of HBP (deleted because it gave away too much?) "He can't
kill you if you are already dead...We can hide you more completely
than you can imagine."
 
Did Dumbledore hide Regulus Black more completely than we can
imagine? So well that even his own brother believed sincerely that he
was dead?
 
Gobetween for Harry and Snape: (This all assumes Snape is DDM)
We know Harry hates Snape completely (pun intended) and wouldn't
listen to a word out of the ex-Potion Master's mouth, so if Snape is
DDM, how can he share information with the Order, and with Harry,
when no one trusts him? We've speculated that *someone* knows
the truth about Snape, and guesses have included Lupin, Hermione,
Hagrid, McGonagall, and probably others. Yet, with the possible
exception of Hagrid, they all seemed to believe completely that 
Snape killed Dumbledore out of malice and returned to Voldemort.
Someone could be acting, but I can't see how that wouldn't come 
off a bit convoluted in the end. 
 
Otherwise, we also have Dumbledore. He may not be alive, but there
is his portrait in the Headmaster's office, and his Pensieve. Could  the
portrait tell Harry the truth about Snape, and convince Harry to  trust
Snape? Since Harry didn't believe Dumbledore when he was alive, 
why would he believe him after he's dead? As for the Pensieve, yes,
it would be hard for Harry to refute any memories of Dumbledore's
or Snape's that he might see, since the Pensieve shows what did
happen objectively. It could work, but...we've seen this already.  More
than once. We just relived Voldemort's life via the Pensieve in HBP.
It wouldn't be very creative of JKR to base much of Book 7 on  the
same device as Book 6. JKR is known for her twists after all, and
this wouldn't be one.
 
But what if Regulus is alive? Regulus, brother of Sirius, who  went
to Hogwarts during the same period as Snape, a  DE during the
same time as Snape, perhaps friendly with Snape. Regulus, who, 
if he was hidden so well by Dumbledore that his "death" became
fact, probably approached Dumbledore via Snape. And if Snape 
was involved in hiding Regulus, it's certainly possible they've 
remained in some sort of contact over the years. And possible
that they've exchanged personal information, from their Hogwarts
days right through HBP. 
 
Who, besides Dumbledore, is likely to know as much about Snape?
If he's alive, Regulus could be a goldmine of information. And not
just about Snape necessarily. Perhaps about James and Lily. He
was Sirius's brother after all. He could know how Snape felt about
Lily (or any other witch/wizard), why Snape joined Voldemort, why
Snape left Voldemort, why Dumbledore trusted Snape, etc, etc.
He could know what, if anything, Lily and Snape did together, why
Snape feels beholden to protect and teach (if badly) Harry--just the
life debt to James, or something more? And it goes on.
 
I know we don't yet have any proof that Snape and Regulus had
any sort of relationship, but given their co-existence at Hogwarts
and within the DEs, it's certainly valid speculation.
 
Adult Mentor to Harry: Okay, so why does Harry need an adult
mentor? Adults haven't done so well by him to this point. They've
either let him down, or died on him, or both. But Harry is still only
17 (or will be in Book 7). And while Hermione and Ron are there
for him, they are still as young and inexperienced as he is, at life
and at war. It's not absolutely necessary, but it does make sense
that Harry will have an adult he can trust who will mentor him both
about life in general and about fighting and defeating Voldemort.
 
So, who? McGonagall's always been rather distant, and she wouldn't
have much insight to offer in war (AFAWK). The Weasley's are Ron's
parents and by extension treat Harry as an additional child, not as
a colleague or equal. They can offer love and comfort, yes, but as 
mentors they're too set in their previous roles in Harry's life.  Moody
is a bit nuts, as well as not emotionally close to Harry. But, you 
say, there's always Lupin.
 
Ah, Lupin. I want to believe in him. But he's never come  through
for Harry. He's kept his distance for years, sometimes  physically
and always emotionally. He's had plenty of opportunity, and while
it's clear he cares about Harry, it seems to be equally clear at this
point that he's not capable of truly sharing himself with Harry, as 
mentor, father-figure, even friend. (Good luck there, Tonks ;-) And I
just don't see Lupin suddenly shuffling off his self-protective  reserve
in Book 7. In short, I've lost faith in Lupin.
 
But Regulus...he's the brother of Harry's godfather, Sirius. Harry 
would feel an immediate kinship with him. And once Harry  finds
out that Regulus defied Voldemort (RAB, you know), that will
only reinforce Harry's trust in Regulus. Whatever type of  personality
Regulus has, it's likely he's suffered a great deal less emotional
damage from his enforced isolation in hiding than Sirius did from 
his incarceration in Azkaban. And it may be that Regulus was a
less edgy and impetuous person than Sirius from the beginning, 
allowing him to gain some wisdom from his ordeal. All of which
would allow him to be supportive of Harry in a way poor Sirius 
could never really be. 
 
In any case, I would love to see Regulus become Harry's mentor
and friend, a father-figure that Harry can truly rely on as he moves
toward his final confrontation with Voldemort. And as Harry learns
to trust and love Regulus as friend and mentor, that could only
help him learn to accept whatever Snape's true motives and role
in Harry's life has been. 
 
I know there are a few problems with the Regulus is Alive theory.
For me one of them is Sirius rotting away in Azkaban while Regulus
is safely hidden away. Did Regulus know where Sirius was, and did
he believe Sirius was guilty? Why did Dumbledore believe in the "bad"
brother's potential for good and save him, while readily accepting 
the "good" brother's guilt and abandoning him to Azkaban? It's  a
bit hard to accept that one unless we get a good  explanation. 
 
There are probably more problems, and maybe more supporting evidence
for the Regulus is Alive theory. All I can say at this moment is that  I
really like it. It would work on a lot of levels, introducing a new  character
who isn't new, giving us a novel way for Harry to learn what he needs  to
know about Snape, Voldemort, his parents, Godric's Hollow (?), maybe
even tying in the Time-turner. (What if Dumbledore hiding Regulus  more
completely than we can ever know involved sending him to the past??--
well, I don't know if that can work, but it's a thought ;-) Not to  mention
it gives Harry a replacement for Sirius. And it seems more  interesting
to me than a Book 7 of Harry hunting horcruxes one by one and arguing
with Dumbledore's portrait or repeatedly sticking his head in a  Pensieve.
And since I've come to expect "more interesting" from JKR, I'm sticking 
with it for now.
 
Julie, enthusiastic supporter of Regulus is ALIVE
 
 
 
 
 


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