Appendix C:

Many years after Deathly Hallows was released, when it seemed the fandom was slowing down, a new theory began making the rounds, eventually reaching the pinnacle for fan theories: Jo Rowling’s Twitter. When a fan named Abbie Owen-Jones asked Jo what her favorite theory was in 2015, Jo replied, “Dumbledore as death. It's a beautiful theory and it fits.”

Spearheading the discussion about this theory since then is Andrew Sims, who laid it out beautifully in an article on Hypable, and has since discussed it on MuggleCast #358 (which led to insightful comments on MuggleCast’s Patreon). I would be remiss not to include this theory in a book about Dumbledore, so here is a breakdown.

The theory posits that The Tale of Three Brothers is a parallel to the events of the Harry Potter series. The trio that Harry once termed “the abandoned boys” (DH697) represent the three brothers of the tale; with Dumbledore serving as Death. Whether deliberate or not on Jo’s part, there is a beautiful symmetry here.

Voldemort represents the oldest brother, Antioch Peverell, who received the Elder Wand from Death. “So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death!” (DH407) Crucially, Voldemort actually uses that exact turn of phrase when he is resurrected: “You know my goal—to conquer death.” (GF653) Like the oldest brother, Voldemort is a combative man seeking the most powerful wand.

“The first brother [. . .] sought out a fellow wizard with whom he had a quarrel. Naturally, with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he could not fail to win the duel that followed. Leaving his enemy dead upon the floor, the oldest brother proceeded to an inn, where he boasted loudly of the powerful wand he had snatched from Death himself, and of how it made him invincible.” (DH408)

Voldemort, too, seeks out the wizard with whom he has a quarrel: Harry. He leaves Harry dead on the floor at first, then returns to Hogwarts, boasting loudly of how he triumphed over Harry Potter. But his arrogance proves his undoing, as (like Antioch) he is killed that very night.

Severus Snape represents the middle brother, Cadmus Peverell, who received the Resurrection Stone from Death. The key similarity here is a shared longing for a long-lost love. When Cadmus uses the Stone, “the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry, before her untimely death, appeared at once before him.” (DH409) Snape, too, is consumed with longing for a girl he loved before her untimely death: Lily Evans.

Harry Potter represents the youngest brother, Ignotus Peverell, who received the Invisibility Cloak from Death. “The youngest brother was the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers” (DH408)—as Harry certainly is of the abandoned boys. And like Ignotus, Harry is the only one of the three to evade death—living a long, full life, with sons that he doubtless bequeathed the Cloak to one day.

Like Death, Dumbledore was instrumental in distributing the Hallows to the brothers. Voldemort literally took the Elder Wand out of Dumbledore’s dead hands. And like Death, Dumbledore gave the Invisibility Cloak to Harry in Sorcerer’s Stone. But the interesting one is Snape, who never received the Resurrection Stone. Dumbledore may not have given him the Stone, but he replicated its effects for Snape. When he charged Snape with protecting Harry, he provided Snape with a poor imitation of the woman he loved: her son, who may have her eyes and her “deepest nature,” (DH684) but looks mostly like Snape’s enemy.

We are given another subtle clue by the fact that Voldemort fears death above all else.⁵⁴ And ever since the first book, everyone keeps saying that “Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared.” This is said by Hermione (SS260), Bill Weasley (OP92), twice by Harry (GF679/HBP72), and it even lends itself to the title of Order of the Phoenix chapter 36. The conflation of Dumbledore with Death renders these statements doubly true: Dumbledore is the only one Voldemort ever feared because he is Death, and Voldemort’s worst fear is death.

Dumbledore was also the key orchestrator of the deaths of each of the abandoned boys. He devoted all the last years of his life to destroying Voldemort, and in the end, his plan succeeded. As we discussed in Chapter 6, Dumbledore painted a target on Snape’s back by asking Snape to kill him; Snape’s death at Voldemort’s hands can be attributed to Dumbledore. And Dumbledore’s final master plan revolved around Harry laying down his life, which Harry did because of what Dumbledore said in The Prince’s Tale.

But note the difference: where Snape and especially Voldemort greeted death unwillingly, Harry made the choice to sacrifice his life. “The youngest brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. And then he greeted Death as an old friend.” (DH409) Right before Harry is hit by the Killing Curse, he “pulled off the Invisibility Cloak.” (DH703) And then Harry greets Dumbledore as an old friend in King’s Cross.

The theory is incredibly elegant, and it fits the text very well. It’s incredibly exciting that new Potter scholarship like this is still being developed and will continue to be for many years to come. So in light of this, I thank you for reading a book all about Death. Let us go together gladly, and, equals, continue the discussion about Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.