The Christmas season has passed, and the new year is upon us. And to mark the occasion, I’ve got a little gift for you, Dave.
Dave: Yes, but I’m a bit worried about what it is.
Oh, why ever would you be worried? After all, you only decided to bring me not one, not two, but FOUR idiotic fan theories during the buildup to Christmas, effectively polluting the whole of december, with your “Three Weeks of Fan-Mas”! Why would I be mad about that?
Dave: I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!
So now, I have something to give you. Wanna guess what it is?
Dave: No, I don’t want to know!
I am going to give you…
Dave: Please no!
A fan theory lesson!
Dave: NOO- wait, what?
See, I came across a theory that, at its core, is plausible. The problem is that the arguments supporting it do not work. However, that doesn’t always mean a theory is broken. Sometimes, on rare occasions, a seemingly bad theory just needs to be modified. And that is the case with this theory.
Somewhat annoyingly, it’s yet another Harry Potter theory.
The theory is that when Harry uses the Resurrection stone, he doesn’t actually see his parents and Remus and Sirius.
Dave: No?
No. Instead, the theory suggest that these are more… spectral images conjured by the stone, to encourage Harry to kill himself. The arguments are that it’s very out of character for these four people, who have all tried their best to help and protect Harry, to suddenly just be completely fine with him dying now.
Even with all that is at stake, and the nobility of the act, it’s hard to believe that James and Lily, who gave their lives to save Harry, and who protected him even AFTER dying, when he fought the newly restored Voldemort, wouldn’t object to him just allowing himself to die like that. But no, they’re all fine with it.
The theory then points to the supposed origin of the stone, and how it was created by Death, as a means to kill someone. So when Harry uses it, it does what it was meant to do. It tries to kill him. Dumbledore knew this was what the stone does, and wanted to ease Harry’s passing. Dumbledore wanted him to willingly sacrifice his life, in the belief that he would save everyone else.
That was his plan. The protection Lily used to save Harry survived with Voldemort taking his blood, so the killing curse would only destroy the soul fragment inside Harry. And Harry’s sacrifice would protect everyone else from Voldemort, in the same way Lily protected Harry.
But like I said, this theory isn’t perfect. However, with some alterations, it can be made Plausible. That is, to where there are arguments for and against it.
In other words, we will twist theories to suit facts, rather than facts to suit theories. Let’s begin.
To me, the main issue with this theory is that, according to it, the tale of the three brothers is true. That in turn would mean that Death is an actual person in the Harry Potter universe. And I don’t buy that. As Dumbledore said:
I think it more likely that the Peverell brothers were simply gifted, dangerous wizards who succeeded in creating those powerful objects.
And the rest is just legends to add to the mystique of the Deathly Hallows. But let’s look at the resurrection stone in that light, then.
Why would Cadmus Peverell seek to create a way to raise the dead? Let’s suppose there is a nugget of truth in the tale, and it was because of a lost love. He tries to raise his fiancé from the dead, and he thinks he succeeds. We don’t know exactly how the stone was created, but we do know that intent or lack of concentration can skew the result of magic.
We can suppose that Cadmus was deeply heartbroken and abysmally depressed when he made the stone, so perhaps, rather than making a link to the afterlife, the overwhelming grief was enough to make the stone into a device that tries to comfort its wielder, by any means necessary. To most who use the stone, it would simply show them the image of a dead friend or relative, ensuring them that they are happy and have no regrets.
But in the case of the inconsolable Cadmus, the most effective way for the stone to comfort him and make his pain go away was to convince him to kill himself, thus being reunited with his lost love. Either that, or he realized that it was failure, and its comforts are just empty words meant to make him feel better, leading to deeper despair and finally suicide.
And in Harry’s case, it shows him Remus, Sirus, James and Lily, who all ensure him that they are proud of him, that they don’t blame him, and that it will be painless. They comfort him, and attempt to ease his passing. Because that is what the stone does. It comforts him.
Dave: So… this theory actually makes sense?
Yes. Inasmuch as there are valid reasons for why it could be true. However, there are equally valid arguments to suggest that Harry actually sees James, Lily, Remus and Sirius.
After all, we know that the afterlife is a thing. We know that when people die, they can stick around as ghosts or… move on. We also know that neither Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus, Lily or James are ghosts.
So we can reasonably suppose that Albus simply explained his plan to the others when he died and passed into the afterlife. That in turn explains why none of them are worried and they are all fine with Harry sacrificing his life: Because they KNOW it’s not permanent. If they tell him the truth, the plan fails. He has to be willing to sacrifice his life, granting everyone else the same protection as Lily granted him, and also destroying the soul fragment within himself.
And with that, there are arguments both for and against the theory, which to my mind makes it plausible. It’s up to the reader, if Harry meets his parents again or not, when he uses the stone.
Of course, there’s also a small addition to the original theory, suggesting that Dumbledore is Death, but I’ve already covered that once. It didn’t work then and it doesn’t work now.
So that’s my gift to you, Dave. Sometimes, all a theory needs is a different approach, and it can go from idiotic to somewhat plausible.
How’s that for a holiday miracle?
Dave: Well, I’m glad you’re in this good a mood, because I’ve got another fan theory that I’d like to discuss.
Oh, I’m indeed in a very good mood. Which is why I will allow you to simply leave, hoping in vain that you’ve learned something from this, instead of stapling your testicles to a firework for making that suggestion.
Dave: Oh… Well, in that case, Bye and Happy New year.
Happy New Year, Dave.
