[Commonmind]

There are a ton of discussions about this elsewhere, and even a few older ones here on these boards. I've read a few of them, and like everyone else, have my own opinions. Please don't read on if you've not finished The Half-Blood Prince.

First things first: Everyone has an opinion of whether or not Dumbledore is actually dead. I, for one, do not believe that he is. Dumbledore's injured hand is one clue to this, as is quite a bit of the dialog he shares with Harry throughout his lessons. My belief, is that Dumbledore's dead hand is actually the product of himself and Snape trying to find a way to thwart the Death Curse, that in secret, they have been practicing how to use it on Dumbledore while not actually killing him. For one thing, Snape did not need to kill Dumbledore himself, but I believe he acted on it upon Dumbledore's orders, to get closer to Voldermort; Dumbledore knew the only way for Snape to gain Voldermort's full and complete trust, he would have to make it appear as if Snape had committed the ultimate act of devotion, by killing the only man that Voldermort actually fears.

I know the hand theory is a bit flimsy, but Dumbledore told Harry throughout the book that he would tell him how it came to be the way that it was, and I don't believe for a minute that the passing story of it being the product of him trying to destroy a cursed item fits when Dumbledore said it was a tale worth explaining in full detail. My theory is that Dumbledore will eventually explain this, of course, in Book 7, telling Harry how Snape and he learned how to thwart the curse. Dumbledore says, on numerous occasions that he trusts Snape completely, and Dumbledore, though admittedly he has made mistakes, has always seemed to possess a certain omniscience and knack for foresight. It could be that the Horcrux Ring he wore helped to protect him, and Snape and Dumbeldore reasoned out its properties.

Another important fact that lends itself to this theory, is how Dumbledore did not allow Harry to help during the scene in which came his demise, knowing full well Harry would have been capable of helping him fend off the Death Eaters, as he proved in TOotP. It is my belief his delaying of Draco and his pleading to Snape (as if to say, please, you must do this) and him rendering Harry immobile, was a well formed and calculated plan. He may not have known it was coming on the night they returned, but he probably understood very well what was going to happen and developed his plan so that it would work when it needed to.

A few other things I believe lends itself to this theory, Dumbledore would have wanted to devote himself to the task of finding and destroying the Horcruxes, and probably knew it best to leave Hogwarts in someone else's hands so that he could take on this task, helping Harry in secret, and helping him to destroy Voldermort. Also, the Phoenix, who left the Castle after his song was sung, and we know that Fawkes was Dumbledore's faithful pet, and would leave with him if Dumbledore chose to go into hiding. He did say he was quite busy and didn't have a lot of time, and in a sense I think his choosing to stage his own death served both the purpose of reinforcing Voldermort's trust into Snape, and also giving him the ability to leave Hogwarts in the hands of those whom could devote the time to the school.

Snape has on several occasions, saved Harry from harm, and despite his explanations to Bellatrix in the beginning of Half-Blood Prince, I believe he really is working on the right side. Even on the way out of the castle, Snape saved his life for a final time, saying that he was to be spared for Lord Voldermort (if he was to be spared for Voldermort, why did Snape not go back for Harry, when he was helpless, and deliver him to the Dark Lord then); it could well be the case that Voldermort wants to kill Harry personally, but we have to wonder if Voldermort doesn't simply want Harry dead, no matter what or whom causes it; we could speculate that he wouldn't care as long as Harry was killed. Of course, there are other things that say otherwise, that he does in fact want to slay Harry himself, or believes he must, but it is still very convenient that Snape has played the role of protector as much as he has. Also, I don't believe the Potions book was accidentally left behind by Snape, but was a plant. There were too many things about the book that were helpful to Harry, including the curse in which he almost killed Draco (and, wink-wink, allowed Snape to fulfill his Unbreakable Vow)

Now, there are arguments to be said about the body, the funeral and a plethora of other things, and all I can say to that is Dumbledore is undoubtedly a master of smoke and mirrors and likely could have arranged the entire event so that no one, including Harry, would think he was alive. The painting being in the study, well that could easily be an enchantment, as we well know, Dumbledore is an extremely powerful wizard, and I don't believe we've even touched the surface of what he's capable of (there were hints to this in The Cave, where Dumbledore began speaking in other languages, showing the reader that there may be more to the man than his wand and robes). And most of the other questions boiling in my brain-cauldron are hard to answer, but we can be sure that there will be a huge twist in Book 7, and the way Dumbledore's death affected most readers, I'm sure the elation of his return would have an even bigger impact (akin to Gandalf returning to the fellowship in Lord of the Rings).

Now, I know that a lot of people feel these Dumbledore is alive theories are based on the fact that we don't want him to be dead, and that is partly true in some cases. I assure you, though I am a fan of Dumbledore, the theory came out of questions I was asking myself about the plot, and not because I want to see him come back. I wanted Sirius back more than anyone else, merely because he got a bad deal, and because Harry would probably have been truly happy for once in his life had he been able to build a more robust relationship with his Godfather.

Oh well, that's about it I guess. There's probably a ton of other things I forgot to mention, but as I just got done rereading the book in anticipation of July, I'm a bit overloaded and can't scrape any more thoughts together.