Dumbledore's Fall

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 170728

Pippin:
There are *two* instances of wandless soft landings in HBP, both
performed by Tom Riddle.
"Billy Stubbs's rabbit...well, Tom *said* he didn't do it, and
I don't see how he could have done, but even so, it didn't
hang itself from the rafters, did it?"

"I shouldn't think so, no," said Dumbledore quietly.

"But I'm jiggered if I know how he got up there to do it." --HBP ch 13

Ceridwen:
I thought Tommy might have "magicked" the rabbit to the rafters, 
similar to Harry getting himself to the school roof, but with more 
conscious control and malice aforethought.  By this time, I assume, 
he was already learning how to control his mysterious powers.

The cliff, though, I hadn't thought of.  Yes, maybe I can see that.

I thought the Riddle stuff was all about showing the extent of LV's 
evilness, even early on.  I'll have to think about that for a while.

Pippin:
All the clues are in place now that Dumbledore did not die on the 
tower but nearly half an hour later, just before Harry found him.
Harry's instinct, that if he could have found a way to get Snape
and Dumbledore together, events could be reversed, was right.
His sensation that someone near him was in pain was right, too.

Ceridwen:
Weren't other people around the body when Harry and Hagrid came up?  
If you're right, and DD did die shortly before Harry got there, then 
someone in the crowd might have noticed.  IF this is correct, it 
could provide an interesting revelation in DH.

Pippin:
IMO, Snape could have saved Dumbledore from the poison. But he never 
got the chance, because Dumbledore didn't want him to have it. The 
mission was more important. Snape was not allowed to help Dumbledore, 
just as the Twins were not allowed to go to their father in OOP even 
though he might have been dying, because it would have given away 
too  much. 

Ceridwen:
I got the impression that, if DD didn't have to fly to the tower, 
there would have been time to save him from the poison, but with that 
distraction, time ran out.  By the time Snape appeared, in my 
opinion, there was nothing he could do to save DD.

Another intersting point about the twins.  I'll have to think about 
this.

Ceridwen.