Potterfans have all developed their coping mechanisms to deal with the paucity of new Potter books and movies; while some mope and go back to re-reading the series to bask in the magic, others do some serious brainstorming over the plot and come out with brilliant fan theories.
Whichever lot you may belong to, you need to hear about this new fan theory Reddit user WippitGuud has come up with regarding Harry’s survival after being hit by the Avada Kedavra curse by his arch nemesis in the Forbidden Forest.
Going back to the scene where Harry falls after being cursed a second time by Voldemort, he finds himself in another world which resembles Kings’ Cross and meets Dumbledore who explains to him how, on the fateful night Voldemort killed his parents, the killing curse meant to kill Harry rebounded and hit Voldemort. In the process, a part of Voldemort’s soul latched on to Harry and lived inside him, making him a Horcrux. The Horcrux had to be destroyed and by cursing Harry again, Voldemort killed part of his own soul, thus destroying the Horcrux.
Also, in The Goblet Of Fire, when Voldemort uses Harry’s blood to resurrect himself, part of Lily’s protection lives on in Voldemort, tethering Harry to life. After the ritual, Voldemort demonstrates that he can touch Harry without harm.
According to WippitGuud, Harry died for real that night. *collective intake of breath*
Okay then. He uses three reasons to disprove what Dumbledore told Harry pertaining to his reason for survival. Either Dumbledore was wrong or he was stringing Harry along (sounds more plausible because the old genius generally liked chaos and keeping people in the dark).
The second time Harry was hit by the killing curse, it did not rebound as it did the first time due to Lily’s protection.
Secondly, the curse left no physical mark unlike the first time in which he was left with his famous lightning shaped scar.
Third, in order to destroy the Horcrux, it was imperative that Harry must die, Dumbledore says this to Snape. As in the case of every Horcrux, the vessel must be destroyed.
So Harry really did die that night. How did he come back?
Dumbledore tells Harry on the other side, that Harry has the choice to go back.
“We are in King’s Cross, you say? I think that if you decided to go back, you would be able to…let’s say…board a train.”
Harry had all the three Hallows in his possession when he walked up to Voldemort that night. He had the Invisibility Cloak bequeathed to him by his father, the Resurrection Stone that he obtained from the snitch and finally, he was master of the Elder Wand as well after disarming Draco Malfoy.
If Harry had chosen to fight Voldemort, the Elder Wand would have lost its allegiance to Harry since Harry presumably would have lost to Voldemort. Since Harry did not fight Voldemort, he was still master of the Elder Wand. Harry then, was master of all the three Hallows, at that moment. He was above death and was immortal.
WippitGuud backs up his theory with the fact that after Harry comes back to life, he tells Voldemort,
“I’ve done what my mother did. Haven’t you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can’t torture them. You can’t touch them.”
By sacrificing himself and accepting death, he gave the people in Hogwarts the same kind of protection his mother gave him by sacrificing herself for him.
However, one discrepancy in the theory is that, for a Horcrux to be destroyed the container had to be destroyed but Harry’s body was left intact.
Debates will rage on, for now it’s for you the chew over Rowling and Dumbledore’s mysterious ways.