Here are some more fun theories from my other board:

My half-assed theory on Dumbledore, and Horcruxes: Dumbledore, after he drank the potion, became a Horcrux. The Horcrux was hidden in the potion, and was transferred to Dumbledore when he drank it. That's why Dumbledore was feeling so bad... because he had part of Voldemort in him. Which is why he asked Snape to kill him in the end. (He didn't say "Please, don't kill me", but "Please..". JKR describes his tone as "Begging".)

Its also why Dumbledore told Harry that he needed to do anything that he asked him to do, because Dumbledore might have known that he was going to become the Horcrux, but he didn't know how.

Snape, being a master of the dark arts, would recognize a horcrux instantly. There was a silent understanding between him and Dumbledore. The locket and the note were all a ruse, to throw off the person who found it.

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We never find out for sures what happens to Dumbledore's hand. People think it's from picking up the ring, but that's not really explicitly stated. I think that when the ring cracked, part of Voldemort's soul went into Dumbledore, making his hand all black and withered... and what hand did Dumbledore cut to splash blood in the cave? His withered hand.

Also Harry has part of Voldemort in him and his blood also opened the way. I think the cave would only open to Voldemort's own blood, and we'll find that out in the next book. And we'll also find out that the ring is not a horcrux for Voldemort any more, it's now a horcrux for Dumbledore somehow. But I haven't figured out how it would have been made.

For those who think Dumbledore is really dead, how many times does the concept of a phoenix have to be used to foreshadow? He owns a phoenix, is in the Order of the Phoenix, his soul or whatever it was leaves his body in a phoenix shape in a burst of flames, come on guys. He will come back, probably changed into a new form, like Gandalf or Obi Wan or Aslan.

oh, and in case you'd like to show solidarity for stan shupike >[link]

In response to this:

*We never find out for sures what happens to Dumbledore's hand. People think it's from picking up the ring, but that's not really explicitly stated. I think that when the ring cracked, part of Voldemort's soul went into Dumbledore, making his hand all black and withered... and what hand did Dumbledore cut to splash blood in the cave? His withered hand.

It is stated that the ring is cursed, but not how, and that the withering was apparently spreading (I think) and it is implied that had Snape not stopped it, the curse would have spread to his entire body and killed him.

When Dumbledore splashed blood on the cave wall he cut his arm above the withered hand.

Which book was it that Percy got on the wrong side of his family, and what happened? I don't remember.

connie, it really happened in OotP, when Percy sided against his family in the fight with the Ministry .

I read that one very quickly and don't remember a lot.

Finally at the end of the thread! A few observations on HBP:

The infamous chapter 2: I know that while I was reading, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop - when Snape agreed to the third part of the Unbreakable Vow (completing the task if Draco couldn't), that seemed to me to go beyond undercover, although I guess at that point, he had to go through with it. At the end of the book, I kept waiting for the reversal that never came. I find the theories for a possible Snape reversal in Book 7 to be plausible, but I also feel that they are resting on rather thin ground at the moment.

On DD: I'm in the camp that dead is dead - this ain't no comic book. We won't see Dumbledore alive in Book 7. I do believe that we will see him in Pensieve flashbacks, but remember, it has now been shown that Pensieve memories can be altered (Slughorn altered his inexpertly, but it could be specualted that given enough time, false memories could be planted. Just something to keep in mind if a Pensieve flashback doesn't fit.)

Other comments: As soon as I heard that there was a major death in the book, I knew Dumbledore was doomed. I've been expecting it for sometime; all part of the hero's quest and all.

The creepiest thought in the book is wondering what Tom Riddle did to the other kids in the cave when he was younger - that boy was bad from the start.

My favorite part of the book was when Harry came back to the Griffyndor common room after serving his detention, expecting to hear that they got creamed in the Quidditch match, only to find out they won big with Ginny as Seeker, as she came up to hug him and he finally kissed her. I am such a big sap.

What is it about fandom that makes people loony? The entitlement that some people feel for their 'ship is unbeleivable.

Jeff, I agree that the creepiest part about Tom, at least to where I'm at, is the cave . My guess is that spiders were involved , to tie into COS .

A world of yes! Of course, I've also been wanting them to make real-looking Hogwarts House clothes, and not just for Gryffindor.

I'm *still* looking for a Ravenclaw prefect's badge.

A month ago I saw a woman (college-age) who had a Slytherin book bag. Just a simple black bag with the Slytherin crest on it. I wanted one....

Jilli, they have a lot of wizarding badges here.