The Unbreakable Vow(s)

The Unbreakable Vow(s)

The concept of Unbreakable Vow was introduced in the second chapter (Spinner’s End) of HBP. It was shown that Snape and Narcissa made the vow about three conditions, prominent of which was that Snape would do the work assigned to Draco if in case Draco was unable to complete it.

An unbreakable vow will obviously be an important part in a storyline. A person who made the vow has to do what he promised, or else face automatic death. Making an unbreakable vow requires a great deal of grit and determination; and of course in their absence, recklessness.

What motivates the person in such cases is the fear of death- and Death has always played an important part in the storyline. I really find it hard to believe that there is only one Unbreakable Vow in the whole storyline, and that too between Narcissa and Snape. I also think that this Unbreakable Vow was only shown by JKR to somehow convince the readers that Dumbledore is indeed dead, which of course I do not believe. For my complete theory about how the Unbreakable Vow between Snape and Narcissa could be void and how Dumbledore is indeed not dead, read Dumbledore is not dead.

Back to the Unbreakable Vow, the possibilities of Unbreakable Vows in the books are many….

The crucial role they shall play is well understood. Here are some of the Unbreakable Vows that I think may have been made:

• It can be that Big V, as a test of devotion, made his top Death Eaters have an Unbreakable Vow with him. This may explain their unflinching faith in their master, and also the mysterious deaths of the ones who dared to defy him.
• But there may be a counter-point. It seems an improbability that Dumbledore didn’t have some spies in Voldemort’s Death Eater circle, given his accurate information about their affairs. Also, Karkaroff died a year later after his rebellion (Though it may be that the Unbreakable Vow had a certain to give the Death Eater the opportunity to return)
• It may be possible that the Unbreakable Vow was made by the enigmatic R.A.B. After rebelling Voldemort, he\she realized that now he would die, and as his own revenge, he procured Voldemort’s Horcrux.

• Since Snape took Dumbledore’s refuge, old D has been asked the same question by countless people- Could Severus Snape, the fickle Death Eater, be trusted? Harry himself asked the same question at the controversial juncture of almost every book. But Dumbledore was always positive about Snape’s faithfulness.
  
• Can it be that Snape made an Unbreakable Vow of loyalty with old D, which made Dumbledore so confident of him. This speculation may prove another point- on how Dumbledore could not be dead (all roads lead here!). it can be that the Unbreakable Vow made by Snape and Dumbledore contradicted the Unbreakable Vow made by Snape and Narcissa. Since Snape first did it with Dumbledore, therefore it got a priority and Snape was able to somehow alter the vow made with Narcissa. It sounds something like the three laws of robotics (on Asimov’s books)- a certain law could interfere with another law, creating a paradox.
  

If you do not like over-the-top speculations and hate fan-fiction, please think before reading further. It could have happened that:

• A thousand years ago, the great Godric Gryffindor and the shrewd Salazar Slytherin made an Unbreakable Vow. The Vow said that if a stronger member of Slytherin’s family attacked a weaker member of Gryffindor’s family, the stronger member would die, and vice versa. This theory is on the verge of fanfiction, and may sound far fetched, but it explains the following points:

• Dumbledore fought with the Dark wizard Grindelwald 50 years ago, in 1945. At that time, Grindelwald was the stronger wizard, and was a descendant of Slytherin. Dumbledore was weaker at that time, and was the descendant of Gryffindor (assuming that). Following the vow made by their forefathers, when Grindelwald attacked Dumbledore, he died. Also, Dumbledore was left with the mark- a scar in the shape of London Underground on his ankle.
  

• Many years later, in 1981, Lord Voldemort arrived in Godric’s hollow. Both he and James Potter were of equal powers, but Voldemort being quicker killed him. Then he murdered his wife Lily and proceeded on to confront their innocent one year old son. Harry Potter, was powerless at that time but was the descendant of Gryffindor (assume that!). Voldemort, being the descendant of Slytherin and the more powerful wizard, went against the vow and attacked Harry. The Vow followed and Voldemort was killed, leaving Harry with a simple scar (like in the case of Dumbledore). But Voldemort still survived owing to his Horcruxes.
  

• Why doesn’t Dumbledore kill Voldemort once and for all. Here is the simple explanation- he knows, by experience of course, that he is the descendant of Gryffindor and the stronger sorcerer, and Voldemort is a Slytherin. If he kills Voldemort, he would die in his place, owing to the vow. Hence, it is prudence that forces him to hold his wand.
  

• A question may be asked- Why doesn’t Dumbledore allow Harry to be killed by Voldemort, knowing that it will be Voldemort who will face the consequences. It can be that he isn’t sure that the Vow was void for two times, or he feels that it would be useless as big V is currently immortal.

I wouldn’t think about the vow so much if it wasn’t for the picture of it being made on the cover of HBP. After all, a picture speaks a thousand words…

The Intriguing Hogwarts Motto

Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, gearing up wizards and witches to face the challenges of muggle and magic for over a thousand years. With scores of magic to tap and a history of powerful wizards, both noble & sinister, it is the talk of legends. But its school motto, given along with the school coat of arms on the initial pages of each book, reads-Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon. Now what is that suppose to mean?! I thought the school’s aim was to impart a brave and bold spirit into potential sorcerers; but what its motto tells them is not to meddle in anything dangerous. Of course, it has many interpretations…

Good ol’ saying- Stay Away from Danger and it stays away from you

The simplest meaning that it could be want to convey is that there is no use inviting trouble, and the best thing is to lie down and keep doing your own work. It is quite a good advice to give as it will ensure a problem free life, but then one thing is clear- neither Gryffindor or Slytherin, both of them bold wizards, designed the motto or had anything to do with it. This is quite not possible as they were the founders and would obviously have an active participation in such important matters.

Another possibility is that they had a major argument over the pureblood-mudblood thing, which resulted in a duel which left both the powerful wizards shaken and stirred. They both decided that it would be unwise for people to get into problems with powerful wizards who may seem reclusive at first but who had the potential to blast their opponents (in short, a sleeping dragon).

A nasty accident

It could have been that one of the founders, probably Gryffindor because of his bold nature, had a nasty accident with a dragon that left him burnt and the dragon fuming. He decided that since the students of his house were quite brave (that’s the criteria for being in Gryffindor), he should leave them a warning not to stretch their luck too far.

Who understands this language anyway??

No student would take the pain to translate it, after all.

All right, enough of humor now, let me give some serious propositions:

Hogwarts – The storehouse of Magic

Dumbledore told Harry that one of the main reasons Voldemort wanted to come back to Hogwarts was to tap the storehouse of magic, which no one had yet been able to tap completely. The nature of this untapped magical potential is both noble & sinister. The noble examples are the Sorting Hat, the sword of Gryffindor etc. The sinister ones are The Chamber of Secrets and possibly other horrendous legacies which are better not unveiled. Of course, there are some instances where the nature of the ancestry depends upon that of the user. The best example so far is the Room of Requirement, used by Harry to train Dumbledore’s Army, and used by Draco to repair the Vanishing cabinet, and also used by many students to hide their belongings. Also, Fred and George used the vanishing cabinet at Hogwarts to hide Montague, but the same incident along with Montague’s experience gave Draco the idea on how to transport the Death Eaters. Such subtle examples show that one has to tap the magic of Hogwarts at their own risk, and it is better not to experiment than to suffer the consequences.

A prophecy??

It might be a hidden message for things to come. Maybe Dragon is used as a metaphor for something. Can it be Harry? The sleeping dragon, who was tickled (attempt to be killed in this case) by Lord Voldemort, who got his penance. He may have followed the prophecy given by Trelawney, but he couldn’t follow this one. It is quite common that big V ignored Ancient magic.

Latin- the Language of Magic…

All the spells in the books are in Latin. And this motto is also in Latin. Can it be that it is an incantation? Perhaps used by the Hogwarts four to lay the foundation of the castle, or a password to seal it?

As I said earlier, it has many interpretations, so feel free to offer your own or comment on the existing ones.

Dumbledore- parseltoungue, odd acts... Impostor?

Dumbledore, Parseltongue, Horcruxes, Impostor &… R.A.B.

Initially, I thought it was just my own awry imagination when I found Dumbledore a little strange in Half Blood Prince. But then, a solid proof rattled me.

In the memories in which Bob Ogden goes to meet Marvolo & Morfin Gaunt, the conversations between the Gaunt father and son takes place only in parseltongue. Harry Potter initially couldn’t deduce why Ogden was not able to understand what Morfin was saying, but then with Dumbledore’s help he realizes the conversation was in parseltongue. Then there is the memory in which Tom Marvolo Riddle goes to meet Morfin, finds that Marvolo is dead, and then proceeds to kill the Riddles. In that memory also, the conversation is in parseltongue; parseltongue being a rare gift of dark wizards. But not once during either of the memories does Dumbledore ask Harry to interpret what was being said in parseltongue, and shows signs that he was perfectly understanding what was being said. Now Dumbledore, a Parselmouth?? A property never attributed to him previously…

If Dumbledore was indeed Parselmouth, Harry didn’t see him using his gift in six years of knowing him. And why didn’t he use his hidden talent to destroy the chamber of secrets. It would have been a piece of cake for him to open the Chamber of Secrets (after all, Big V had opened it at the age of 15), and blow the monster of Slytherin into smithereens. But he didn’t do so.

There are other subtle evidences of Dumbledore’s odd behavior. In the chapter, Lord Voldemort’s request, Dumbledore shows his own memory of Voldemort’s interview in a bottle?! Why didn’t he take it fresh out of his mind, like he used to do in previous books?

There was one more thing. Dumbledore is always portrayed as a pillar of modesty, and never praises his own talent. But in HBP, there are many cases, when he, in his meetings with Harry, calls himself very intelligent, skilled, powerful, influential and so on.

So, apart from mild case of his memories in bottles and boastful nature (which might be his habits), there is his being a parselmouth, a major thing. It might be a glitch.

But suppose this all points to a big fact- the Dumbledore from whom Harry took classes was an impostor! Maybe he was giving the classes when real Dumbledore had other important things to do.

But Dumbledore got himself a substitute who could speak parseltongue! The impostor also knew a lot about Voldemort. Through these, the duplicate appears to be of an extremely pure blood family, and one that is closely related to the dark arts.

Do we know of any such families? Blacks or Malfoys or Lestranges, perhaps. But no one from these families has been against Voldemort, except from the Black family.

Who was the Black member who became a Death eater turned traitor? It was Regulus Black, the alleged R.A.B. it is known that he was killed not personally by Voldemort, but on Voldemort’s orders. Maybe, he faked his own Death just like Wormtail. It can be that he was helped in faking his death by the kind Dumbledore, who asked him to return the favor after many years, in the form taking his place.

I think that the real Dumbledore or the fake one (R.A.B.) took Harry into the cave (previously discovered by R.A.B. to steal the Horcrux) to give him a glimpse of the dangers involved in destroying Horcruxes. The fake Dumbledore himself replaced the Horcrux with the fake one containing the note. And the real locket must be in No.12, Grimmauld Place. JKR talks about a locket in the chaper The Noble and Most ancient House of Black, Pg 108:

A heavy locket that none of them could open;

I know the theory that Dumbledore was substituted by an impostor, and that too none other than R.A.B., is quite lofty but not utterly unconvincing.

Voldemort's bit in Harry- A horcrux?

The Connection & The Prophecy

We all know that that on the night of Halloween, Big V involuntarily transferred a bit of himself into Harry. But the exact wordings, which I happened to read in COS, said by Dumbledore himself, are quite disturbing. On pg 245, old D, in reply to harry’s questions about how he can speak parseltongue, and which later explained his connection with big V, are…

'...Unless I am very much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I am sure...'

'Voldemort put a bit of himself into me?’ Harry said, thunderstruck.

‘It certainly seems so.’

A bit of himself?? It is known that Voldemort lost his body and hence his powers at the time of physical demolition would have transferred to Harry. But ‘a bit of himself?’ A bit of Voldemort’s soul? A Horcrux?

I know that I, in my previous article, openly criticized Harry being Voldemort’s Horcrux theory, but some reading of COS has wavered my mind. Maybe, the Horcrux was made involuntarily. If it is so, it would be fun when big V discovers it. Now, how will he kill Harry? After all, he would not destroy his own Horcrux. Now he would be in difficult situation. Harry would try to kill him, but he cannot fight back as in doing so, he would destroy his own Horcrux.

Harry being big V’s Horcrux explains his parseltoungue, his mind connection with Voldemort, and many other things.

Or maybe, it is just some coincidental writing, from which I am taking out the wrong meaning.

Now I will have to contradict myself, and present the other side of the coin. This theory openly contradicts the Prophecy. The prophecy says- Neither can live while the other survives. If Harry his big V’s Horcrux, one can definitely live while the other survives.

So, the situation is here. Give me your views about what you think may be the possibility, after you have read both the views.

Gred & Feorge

The Weasley Twins



The Weasley twins have been shown as cool light hearted, brave, fun-loving, talented and humorous wizards. they are mostly the joke makers nad sometimes the butt of jokes. JKR recently told that their b'day come on 1st April April Fool's day!
Their bright nature and skilled inventions will ensure a prominent place in the &th book, as it has done in the previous six books ...

Notorious but true Gryffindors & Family first
Fred and George Weasley- doesn’t a mischievous smile come on your face when you hear these names, commonly referred to as the Weasley twins. They have always procured a notorious position for themselves in each Harry Potter book. But unlike other such people, notably Draco Malfoy, they are pure hearted and brave like true Gryffindors, have no grudge against impure blooded people (They hate the squib Filch because of different reasons.) They are free to express their minds leave no stone unturned to have some real good fun.
They also do cute things from time to time, like coming to Hogsmeade to give Ron his Birthday present. And they have always, unlike their big bro Percy, shown an unwavering loyalty towards their family values.

Powerful Wizards & Cool Businessmen
Most interestingly, they are extraordinarily gifted wizards, as even the righteous Hermione pointed out in HBP, also having a corporate mind and a flair for business. They have utilized their talent in their joke shop, and their merschandise is even bought by the ministry and the Death eaters. Their joke shop, Weasley Wizardng Wheezes , is shown flourishing at 93, Diagon Alley.
2 things that Big V should buy from their shop: Hair regrowing potion and Instant Nose rebuilder.

The Twins at School
They always had a certain disregard for rules, and bent them to have fun, aided by the marauder’s map. They can easily be compared to the Marauders (except that they are not Animagus), exploring the school with their best friend Lee Jordan.
However carefree they may seem, they cannot bear injustice and openly defiled the school and Umbridge because of her unruly behavior and flew out of Hogwarts (It made even the poltergeist Peeves bow). Perhaps that is why Dumbledore, having a good eye for the right people, never took too severe an action against them when they were at Hogwarts, in spite of their acts.
They have always been light about things, like the way Fred (or it was George?) invited Angelina to the Yule Ball. The exceptions to their light hearted behavior are money (we all know that Weasley’s are poor) and of course, Quidditch.

The Seventh Book
I feel that they may have an important part to play in the 7th book, because power cannot go unnoticed. Even Draco Malfoy bought the Peruvian darkness powder from them, which shows that they are even respected by Death Eaters. Hence, they may have to make an important choice in the 7th book, as to which side they have to really join, but we all know which one they will choose. This way, they will really make a lot of enemies, but the two of them can always fight it out.
Also, they may be officially instated onto the Order of the Phoenix, and I know that they would lend a good hand on kicking Death Eaters.
Do they have a chance of being killed off in the seventh book? It is well known that JKR has a penchant for killing good people!

Whatever their future may be, we know that they will always put a united, jolly good fight.
I can surmise the Weasley twins in 3 words- my favorite characters.

PS: If you take the Fantastic Beasts quiz and enter F & G as your favorite characters, see what being you'll get.