In the Hope that You Will be Mortal Once More
The Dashed Hope of R.A.B.
Using this fairly safe assumption, we can guess that Regulus somehow stole Slytherin's locket from the inferi-filled cave. In this essay, we'll leapfrog past the question of how he did it and consider what happened next? We'll comb through the text to guess how Regulus died and, more importantly, what he's going to do in book seven.
(All Half-blood Prince quotes are from the U.S. hardcover edition. All other quotes are from U.S. paperback editions. All boldface has been added to quotations.)
| Help me, Severus, I'm dying! |
|---|
In Harry's first Potions class, Snape brags that, "I can teach you how to... even stopper death" (SS/PS page 137). He lives up to this boast, too. In Half-blood Prince, he helped Dumbledore with the curse from Gaunt's ring (page 503); he tended Katie after she brushed the opal necklace (page 259); and Dumbledore sent for him again after returning from the cave (page 580).
Now, in case we've forgotten, Snape was in Slytherin at Hogwarts. He thought Sirius Black and his pals were gits. He was recruited as a Death Eater when he was very young and he eventually betrayed the Dark Lord.
Sound like anyone else we know?
This is not incontrovertible proof that Regulus and Snape were well-acquainted, but Rowling has given us enough that we shouldn't be surprised. So when Regulus returned from the cave, possibly on the threshhold of death, he might have called for Snape. (We already know that Regulus survived long enough to be killed by Death Eaters rather than perishing from a mysterious curse -- "he was murdered by Voldemort. Or on Voldemort's orders..." (OotP page 112))
If you like subtle "hidden clues", there are plenty in the drawing room at Grimmauld Place to suggest Snape's involvement. There is "an ornate crystal bottle with a large opal set into the stopper" (OotP page 106). That ought to make us think of someone who can "stopper death" and who once stoppered a near-death from an opal necklace.
There is also a silver instrument that scuttled "like a spider" (OotP page 116) and "spiders large as saucers" (OotP page 117). These should point very clearly to Snape, who lives on Spinner's End (HBP chapter 2), shoots down flies as a child (OotP page 591-2), and walked in a manner "that recalled a spider" (OotP page 643).
So, anyway: Snape might have been pleased to show off his skill while doing something really nice for Regulus. But once the orders came down that Regulus was to be killed as a deserter, Snape wouldn't be so happy. He'd probably guess that Regulus had been cursed while doing something traitorous, which meant that he, Snape, was an accessory. Whether Snape had yet turned his allegiance or not, he wouldn't want anyone to find out. So if Regulus has to to die, sooner is better than later for Snape.
| Cousin Bella! What a Surprise! |
|---|
One Death Eater who certainly knew Regulus is his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange. I wouldn't be surprised if she'd recruited him in the first place. But would she volunteer to join the party sent to kill her own flesh and blood?
"If I had sons, I would be glad to give them up to the service of the Dark Lord!"
(Bellatrix, HBP page 35)
Indeed she would. Regulus being her cousin would make her more eager take responsibility for snuffing him out. And in the process, she'd likely be curious to know what he did and why.
From the plight of Frank and Alice Longbottom, tortured into insanity, we know exactly how Bellatrix interrogates people. Now, imagine that she's caught up to Regulus and applied the Cruciatus Curse. He is suffering terribly, and he could start to talk about Snape's role at any moment.
So if Snape has weaseled his way into the killing party, he's got to do something. He's got to kill Regulus. It is both an act of mercy and a way of protecting himself. It has the appearance of being loyal to Voldemort, too. Mind you, Bellatrix wouldn't be too pleased at having her torture session interrupted -- and we get hints of this grudge in later years:
"Master, I am sorry, I knew not, I was fighting the Animagus Black!" sobbed Bellatrix...
(OotP page 812)
Not the sniveling, under-talented, fresh-out-of-Hogwarts Regulus Black, but the Animagus Black. Besides, thinks Bellatrix, she is the one who found and/or tortured and/or disabled Regulus. Snape just finished him off:
"The Dark Lord is satisfied with the information I have passed him...it certainly helped dispose of Sirius Black, though I give you full credit for finishing him off."
(Snape to Bellatrix, HBP page 30)
We'll look at more evidence for the roles of Snape and Bellatrix later. But first, let's see what happened to Regulus after he died.
| Why Some Wizards Come Back |
|---|
"I was afraid of death," said Nick.
(OotP page 861)
According to his note, Regulus fully expected to die for deserting and/or stealing the locket. So that couldn't possibly apply to him. Or could it?
Well, yes, I think it does. We need only glance at the note to see that Regulus set the conditions under which he was willing to face death:
...it was I who discovered your secret. I have taken the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more.
(HBP page 609)
The note reveals a plan that has gone haywire. Regulus isn't counting on anyone else to destroy the locket ("I discovered your secret..."). He failed to destroy the locket himself and we can assume Regulus knows he didn't destroy it. So when Regulus died, he was fully aware of the fact that Voldemort was unkillable owing to the existence of his Horcrux.
Regulus's hope has been dashed. The condition was not met. Regulus is afraid of death, not for what it means to him, but for the terrible situation (immortal Voldemort) that he has left behind. Worse, he seems to believe that he alone knew Voldemort's great secret.
Rowling has let a few more clues slip during interviews, too. During a chat in 2000, when asked why some people come back as ghosts, she revealed that we "don't really find that out until Book VII." So Sir Nick's word was not the final word. Even better, when asked specifically about Regulus, she had this to say:
Q: Will we be hearing anything from Sirius Black's brother, Regulus, in future books?
JK Rowling: Well, he's dead, so he's pretty quiet these days.
(World Book Day Chat, 2004)
Doesn't that just reek of evasion? She confirmed that Regulus is dead, but refused to say we wouldn't see him again. Even better, she reminded us of something that must be true if Regulus is a ghost: "He's pretty quiet".
| Keeping His Silence |
|---|
If Regulus came back as a ghost, he had over thirteen years to tell Dumbledore about the locket so it could be destroyed. But clearly he didn't. So there must be some reason that he cannot. What could it be?
When Regulus set out to find and destroy the locket, he knew he was undertaking a suicide mission. He could have anticipated the danger of being caught and interrogated before destroying it. That would be a fate worse than death (and death would follow anyway). If this were a spy movie, he would've carried a capsule of potassium cyanide to commit suicide before revealing his secrets. If this were Star Trek, he'd have a neural depolarizer implanted.
These things don't show up in the wizarding world, of course, but Rowling has provided a magical equivalent: The Unbreakable Vow. All Regulus had to do was swear against discussing his theft and he'd have a good contingency plan.
To some extent, it must have worked. Voldemort never learned the locket had been stolen (at the least, he never recovered it from Grimmauld Place, which would have been only too easy for him). But on the down side, it inhibits what Regulus can do as a ghost. The Vow still binds him and he can't get any help.
Don't think a ghost can be held to a vow? Try suggesting that to a ghost and see what he/she says:
"I have assured the spirit community that I will not pester you for information, however. 'Harry Potter knows that he can confide in me with complete confidence,' I told them. 'I would rather die than betray his trust'."and
"That's not saying much, seeing as you're already dead," Ron observed.
"Once again, you show all the sensitivity of a blunt axe," said Nearly Headless Nick...
(HBP page 165)
"I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, and I'll take his secret to the--"
"--not the grave, surely?" said Ron with a snort. "The sewers, maybe..."
Myrtle gave a howl of rage and dived back into the toilet...
(HBP page 462)
These are anvil-sized hints -- two of them, just to play fair with the reader and make sure we know (or can at least look back after reading Deathly Hallows and agree) that an oath or vow can affect a ghost.
So we now have a tentative portrait of the ghost of Regulus Black: Tortured by Bellatrix, killed by Snape, and held to silence. It's time to call for a lineup and pick him out.
| The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black |
|---|
The Black Family aren't real nobility, of course. Lupin tells Harry,
"There are no wizarding princes...Is this a title you're thinking of adopting?"
(HBP page 336)
Meanwhile, Sirius tells Harry that, according to Sirius's parents,
"to be a Black made you practically royal...my idiot brother, soft enough to believe them..."
(OotP page 111)
The last part is most important. Regulus believed it. Conveniently, his name means 'petty king' in Latin.
Rowling continues driving home this point in the drawing room at Grimmauld Place. In the same paragraph where the locket is espied, Sirius bashes the magical tweezers with a book titled Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy (OotP page 116).
So the only "noble titles" in the wizarding world are those that are adopted. Blacks think they're noble, and Regulus believes it.
See where this is going?
"...gave himself an impressive new name -- Lord Voldemort -- the Half-Blood Prince -- how could Dumbledore have missed--?"
(HBP page 637)
The Bloody Baron?
He fits perfectly.
| Gaunt, Staring, and Bloody Quiet |
|---|
The Bloody Baron is unnaturally quiet, just as we'd expect for Regulus. He is never heard speaking to a live human.
The Baron even looks like one of Bellatrix's victims. We are given a very good description of Alice Longbottom:
Her face was thin and worn now, her eyes seemed overlarge...
(OotP 23)
This matches the Baron:
...blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood.
(SS/PS page 124)
...they passed the Bloody Baron... his wide eyes staring sinisterly.
(GoF page 372)
But when it comes to distinctive marks, nothing can match those silvery bloodstains. Ignoring all other evidence, they tell us that the Baron -- who must have been a wizard to be a ghost -- was probably killed in recent years, because he was done in by a spell that was only recently invented:
Sectumsempra.
Sharp weapons cause localized damaged. A sword or knife would leave a wound which could be identified. We've been shown ghosts who are headless (and one nearly headless), and at the Deathday Party there is "a knight with an arrow sticking out of his forehead" (CoS page 132). In order for the Baron to be "covered" in blood, he must have been slashed in several places at once, so as to spread the damage before he bled to death; that suggests it was done by magic; which means... sectumsempra.
| Dumbledore and Death Omens |
|---|
The deaths of Regulus Black and Albus Dumbledore are both linked to Slytherin's locket and the cave. Each of them perished (in some way) after attempting to thwart the defences and steal the Horcrux.
Curiously, even before I ever made any guesses about Regulus, I'd thought the Baron was something of a "personal death omen" for Dumbledore. We now know that Dumbledore met his death on the Astronomy Tower. Way back in Goblet of Fire, the Baron made this rare appearance after a Divination class:
...they were still doing star charts and predictions
...
[Trelawney:] "As I sat here, absorbed in my needlework, the urge to consult the orb overpowered me.... and what do you think I saw gazing back at me?...Death, my dears."
...
...they passed the Bloody Baron going in the opposite direction, his wide eyes staring sinisterly.
(GoF page 371-372)
The Astronomy Professor's name is "Sinistra" (a variant of "sinister"). The class is looking at star charts (astronomy) and Trelawney is predicting death. Even the needlework can point to Dumbledore, who later claims, "I do love knitting patterns." (HBP page 73).
Nearer the end of book six, Sir Nick tells Harry that he last saw the Bloody Baron,
"...groaning and clanking up on the Astronomy Tower, it's a favorite pastime of his--"
(HBP page 493)
There is the Astronomy Tower itself, the site of Dumbledore's doom.
Best of all, the link between the Baron, star charts, and astronomy is meaningful quite aside from Dumbledore. Regulus is the name of a star.
Finally, there is another excellent theory about death omens in the form of mud, dirt and dung (like the name Cedric Diggory). I'll spare you the details, but the relevant victim for this essay is Albus Dumbledore, who was "given" a name which has the appropriate omen:
"Dumbledore's name's mud with the Ministry these days, see," said Fred.
(OotP page 71)
Think about that. Dumbledore's name is mud. How do you get 'mud' out of Dumbledore? It is a reversal of the first three letters of his last name:
Albus DUMbledore's name is MUD.
Now apply that same rule to the ghost who groans and clanks on the Astronomy Tower shortly before Dumbledore's demise, and you get:
Bloody BARon's name is RAB.
| The Baron's Role in Deathly Hallows |
|---|
We should ask ourselves why Rowling created the whole mystery of R.A.B. Without additional complications, it's too easily solved. If Regulus is just some dead guy, he's not going to add much more to the story. Most importantly, Harry doesn't need him to find the locket! It's already been taken from the cave. Tracking it down should be a simple matter of looking under the floorboards at Grimmauld Place, or, at the worst, catching Mundungus on his way out of Azkaban.
To answer the question, just look at what Rowling has already done. She's used every conceivable means to introduce a character who was not what he or she seemed to be -- Polyjuice Potion, unregestired Animagi, even books -- and she's used them all more than once.
Remember Scabbers? For two whole books, he was just a rat. Then we were told about the allegedly dead Peter Pettigrew. Then something happened to reveal Pettigrew, break his silence, and make him a critical player in the story.
For several volumes, the Baron was just a ghost. Now we've learned about Regulus and R.A.B. Now something needs to happen to break his silence so he can play the rest of his part.
So this is the Unbreakable Vow I imagine he took:
"I vow never to speak of the locket nor its theft until the Horcrux is destroyed."
It's simple, it serves his immediate purpose, and it allows him to start talking once Harry takes care of the locket.
This is guesswork, of course. But even if I'm completely wrong about the Vow, there are other ways for Regulus to be set free. For example, his silence could be a by-product of defensive magic from the locket, set off when he attempted to destroy it.
Whatever the means, he will have plenty to share with Harry: Information about Snape and Voldemort, helpful pointers for any magical items still lying around Grimmauld Place, and possibly even some leads on the other Horcruxes. Then when all is said and done, they might even make a toast to the dearly departed Sirius.
Do you have an addition, objection, or comment? You can discuss this theory on HPANA.
(Click here to register to use the forums)
Home Predictions In-depth Theories Magic of Music Links & Resources Top Twelve Lists Journal Archives Credits & Copyrights FanFic Forum FAQ Picture Gallery Book Seven Facts Fun Stuff Customize
© 2007 Jason Drake