What if Regulus is ALIVE? (LONG)

[juli17 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 161986

 
Lana wrote:
Not responding to any particular post, but if Regulus was still alive,  how 
could Kreacher be Harrys?  It would seem that if Regulus was alive,  then 
Kreacher wouldn't have ahd to obey Harry right?



Julie:
Not necessarily. I don't recall any canon that a house elf somehow  *knows*
whether a wizard is actually alive or dead. If Regulus was announced  dead,
and Kreacher truly *believed* Regulus was dead (whether he saw a body
or not), then Kreacher would now believe he belongs to Harry, IMO. Of 
course, if Regulus resurfaces Kreacher will no doubt immediately, and
happily, switch, er, ownership (though he will find his  happiness short
lived I think). 

Magpie:
My two problems with this idea--besides that I think JKR  meant Regulus was 
dead when she said he was dead these days--is that first,  if Dumbledore hid 
Regulus why did he drink a pot full of poison to retrieve  the worthless 
locket?  Dumbledore should already have that Horcrux by  now if he was 
working with Regulus (I know some believe RAB is someone else,  but since 
you're making him RAB here I could just assume it).
 
Julie:
Regarding JKR saying Regulus was dead these days, *that's* what waved
a red flag in the first place. Who says "He's dead THESE days"? As 
opposed to what? He won't be dead THOSE days? That there will come
a point where "these" days will pass and he will no longer be  dead?
I think JKR used a clever play on words there. And as Alla mentioned,
JKR's response to whether Stubby Boardman is Regulus Black was "No,
he isnt. Nice idea, though." Not "Regulus is dead." In other words,  she's
had a couple of opportunities to say that Regulus is dead PERIOD, as
she's done with Sirius and Dumbledore. Yet she hasn't.
 
About Dumbledore drinking the poison to retrieve a worthless locket,
very good point! I actually meant to bring up this one, but it had  slipped
my mind by the time I got to that point in my lengthy post ;-) It is  a
problem, but it could be worked around. There could be some reason
Regulus never told Dumbledore about getting the locket. (Canon  implies
that Dumbledore didn't know about the horcruxes until just before HBP
began--as I recall?--but Regulus knew exactly what the locket was
if he is RAB, and JKR has all but said he is). Perhaps Regulus  was
magically compelled not to speak of the horcruxes. Or it could be  as
Jen postulates below, that Snape hid Regulus and Dumbledore never 
had any direct contact with him, thus never learned about the locket.
Though Snape might have told him. Hmm.
 
I admit I don't have a completely satisfactory explanation, but I  also
believe JKR could easily provide one that hasn't yet come to  mind!

Magpie:
Second, in terms of an adult mentor, I think Harry's has/had  plenty and 
definitely doesn't need a new one as he reaches adulthood.   Especially in 
this case we would be talking about creating a whole new  character to 
replace Sirius, whom Harry was fine without in HBP. I think  he's just got 
far too much to wrap up to start having a relationship with a  stranger.  He 
had three books to get to know Sirius and still only  managed a few scenes 
with him.  And at the moment Harry wouldn't  exactly be poised to be close to 
Regulus because he's Sirius' brother since  Sirius himself wasn't exactly 
complimentary about him.  Also, I think  Regulus' sacifice is a bit blunted 
if we find out he never really  died.
 
Julie:
You mention Harry had three books to get to know Sirius and only had
a few scenes with him. Harry and Regulus could have as many scenes
together just in the process of finding the other horcruxes and  Regulus
revealing the real Snape. Really, Harry's feelings for Sirius were  based
less on knowing the man than on his deep need for that connection
a godfather represented. As for Sirius not being complimentary about
Regulus, I'm not sure that would strongly affect Harry's opinion.  He's
not one to prejudge individuals--Snape and Draco worked pretty hard
to get on Harry's bad side all on their own. I think the kinship to  Sirius
might weigh equally with Sirius's dismissive words, leaving it pretty
much up to Regulus to set Harry's opinion. 
 
Still, I see your point. I kind of like the idea of Harry having an  adult
to turn to for advice, but that doesn't mean Regulus couldn't fulfill  a
role. Should they both survive through the end of Book 7, I can see
their relationship deepening at that point, rather than during the
(sure to be) frenetic events of Book 7. That would be a nice way to
leave it.  While Harry may not need an adult mentor or  father-figure,
he still deserves someone like that in his life. All young men do,
and young women too.)
 
As for Regulus's sacrifice being a bit blunted if he's not really dead,  I
don't know if I agree. If he was forced to hide out, and suffered for 
turning on Voldemort in ways that we haven't yet learned, then his 
sacrifice might not be blunted. (And one part of his suffering might
be that he couldn't approach his own brother while Sirius was still
alive and mend things with him, because he had to remain "dead.")

Jen:
 I like your theory, you've thought through many issues to 
reach  the conclusion.  I'm wondering if Dumbledore was the one to 
hide him,  though?  Dumbledore told Harry that Regulus 'predeceased' 
Sirius and  therefore left Sirius as the last of the Blacks.  DD 
could have meant  that metaphorically, that the Regulus everyone 
thinks of as Regulus is gone,  or DD is simply lying to cover up the 
truth (which he told Harry he wouldn't  do).  Or Dumbledore might 
believe Regulus is dead and Snape told him  otherwise in the course 
of the year if Snape was the one to hide him.  
 
Julie:
This is an interesting concept. Perhaps Dumbledore had  himself
memory-charmed so he didn't remember Regulus was alive? It's
a thought anyway. But even if Dumbledore did know  Regulus was
alive, I still think he'd let Harry believe that, if it protected  Regulus.
I can't quite get past Dumbledore's "We can hide you more 
completely than you can imagine" jibing with him *not* knowing
about Regulus being hidden. This would be the obvious reference,
though I suppose there could be other hidden Voldemort defectors.


Jen:
Another thing, Sirius made no mention if they didn't find Regulus'  
body.  That could have been something easily slipped into the  
conversation with Harry, how upset his mum was that they never had a  
body to bury.  This one could be worked around with transfiguration  
maybe, or polyjuice (harder to pull off with a dead body <g>).   Or 
there was no body (again!) and Sirius didn't get to that part.  
 
Julie:
True it could have been slipped in. OTOH, Sirius doesn't directly 
mention a body or a funeral either, and I'm not sure he'd even care  
about his mother's state of mind. They'd pretty much severed their 
relationship by then, as I recall. And there's always the possibility
that Snape slipped Regulus some Draught of Living Death, thus
providing an apparently dead body for viewing ;-)


Jen: Personally I would find this a narrative problem to have a  
barely introduced adult character clearing up many of the major  
mysteries of the series.  It might read perfectly fine if it  
happens, that's just my first reaction.  The end of HBP made it  
sound like the last book will deal primarily with the younger 
generation  as they follow Harry on his quest.  Adults and Order 
members will be  supportive and assist, but the main focus will be on 
the kids.  Harry  is determined to follow Dumbledore's instructions 
to tell NO one about the  Horcruxes.  Ooh, but if Regulus already 
*knows* about  them.....hmmm.
 
Julie:
I don't know that Regulus would clear up so many of the major
mysteries, but even if he did, I think it would read better to me
than Harry chatting with Portrait!Dumbledore or repeated delving
into scenes from the past via the Pensieve. We've been that 
route before. And even if Regulus helps clear up a lot, that
doesn't really require major page time. Most of the page time
would still be focused on Harry, Ron, Hermione, and perhaps 
other DA members and students. Regulus can just assist and
be supportive, it's just that his assists might have a good  deal 
more import than say, McGonagall's or Lupin's. 
 
As for Harry telling no one about the Horcruxes, I don't think
that touches on who already knows about them. Snape knows
about them (I'm convinced he does, anyway). Dumbledore 
doesn't want anyone who *doesn't* know to find out, perhaps
because he's not certain of loyalties, not even among those who
belong to the Order. It's not so much about Harry as it is about 
keeping those not in the circle out of the circle. (Which is of
course keeping Harry and everyone else safe, but anyway...)


Jen:
Now I could see Reegulus fitting into a section of the story, the  
part to tie up Snape's storyline and the locket Horcrux.  That would  
be a really good use of a relatively new character to solve some of 
the  mysteries.
 
Julie:
I can see this too. Regulus's scenes don't have to be long and
involved. He doesn't have to be working continually with Harry.
But I believe his scenes could be packed with a great deal of 
substance and relevance (as opposed to say, the neverending 
yet largely irrelevant teenage love-angst crap in HBP). And the
groundwork has been laid ("You can't die if you're already dead."
Snape's unresolved mindset and motives. RAB. And so on...)
It would make sense if that groundwork resolved into one 
straightforward explanation.
 
Julie, believing Book 7 is likely to see many of the plot points
converge with each other, whether Regulus is one of the main 
agents of that convergence or not.
 
 











[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]