What if Regulus is ALIVE? (LONG)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 162004

Julie wrote:
> 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?
<big snip>

Carol responds:
But JKR didn't say that Regulus was "dead these days." what she
actually said in the 2004 World Day Book Chat, in response to the
question, "Will we be hearing anything from Sirius Black's brother,
Regulus, in future books?" was, "Well, he's dead, so he's pretty quiet
these days.

http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2004/0304-wbd.htm

Assuming that he's RAB, she couldn't say that he's out of the books
altogether because his past is important. (I personally think we'll
hear about it from a very reluctant Kreacher, who may also have
information on Snape.) But she does say straight out that he's dead,
which makes him "pretty quiet these days." I think that misremembering
the quote as "dead these days" is leading to misinterpretation.

I could be wrong, of course. Regulus/RAB saying that he knows he's
going to die isn't proof that he's right in his prediction, but as Jen
mentioned, Sirius Black said that his brother had been killed,
presumably by DEs rather than Voldemort himself, and he must have some
basis for that conclusion--but he said nothing about a missing body.
(We've already seen that hand played with Peter Pettigrew and sirius
himself.) If we're going to find someone who disappeared without a
trace, we have Ollivander, Florean Fortescue, and Caradoc Dearborn
from the original Order. I think that if Regulus had disappeared
rather than being known to be dead, his brother or Lupin or Dumbledore
would have said something about it.

Julie wrote:
<snip>
> 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. <snip>
> 
Carol responds:
I agree that JKR took out that passage because it revealed too much,
but it could relate to the others I listed who simply disappeared or
perhaps to someone whose death has been faked using the Draught of
Living Death. It's not likely to be Madam Bones, who seems to have
been murdered by Voldemort himself, but how about Emmeline Vance?
Snape claims to have given information that led to her capture and
death, but as a DDm!Snaper, I'd like to find that he was lying on that
one. And who better than snape to brew and administer the Draught of
Living Death to a fellow Order member? If we find Emmeline alive, we
won't need Regulus to testify in Snape's behalf.

Julie:
> 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. <snip>

Carol:
Agreed on this point!

Carol, who's not trying to discourage discussion but does think we
should look at what JKR actually said