I think it's awesome that a bunch of people figured out RAB before Deathly Hallows came out. Even before SCB, Harry Potter theories were a thing of beauty.
The gum wrapper Neville keeps is one of those moments that I'll randomly remember and get deeply emotional over because good god the intensity of the emotion in that small moment. I do kinda wish he'd had that moment taking out Bellatrix lol
I remember scoffing when my friend's older brother said he thought Snape was in love with Lily. I also wrote a full essay, complete with citations, about how Snape did not kill Dumbledore and it was really Bellatrix with Polyjuice.
my first theory was from a kid who had figured out that harry was indeed a secret horcrux and had to die. he surmised that harry would come back however because dumbledore is in fact not dead and teaches harry to come back from the dead like he did. basically, dumbledore is a secret animagus as a phoenix and teaches harry. the need for dumbledore not to be dead was very prevalent back then!
I still remember the first time I read Dumbledore’s death scene. I cried like a child for ages. I think it took me a full day before I could go back to reading the book because I was so gutted.
i figured out about the locket. when they found that the horcrux was a fake, i immediately thought of the locket from when they were cleaning the house.
Rightttt!!! Me and my bro grabbed OOTP and found that bit about the locket no one could open! Then hoped Kreacher had stolen it and just had to wait... For a book! The torture 😂
@@almudd I was waiting for that locket to end up meaning something and it did, but lots of people also thought that Mark Evans would mean something and he never did.
My fan theory was that it would turn out that Harry was actually a squib. His only magical abilities were the ones he gained when Voldy attacked him as a baby. Harry would have to make the huge sacrifice of giving up his future as a wizard to finish off you-know-who.
@@coolnerdlll6053 - Thanks, I liked it a lot and thought there was a pretty good chance I'd figured out how the final book would go. I was wrong, of course, but I still think it was a good guess.
Would’ve been an amazing and tense reveal, but how would they have known that beforehand? Harry wouldn’t have known he was a Squib, and no one else would have either because they can’t tell that themselves, hence why Neville was believed a Squib until much later in his childhood.
I had an opposite theory. I thought it was going to turn out Dudley was a wizard, but Dumbledore suppressed his abilities as part of a deal with Petunia so Vernon wouldn't find out.
If y'all liked this little exploration of the past, I think there's a lot more potential here for more videos. Could do each book one by one, going over what you were _supposed_ to think (Snape stealing the Stone) vs what clues there were that it wasn't actually the case. Basically picking apart how you were supposed to "solve" each story's "mystery", or see certain twists coming. Who was the one opening the Chamber? What signs were there that Sirius wasn't after Harry? What hints were there that Mad Eye wasn't the real Moody? So on and so on. I for one think that would be truly fascinating to explore.
New theory: since wizards can travel between their portraits, all the Dumbledore portraits on the Chocolate Frog cards are connected and report back to Dumbledore, and with advent of his portrait in the Headmaster’s office, it gives them a central point.
I always much preferred Molly being the one to take out Bellatrix rather than Neville. Not only is it more surprising, but the symbolism of a mother's love (Molly) triumphing over obsessive lust (Bellatrix) is more poetic than just straight up revenge.
@@satana8157 IMO that just makes the scene more badass. We always seen Mrs Weasley as a housewife and mother. But then she outright wrecks Bellatrix. I think in the book, even Harry is astounded by her power.
My friend and I were convinced Fawkes was Dumbledore’s horcrux during the lead up to deathly hallows. We thought dumbledore killed grindelwald during their duel, and he was then able to make a horcrux to help defeat Voldemort
what would interest me a lot is if he could make one even if he hadn’t killed Ariana during the duel. Considering he didn’t know and really tormented himself over it, blaming her death on himself could be seen as much more “soul splitting” than voldemort’s careless murders of others to make his own. I’d still be skeptical of him choosing to make a horcrux even if he could’ve considering the other lore theorized with that process (cannibalism, etc.), though it could work with that being the time of his life he was influenced by Grindelwald and being yet another imperfection of dumbledoor using life altering dark magic. definitely an interesting one that is fun to think about :)
This is super interesting. Fawkes is literally immortal, so if he was a horcrux and somebody attempted to destroy the horcrux inside Fawkes, would the horcrux actually be destroyed? Or would Fawkes simply burst into flames and come back with the horcrux still attached? I’m assuming the horcrux would simply be destroyed and Fawkes would continue to live on, but if the horcrux cannot be destroyed within an immortal being, then it would be impossible to kill Dumbledore 😮
@@AdamIsaacs4637 yeah, I think that was a good point my friend made back in the day when we would discuss this theory. And when you factor in fawkes coming in to save Harry in the chamber of secrets, it really felt like everything made sense. I think it makes sense that he didn’t create the horcrux, because even with dumbledore being power hungry in his youth, I think he wouldn’t have been able to bring himself to actually perform the act of putting his soul into another living being. But we were 11/12 in the lead up to the deathly hallows, and we didn’t really consider the ramifications of what creating a horcrux would hold. We just thought, oh hey, that sounds like something super handy to defeat Voldemort. Lol.
My brother guessed RAB was regulus black, I guessed that Dumbledore planned his death with snape. We werent aware of the online theory community at the time, I was 12 when HBP came out and he was 13. Im still proud I got it right about snape because my brother, my grandmother and our two friends that also read Harry potter all said I was an idiot for thinking it 😂😂
Ahh, this made me so nostalgic. I was 18 when Deathly Hallows finally came out, but I had read every single theory article on the few big HP sites at the time. I loved the ones that were so well-argued. I had no idea which ones I believed (I remember thinking the Snape-loves-Lily theory seemed really far-fetched 😆), but they were immensely fun to read and ponder.
To be honest, I always thought after Dumbledore said that Peter was in Harry’s debt that Peter would end up saving Harry’s life in the end, thus redeeming himself and proving himself a true Gryffindor…guess I was wrong lol
Man that first theory brought up a memory. I was so sure that Pettigrew killing Lupin was gonna happen and that Voldy have Peter the *silver* hand JUST for that. Like that's why it was specially a silver hand.
I was quite pleased with myself for instantly recognising RAB. My first response was, "Oh, so Regulus!" and was waiting for the details more than the reveal. I think he's only mentioned in one conversation between Harry and Sirius once before the locket is found, but don't quote me
I’ve always wondered when you guys actually post - as I live in Norway. Today I finally realized, as I’ve stayed up way past any reasonable bedtime. I am so grateful there is midnight sun outside!
I agree! I was reading the books as they came out, but i wasn't really online and interacting with the fan community or anything, so I have no clue what they were thinking at the time. I would love to know, for example, what fans were theorizing in between books four and five. That would require some real internet sleuthing!
I remember reading a fan theorie that Sirius wasn't really dead, and would be able to return. Since he died of a stunner and fell into the veil, and no one was really sure what lies behind it. I also remember that I had so much hope it would be real, up to the point where I was expecting it to happen D: It was such a bummer that it wasn't the case tho :P
I always think that he was working with the good team, but he wasnt a good person, and after the six book I thought Drako wouldnt became good but he wouldnt becaeme a really bad one, or a death eather
Chocolate Frog cards are a way for Dumbledore to watch and hear the kids all over the school. They would be in every dorm room. Dumbledore probably had one in his office so the pictures could visit if the kids were up to no good
Awesome theories!! I absolutely love how the story goes in many directions only to merge perfectly in the end. I agree that Neville killing Belatrix would have been extremely satisfying! Lol. Great show Ben! I love SCB content and look forward to every episode.
I remember reading the line about Dumbledore’s look of triumph, and it bothered me, because I was convinced he was a death eater, and that was the hint to the reader and I really didn’t want the book to go down that path
RAB was the first theory I came up with on my own and was the first one that it turned out I was right. I started reading Harry Potter around the time the second book was released. Being from the Netherlands, I read the Dutch translations of the books. But by the time Goblet of Fire was released, I was so eager to read the next installment that I didn't want to wait the additional 6 months for the Dutch translation to be done, so I switched to the English books. And when the Dutch translation would become available I'd read that one as well. One of the quirks of the Dutch translation though, is that they also try to translate some of the names, or at least use a Dutch version of the same name. The surname Black in English is Zwarts in Dutch, so Sirius was called Sirius Zwarts in the Dutch translation. When I read the English version of Half Blood Prince, I had no idea who RAB could be. But when I read the Dutch version, the initials were RAZ, not RAB. I immediately thought that had to be related to the Black/Zwarts family. That's how I came up with Regulus, also because he was specifically named in HBP as well.
You are 100% right about that GoF line being criminally underrated! I remember reading the books for the second time and when I got that line it was like 🤯 OMG!
I miss the days of theorizing what was going to happen! I was convinced snape didn't really kill Dumbledore and used a nonverbal spell (which he'd been teaching all year in DADA)! How wrong I was, but it was fun to theorize!
@@harringt100 I had the same theory, so I just guessed you could say one spell (say: expelliarmus) and actually think another non verbally (ex: protego) to shoot that one (so protego) but it was really hard to do and required a lot of focus, so not normally used.
@@harringt100 I don't think the books ever established that silent spells worked this way, but he would have to be silently casting a spell while saying avada kedavra, the same way you would sneak a spell while having a mundane muggle conversation. The books never say you can do this, but it's not a huuge stretch for theorycrafters to assume. There's also precedent for the face that saying "avada kedavra" on it's own doesn't do anything if you don't really hate your target. Which barely comes up in the story after getting introduced with the only connection being crucio working similarly
Paintings leaving their frames to go to other portraits of themselves is something I think we only see the paintings in the Headmaster's office doing. All the other paintings in the castle have to travel through other paintings to get to wherever they are going . Like the Fat Lady going to see her friend on New Year's (or Christmas?) or Sir Cadogan keeping up with them through other paintings as they rush to Divination.
While I didn’t expect that Snape would die but Am I the only who who thought that at least another Hogwarts professor like The head of Gryffindor would end up dying? Or maybe even thought that Draco or Lucius Malfoy or another Weasley besides Fred was going to end up dying?????
For me I would have liked if instead of crabbe dying they all made it out of the room, but then, Draco like sacrifices himselft to destroy the diadem. It would have been a good moment after half blood where he was a death eater sacrificing himself to help kill voldy would be cool
Probably not. It works kinda strange -- Dumbledore mentions to Severus that he wouldn't be ripping his soul to save an old man of humiliation (or something along those words). So one would think Neville wouldn't be ripping his soul for killing a dangerous dark witch. (Plus, really wanted to see some good guys cast more unforgivables - it's war, right?)
I don't think Neville is a killer. Snape's situation is different I think. Even Harry didn't want Sirius and Remus to kill Peter, because James wouldn't want his best friends to be murderers. Now that I think of it there aren't many kills that are 'justified' if you wanna call it that way. Harry knew what he was doing to Voldy but you could still call it self defense, same goes for Mrs. Weasley. Maybe it could have worked for Neville in some way but I'm happy it didn't happen.
@@casssieboyyeah but Harry also tried to torture bellatrix out of revenge and that isn’t in his character either. Drastic situations can change things.
@@JennifuhhGilardi THat was a very instinct reaction for Harry, for all the pain that he had suffered and seen Sirius die, but he couldnt do it because he was a bad person, and even in the end he fired the expel curse
I remember spending a lot of time on mugglenet and veritaserium web pages. There were so many theories back then. I remember how excited everyone got for books 5, 6, 7 and going to the internet as soon as we finished the books.
I remember the time between books 4 and 5, it was the peak of HP craze and I got to ear some theories from friends in a time when the Internet was barely there. I remember "Harry Potter and the Green Flame" to be a rumored future title. There was also the theory that Voldemort had a daughter who would secretly attend Hogwarts in year 6 or 7. And of course, there was the big theory that Dumbledore was the actual big bad, because of "the gleam" in book 4.
I think you guys would have a field day with Stormlight. The scope of the universe could prove a tad tricky, but I'd absolutely love to see you try. SCB-Brando sometime soon please?
Harry thinking in his head before 1vs1 against Voldemort: "Help me for God's sake!" Ron: "Should... should we help him?" Arthur *places his hand on Ron's shoulder* "Can't you see he has to fight this battle on his own"
0:18 Instead of Randy Savage, I imagined… “Let me tell you, something, brother. Pottermania is runnin’ wild!” ~Hulk Hogan P. S. My uncle called it that R. A. B. was Regulas after he first read The Half-Blood Prince. He also predicted Snape being in love with Lily months before the final book’s release.
I was absolutely sure that Snape was on Dumbledore's side and that Dumbledore asked him to kill him, just as it turned out. I figured that had to be true because of Snape being in the Foe Glass in book 4. And he wasn't a double agent, he was a mole.
I just knew that we were meant to trust Snape like Dumbledore did because of Dumbledore's role as the sort of infallible deity type character in the story.
@@shashankshekhar6952 What happens the very first time he's ever away from the Dursley's, he gets a bedroom What happens when he stops living with them, Dudley starts being nice What happens when Harry has an extended stay with the Weasley's for the Quidditch championship, Ron stops being friends What happens when the trio are on the run together, Ron stops being friends The Dursley's love Dudley so it's not like they're pure evil, and we find out Aunt Petunia kept Harry's blanket and always loved her sister
@@hungrypandastudios6213 it makes soo much sense bro... I've been thinking about this all day and it keeps getting more reasonable 😃 just can't seem to explain why aunt Marge was the way she was...
@@hungrypandastudios6213 Harry gets a bedroom during book 1. They give it to him over the summer and only because the letters addressed to him said cupboard under the stairs. If Harry made those around him evil, then it would have affected Ron more than just on those occasions. All his classmates, especially his bunk mated, would have been affected, and they weren't. There are very good reasons for why Ron turned on Harry at those times, and you can't just claim that they fall in line with your theory just because some of them happen to coincide with prolonged periods, not when no one else has that issue. At the end of the day, if this had a kernel of truth, then JK would have added more clues and would have made it a central idea, but she didn't because it isn't a thing or it didn't occur to her to add that in. The theory is fun, but it simply isn't true. The Dursleys are just bad people. On a separate note: the locket didn't make Ron hate the locket, it just generally made him irritable. If Harry worked the same way, then his horcrux wouldn't have made the Dursleys hate him, it would have just made them more irritable towards each other. And they cared about each other a lot. Harry wasn't the source of their hate, he was the object of it.
My all-time favorite HP theory was one I found in a book analyzing the first four in the lead-up to the fifth. It was that Remus and James switched bodies as part of a prank and thus, Remus was dead and James was in his body and that’s why Remus was so intent on being close to Harry while at Hogwarts and Grimmauld Place.
I'm pretty sure J.K. Has said in multiple interviews that she meant Ron to die but then couldn't go through with it in the end. I could be misremembering though.
I figured out RAB was Regulus , cause I read the first 6 books in a span of just over month. I had gotten tired of my friends telling me what was left out. My pre - Deathly Hollows theory regarding Wormtail was that while he was given to hand to take out Remus, he used it to take out Greyback in order to protect the Harry and the Weasleys. Another theory I liked was Sirius’s wand had been turned into a Portkey before he fell through the vale. So he was being held prisoner somewhere. Remember Bellatrix’s spell in the books was red, not green.
You guys were the first theory I heard(What if Harry Potter Was In Slytherin) and now I'm a full-fledged fan of you guys for a while, Keep up the good work :D
The Death Eaters catching on to the chocolate frog cards is less likely, in my opinion, than communication through patronuses. I always thought it would be incredibly obvious to see a patronus leaving or entering a building and when you know a person's patronus you even know who sent the message.
A fanfic author, St. Margarets, figured out the connection the Vanishing Cabinet had to Diagon Alley before Half-Blood Prince came out. Harry uses the cabinet in her fic to rapidly get to London from Hogwarts. Another phenomenon you might want to look into is the small kerfluffle where the fanfiction The Seventh Horcrux was sold in some countries as a leaked copy of Deathly Hallows before it came out.
I have always been proud of younger me for catching the one line from Petuna in OOTP or HBP where she says "that boy" and harry tells her that if she means his father then he has a name. I knew she meant Snape. Granted I missed so many other more obvious things (like RAB) but still.
2:23 that’s me! The final book came out in when I was 5, and I read (actually listened to, via Jim Dale) all the books a million times. I wish I could say that I remember the first time I listened to the final book, but I just don’t
I loved speculating as the books were coming out! I was an adult, but my teenaged niece got me into them, and we would anxiously await each new one. I still have an email, printed out and tucked into my copy of book six, containing some of our guesses about book seven. - We did have the diadem (a.k.a "tarnished tiara") on our horcrux list.
You know, there is something that always got me. If Wizards can be invisible, use magic to mask/conceal themselves from outside forces, use artifats to hide, can be Animagus,, can obliviate minds, can erase memories....why on Earth did Dumbledore knock all those street lights out when Baby Harry was being delivered to the Dursleys'? I was just rewatching the series and just noticed this.
You’re wrong when you said “There’s still just a little bit of good left inside of everyone, except for Voldemort”. It’s “Voldemort and Umbridge”. And yeah, there’s something that is worse than death. As Hermione once said: Now if you two don’t mind, I’m going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us all killed, or worse EXPELLED.
I wouldn’t want Neville to destroy Bellatrix. I think he would have regretted it. He could go to visit his parents and tell them that Voltemort and his followers were no more and their tormentors were destroyed. It would have been nice if they could have smiled and maybe gained back their lives.
Almost all my theories were around Draco - he seemed like the mirror of Harry in so many ways, I was convinced he'd have a HUGE role in taking down Voldemort. Was very disappointed when that didn't happen.
Same, in book 6 it felt like it was building up to something bigger. And after reading the books when I watched the movies for the first time DH part 2 had this huge emphasis on a whole will he won't he be evil thing and it felt like a strange inclusion that wasn't in the 7th book.
I remember reading the book you mentioned. I didn't pay attention to the theories for whatever reason (the only one I remember seeing was that RAB was Regulus), but I remember being provided odds for all characters dying. Ironically, Dobby was given the best odds to survive...
Re: Neville killing Bellatrix. Honestly, I've always thought the final battle would have worked out better if Neville and Molly's roles were switched. Neville for revenge, it's a simple closing of his character arc. As for Molly, her family's always been of paramount importance - crucially not just her children. Nagini almost killed Arthur in the DoM, and was in the process of attacking Ron in the ruins of Hogwarts. If Molly had stepped in to kill Nagini, it would also have been nice closure to Ron's insecurities - "least loved...by a mother who wanted a daughter". The proof would be there if he saw the lengths she was willing to go to in order to protect him - in his eyes, the least important child
I love this video because I didn’t read the books when they came out like most folks. I had seen all the movies and caught most of them in theaters (the first two in my college dorm room), but never read the books. It wasn’t until SCB did a review on Cursed Child that I went back and read the books. I watched a review of Cursed Child and loved all the theory videos before that. This channel is also the reason I have a Pottermore account. So listening to this video helps me to get a peek into the thoughts and theories readers had at the time. I could only imagine. I have a different appreciation for the films and books, but I have a greater appreciation because of this channel. 🎉
when we were reading it with my friend group we DID notice the 'look of triumph' line at the time but we mistook the line to create a theory that Dumbledore was somehow actually evil lol. that 'look of triumph' was the topic of so much discussion back at the time... we definitely didnt read over it but we also did NOT get what it was actually pointing to either llol
I remember walking into a Barns & Nobel book store just before the Deathly Hallows came out. They were taking a poll on weather or not Snape was evil. About 76% of those polled (including myself) voted Not Evil. I remember thinking it obvious as if Snape were really evil and wanted Harry dead, he would have had several opportunities over the previous six years to do that. He even could have just not saved Harry and no one would have questioned his motives. There was also how he was behaving when he killed Dumbledore, he wasn't happy or smug, he was angry and resigned. Personally I believe it was peoples belief that Snape wasn't evil that made the idea that Dumbledore faking his own death that much more believable. A non evil Snape would never really kill Dumbledore.
I only wonder though how Regulus Black knew the locket had been a horcrux? Since Dumbledore banned it from the school before Regulus would've attended and not a lot of people even knew about horcruxes, it's a mystery to me how Regulus, especially being no older than 18, knew about such a dark art...?
Didn't he always lock himself away in his room studying? He probably stumbled upon the information by accident and then started to put things together.
Oh my god i bought the 7th book as soon as the shop opened and was silly enough to walk out reading it. Not even 10 meters from the door a guy in a €1000 suit came running up to me asking WHO DIED. Wow im a fast reader BUT NOT THAT FAST LOL
This takes me back, I remember we were on holiday in France while my parents finished the book within a week. I had to wait until the Dutch release because I was still a bit too young too read English. So happy they were able to keep everything to themselves
I also heard the theory that Harry was an orphan in an orphanage for the insane after extreme abuse from his aunt and uncle and that the stories were all happening in his head…and Voldemort is actually a manifestation of his uncle and bellatrix of his aunt… dumbledore is the owner and Molly his favorite caretaker.
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I think it's awesome that a bunch of people figured out RAB before Deathly Hallows came out. Even before SCB, Harry Potter theories were a thing of beauty.
Wasn't Regulus introduced in OOTP?
@@AlldaylongRock yes but a lot of sirius family members are and regulus is overshadow by belatrix
@@donb7519 But we knew that Regulus was a death eater, and that he turned on Voldemort. R and B are set. The A was the missing piece.
@@AlldaylongRock So just a guess back then
@@arunjoseph3256 aren't all theories just guesses until proof is shown
The gum wrapper Neville keeps is one of those moments that I'll randomly remember and get deeply emotional over because good god the intensity of the emotion in that small moment. I do kinda wish he'd had that moment taking out Bellatrix lol
I remember scoffing when my friend's older brother said he thought Snape was in love with Lily. I also wrote a full essay, complete with citations, about how Snape did not kill Dumbledore and it was really Bellatrix with Polyjuice.
I'd love to see some of the evidence from that essay. That's an interesting theory. Obviously debunked now, but still really neat.
@BrailleBennett I wish I still had it!
my first theory was from a kid who had figured out that harry was indeed a secret horcrux and had to die. he surmised that harry would come back however because dumbledore is in fact not dead and teaches harry to come back from the dead like he did. basically, dumbledore is a secret animagus as a phoenix and teaches harry.
the need for dumbledore not to be dead was very prevalent back then!
That theory started so well
I still remember the first time I read Dumbledore’s death scene. I cried like a child for ages. I think it took me a full day before I could go back to reading the book because I was so gutted.
Very Yoda + Obi-Wan + Skywalker. I feel it was not unreasonable.
Thank you to that guy in cross country who told Ben about R.A.B
What if R.A.B please I'm a newer Harry Potter fan
@@ethelcipollone Regulus Arcturus Black
@@ethelcipolloneSirius's brother, you'll learn more about him soon
@@blaze048 not if he is watching the movies haha read the books trust
@@Wombat343 RAB is in the movies
I had a theory that Percy was actually a mole deep in the ministry and was giving Dumbledore info on what they were up to.
I wish
The Red-Headed Pimpernel theory
i figured out about the locket. when they found that the horcrux was a fake, i immediately thought of the locket from when they were cleaning the house.
Rightttt!!! Me and my bro grabbed OOTP and found that bit about the locket no one could open!
Then hoped Kreacher had stolen it and just had to wait... For a book! The torture 😂
@@almudd
I was waiting for that locket to end up meaning something and it did, but lots of people also thought that Mark Evans would mean something and he never did.
Me too I quickly realized who R.A.B was too.
Omg me too! ❤
My fan theory was that it would turn out that Harry was actually a squib. His only magical abilities were the ones he gained when Voldy attacked him as a baby. Harry would have to make the huge sacrifice of giving up his future as a wizard to finish off you-know-who.
That would honestly have been an even better twist than him being a Horcrux.
@@coolnerdlll6053 - Thanks, I liked it a lot and thought there was a pretty good chance I'd figured out how the final book would go. I was wrong, of course, but I still think it was a good guess.
Would’ve been an amazing and tense reveal, but how would they have known that beforehand? Harry wouldn’t have known he was a Squib, and no one else would have either because they can’t tell that themselves, hence why Neville was believed a Squib until much later in his childhood.
@@Doomzdeh Maybe they'd realize that Harry and Voldemort are almost unrealistically even matched, so Harry must have Voldemort's exact skill set.
I had an opposite theory. I thought it was going to turn out Dudley was a wizard, but Dumbledore suppressed his abilities as part of a deal with Petunia so Vernon wouldn't find out.
If y'all liked this little exploration of the past, I think there's a lot more potential here for more videos. Could do each book one by one, going over what you were _supposed_ to think (Snape stealing the Stone) vs what clues there were that it wasn't actually the case. Basically picking apart how you were supposed to "solve" each story's "mystery", or see certain twists coming. Who was the one opening the Chamber? What signs were there that Sirius wasn't after Harry? What hints were there that Mad Eye wasn't the real Moody? So on and so on. I for one think that would be truly fascinating to explore.
That would be a lot of fun. Also videos about pre-theories for each book would be interesting.
New theory: since wizards can travel between their portraits, all the Dumbledore portraits on the Chocolate Frog cards are connected and report back to Dumbledore, and with advent of his portrait in the Headmaster’s office, it gives them a central point.
Love to see you theorizing what theories you might have theorized!
I just about lost it laughing when Ron censored his own mother 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Best thing on youtube I will ever see
Ron: "Not my daughter you b*tch, mom. Not my daughter you b*tch"
Arthur *places his hand on Ron's shoulder* "Let it go, son"
I always much preferred Molly being the one to take out Bellatrix rather than Neville. Not only is it more surprising, but the symbolism of a mother's love (Molly) triumphing over obsessive lust (Bellatrix) is more poetic than just straight up revenge.
But they already had that point in lily’s death I thought It would be nevelle or harry
They should have set it up before though. We never saw her as a good duelist.
She killed Bellatrix to protect her children not for revenge
@@patriciaalvareztostado8170 Read my comment again slowly.
@@satana8157 IMO that just makes the scene more badass. We always seen Mrs Weasley as a housewife and mother. But then she outright wrecks Bellatrix. I think in the book, even Harry is astounded by her power.
My friend and I were convinced Fawkes was Dumbledore’s horcrux during the lead up to deathly hallows. We thought dumbledore killed grindelwald during their duel, and he was then able to make a horcrux to help defeat Voldemort
what would interest me a lot is if he could make one even if he hadn’t killed Ariana during the duel. Considering he didn’t know and really tormented himself over it, blaming her death on himself could be seen as much more “soul splitting” than voldemort’s careless murders of others to make his own.
I’d still be skeptical of him choosing to make a horcrux even if he could’ve considering the other lore theorized with that process (cannibalism, etc.), though it could work with that being the time of his life he was influenced by Grindelwald and being yet another imperfection of dumbledoor using life altering dark magic.
definitely an interesting one that is fun to think about :)
Ohhh that wouldve been so good!
This is super interesting. Fawkes is literally immortal, so if he was a horcrux and somebody attempted to destroy the horcrux inside Fawkes, would the horcrux actually be destroyed? Or would Fawkes simply burst into flames and come back with the horcrux still attached? I’m assuming the horcrux would simply be destroyed and Fawkes would continue to live on, but if the horcrux cannot be destroyed within an immortal being, then it would be impossible to kill Dumbledore 😮
@@projecteer4498yes but there is also the context that sometimes you can make a horcrux without realizing it
@@AdamIsaacs4637 yeah, I think that was a good point my friend made back in the day when we would discuss this theory. And when you factor in fawkes coming in to save Harry in the chamber of secrets, it really felt like everything made sense. I think it makes sense that he didn’t create the horcrux, because even with dumbledore being power hungry in his youth, I think he wouldn’t have been able to bring himself to actually perform the act of putting his soul into another living being. But we were 11/12 in the lead up to the deathly hallows, and we didn’t really consider the ramifications of what creating a horcrux would hold. We just thought, oh hey, that sounds like something super handy to defeat Voldemort. Lol.
My brother guessed RAB was regulus black, I guessed that Dumbledore planned his death with snape. We werent aware of the online theory community at the time, I was 12 when HBP came out and he was 13. Im still proud I got it right about snape because my brother, my grandmother and our two friends that also read Harry potter all said I was an idiot for thinking it 😂😂
I’ll admit, Harry being a Horcrux never crossed my mind. For me that was really a 🤯 moment
obvious, could see it from space
i think there was a hint about it in book 6, but i didn't figure it out precisely.
My cousin told me this theory several months before the book was released.
21:15 After rereading the books that is literrally my favourite line of the book. Thanks for covering that
It's a darn shame I missed out on this exciting period of speculation and theories.
Yeah, I also missed out on it, and I wish I didn't.
Is that sarcasm, Joe?
@@tylerthomas9123 No
@@joechill6327 Oh, ok.
It was really fun, after all.
Ahh, this made me so nostalgic. I was 18 when Deathly Hallows finally came out, but I had read every single theory article on the few big HP sites at the time. I loved the ones that were so well-argued. I had no idea which ones I believed (I remember thinking the Snape-loves-Lily theory seemed really far-fetched 😆), but they were immensely fun to read and ponder.
I liked that chocolate frog card theory. It could have worked.
That would've been funny and cool at the same time
To be honest, I always thought after Dumbledore said that Peter was in Harry’s debt that Peter would end up saving Harry’s life in the end, thus redeeming himself and proving himself a true Gryffindor…guess I was wrong lol
Was minimal what he did, he just stop for a second and paid the price for believing in Voldemort,
Man that first theory brought up a memory. I was so sure that Pettigrew killing Lupin was gonna happen and that Voldy have Peter the *silver* hand JUST for that. Like that's why it was specially a silver hand.
I was quite pleased with myself for instantly recognising RAB.
My first response was, "Oh, so Regulus!" and was waiting for the details more than the reveal. I think he's only mentioned in one conversation between Harry and Sirius once before the locket is found, but don't quote me
I’ve always wondered when you guys actually post - as I live in Norway. Today I finally realized, as I’ve stayed up way past any reasonable bedtime. I am so grateful there is midnight sun outside!
Whoaaaaaa
That’s so cool!!!
I would love a series on this going back through all of the books
I agree! I was reading the books as they came out, but i wasn't really online and interacting with the fan community or anything, so I have no clue what they were thinking at the time. I would love to know, for example, what fans were theorizing in between books four and five. That would require some real internet sleuthing!
I remember reading a fan theorie that Sirius wasn't really dead, and would be able to return. Since he died of a stunner and fell into the veil, and no one was really sure what lies behind it.
I also remember that I had so much hope it would be real, up to the point where I was expecting it to happen D:
It was such a bummer that it wasn't the case tho :P
I heard ‘IF YOU WERE ALIVE IN 2007’…Does the maths…Kids are 16 now that weren’t alive in 2007…Now I feel REALLY old 😂
Does anyone else remember the fandom being split right down the middle about weather Harry should live or die at the end?
Yeah. Being the nerd of dark storytelling that I am, I was on team death
He died... BUT LIVED! Guess everyone's a winner... or loser. Kinda glass half full half empty situation.
I've always taken a bit amount of smug pride that I got Snape being a double agent correct. Granted the reason was different, but still.
what was your suspected reason?
What was the reason
I always think that he was working with the good team, but he wasnt a good person, and after the six book I thought Drako wouldnt became good but he wouldnt becaeme a really bad one, or a death eather
Chocolate Frog cards are a way for Dumbledore to watch and hear the kids all over the school. They would be in every dorm room. Dumbledore probably had one in his office so the pictures could visit if the kids were up to no good
This is my favorite theory now
Thats how dumbledore always knows everything that happens in the school. 😊
This is cannon in my head now. I won’t accept any other reality
Awesome theories!! I absolutely love how the story goes in many directions only to merge perfectly in the end. I agree that Neville killing Belatrix would have been extremely satisfying! Lol. Great show Ben! I love SCB content and look forward to every episode.
I remember reading the line about Dumbledore’s look of triumph, and it bothered me, because I was convinced he was a death eater, and that was the hint to the reader and I really didn’t want the book to go down that path
RAB was the first theory I came up with on my own and was the first one that it turned out I was right.
I started reading Harry Potter around the time the second book was released. Being from the Netherlands, I read the Dutch translations of the books. But by the time Goblet of Fire was released, I was so eager to read the next installment that I didn't want to wait the additional 6 months for the Dutch translation to be done, so I switched to the English books. And when the Dutch translation would become available I'd read that one as well.
One of the quirks of the Dutch translation though, is that they also try to translate some of the names, or at least use a Dutch version of the same name. The surname Black in English is Zwarts in Dutch, so Sirius was called Sirius Zwarts in the Dutch translation. When I read the English version of Half Blood Prince, I had no idea who RAB could be. But when I read the Dutch version, the initials were RAZ, not RAB. I immediately thought that had to be related to the Black/Zwarts family. That's how I came up with Regulus, also because he was specifically named in HBP as well.
You are 100% right about that GoF line being criminally underrated! I remember reading the books for the second time and when I got that line it was like 🤯 OMG!
I don't know why, but the cheery way that Ben said, "arbitrarily fourth!" Made me giggle. I had a bad day at work and really needed that 😂
Hoping you're fine now mate
I miss the days of theorizing what was going to happen! I was convinced snape didn't really kill Dumbledore and used a nonverbal spell (which he'd been teaching all year in DADA)! How wrong I was, but it was fun to theorize!
This is a good one. Much better use of the nonverbal magic lesson than the canonical...absolutely no significance whatsoever
I don't get it. How would he have used a non-verbal spell when the words "Avada Kedavra" came out of his mouth?
@@harringt100 I had the same theory, so I just guessed you could say one spell (say: expelliarmus) and actually think another non verbally (ex: protego) to shoot that one (so protego) but it was really hard to do and required a lot of focus, so not normally used.
yeah it feels like it was an intentional red herring written into the story.
@@harringt100 I don't think the books ever established that silent spells worked this way, but he would have to be silently casting a spell while saying avada kedavra, the same way you would sneak a spell while having a mundane muggle conversation. The books never say you can do this, but it's not a huuge stretch for theorycrafters to assume. There's also precedent for the face that saying "avada kedavra" on it's own doesn't do anything if you don't really hate your target. Which barely comes up in the story after getting introduced with the only connection being crucio working similarly
I remember talking with my dad about Dumbledore faking his own death before deathly hallows was released. That was my favorite theory for sure
I gotta be honest, I didn't really pay much attention to fan theories until I discovered this channel.
Paintings leaving their frames to go to other portraits of themselves is something I think we only see the paintings in the Headmaster's office doing. All the other paintings in the castle have to travel through other paintings to get to wherever they are going . Like the Fat Lady going to see her friend on New Year's (or Christmas?) or Sir Cadogan keeping up with them through other paintings as they rush to Divination.
While I didn’t expect that Snape would die but Am I the only who who thought that at least another Hogwarts professor like The head of Gryffindor would end up dying?
Or maybe even thought that Draco or Lucius Malfoy or another Weasley besides Fred was going to end up dying?????
Another Weasley? I know just what to do with you. Avada Kedavra!
Conclusion: not enough deaths 😂
For me I would have liked if instead of crabbe dying they all made it out of the room, but then, Draco like sacrifices himselft to destroy the diadem. It would have been a good moment after half blood where he was a death eater sacrificing himself to help kill voldy would be cool
Love your videos guys! Always made with such passion!❤❤❤❤
I did always think it was funny that Voldy killing Harry was what sealed his own fate.
WAIT Nevile couldn't KILL Bellatrix because of HOW he would kill her,he would rip his SOUL not Neviles personality right
Probably not. It works kinda strange -- Dumbledore mentions to Severus that he wouldn't be ripping his soul to save an old man of humiliation (or something along those words). So one would think Neville wouldn't be ripping his soul for killing a dangerous dark witch. (Plus, really wanted to see some good guys cast more unforgivables - it's war, right?)
I don't think Neville is a killer. Snape's situation is different I think. Even Harry didn't want Sirius and Remus to kill Peter, because James wouldn't want his best friends to be murderers. Now that I think of it there aren't many kills that are 'justified' if you wanna call it that way. Harry knew what he was doing to Voldy but you could still call it self defense, same goes for Mrs. Weasley. Maybe it could have worked for Neville in some way but I'm happy it didn't happen.
@@casssieboyyeah but Harry also tried to torture bellatrix out of revenge and that isn’t in his character either. Drastic situations can change things.
@@JennifuhhGilardi THat was a very instinct reaction for Harry, for all the pain that he had suffered and seen Sirius die, but he couldnt do it because he was a bad person, and even in the end he fired the expel curse
I remember spending a lot of time on mugglenet and veritaserium web pages. There were so many theories back then. I remember how excited everyone got for books 5, 6, 7 and going to the internet as soon as we finished the books.
I remember the time between books 4 and 5, it was the peak of HP craze and I got to ear some theories from friends in a time when the Internet was barely there. I remember "Harry Potter and the Green Flame" to be a rumored future title. There was also the theory that Voldemort had a daughter who would secretly attend Hogwarts in year 6 or 7. And of course, there was the big theory that Dumbledore was the actual big bad, because of "the gleam" in book 4.
I wonder if the daughter theory inspired the cursed child at all. That would be funny if so.
These really make sense without the context of Deathly Hallows tho
I think you guys would have a field day with Stormlight. The scope of the universe could prove a tad tricky, but I'd absolutely love to see you try. SCB-Brando sometime soon please?
yeah stormlight has a ton of stuff for them to theorise about. idk if theyve ever talked about it before?
day 17 of politely asking the brothers to do a “What if Merope Gaunt survived Childbirth” Video. Great content as always, Thanks folks!
She didn't want to live, which is kinda the point of her character. But, if she could have been different, no Voldy.
One love ❤
@@boyankovachev7982 she despised him
Harry thinking in his head before 1vs1 against Voldemort: "Help me for God's sake!"
Ron: "Should... should we help him?"
Arthur *places his hand on Ron's shoulder* "Can't you see he has to fight this battle on his own"
He missed the opportunity to use the chocolate frog pillow
0:18 Instead of Randy Savage, I imagined…
“Let me tell you, something, brother. Pottermania is runnin’ wild!” ~Hulk Hogan
P. S. My uncle called it that R. A. B. was Regulas after he first read The Half-Blood Prince. He also predicted Snape being in love with Lily months before the final book’s release.
The quotes near the end seem kinda creepy without all the context...
Edit: I mean with voldemort touching and being "inside" harry
I was absolutely sure that Snape was on Dumbledore's side and that Dumbledore asked him to kill him, just as it turned out. I figured that had to be true because of Snape being in the Foe Glass in book 4. And he wasn't a double agent, he was a mole.
well, a lot of times moles have to kind of act as a double agent in order to survive and successfully infiltrate.
i was unsure about Snape the whole time. the enemy of your enemy isn't necessarily your friend.
I just knew that we were meant to trust Snape like Dumbledore did because of Dumbledore's role as the sort of infallible deity type character in the story.
I'm dying on my hill that, "Harry's horcrux made the Dursley's more evil than they already are" theory
Now I am dying with you🥲
@@shashankshekhar6952 What happens the very first time he's ever away from the Dursley's, he gets a bedroom
What happens when he stops living with them, Dudley starts being nice
What happens when Harry has an extended stay with the Weasley's for the Quidditch championship, Ron stops being friends
What happens when the trio are on the run together, Ron stops being friends
The Dursley's love Dudley so it's not like they're pure evil, and we find out Aunt Petunia kept Harry's blanket and always loved her sister
@@hungrypandastudios6213 it makes soo much sense bro... I've been thinking about this all day and it keeps getting more reasonable 😃
just can't seem to explain why aunt Marge was the way she was...
@@shashankshekhar6952 Uncle Vernon side of the family is a bit worse lol
@@hungrypandastudios6213
Harry gets a bedroom during book 1. They give it to him over the summer and only because the letters addressed to him said cupboard under the stairs.
If Harry made those around him evil, then it would have affected Ron more than just on those occasions. All his classmates, especially his bunk mated, would have been affected, and they weren't. There are very good reasons for why Ron turned on Harry at those times, and you can't just claim that they fall in line with your theory just because some of them happen to coincide with prolonged periods, not when no one else has that issue.
At the end of the day, if this had a kernel of truth, then JK would have added more clues and would have made it a central idea, but she didn't because it isn't a thing or it didn't occur to her to add that in.
The theory is fun, but it simply isn't true.
The Dursleys are just bad people.
On a separate note: the locket didn't make Ron hate the locket, it just generally made him irritable.
If Harry worked the same way, then his horcrux wouldn't have made the Dursleys hate him, it would have just made them more irritable towards each other. And they cared about each other a lot.
Harry wasn't the source of their hate, he was the object of it.
My all-time favorite HP theory was one I found in a book analyzing the first four in the lead-up to the fifth. It was that Remus and James switched bodies as part of a prank and thus, Remus was dead and James was in his body and that’s why Remus was so intent on being close to Harry while at Hogwarts and Grimmauld Place.
Everyday that SCB uploads is a good day!!🥳🥳🎉🎉🥳🥳
15:47 I’m glad I’m not the only one who compulsively adds “earwax” after saying “alas” 😂
Peter then beats lupin to death with his silver hand
I was guessing Ron would be the one to die. To motivate Harry like crazy to kill Voldemort. Thankfully I was wrong.
I'm pretty sure J.K. Has said in multiple interviews that she meant Ron to die but then couldn't go through with it in the end. I could be misremembering though.
@@BrailleBennett your not misremembering.
I figured out RAB was Regulus , cause I read the first 6 books in a span of just over month. I had gotten tired of my friends telling me what was left out.
My pre - Deathly Hollows theory regarding Wormtail was that while he was given to hand to take out Remus, he used it to take out Greyback in order to protect the Harry and the Weasleys.
Another theory I liked was Sirius’s wand had been turned into a Portkey before he fell through the vale. So he was being held prisoner somewhere. Remember Bellatrix’s spell in the books was red, not green.
"What will happen in Harry Potter seven. Who lives, who dies,"
Who tells your stoooorrrryyy
So happy for these amazing videos😊😊😊
You guys just made my Friday.
Harry "Snape you're alive." Snape "Of course you idiot, didn't you read up on vampires?"
“Who lives, who dies,-“
WHO TELLS YOUR STORY
You guys were the first theory I heard(What if Harry Potter Was In Slytherin) and now I'm a full-fledged fan of you guys for a while, Keep up the good work :D
The Death Eaters catching on to the chocolate frog cards is less likely, in my opinion, than communication through patronuses. I always thought it would be incredibly obvious to see a patronus leaving or entering a building and when you know a person's patronus you even know who sent the message.
A fanfic author, St. Margarets, figured out the connection the Vanishing Cabinet had to Diagon Alley before Half-Blood Prince came out. Harry uses the cabinet in her fic to rapidly get to London from Hogwarts.
Another phenomenon you might want to look into is the small kerfluffle where the fanfiction The Seventh Horcrux was sold in some countries as a leaked copy of Deathly Hallows before it came out.
You always make my day!😊😊😊
I have always been proud of younger me for catching the one line from Petuna in OOTP or HBP where she says "that boy" and harry tells her that if she means his father then he has a name. I knew she meant Snape. Granted I missed so many other more obvious things (like RAB) but still.
2:23 that’s me! The final book came out in when I was 5, and I read (actually listened to, via Jim Dale) all the books a million times. I wish I could say that I remember the first time I listened to the final book, but I just don’t
I loved speculating as the books were coming out! I was an adult, but my teenaged niece got me into them, and we would anxiously await each new one. I still have an email, printed out and tucked into my copy of book six, containing some of our guesses about book seven. - We did have the diadem (a.k.a "tarnished tiara") on our horcrux list.
Ben: Dumbledore trusts candies for his space.
Me: Who wouldn't?? I mean, I would👍🏻👍🏻
Never thought about that communicating through the frog card as a portrait. That would be amazing! Head Cannon assimilated!
Your best line ever: ‘a chocolate frog card would fly right under Voldemorts non-existent nose’.
Priceless!!
Day 72 of asking the SuperCarlinBrothers to please bring back Google Auto Fill videos
I love the vay that the gleam is almost like an insider thing in the SCB community
You know, there is something that always got me. If Wizards can be invisible, use magic to mask/conceal themselves from outside forces, use artifats to hide, can be Animagus,, can obliviate minds, can erase memories....why on Earth did Dumbledore knock all those street lights out when Baby Harry was being delivered to the Dursleys'? I was just rewatching the series and just noticed this.
You’re wrong when you said “There’s still just a little bit of good left inside of everyone, except for Voldemort”. It’s “Voldemort and Umbridge”.
And yeah, there’s something that is worse than death. As Hermione once said: Now if you two don’t mind, I’m going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us all killed, or worse EXPELLED.
I wouldn’t want Neville to destroy Bellatrix. I think he would have regretted it. He could go to visit his parents and tell them that Voltemort and his followers were no more and their tormentors were destroyed. It would have been nice if they could have smiled and maybe gained back their lives.
Almost all my theories were around Draco - he seemed like the mirror of Harry in so many ways, I was convinced he'd have a HUGE role in taking down Voldemort. Was very disappointed when that didn't happen.
Same, in book 6 it felt like it was building up to something bigger. And after reading the books when I watched the movies for the first time DH part 2 had this huge emphasis on a whole will he won't he be evil thing and it felt like a strange inclusion that wasn't in the 7th book.
I remember reading the book you mentioned. I didn't pay attention to the theories for whatever reason (the only one I remember seeing was that RAB was Regulus), but I remember being provided odds for all characters dying. Ironically, Dobby was given the best odds to survive...
Re: Neville killing Bellatrix.
Honestly, I've always thought the final battle would have worked out better if Neville and Molly's roles were switched. Neville for revenge, it's a simple closing of his character arc. As for Molly, her family's always been of paramount importance - crucially not just her children. Nagini almost killed Arthur in the DoM, and was in the process of attacking Ron in the ruins of Hogwarts. If Molly had stepped in to kill Nagini, it would also have been nice closure to Ron's insecurities - "least loved...by a mother who wanted a daughter". The proof would be there if he saw the lengths she was willing to go to in order to protect him - in his eyes, the least important child
Did anyoune else want to teach Neville origami crane so he could make a 1000 cranes and have a wish granted. 7:41
I used to have this book. It was quite fun back then speculating what would happen.
Hmm if theres a harry potter mothers quiz have mis carlin be the quiz giver
I figured RAB was Regulus A Black the moment I read his letter inside the locket... What do I get 😂😂😂
RUclips was out almost two years by the time the last book was written. You could have been first HP master
I love this video because I didn’t read the books when they came out like most folks. I had seen all the movies and caught most of them in theaters (the first two in my college dorm room), but never read the books. It wasn’t until SCB did a review on Cursed Child that I went back and read the books. I watched a review of Cursed Child and loved all the theory videos before that. This channel is also the reason I have a Pottermore account. So listening to this video helps me to get a peek into the thoughts and theories readers had at the time. I could only imagine. I have a different appreciation for the films and books, but I have a greater appreciation because of this channel. 🎉
Lupin is my fav character. And not just coz me and my friends refer to ourselves as the marauders (I’m Moony).
when we were reading it with my friend group we DID notice the 'look of triumph' line at the time but we mistook the line to create a theory that Dumbledore was somehow actually evil lol. that 'look of triumph' was the topic of so much discussion back at the time... we definitely didnt read over it but we also did NOT get what it was actually pointing to either llol
Super fun! Please do a round two on this topic!
I remember walking into a Barns & Nobel book store just before the Deathly Hallows came out. They were taking a poll on weather or not Snape was evil. About 76% of those polled (including myself) voted Not Evil. I remember thinking it obvious as if Snape were really evil and wanted Harry dead, he would have had several opportunities over the previous six years to do that. He even could have just not saved Harry and no one would have questioned his motives. There was also how he was behaving when he killed Dumbledore, he wasn't happy or smug, he was angry and resigned. Personally I believe it was peoples belief that Snape wasn't evil that made the idea that Dumbledore faking his own death that much more believable. A non evil Snape would never really kill Dumbledore.
loved this! would love to see this for all the books. or just more for this one
'right under Voldemort's non-existent nose' XD
I only wonder though how Regulus Black knew the locket had been a horcrux? Since Dumbledore banned it from the school before Regulus would've attended and not a lot of people even knew about horcruxes, it's a mystery to me how Regulus, especially being no older than 18, knew about such a dark art...?
Didn't he always lock himself away in his room studying? He probably stumbled upon the information by accident and then started to put things together.
Oh my god i bought the 7th book as soon as the shop opened and was silly enough to walk out reading it. Not even 10 meters from the door a guy in a €1000 suit came running up to me asking WHO DIED. Wow im a fast reader BUT NOT THAT FAST LOL
This takes me back, I remember we were on holiday in France while my parents finished the book within a week. I had to wait until the Dutch release because I was still a bit too young too read English. So happy they were able to keep everything to themselves
I also heard the theory that Harry was an orphan in an orphanage for the insane after extreme abuse from his aunt and uncle and that the stories were all happening in his head…and Voldemort is actually a manifestation of his uncle and bellatrix of his aunt… dumbledore is the owner and Molly his favorite caretaker.
I really enjoyed how genuine you were in the ad read