Well... maybe not. At least, I don't think he is.

I must admit, J.K. completely got me. I fell for it all, hook, line and sinker.

I waited on line at midnight on July 16 to be among the first to get a copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, like millions of others around the world, and I had it completely read by the afternoon of the next day.

Caught up in the roller coaster of J.K.'s marvelous and fantastic mysteries, Snape's betrayal and the death of Dumbledore caught me completely by surprise. Dumbledore was dead, and on top of that, Snape had done it.

My brand-new copy of Half-Blood Prince became as tear-stained as one of Hagrid's notes, and I remained upset about it all the rest of the day.

But after sleeping on it, the next day I realized that there were important clues about Snape and Dumbledore that I had missed. And the more I looked back, the more clues I found, realizing that they had been there all along.

And all of the clues point to two possibilities, that Dumbledore's not really dead, or at the very least, that Snape's not really a Death Eater, and he killed Dumbledore because Dumbledore ordered him to, as part of a grand plan.

I've created this web site for Harry Potter fans who were just as upset as I was upon first reading the new book, to help them understand and feel better about the mysterious "death" of Dumbledore. Think of this site as Half-Blood Prince therapy.

While of course only J.K. knows for sure, at least we can comfort ourselves with the possiblity that there's more going on at the end of Half-Blood Prince than meets the eye.

I don't think finding these clues is wishful thinking. We know J.K. intentionally hides many clues in her books, daring her readers to be what our friends at Wizarding World Press call "HP Sleuths", uncovering the details of the mystery she so masterfully weaves into the fabric of the Harry Potter books.

If you need more convincing that J.K. hides clues in her books, take a look at this non-Dumbledore-death-related example, which uses actual quotes from the book as we will be doing throughout this website (page numbers from US edition/UK edition):

This left Harry, Ron and Hermione to share a table with Ernie. They chose one nearest a gold-colored cauldron that was emitting one of the most seductive scents Harry had ever inhaled: Somehow it reminded him simultaneously of treacle tart, the woody smell of a broomstick handle, and something flowery he thought he might have smelled at the Burrow. (HBP pg 183/174)

"You recognized it, I suppose, by its distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen?" "And the steam rising in characteristic spirals," said Hermione enthusiastically, "and it's supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us.." (HBP pg 185/176)

"Hang on," a voice said to Harry's left ear and he caught a sudden waft of that flowery smell he had picked up in Slughorn's dungeon. He looked around and saw that Ginny had joined them. (HBP pg 192/182)

There, in the span of approximately nine pages, J.K. has laid out clues that Harry likes Ginny, and we know now that in the course of the book he does come to that conclusion.

On this site we'll discuss the various clues all throughout Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that will help us get through the tragedy at the end of the book.

And while we do this, we will be declaring our love and admiration for Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and stand together with Harry in declaring that we're "Dumbledore's man" (or woman), never giving up on him, and never forgetting what he means to Harry, Hogwarts and us.

As Harry so poignantly reminded us upon Scrimgeour's insistance that Dumbledore was dead:

"Such loyalty is admirable, or course," said Scrimgeour, who seemed to be restraining his irritation with difficulty, "but Dumbledore is gone, Harry. He's gone." "He will only be gone from the school when none here are loyal to him," said Harry, smiling in spite of himself.