Death, where is thy...?

[Ken Hutchinson]

No: HPFGUIDX 167250

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Barry" <whealthinc at ...> wrote:
>
> I've been getting some interesting replies re Christmas in the
> Potterverse. Another thing that's been bothering me is death. When a W
> or W dies, they (all?) move into picture frames and seem to maintain
> their existence. Does it mean that they all have a picture frame
> horcrux? Or is it that JKR can't really bring herself to kill her
> characters? 
> 

Ken:

Well, they are not horcruxes. They are a bit problematical in that
dead is supposed to be dead but there are several cheats for that in
the Potterverse. Portraits are one and I disagree with another post
that says it is only the headmaster portraits. The Fat Lady interacts
with the living as much or more so than the headmaster portraits to
cite one example.

To a much lesser extent you have the photographs of deceased people
and images in the Mirror of Erised. There are ghosts too but a
plausible story has been woven around them so I don't consider that a
cheat.

Then there are the echoes from Voldemort's wand. They convey
information to Harry that he did not have and could not have by any
other means. They plot strategy with him. They actively help him.
Pretty heady stuff for "echoes". JKR can definitely bring herself to
kill characters but she can't quite stay within her dictum that dead
is dead. So while she may say that Dumbledore will not pull a Gandalf
I think the odds are at least 50-50 that in some fashion he will do
just that. Perhaps the final confrontation will take place in some
unusual realm that is neither life nor death and Sirius and Dumbldore
will both be able to help Harry.

Ken