Death and magic

[nkafkafi]

Jo wrote:
Let us imagine that what they are consuming is magic, this would
make the dementors their natural allies. Dementors consume souls, no
conflict, shared ambition. They can hunt together.

Neri:
To maximize the efficiency of this hunting enterprize they should 
also team up with a species that eats human flesh. Do we have canon 
that Potterverse giants eat people? If so, then giants, dementors and 
DEs can have the perfect coalition. The victim's flesh, soul and 
magic are all consumed and nothing is wasted.

Amanda wrote:
This feeds in nicely to my private theory that Death Eaters are so 
named because the share a magical bond with Voldemort that has 
everything to do with why he did not die. I think they, as part of 
their bond to him, lent him power and/or "took on" or "ate" part of 
Voldemort's death for him, so he didn't have to do it.

Neri:
I like Amanda's theory and I've been playing with it for some time. A 
key question seems to be how this eating of Voldy's death works 
exactly. Is it one DE who eats each death, and if so how is this 
unfortunate one chosen? Is it random, or does Voldy control which DE 
will die for him next? 

Assuming he does, this theory might be used to explain two of the big 
mysteries: Why did Voldy accept Snape back (assuming he did, of 
course) and why DD didn't try to kill Voldy in the MoM. The 
explanation goes like this: in the end of GoF, Voldy says he's mortal 
again. So after the graveyard scene he needs to rebind some DEs as a 
defense against the next attacks on his precious life. Exactly at 
this point Snape returns groveling. He has good recommendations from 
Lucius and he can use Occlumency to hide from Voldy that his loyalty 
is to DD (assuming that it is, of course), but still, Voldy can't 
trust him anymore. Some very good guarantee is obviously required. So 
Snape suggests that Voldy will bind him as the eater of Voldy's next 
death. If anybody shoots an AK at Voldy, it is Snape who dies. This 
is why DD didn't try to kill Voldy in the MoM. 

This theory of course works only if DD and Snape think that they know 
how to break this connection in the crucial moment. 

Naama asked:
It's an interesting theory, but ... why then were all the DEs so
surprised and shocked when they arrived at the graveyard? And why did
Voldemort refer to the steps he's taken to ensure his immortality and
not to the link between them?

Neri:
I don't have a good answer to the first question. Regarding the 
second, many "steps" might refer to many DEs that he bound. This 
would also explain why the DEs know about these steps (in the 
graveyard Voldy says about the DEs: "They who knew of the steps I 
took to guard myself against mortal death"). If this is true, then it 
seems that Voldy is not absolutely sure who is the DE that ate his 
death at GH: "it appears that one of my experiments had worked, for I 
did not die, though the curse should have done it". However, in the 
DEs circle there was an empty place for three dead DEs. Two of them 
we know: Rosier and Wilkes, who were killed by aurors. But the third 
one was never identified, nor was the reason of his death.

Neri