If you haven’t read the first six books, GO AWAY!!! There are spoilers abound on this page! This page is pretty strait-forward, so I’ll refrain from describing its purpose. The only thing I’ll throw in is that I’m American, so therefore all of my book references are from the American editions.
I’m willing to bank on it being Regulus Black. Though his middle initial is never given, there are certain vague facts that I’ve spotted to venture this guess. I’ll break this up into 3 sections: Regulus, the Locket, and the Theory.
REGULUS
Let’s break down Regulus’ brief history as described by Sirius in Book V, Chapter 6, page 112: When or before Regulus was 15, he became a Death Eater. (This supports Draco becoming a Death Eater at 16 or 17 [I don’t pay that close attention!], despite his young age, which everyone was using as an excuse for him not to be one.) He believed in Voldemort’s ways, until Voldemort showed his true colors. He got quite scared when he saw what Voldemort was willing to do to obtain his goal (and what Voldemort had asked him to do—whatever that was), and as such he wanted out of the Death Eaters. As Lupin notes, “I’m surprised [Igor Karkaroff] stayed alive for even a year…Sirius’s brother, Regulus, only managed a few days as far as I can remember.” (Book VI, Chapter 6, page 106).
In Book V, Chapter 6, page 116, there is “a heavy locket that none of them could open.” It’s not described in any way other than that, and it’s never mentioned again (a nice little detail easy to overlook and forget). Though I have nothing to prove this, I believe this locket belonged to Regulus and that it is the Horcrux locket he hid before his death.
THE LOCKET
The locket itself (in Book VI, Chapter 20, page 437) is described as “a heavy gold locket” with “an ornate, serpentine S.” (Hmmm...One heavy locket without a description and one heavy locket in abundance of one.)
The locket found in the basin was switched with another, with this note inside (Book VI, Chapter 28, page 609):
Is that a perfect diamond shape or what? We know that only pure-bloods can be Death Eaters due to Voldemort’s prejudices (Book V, Chapter 6, page 112) against half-bloods and Muggles-born (which mirror his ancestor’s, Salazar Slytherin [Book II, Chapter 9, page 150] to keep magical learning within all-magic families). We also rightfully suspect that only Voldemort’s followers call him the “Dark Lord” (Book V, Chapter 26, page 593). Therefore, we can deduce that, whoever the note writer is, it’s a pure-blood who became a Death Eater and now wants nothing to do with Voldemort. We can also deduce from the note that the possessor of the real locket wanted to destroy the Horcrux very quickly, but with the phrase “as soon as I can,” it’s reasonable to believe that the bearer didn’t believe he could destroy the Horcrux immediately, and from that we can reasonably assume that he may have stored it somewhere until he could figure out how to crack it open (or maybe he figured he’d be too busy fighting off Inferi to destroy the Horcrux then).
THE THEORY
If the locket in Book V is indeed the Horcrux, and that R.A.B. is indeed Regulus Black, we can see why Regulus didn’t believe he could destroy it immediately—How do you destroy the soul-bit tucked inside a locket that you can’t open?
But how could Black have retrieved the locket in the first place? As seen in Book VI, Chapter 26, pages 570-573, the trial to retrieve the locket can’t be performed by only one person, but the boat is only capable of transporting one wizard across the lake, since Dumbledore believes an enchantment is placed on the boat “so that only one wizard at a time will be able to sail in it,” (Chapter 26, page 564). So if this is true and Black can only go at it alone, how could he have drank all that potion?
The clue is right there, also on page 564. “I do not think that you will count, Harry: You are underage and unqualified.” So if Harry doesn’t count, then I doubt..say…a house-elf will, either. I believe that Regulus took Kreacher with him, and since pure bloods treat their house-elves with cruelty (as we’ve seen with the Malfoys and Dobby) mainly due to their belief that they’re untainted bloodline makes them royalty (as seen with the Malfoys and Mr. Gaunt [Chapter 10, pages 207-208]), I find it very easy to believe that it was Kreacher who drank the potion and not Regulus. This is also supported by the fact that Regulus was killed a few days after leaving the Death Eaters. Can’t fend off Voldemort that long or figure out how to destroy the Horcrux in the weakened state Dumbledore wound up in, could he? Plus, since Kreacher is loyally bound to the house of his master (Book II, Chapter 2, page 14), it's no stretch for Regulus to order him not to tell anyone of their little adventure, thus keeping the switched lockets a secret for all these years.
This is something Mrs. Rowling has been tossing back and forth since the beginning of the series. It’s a delightful puzzle to piece together, and each side has their good points. However, despite my strong will to have Snape be evil, I regrettably believe that Snape is actually working for the good guys as the double agent. I’ll lay out both sides of the argument and you can figure it out for yourself.
WHY SNAPE IS EVIL
1. In Book VI, Chapter 27, page 596, is the number one reason: HE KILLED DUMBLEDORE! If ever there was a dead give-away, this is it!
2. Because he killed Dumbledore, he has ousted himself from the good guys and none of them will trust him anymore.
3. He is the Half-Blood Prince (Chapter 28, page 604), creator of the Sectumsempra (Chapter 21, page 447), and we’ve seen the devastating effects it has on people (Chapter 24, page 522).
4. He adores the Dark Arts. (Book I, Chapter 7, page 126) and (Book VI, Chapter 9, page 180)
5. As Snape says in Book VI, Chapter 2, page 26, “Do you really think that the Dark Lord has not asked me each and every one of those questions? And do you really think that, had I not been able to give satisfactory answers, I would be sitting here talking to you?”
6. As stated by Lupin in Book VI, Chapter 29, page 615, “Snape was a highly skilled Occlumens…We always knew that.” He’s no doubt been using his Occlumency to lie to Dumbledore and remain a double agent for Voldemort.
7. In Book VI, Chapter 25, page 544-545, we learn from Professor Trelawney that Snape had overheard her giving the prophesy. Because of this, as Harry says on page 548, “…HE TOLD VOLDEMORT TO GO AFTER MY MUM AND DAD!”
WHY SNAPE IS GOOD
1. When Quirrell was jinxing Harry’s broom (Book I, Chapter 11, page 190), Ron and Hermione believe it to be Snape providing the jinx. However, in Chapter 17, page 289, we discover that Snape was actually mumbling the countercurse. He didn’t have to do this—none of the other teachers certainly knew what was going on! You can say that Snape only did it to be even with James Potter for saving his life (Chapter 17, page 300), and that is a valid argument.
2. When Harry tells Snape that Padfoot is in trouble (Book V, Chapter 32, page 745), Snape pretends to not understand Harry, and Harry believes that Snape didn’t understand/care. However, in Chapter 37, page 830, we learn from Dumbledore, “He, like you, attempted to contact Sirius at once.” Here again is another opportunity for Snape to pretend he didn’t know what was going on, and yet he took positive action on it.
3. When Harry confronts Dumbledore about the reason he trusts Snape (Book VI, Chapter 25, pages 548-549), Dumbledore explains Snape’s position on the matter. Afterward, Harry confronts Dumbledore with the fact that Snape is “a very good Occlumens” (549) and “Isn’t Voldemort convinced that Snape’s on his side, even now? Professor…how can you be sure Snape’s on our side?” To which Dumbledore replies, “I am sure. I trust Severus Snape completely.” Harry (and McGonnagall) assumes that Snape’s repentance to Dumbledore is the reason why Dumbledore trusts him (Chapter 29, page 616), however, Dumbledore didn’t really say why he trusted Snape; just that he did. I believe he allowed Harry to think this was the reason, probably to hide the real reason from him. Why? I don’t know, but since when has Dumbledore ever been strait-forward with his own reasoning skills? He even says so himself (Chapter 17, pages 358-359): “…blessed as I am with extraordinary brainpower, I understood everything you told me…I think you might even consider the possibility that I understood more than you did.” Which basically says, “I know more than you do, and I’m not letting you in on the secret.”
4. Every suspicion Harry has had of Snape has always been wrong.
5. As stated by Lupin in Book VI, Chapter 29, page 615, “Snape was a highly skilled Occlumens…We always knew that.” He’s no doubt been using his Occlumency to lie to Voldemort and remain a double agent for Dumbledore.
6. In Book VI, Chapter 19, pages 405-406, we learn from Hagrid that Dumbledore and Snape had an argument near the Forbidden Forest. Snape told Dumbledore that he “took too much for granted an’ maybe he—Snape—didn’ wan’ ter do it anymore,” to which Hagrid doesn’t know what that thing is. “Dumbledore told him flat out he’d agreed ter do it an’ that was all there was to it.” What were they arguing about, exactly? If Snape’s true colors have been shown, why leave such an end loose?
7. When Snape reaches the astronomy tower and looks over the situation, Dumbledore immediately pleads with Snape (Book VI, Chapter 27, page 595). Who agrees that this is totally out of character? Why, then, would he be doing it, if not to have his life saved? I believe that Dumbledore wanted Snape to continue being the double agent for the Order, since (I believe) Snape confided in Dumbledore the Unbreakable Vow he underwent with Narcissa (if true, I find it odd that Dumbledore didn't enlighten the rest of the Order, since they obviously knew nothing of it [Chapter 29, pages 615-616]). Why? I think the answer lies in the argument they had outside the Forbidden Forest. I think that the argument they had was how Snape could weaken Voldemort’s defenses (or even further weaken them, if all the Horcruxes are destroyed) to allow Harry to kill him, since he’s allegedly “the Dark Lord’s favorite, his most trusted advisor” (Chapter 2, page 34). Snape appears to play a highly-trusted role for Voldemort, and if this is true (or rather, as true as it can get since Voldemort never had a need for friends [Chapter 13, page 277]), then Good-Guy-Double-Agent-Snape will be able to land a crushing blow to Voldemort to allow Harry to defeat him once and for all. Because of this, I believe Dumbledore wasn’t pleading for his life, but for Snape to continue in his role as a double agent. In fact, I’m willing to go off on a tangent and theorize that Dumbledore even planned to be killed by Snape (we don’t know the true damage of the injury that blackened his hand; it may be slowly killing him). Up until this point, Snape hasn’t shown any true “allegiance” to Voldemort except as a spy. Well, I don’t believe some—if not many—of Vodemort’s followers truly trust Snape (Chapter 2, page 25, when Bellatrix confronts Snape), and this gesture will give them ultimate proof of his “allegiance.” And Snape can gain more elbow room in the Death Eaters now that he’s “proven himself.”
8. Book VI, Chapter 28, pages 602-604 finds Harry battling Snape. Every time Harry tries to curse Snape, Snape only deflects the curse and never retaliates. And when Harry is struck with an unknown spell that tortures him, Snape stops it! Some may point out Snape’s remark about it (page 603): “Have you forgotten your orders? Potter belongs to the Dark Lord—we are to leave him!” Some will suggest that this is the reason why Snape deflected the spell—that Voldemort wanted to kill Harry himself and gave his Death Eaters explicit orders not to kill Harry. And this is indeed plausible (though, in my theory, this was just a ruse-keeper). However, I will point out, in turn, something else Snape said just two paragraphs previously: “Blocked again and again until you learn to keep your mouth shut and you mind closed, Potter!” Hmmm…Snape is evil, yet he’s still trying to teach Harry? And what was that he said in Book V, Chapter 24, page 531? “Only those skilled at Occlumency are able to shut down those feelings and memories that contradict the lie, and so utter falsehoods in his presence without detection.” If Occlumency allows someone to shield their minds from Legilimens, then Voldemort won’t be able to foresee Harry’s spell attacks, and the only way he can prepare for them ahead of time is if Harry speaks them aloud, which Harry could prevent by learning nonverbal spell-casting, giving Harry a great berth to work with in fighting Voldemort. That’s a nasty little blow Harry can give Voldemort, and Snape handed it to him on a silver platter!
9. If Snape truly is a good guy, and he truly is remorseful for having the Potters killed by Voldemort, then what caused him to turn from being evil to good in the first place? I believe the answer lies in Book V, Chapter 28, pages 647-648. Lily Evans (Potter), from what we’ve read throughout the first six books, has shown Snape the only act of kindness he’s ever had. I theorize that he took a piece of his heart and reserved it for her (despite the fact that he shortly after calls her a Mudblood, and was no doubt nurtured by the fact that they were both skilled at Potions). When he realized his telling Voldemort of the prophesy lead to Lily’s death, he inwardly stopped being a Death Eater (not outwardly—that would have meant his death, like Regulus Black). When ordered to take up a teaching position at Hogwarts on Voldemort’s orders (Book VI, Chapter 2, page 26) his “tale of deepest remorse when [he] joined [Dumbledore’s] staff, fresh from [his] Death Eater days” (page 31) was genuine, and therefore, because of Lily’s compassion toward him, he felt like he needed to keep her memory alive by allowing Harry to live, hence why he helped Harry out in Reason 2. This soft spot for Lily is also the reason why he continues to be (somewhat) good. I know this is a vague theory based on anecdotal evidence, but if Snape is truly good, this is what I believe the reason will be.
At the end of Book VI, Horcrux #6 (how fitting) is still unknown. We have confirmation that Tom Riddle’s diary (Chapter 23, page 500) and Marvolo’s ring (page 503) are Horcruxes. We have speculation, though, that the locket, the Hufflepuff cup, Voldemort’s snake Nagini, and “something of Gryffindor’s or Ravenclaw’s” are Horcruxes as well since Dumbledore believes, “Lord Voldemort would prefer objects that, in themselves, have a certain grandeur” (page 505) and “having secured objects from Hufflepuff and Slytherin, he set out to track down objects owned by Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.” Here are my theories about the speculative four:
THE HUFFLEPUFF CUP
Yeah, sure. Why not?
VOLDEMORT’S SNAKE
I agree with Dumbledore on this. His theory about the snake being a Horcrux fits rather nicely, since Harry had been the snake in his dream (Book V, Chapter 21, pages 462-463). Since Harry was also able to visit both Voldemort’s mind as well as the snake’s, this works out rather nicely (especially when you read the last section of the speculative four). Voldemort can control the snake with “an unusual amount of control…even for a Parselmouth” (Book VI, Chapter 23, page 507) because I believe a bit of his soul resides within it.
THE LOCKET
We can reasonably assume the locket is a Horcrux, seeing Dumbledore’s trial in the cave. But the question becomes, “Where is the locket now?” Before you look at me like I’m an idiot and say, “Back at Sirius’s house, of course!” ponder this: In Book VI, Chapter 12, page 246, we learn that Mundungus has stolen Black’s house items and is selling them (I don’t believe Kreacher stole it, since he went strait from the Black house to Hogwarts.). On page 245, we see that the barman of the Hog’s Head “drew his cloak more tightly around his neck and walked away…” I believe that the barman purchased the locket and is the current possessor. Why do I figure this? I believe that the barman is none other than Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth Dumbledore!
No, no! Hear me out! “Mad Eye” Moody shows Harry a picture of the original Order of the Phoenix (Book V, Chapter 9, page 173), which Aberforth is in (page 174). Also, Dumbledore describes his brother’s actions: "My own brother, Aberforth , was prosecuted for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat. It was all over the papers, but did Aberforth hide? No, he did not! He held his head high and went about his business as usual!” (Book IV, Chapter 24, page 454) When Harry enters the Hog’s Head (Book V, Chapter 16, page 335) it’s described as being, “one small, dingy, and very dirty room that smelled strongly of something that might have been goats.” And when the barman enters on page 336, he “looked vaguely familiar to Harry.” Because of this, I believe that the barman of the Hog’s Head is Aberforth Dumbledore! (This also explains how Albus is friendly with the barman [Book VI, Chapter 20, page 445].)
Interestingly enough, though, is why Aberforth is even buying something from Mundungus to begin with. According to Sirius Black (Book V, Chapter 17, page 370): “He was banned from the Hog’s Head twenty years ago.” So Mundungus is banned from the bar, yet he’s selling (or attempting to sell, since we never actually see the transaction) stolen merchandise to the barman? Hmmm…fishy.
THE LAST HORCRUX
And now for the most incredible theory yet! We believe that the last Horcrux belongs to either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. I believe that the last Horcrux is something “owned” by Gryffindor: Harry Potter! Or, more accurately, his scar. As we learn from Dumbledore in Book VI, Chapter 23, page 506, “Voldemort was at least one Horcrux short of his goal of six when he entered your parents’ house with the intention of killing you.” How can there be a sixth, then? When he inadvertently gave Harry some of his power that night, I believe he also gave him a bit of his soul, making Harry the final Horcrux. Why does Harry have a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead? I believe this mark indicates the final bit of Voldemort’s soul. As Dumbledore said in Book I, Chapter 1, page 15: “Even if I could [get rid of it], I wouldn’t. Scars can come in handy.”
But why do I think a soul in addition to the power? Harry can peer into the minds of Voldemort and Nagini (Book V), so this indicates a soul connection, if indeed Nagini is a Horcrux. I don’t buy Snape’s explanation for Harry being in the snake’s mind: “He was possessing the snake at the time and so you dreamed you were inside, too…” (Book V, Chapter 24, page 532-533); that sound a little off to me (and it’s just a guess, anyway, not a fact). Also, Harry is a Parselmouth, and Parseltongue is a skill, not a power. The only way Voldemort could have passed this skill onto Harry is if some of his soul got embedded in Harry. (This would also explain why Voldemort didn't want Harry killed at the end of Book VI; were Harry a Horcrux, Voldemort wouldn't want Harry's death so hastily. My belief is that he's sizing Harry up to see if, possibly, he can transfer that soul-bit somewhere else before killing Harry off. And I don't think he wants Harry alive for ego's sake—that punk kid has defeated him on numerous occasions, so there must be something more sinister behind his order.)
No doubt you’ve already formulated a flaw to point out. According to Professor Slughorn in Book VI, Chapter 23, page 498, “He would encase the torn portion [of the soul]…There is a spell, do not ask me, I don’t know!” And unless that spell is Avada Kedavra, you no doubt believe that my theory about Harry is bunk. However, consider this: Throughout the entire series thus far, we’ve never heard about what happens to Voldemort or what he does immediately after his Harry-killing backfired. He’s one Horcrux shy, his body just went away…who’s to say that he didn’t leave a piece of his soul inside the very thing that was stronger than him? And just because he doesn’t have a body anymore doesn’t mean that he still can’t perform the unknown spell (he could still use Legilimency without his body). (NOTE: Upon further research, I’ve discovered that it would be next to impossible that Voldemort turned Harry into a Horcrux immediately after the Avada Kedavra spell backfired. In Book IV, Chapter 33, page 652, Voldemort states to the Death Eaters, “You all know that on the night I lost my powers and my body, I tried to kill him [Harry].” Therefore, we know he lost his magical ability when the spell backfired. However, if he did turn Harry into a Horcrux, it would have to have been either after Lily’s death or during his attempt to kill Harry. Since we have very little detail about how to create a Horcrux, there isn’t enough information to debunk any theories as to how one is made. However, I’m quite certain that he wouldn’t have used Lily to create it, since he believed Harry’s death would have been much more significant, due to the prophesy. And who's to say that Horcruxes aren't made during the murder? All we really know that murder splits the soul [as, I'm sure, belief of murder would do the same], and the Horcrux could have been created in the split second it took the spell to leave Voldemort's wand and rebound upon him. Since we don't know anything about the spell that creates a Horcrux, it could be as short as a one-syllable word, or even be nonverbal, and we all know that thought travels faster than speech.)
1. Malfoy will team up with Harry in the fight to destroy Voldemort.—Remember what the Sorting Hat said? “And we must unite inside her/Or we’ll crumble from within” (Book V, Chapter 11, page 207). Remember that paragraph on page 209? ”And it wants all the Houses to be friends?” said Harry, looking over at the Slytherin table, where Draco Malfoy was holding court. “Fat chance.” Well, now Malfoy fears Voldemort: “…and unless I do it soon…he says he’ll kill me…” (Book VI, Chapter 24, page 522) Reminds you of Regulus Black, doesn’t it, so proud to serve until he realized what he’d gotten into? How much do you want to bet Harry will soon be eating his words?
2. Wormtail is going to die.—Because Harry saved Peter Pettigrew’s life (Book III, Chapter 19, page 375), he now has a special bond with Harry. Dumbledore states on page 427, “Pettigrew owes his life to you. You have sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt…When one wizard saves another wizard’s life, it creates a certain bond between them…This is magic at its deepest, its most impenetrable, Harry. But trust me…the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew’s life.” Usually how such thing play out is that, when your life is saved, you can only pay the debt back in full when you save theirs. If this is so, then I believe that someone (not Voldemort, since he’s too frightened of him) will threaten Harry’s life and Wormtail will sacrifice his life to save Harry, since he’s not good enough to save Harry and continue to live. And let’s face it: we’ve all wanted to see him dead, anyway.
3a. Neville Longbottom will be the hero who kills Voldemort.—In order for Voldemort to be killed, all of his Horcruxes have to be destroyed. As Dumbledore states in Book VI, Chapter 23, page 503, “The seventh piece of the soul will be the last that anybody wishing to kill Voldemort must attack—the piece that lives in his body.” According to my theory, Harry bears the sixth Horcrux in his scar. In order for Voldemort to be killed, Harry and the rest of the Horcruxes must not exist. And since Neville is the only other person the prophesy could have pertained to (Book V, Chapter 37, page 842), then Neville will be the one to finish the job Harry set out to do.
3b. Harry Potter will be the hero who kills Voldemort.— In order for Voldemort to be killed, all of his Horcruxes have to be destroyed. Since my theory is that Harry’s scar is a Horcrux rather than Harry himself, then I believe Harry will find a way to destroy his scar without killing himself and kill Voldemort later.
4. Harry will ditch the glasses for contact lenses.—OK, this is a silly theory, but I’ve been waiting for him to have a Scooby Doo’s Velma moment forever now: Harry groped on the ground frantically. “My glasses!” he shouted.
5. Dumbledore is still alive!—Snape only made it appear that he was full of revulsion and hatred when he “killed” Dumbledore so that he could gain the trust of the remaining Death Eaters in order to have more elbow room. Since he truly didn’t “mean it, to cause pain, to enjoy it” (Book V, Chapter 36, page 810), Dumbledore faked his death to allow Good-Guy-Double-Agent-Snape to continue his work. Dumbledore, after continuous informs by Snape, will eventually come out of hiding and help Harry in killing Voldemort. Are you buying any of that? Didn’t think so, but it was worth a shot! Let me go ahead and debunk this right now. When Snape made the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa (Book VI, Chapter 2, pages 36-37), he agreed to "...carry out the deed that the Dark Lord has ordered Draco to perform," and that deed was to kill Dumbledore, not pretend to kill. Dumbledore's dead. Abandon hope of his return (except as a portrait [Chapter 29, page 626]).
6. Aunt Petunia will play a more significant role.—Petunia knows what dementors are (Book V, Chapter 2, page 31) because she heard James talking to Lily about them (page 32)—or more precisely, “that awful boy—telling her about them—years ago,” (which indicates we don’t know who the boy and girl truly are, since she never confirmed or denied Harry’s suspicions about them being his parents). She remembers something about the Wizarding world that was only mentioned once in a conversation “years ago”? A woman who scorns everything magic? And the Howler was addressed to her (page 40). While the letter left on the doorstep with baby Harry in Book I, Chapter 1, page 16 is never given a specific household resident’s name (though Dumbledore says, “I’ve written them a letter,” [page 13] which indicates it’s addressed to both Vernon and Petunia), we can assume one of two things: either it was addressed to Petunia and Vernon, or it was specifically addressed to Petunia, since her blood offers Harry his protection at home (Book V, Chapter 37, page 836). If the letter was addressed to both and the Howler was addressed to her, that’s makes Petunia more than what we’ve seen (mainly because she remembers something magical). If the letter was addressed to Petunia specifically and the Howler was addressed to her, then Petunia is still more than meets the eye. I don’t believe she’s a Squib (too hateful of the Wizarding world), but she is definitely more than advertised, and I think we’ll see what that is in Book VII.
7. There’s more to Voldemort’s soul than we currently know, and we’ll find out what.—Original text here. After re-reading this theory, I realized why I couldn’t comprehend it: I was making the assumption that, in destroying the Horcrux, the soul-bit is automatically destroyed. This is obviously not true as both known Horcruxes were never destroyed (just damaged) and Voldemort’s body has been destroyed twice (Book IV, Chapter 33, page 652 and Book I, Chapter 17, page 295) but his anchoring soul-bit still continued to live. I’m therefore going to reshape this theory to this: Dumbledore states (see Theory 3a) that the soul-bit in Voldemort’s body is the last that anyone wishing to kill him will need to attack. Why? A soul-bit is a soul-bit! What does it matter what container it’s in? If you have to kill Voldemort before destroying, say, the Hufflepuff cup, then why can’t that happen? More elaboration needs to go toward this, and I theorize we’ll get this last piece of information in Book VII.
8. Dudley is a wizard!—A curious statement comes from Book V, Chapter 2, page 40 from the Howler Petunia gets: “REMEMBER MY LAST, PETUNIA.” What an odd thing to say! Why not, “Remember my letter, Petunia?” The only thing I can come up with is that there were more letters prior to the one Dumbledore left when he delivered Harry onto the Dursley’s doorstep, which fits Harry’s puzzlement in Book VI, Chapter 3, page 46, when Dumbledore says, “We have corresponded, of course.” But why would there be other letters? Perhaps from this unknown connection Petunia probably has with the Wizarding world. I mean, she obviously recognized Dumbledore’s voice, since she never questioned the originator. And in a completely separate incident, Dumbledore also states, “The best thing that can be said is that he [Harry] has at lease escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you [Dudley]” (Book VI, Chapter 3, page 55). Well, the kid’s that fattest boy alive, but obesity is hardly appalling damage. What could he have been referring to? My theory is that, like Harry, Dudley started behaving abnormally as a child, making magical stuff happen. Through this unknown connection to the Wizarding world (possibly started because of her sister being a witch), she was in correspondence with Dumbledore to change Dudley to a Muggle, or at least suppress his magical talents. To deny and rob a wizard of his tools seems to fit the bill for appalling damage; otherwise, I see no reason why there would be previous correspondence.
9. Harry part elf? I don’t think so.—One of my friends believes that Harry is part elf because he can perform magic without a wand and everyone keeps mentioning how his eyes are so like his mother’s (reinforced by the fact that Dobby [Book II, Chapter 2, page 12] has the same eye-color as Harry [Book I, Chapter 2, page 20] and performs magic all the time without a wand). First off, I’m willing to bet bottom dollar that Harry isn’t the only wizard in the world who can do magic without a wand. Just because Hogwarts teaches magic only with a wand doesn’t mean that it’s the only form there is. I mean, think about it! Wouldn’t it be a little inconvenient to lose your wand, and thus lose your magical ability? Yes, because it’s not true! Magical ability comes from the person; the wand is merely a tool, like potions. And have you ever seen an Animagus use their wand to turn into animals? How would they turn back to people if they needed wands to perform magic to begin with? So the ability to do magic without a wand isn’t a special ability that Harry has.
Secondly, let’s talk about those eyes. This is the only theory I’ve actually done an internet search on because, try as he might, my friend couldn’t fully explain himself (in other words, he didn’t research it; just believed what he heard without question), and I needed to know where that came from. The best source I could find was from a site called About.com that talked about the various theories pertaining to Book VII. (I stayed away from the rest listed here because I believe any theories about Book VII should come from clues provided by the previous books and my own interpretation, and I want to keep my theories as untainted as possible. This is also why I never listen to interviews done my Mrs. Rowling, since I understand that they give some facts not in the books.) According to this article, “Now we know that Harry has his mother's eyes and many people have commented on it, almost too many people. I mean, why would so many people remember Lilly's eye color? I'm thinking Lilly was Celtic, with her coloring it certainly is possible. Celtic magic(the magic of the elves) is ancient magic, which is what Dumbledore said was protecting Harry at Privet Drive through his mother's blood. So, Lilly may have had a little elf magic in her from way back in her family line, and she passed this on to Harry.”
Hardly a complete theory. What do eyes have to do with Celtic magic? An internet search turned up nothing, and since I don’t know anyone deeply immersed in Celtic magic, I’m already very skeptical of this. However, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that eyes are very important to Celtic magic. First off, it’s already been established that love is the ancient magic protecting Harry at home as well as a charm from Dumbledore ( Book I, Chapter 17, page 299 & Book V, Chapter 37, page 836). Secondly, we’ve only met one kind of elf in the entire series: the house-elf. And if all elves look like they do, who’d be sick enough to reproduce with one? So, no, I don’t think Harry’s part elf.
