Department of Mysteries

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So, I'm wondering if the we are supposed to be asking ourselves about the room devoted in the Dept. of Mysteries that contains information on the power that Harry has that Voldemort does not?

its gotta be love :/

Yeah, apparently Harry has the power of love on his side - something Voldemort will never have.

Thats was my thought. I wasn't 100% that it had been resolved... but I think it has been.

Yes, I agree that the room is about love-- the kind of sacrificial love that made it possible for Lily to save Harry, and that Harry would have been willing to give for Sirius. Dumbledore says that Harry has "heart"-- something that's missing in Voldemort's powers. The Dark Lord doesn't have the power to love.

On p. 775-774 (American version), in the Department of Mysteries, after Harry and company have just come back from the "arch" room into the original room full doors, Harry tries opening a new, random door, but can't get it to open by force. Hermione tries using Alohomora on the door, but that doesn't work either. Harry even uses Sirius's knife on the door:

"Sirius's knife!" said Harry, and he pulled it out from inside his robes and slid it into the crack between the door and the wall. The others all watched eagerly as he ran it from top to bottom, withdrew it, and then flung his shoulder again at the door. It remained as firmly shut as ever. What was more, when Harry looked down at the knife, he saw that the blade had melted.

Now, we know that JKR often places seemingly minor details in her books that will come up later on. I'm almost certain this is one of those things.

This door has obviously been placed under extremely advanced locking charms. When I first saw this, I thought, "this room is important." I took note of it, and waited for something else to explain it. And, lo and behold, Dumbledore mentions such a room later on. Check out the bottom of page 843, American version.

"There is a room in the Department of Mysteries," interrupted Dumbledore, "that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there.

I feel certain that this room, "kept locked at all times," is the one described earlier. I know this may not reveal much, but it's a detail that some might not have noticed.

(by the way -- This is probably being discussed elsewhere, but as I'm tired and don't want to look for it, I'll just hope that someone has the sense to merge this if that turns out to be the case.)

I'd say that the room mentioned by Dumbledore is most certainly the one mentioned earlier.

Very, very interesting. I definitely thought there was something important behind that door when the group failed to enter, but I somehow overlooked what Dumbledore said later on. From Dumbledore's description, it sounds like something Voldemort would love to get a hold of, and perhaps something that Harry could use to his advantage. If, that is, anyone could ever bend whatever power it is to their will. From the sounds of it, that seems impossible, but I can't help but feel that it should play a significant role later in the series.

Good catch, MagpieOnaga.

I don't think Voldemort wants to get a hold of, as I understood it what's inside the door is something that Harry already has and it's what makes Harry different than Voldemort and the reason why Voldemort could not possess Harry. I think Voldemort wants to steer clear of what's behind that door.

Yes that room was the one Dumbledore was speaking of

"All you need is love"
John Lennon

Great man, shot in the back, sad story

Anybody's guesses on what is inside that door?

Yes, good good observation! I think you're on to something!

I don't know. There's got to be more to it than that because the door is locked. I mean, why can't Harry (who has it in abundance) at least go in? I just think there is more that Dumbledore isn't telling just yet.

Originally posted by DWeasley (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=398522#post398522))
I don't know. There's got to be more to it than that because the door is locked. I mean, why can't Harry (who has it in abundance) at least go in? I just think there is more that Dumbledore isn't telling just yet.


There's probably a good reason for keeping it locked (Sirius's knife melted, didn't it?), and perhaps JK will elaborate a bit on that room ... so we'll just have to wait.

Also, if you're referring to Fudge's "private army of Heliopaths", I seriously doubt it. We may learn more about that in the future books, but Luna has always been a little out of line, hasn't she?

The force of love I think is locked in that room to study...

Maybe harry should find a way to unlock it and then shove and lock Voldemort in the room!

If its love, that sounds a bit cheesy. The whole love thing is a bit cheesy IMO.

What about the weapon hidden at the ministry, or was that the prophecy? The prophecy didn't seem like a weapon, more like knowledge about Harry and Voldemorts connection. Whats in the room may well be something that actually could be used to kill one of them for good.

I wonder if Harry will be able to focus and manupilate that force(the force DD was refering to)...and use it against Voldemort... I think JKR will take us back to that room in the next book and explain further...

Well i hope at least she does

The force in the room has to be love. It's been said before that that is the one thing that Voldemort can't understand. And Harry is protected by his mother's love and that's why Quirrel could not touch him. That is the oen power that Voldemort does not have. He feels no love for anything. But Harry has love. It is a bit cheesy, but that is the only thing that it can be. It's been mentioned in previous books, so I don't see how it could be anything else.

Who would go in the room to study....could this be an area that Harry goes with Dumbledore to study the ancient magic.
What would be the requirement to open the door...to have loved and lost, to be willing to lay your life down to save others or to be able to love yourself. Harry doesn't think too highly of himself.

Would hate also be kept in the same room?

I agree that love does sound a little cheesy. Perhaps JKR will use a different word or a different concept. However, whatever is in that room is extremely important and the mystery of which I think will be the basis for Book 7 if not Book 6 also.

Hey there!

The force locked in that room is pure love.

And I think there will be the place of the last fight between Harry and Voldemort. Just before that door..in the circular room.

We´ll have to wait ages....untill we finally know!

Regards,
Madelina

Perhaps JKR will use a different word or a different concept.

I hope so. She will probably make it so it is not too cheesy even if it is pure love. I reckon there will be a really cool battle, probably book 7. Book 6 could be the fight of dementors, giants and death eaters vs everyone else.

OK.... I was listening to Ootp for the first time... ive read 2wice.. but anywayz.. When Dumbledores explaing to Harry about the Propechy Harry askes how he could defeat voldy he dosnt have powers like him blah blah blah... Now DD said that Harry has the power of Love..right... yea but whats behind the door it confused me a little.... he said that whats behind the door harr y as alot of and voldy has none...Love? How can love be in a room I dono some smart ppl help me lol!:??:

behind what door?

How can love be in a room I dono some smart ppl help me lol!
well the room can be full of hearts, mystery of the heart but it could also be innocence behind that door something Voldemort lost before he ever got it:grumble:

That room has something to do with emotions, compassion, love - it is a Mystery of Emotion/Love room. Remember how Ron got attacked in the Brain Room? That room was the Mystery of the Mind. And the planet room? The Mystery of the Planets/Universe/Heavens.

I'm going to merge this with a similar thread. :)

Dumbledore says, "In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you."

In this same "tell all" conversation, Dumbledore mentions Harry's extraordinary bravery several times. Heart can also be interpreted as courage. And Dumbledore mentions more than once in the series, that death isn't something to fear. But Voldemort, seeking immortality, is afraid of death. Even Nearly Headless Nick's meager explanation of death hinges on the courage to move on vs the frightened decision to stay behind and become a ghost.

This force is more wonderful and terrible than death, than human intelligence, than the forces of nature.

Sometimes intelligence would dictate different choices than courage. How often does Hermione tell Harry to be careful? I believe that self sacrificing love is a part of and motivation for heroic courage.

Of course, whatever is behind that door melts knives.

More relevant quotes from that chapter(hope it helps, I want to keep this going): "`On the contrary… the fact that you can feel pain like this is your greatest strength.'"
"`You do care,'....`You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it.'"

Whatever it is, JKR better be careful with how she approaches this without sounding corny. She should build up to it like only she can. Make it sound 'technical' in the wizarding context. Like how a mother's self-sacrifice for her child is 'ancient magic' and how music(according to D'dore in book 1) is "beyond all magic we do here".

What if "the Power" that's hidden in that room is 'emotion'?

I know it doesn't totally fit the description DD gave about the room, because Voldemort is able to feel emotions, such as anger or happiness. But it souns less corny than 'love'.

music as in phoenix song? :)

Harry's ability to "feel" his emotions to that degree seems to be an important aspect of triggering the 'power' in him. Learning to harness these strong emotional rushes will bring this elusive and unknown power directly under his control and ultimately defeat Voldemort.
I've been flipping through book five and I hadn't realized how often Harry was actually in Voldemort's head. Hmmmmmmm...........

And then there's Time.

The key question, what’s in the locked room at the Ministry Of Magic, what is this powerful thing that Harry has and Voldemort does not? Love has something to do with it but there must be more than to it than that because Dumbledore says it is not only more wonderful than death it is more terrible too. Perhaps courage and skill and sacrifice and “old magic” and something else that’s hard to put a finger on; I guess you could say the room contains The Right Stuff. So why is it locked? I don’t think the wizards locked it and are in fact trying to unlock it but without success. I think in book 7 Harry will find a way to unlock it, something even Dumbledore couldn’t do. He knows that opening the door is the only way to destroy Voldemort but Harry also knows that if he does so he will die too; remember that powerful “old magic” involves sacrifice. I predict that in the second to last chapter of book 7 entitled “The Man Who Died”, the one just before the appendix where the lives of the surviving characters is described, he opens that door and Harry Potter is no more.

Eggplant

hmmmm.....
Well, lots of discussion on lots of threads are desperately trying to figure out what that 'power' is.
I hope Harry survives.

Throughout the book we are told that Harry Potter is the Boy who lived. In book 5 we learn about a locked door in the DoM. What is contained behind that door, Harry has large quantities of. Dumbledore also says something about it being Harry's heart that saved him..
"...this kepy locked at all times. It contains a fore that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, that human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there..."

As soon as DD says it was Harry's heart that saved him, we assume it was love. But what if it was Life? Life is more wonderful than death obviously. It is also at times when a person is gravely ill, worse than death. Life is greater than human intellegence, and the forces of nature. It is THE most mysterious subject everyone studies. The mystery of life, why and how we got here. Harry's heart, litterally, his humanisitc qualities saved him. In many of the books, people state that Voldemort seems immortal, or that he was not human enough to die. Well, if he can't die, than he's not really living is he. He's just exisiting. It sort of makes sense...

What do you think?

If Harry's big power is "love" I'm going to be disappointed. It'll be like Ma-Ti (http://www.turner.com/planet/static/ma-ti.html) and his stupid "heart" power all over again (anyone who was (un)lucky enough to grow up with Captain Planet knows what I mean).

*cough* And now for the theory that nobody but me believes, but will never truely die:

If the unspeakables are studying the power in the room (and it makes sense that they would be, because it's in their department) and they can't get into the room, then probably at some point they're going to want to study Harry instead.

The Department of love will help Harry defeat Voldemort nothing else. Not the Department of Mysteries

No that was called the room of requirement. That is if you are talking about the room that I think that you are talking about. The one where Dumbledor really needs to use the washroom and he can't find one then he does and he uses it and he looks for it and can't find it and realises the room only comes when you need it and has all the stuff you need. Was that the one that you were talking about Picko.

If Harry's big power is "love" I'm going to be disappointed. It'll be like Ma-Ti (http://www.turner.com/planet/static/ma-ti.html) and his stupid "heart" power all over again (anyone who was (un)lucky enough to grow up with Captain Planet knows what I mean).

*cough* And now for the theory that nobody but me believes, but will never truely die:

If the unspeakables are studying the power in the room (and it makes sense that they would be, because it's in their department) and they can't get into the room, then probably at some point they're going to want to study Harry instead.

Oooooooh. Interesting.
So the door is locked and you don't thing the unspeakables can get in there, either. Hmmm....

I'm with you. I don't think the power is love, but the magic to use the power may require love the way a patronus requires happiness.

I agree that the power is love but in what form? I mean it can't be just some brightly shining light or something. Whatever in that room must be extremely volatile I'd imagine bc it melted Harry's blade.

I dont think its only love in the locked room, love is certainly one of the things, but there must be more. I must say I'll be disappointed if i get to the end of book 7 to discover 'voldermort was destroyed by love'

Cool. An Engaging thread.

by Baron_G
More relevant quotes from that chapter(hope it helps, I want to keep this going): "`On the contrary… the fact that you can feel pain like this is your greatest strength.'"
"`You do care,'....`You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it.'"

Whatever it is, JKR better be careful with how she approaches this without sounding corny. She should build up to it like only she can. Make it sound 'technical' in the wizarding context. Like how a mother's self-sacrifice for her child is 'ancient magic' and how music(according to D'dore in book 1) is "beyond all magic we do here".
I agree. But I don’t think JKR is going to be overly banal in this context. Maybe her motive will only be that a mother’s self sacrifice is the main crux of the matter from book 1 all the way to book 7. It doesn’t necessarily have to be that icky lovey dovey romantic stuff (since I don’t think imo that romance is the main plotline, but rather, like many great stories along this line, a sideplot for a nice diversion.)
Plus JKR did state she didn’t want it to sound corny:
Excerpts:
“"I want to finish these seven books and look back and think that whatever happened -- however much this hurricane whirled around me -- I stayed true to what I wanted to write. This is my Holy Grail: that when I finish writing book seven, I can say -- hand on heart -- I didn't change a thing. I wrote the story I meant to write. If I lost readers along the way, so be it, but I still told my story. The one I wanted. Without permitting it to sound too corny, that's what I owe to my characters. That we won't be deflected, either by adoration or by criticism."-J.K. Rowling”
from:
http://groups.msn.com/AllTheThingsIDreamOf/jkrowling.msnw

I am interested what music presents in HP too, as in Harry’s dreams and how it lulled the three headed dog in PS/SS to sleep.

by Whizbang121
Dumbledore says, "In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you."

In this same "tell all" conversation, Dumbledore mentions Harry's extraordinary bravery several times. Heart can also be interpreted as courage. And Dumbledore mentions more than once in the series, that death isn't something to fear. But Voldemort, seeking immortality, is afraid of death. Even Nearly Headless Nick's meager explanation of death hinges on the courage to move on vs the frightened decision to stay behind and become a ghost.

This force is more wonderful and terrible than death, than human intelligence, than the forces of nature.

Sometimes intelligence would dictate different choices than courage. How often does Hermione tell Harry to be careful? I believe that self sacrificing love is a part of and motivation for heroic courage.

Of course, whatever is behind that door melts knives.
Whatever is behind that door that melts knives, hmmmm….even Luna Lovegood tried eagerly to ponder what is in there. And she’s the one who talked about Heliopaths too.
OotP. P.684.
“You know what could be in there?” said Luna eagerly, as the wall started to spin yet again.
“Something blibbering, no doubt,” said Hermione under her breath and Neville gave a nervous little laugh.

It is Hermione who pulled the gang out of certain doors, especially the one with the veil in it. Could it be that Hermione is just overtly cautious, not curious as most kids would be? More frightened than curiousity killed the cat? She took control of the situation, setting Harry on a different path than the one he wanted to intriguingly pursue by cleverly mentioning Sirius’s name, jolting him back to the next phase.




Harry's ability to "feel" his emotions to that degree seems to be an important aspect of triggering the 'power' in him. Learning to harness these strong emotional rushes will bring this elusive and unknown power directly under his control and ultimately defeat Voldemort.
I've been flipping through book five and I hadn't realized how often Harry was actually in Voldemort's head. Hmmmmmmm...........

And then there’s Time

Exactly. Time. It was even in italics when Hermione said that.
OotP, p.697. British Edition.
A baby’s head now sat grotesquely on top of the thick, muscled neck of the Death Eater as he struggled to get up again; but even as they watched, their mouths open, the head began to swell to its previous proportions again; thick black hair was sprouting from the pate and chin…..
“It’s Time,’ said Hermione in an awestruck voice. “Time….”

And in both times, they were in a bell jar, like the humming bird. The shape of a bell, like the clock, rather the sound of the bell when the clock strikes a certain hour.


by eggplant
The key question, what’s in the locked room at the Ministry Of Magic, what is this powerful thing that Harry has and Voldemort does not? Love has something to do with it but there must be more than to it than that because Dumbledore says it is not only more wonderful than death it is more terrible too. Perhaps courage and skill and sacrifice and “old magic” and something else that’s hard to put a finger on; I guess you could say the room contains The Right Stuff. So why is it locked? I don’t think the wizards locked it and are in fact trying to unlock it but without success. I think in book 7 Harry will find a way to unlock it, something even Dumbledore couldn’t do. He knows that opening the door is the only way to destroy Voldemort but Harry also knows that if he does so he will die too; remember that powerful “old magic” involves sacrifice. I predict that in the second to last chapter of book 7 entitled “The Man Who Died”, the one just before the appendix where the lives of the surviving characters is described, he opens that door and Harry Potter is no more.
It’s got to be something that is inevitable and cannot be manipulated no matter how much time or magic can do to it.
Old magic involves sacrifice,….hmmm, no wonder the Aztecs and many older dead cultures from the past tried to use sacrifices for their rituals as if to give to the gods a gift. It really can be manipulated can it? I do however liked the way the Native Americans did it. Their way was gentler and kinder. They used the sacrifices of trees and animals for good use. I believe this was only in certain tribes because there were other types of tribes that did believe in sacrifice of the same sort along the lines as the Aztecs did.


by Angora

If Harry's big power is "love" I'm going to be disappointed. It'll be like Ma-Ti and his stupid "heart" power all over again (anyone who was (un)lucky enough to grow up with Captain Planet knows what I mean).

*cough* And now for the theory that nobody but me believes, but will never truely die:

If the unspeakables are studying the power in the room (and it makes sense that they would be, because it's in their department) and they can't get into the room, then probably at some point they're going to want to study Harry instead.

by Buckbeak2004
I dont think its only love in the locked room, love is certainly one of the things, but there must be more. I must say I'll be disappointed if i get to the end of book 7 to discover 'voldermort was destroyed by love'


I will certainly be disappointed if it’s the romance kind of love. But I do believe it is going to be “love” in particular. Which is something opposite from hate and war.
And that “heart” power, well, it does seem to make a bit of sense since the heart does tick like a clock. When the heart goes out, the time stops ticking. Yeah, pretty obvious but so many times what is miniscule inside our system as a human being has been paralleled to the universe’s vastness.

I also think that it is something about love, because maybe he wants to kill Harry Potter but he is protected by the love of Lily, and maybe he wants it as a weapon to kill Harry and Dumbledore

behind that door..... love is a definite possiblilty.... but can you really study love? i mean, it says in the book that the things in the department of mysteries are studied carefully.... i dont think voldemort will be destroyed by love... more like the hate he has inside him...

"It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, that human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there"

It could be many things... for me, personally, Music fits those characteristics even better than Love, but that's only a personal appreciation due to my personal tastes...

I think it also could be Time...
Other things that could be under my point of view, are Innocence, and Life...

But there is one thing that made me think... a person will never die completely if his/her memory remains on other people's hearts... so that's something that Harry has in loads, but Voldemort hasn't... something more wonderful, and terrible than death... it is terrible to not to be missed by anyone...

i dont think it could be time... that was kinda studied in the room where the "baby" death eater kept growing up and shrinking.... and i consider time a force of nature, so time cant be more wonderful or terrible than time... that doesnt make sense... but thats just my opinion, maybe JKR doesnt consider time a force of nature.

I've found what I think it is a clue of what could that power be, in the middle of one interview to J.K. Rowling:

"The book is really about the power of the imagination."

Could that be the "force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, that human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there"?

I think it makes sense...

Hmmm...imagination... good idea. But does voldy despise and underestimate the power of imagination?

Music? It's higly unprobable that the power is the music!
Harry will beat Voldemort singing Superstar of Beyoncè Knowles?

alrighty..i think this is very interesting. But, I think there are some overlooked things.

First, DD pretty much named what was in the other rooms that we saw. As we know JKR speaks through DD, I think we can assume she is telling us the main points of the rooms. Death, Forces of Nature, and Human Intelligence. So it is an ancient magic of some sort, relating to a more "basic" and natural form of magic.

DD says in the first book that it was his mother's love that protected him and that's why LV couldn't touch him. LV didn't think about it at the time, but it wasn't that he was ignorant of it. And besides..LV can touch Harry now. He used Harry's blood. The proctection of his mother is gone now. For it flows within LV now as well. DD himself said that that "particular barrier" (GoF) had been overcome. So there are apparently others that reside within Harry. And apparently the protection from his mother no longer applies.

I also think of the prophecy. While most people think of taking it to be either fate or a reaction to the choices we make..i think it's a mixture of both. Think of the Matrix. The Oracle "tells the future" right? Yes and no. Prophecies are a tricky thing. Neo, she says, isn't the one, but he has the gift. and knocking over the flowers...a self-fulfilling prophecy? The same with LV. If he hadn't heard about the prophecy, he wouldn't have attacked Harry. But he did, and as a result and no knowing the whole thing, he fulfilled it, marking Harry as his equal. I guess I tend to think that Harry however, was also born with some unique ability. He has a power the Dark Lord does not. LV knows about harry's love and his "gotta save people" attitude. And he won't make the same mistake twice. Harry has something else inside him beyond love.

I don't really know what it is...but I don't think it is love. Related to love in some way? maybe. but not love itself. Oh, and the unmentionables have to know how to open the room. They know what's inside, someone had to lock it, so someone must be able to open it. And they have to study it. I'm looking forward to this mystery being explained.

its gotta be love :/

I agree with you.

hmmmm.

a thought has popped up in my head. what if it was magic itself. i.e. the actual essence that runs through a wizards veins but not a muggles.

it's clearly not though, because it doesn't fit in with what DD said. please don;t say it's love, that is so tacky.

[QUOTE=HarryPotter]"It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, that human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there"

This reminds me of the experience Moses had with the "Burning Bush". Maybe the only way one enters that door is if they are "summoned" by the power behind that door. Maybe the force behind that door is something similar to the "Ark of the Covenant" or "The Holy Grail" or something that is a symbol of the Creator or Higher Power. JKR has did not use a substitute name for Christmas or Easter when referring to those holidays in the books. She even wrote in Christmas Carols in one of the books. So, the muggle holidays of Christmas and Easter are recognized at Hogwarts.

Just a thought, no real proof...probably wishful thinking on my part.

its probably love... but how can harry use love? Its some kinda potion i think that he can throw at voldemort.. or some kinda of powerful beam weapon that harry can harness...

i dont think its going to be as lame as...
Voldemort: AVADA KE---
Harry: I give you HEART! *hugs voldemort*

o my god!!! something just clicked thanks to whoever said 'how will harry get into the room?' i've always thought that harry and voldemort will both die and harry will sacrifice himself to kill evil. wot if harry must open the door but the power is so strong he will not survive either? the power would be released and ending evil evrywhere or something (i just made that up) cos i know that J.K. once said that in future books she's gonna go further and try and answer the question what makes people evil. Although this idea is kinda sad (dead harry) maybe he'll survive but he had to be willing to sacrifice himself the way his mother did to open the door. wot do u think?

P.S. i also think just love is cheesy. J.K. is too clever for that - she'll mould it carefully.

I think that Harry may survive the final encounter, but it will leave him so affected that he may not practice magic anymore, or leave the wizard world entirely after saving it. or then again, the love of his friends may save him after he kills Voldemort in a rage. :upset:

hey wot about not love but pure heart or good. oh! another brainstorm!! you know J.K. says that book 2 is very important, well how about the comment from dumbledore that harry is pure of heart (that's why fawkes came or something). that could be what harry has that voldemort doesn't. Or the opposite of evil - the goodness of mankind???

A pure, good heart beats a dead, dark heart everytime when matched in a fair contest. Perhaps Voldemort will be so confident that he will battle Harry one on one, and in his arrogance he will be defeated again. This time for good. :clap:

dunno, i still think that love and similar thing are a tad bit cheesy. not that i'm saying that it's not possible but JK knows how to make better twists in the story than that. it might as well be anything for all we know.

I think one of the reasons that the always locked door in the department of mysteries that contains that special thing that harry has is locked (woah long phrase there) is that it is something to amazingly good and so amazingly powerful that anybody, if they knew what it was, would immediatly try to get their hands on it. They would fight anything to try to get it so the Unspeakables have to keep it locked to protect it from others. And if it is something that everbody wants then it must be really really good..but what is it then?

Love? Too obvious i think. I think that JKR wouldn't make it too obvious for her fans that this thing is really love. I mean she does have a thing for twists and cliffhangers and mystery doesn't she? Would she really tell us straight out that this thing is love? Well, we know its in the heart don't we. So it could be something totally different. Could it be good? Or human emotion? Or caring? Or guilt? Or truth? Or everthing combined! Something that most people would really want to get their hands on. Innocence, maybe? Or maybe it is sadness?

Harry felt these things: guilt, sadness, caring and love when he thought about Sirius when LV was possesing him. This made LV leave his body right away. We must remember that the thought of Sirius really made LV get disgusted. What in this certain thought would be something to exist in the locked room..Personally, i think it is the essence of having all human emotion. Something that most people want-good, love, caring. Is this why it is locked?

Yeah, apparently Harry has the power of love on his side - something Voldemort will never have.
NEVER say NEVER... he now has the love of Lily from Harrys blood... even if it is forcfully taken! :upset:

Maybe the power of Live it self is behind the door.

Since Voldemort is kind of an undead (didn't die when the Avada Kadavra spell hit him and drinkt Unicorn Blood)

But we will probably have to wait for the next book to find out

I think it's humanity. but then it can't be. it's wierd cos the door is lovked at all times - what would happen if it were opened? what would be released into the world? like i said before i don't really know what's in there but whatever it is i think releasing it will rid the world of evil. but isn't that too simple? man, it's complicated...

I was thinking that perhaps the power locked away in that room is love but not for Harry at all. What if it is the love that Tom once had, J.K.Rowling told us we are not born evil, so where is Tom's own love, it went some where. What if Tom's love was taken from him magically leaving behind only the dark side to the boy? Maybe Tom had removed maliciously from him the ability to care, sacrifice and love anyone.

Maybe vanquishing The Dark Lord is as simple as giving back what was either taken from him or what he took from himself on the quest for immortality and that his true loving soul is locked inside that room.

Hmm, could it be change?
No one can stop the power of change, and change is always happpening.

K, it was a stupid theory, I'm sorry. lol.

Hmm, could it be change?
No one can stop the power of change, and change is always happpening.

K, it was a stupid theory, I'm sorry. lol.


Change...hmmm..i like that theory. But does change reside in the heart? Cuz that's where Dumbledore said it was.

But i was thinking about it and it might have something to do with the fact that Harry is the heir to Gryffindor. What charecteristics of Harry make him a true Gryffindor? I think we will have to go through those three Sorting Hat songs to see what a true Gryffindor needs. Loyalty? (wait is that Hufflepuff)..the main one is courage. Could this be locked in the door? I doubt it...what else makes Harry the heir?

Throughout the book we are told that Harry Potter is the Boy who lived. In book 5 we learn about a locked door in the DoM. What is contained behind that door, Harry has large quantities of. Dumbledore also says something about it being Harry's heart that saved him..
"...this kepy locked at all times. It contains a fore that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, that human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there..."

As soon as DD says it was Harry's heart that saved him, we assume it was love. But what if it was Life? Life is more wonderful than death obviously. It is also at times when a person is gravely ill, worse than death. Life is greater than human intellegence, and the forces of nature. It is THE most mysterious subject everyone studies. The mystery of life, why and how we got here. Harry's heart, litterally, his humanisitc qualities saved him. In many of the books, people state that Voldemort seems immortal, or that he was not human enough to die. Well, if he can't die, than he's not really living is he. He's just exisiting. It sort of makes sense...

What do you think?


Great post lilducky04! I was almost thinking that the room held the mysteries of having a soul/conscience, but after reading your post I'm not so sure. Your theory does make alot of sense. I can't imagine the horrors of being gravely ill and what all that entails. Look at people that are horribly suffering from Alzheimer's, not of your own mind and just existing..almost to the point of welcoming death as a release of a tortured mind.

Change...hmmm..i like that theory. But does change reside in the heart? Cuz that's where Dumbledore said it was.

But i was thinking about it and it might have something to do with the fact that Harry is the heir to Gryffindor. What charecteristics of Harry make him a true Gryffindor? I think we will have to go through those three Sorting Hat songs to see what a true Gryffindor needs. Loyalty? (wait is that Hufflepuff)..the main one is courage. Could this be locked in the door? I doubt it...what else makes Harry the heir?

Wll the main one is courage, bravery, you know. And Harry has that, and I would say that Voldemort does not. It's pretty obvious he's scared of death, when all he wants to do is cheat death. In GOF it says somewhere about him wanting to be immortal, yadda yadda.

He's probably too **** scared to die, wheras Harry, if need be, he would for his friends. Thus, he's brave, Voldemort is a coward.

its gotta be love :/

I think I have to agree with you.
But what about those brain thingies? :huh:

I vote that's it's love too. JKRowling foreshadows that that is what it is. And what force is greater than love? If someone die's for love what greater thing is there? If someone dies for "life"? it's pointless.

Also when thinking about what JKRowling would have the most powerful thing that Harry has be, remember that she is a girl (hehhehheh- that's a *joke*)

How about life? The creative force.

Voldemort was blasted out of his body and became less than the meanest ghost. He fought to remain conscious and became a parasite, suviving by possessing animals. After wormtail showed up, Voldemort instructed him how to put a rudimentary body together that needed to be fed unicorn's blood and snake venom. Unicorn's blood provides a "half life," a "cursed life," according to Firenze. In his conjured body, he lives off the lives of his dead father, Wormtail and Harry.

What Harry has that Voldemort doesn't .... is life. Voldemort is worse than dead. He is in his own words, a parasite, he can only exist on the life force of others.

i think it has something to do with love, something to do w/ his father, and something to do w/ the 'problem' of choice...this series is about love and choices, and we still don't know much about his father's role right before Lily was killed...

and whizbang, you're right...about the parasite issue...even now that Voldemort has Harry's blood, he is still a parasite, since he's using the life of someone else to recreate his body...

JKR says that the series is about death, and dealing with death.

Well, i was looking over this thing again after reading something on Mugglenet and it just hit me! I know exactly what it could be! Its Voldemorts soul!

Okay, you probably think I'm a nutter now cuz that's totally out of the question, right? But its not! You have got to read the Changeling Hypothesis (http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/thenorthtower/nt23.shtml) (continuence to it here (http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/thenorthtower/nt24.shtml)). This Hypothesis states that, when Voldemort tried to kill Harry in 1981, his body was split. Part of him formed his body (known as Vapormort) as it existed until GoF, which also contained memory (sort of like the Tom Riddle Memory). The other part was his soul! And this soul, when he tried to kill Harry was transferred into Harry! Some reasons why:

1) When Dumbledore says some of Voldemort's powers were transferred into Harry, he means the soul as well. That is why Harry was

a) almost put in Slytherin

b) is parseltongue

c) why the Fawkes-cored wand chose Harry

d) Harry is good at escaping Voldemort (he knows what
voldemorts intentions are because he sees it in Voldemorts soul)

e) He is very powerful (he has some of Voldemorts powerful soul inside of him making him able to do stuff that isn't cut out for his age)

f)Why Harry's scar hurts when Voldemort comes near him..The soul is trying to escape Harry through the scar. His head is sometimes "fit to burst" or "about to split open"

g) "But in essence divided" The thing that Dumbledore says in OotP. The snake that is divided symbolises Voldemort's soul when it is divided. The first snake symbolising The snake attacking Mr Weasley (when Harry was controlling it) and the two snakes symbolising after Harry woke up.

h) When Harry is being possessed by Voldemort it hurts Harry a lot because the soul is trying to escape Harry's body and join Voldemort again.

The question is, why did Voldemort suddenly release Harry when he thought of Sirius. I was slightly confused at this part, but then realized that Harry's thought of his godfather reflected his own soul, a good soul, which Voldemort didn't like.

The main conflict that the writer of the "Changeling Hypothesis" (CH) has is the fact that if Harry was carrying LV's soul inside of him, why didn't he tell Harry. I mean he was supposed to tell Harry everything right? Well, I have come to that conclusion. He did tell Harry, he said it was in his heart! Makes sense, doesn't it? Tell me what you think!

I think that what is behind the locked door is love because it is the only thing i can think of that Harry has over the Dark Lord nad it is somthing that voldemort cant undertand

How can someone lock love inside a room...

But whatever the power, it is dangerous to both Voldemort and Sirius's knife

How can you have love in a room? Its an emotion! Unless they somehow put lots of atoms and chemicals from peoples brains in that room somehow...

I hope its not love...that just so nonsensical and cheesy.
Just because Harry has love and Voldemort doesnt doesnt really make Harry stronger...I mean, Voldemort would be able to fight without worry for his allie's safety and stuff. So its not necessarily a weakness.

love does make swnse but i cant see JK writing something that simple...i dont think anyones fully figured it out....we usully dont..shes too smart, i do have a far fetched stupid theory though:

In the books,,,esp ootp harry is reminded for his "saving people fondness" that he executes in GoF CoS OotP PoA and in SS/PS he saves the stone from falling in the wrong hands and endangering everyone...

I think part of the force he holds inside himself is compassion. Dictionary.coms definition of it is Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it

Even though Harry couldn't care more about those he holds close to him, hes always thinking about how he could help someone that really needs it...Lord Volythingie definitely doesnt hold that in him ... as mad as he was at bellatrix he couldnt really hurt her....he shows too much feeling for everyone..even his enemies who most deserve it...
he has too much compassion.......

<back up>
An odd feeling rose in Harry; an emotion quite different from the anger and grief that had filled him since Sirius's death. It was a few moments before he realised that he was feeling sorry for Luna. ootp

ok that was bad but thees smart poeple in here that will get it

It supossly love, for what Dumbledore said ,what is being kept there, but how can love-an emotion is kept in a room?? that's the question but we know than in the magic world nothing is like we know so I think the room is maybe something like a pandora's box, you know that all kind of feelings-emotions of the human kind were kept in there, and that's why I can't be open so easily!, I hope we get to know what is really there!

"`On the contrary… the fact that you can feel pain like this is your greatest strength.'"
"`You do care,'....`You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it.'"

This reminds me of the words...compassion, empathy, sympathy. In the Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan sacrifices himself to the witch for Edward, the he is resurrected as a result of his sacrifice for Edward because he was aware of an acient rule of magic that when invoked would honor the innocent victims sacrifice for the guilty victim. I just wonder if that kind of concept plays into the plot of Harry Potter. I personally think it does, but it's just a hunch based on some of JKR's quotes about her own personal faith/religion.

I know many of you absolutely reject the idea that JKR will bring religion into the books, but there is a way for her to involve her faith concept into the plot without endorsing/esposing her specific "religion".

I have always thought that the force that Harry possesses so much of ( according to DD) and the power behind that locked door is more complex than the word love. Maybe it is an artifact or something like the Holy Grail or The Ark of the Covenant of something like that. Like the artifacts that viccar guy in Shadowmancer is trying to find.

I think Whizbang mentioned "life force" or something of that nature. That's what I think is behind that door. Something that sybolises the ultimate life force or the higher power that oversees the universe of mankind. Something like that.

Then again...be so very simple that we are just missing it completely.

I also thought about empathy.

Mercy, empathy, love, being able to care.

Life force... it could be symbolised by a pregnant woman in the room.

I also thought about empathy.

Mercy, empathy, love, being able to care.

Life force... it could be symbolised by a pregnant woman in the room.
The mistery of life. Life and death.

Love.
I'm not sure as Harry did have love but I don't think he has truly felt it yet.
Maybe with Sirius and even Ron but he can't have loved his parents because he never knew them.
But then again that could be the point: love that goes beyond death.

It could be many different things or a combination of emotions.

it certainly gives us a lot to think about!

"In the end, it didn't matter if you couldn't close your mind. It was your heart that saved you?"

Sound familiar? Gotta be love...

Yet if it is love, empathy, or anything emotional for that matter, lets think rationally here...the magical world is so vast...I understand Harry has now been marked "the chosen one" however we must not oversee the fact that there are millions of wizards out there...are there not any more wizards whose hearts are filled with "love?" The prophecy was created for a reason, it speaks of a person who possesses such power that there is a barrier seperating them from the rest of the world...we all know that person is Harry...yet there is more to this than meets the eye, there has to be, because although it may be plausible to think that Harry has bravery and courage...he has been BORN with those traits, not blessed or "given" by Voldemorts transition of power. There must be thousands of wizards with hearts as pure as Harry...i dont' believe it is love Harry Possesses, it hast o be something else that will destroy voldemort...love is to common, although powerful, JK knows better than to use something so common as the ultimate end to the HP series. Even if the dept. of mysteries is full with love, it will take more than passion to defeat voldemort.

Niffler, that entire theory is incredible. This bit in particular:

h) When Harry is being possessed by Voldemort it hurts Harry a lot because the soul is trying to escape Harry's body and join Voldemort again.

This is fascinating - and a potential nod to LOTR if true. It's a clever twist on the 'ring trying to get back to its master' theme in LOTR.

who has harry ever loved? you could say ron, hermione, and sirius, but none of them are like parents or siblings or life-long friends. when harry is feeling his worse, he hides from ron and hermione, and doesn't confide in them (about the prophecy, etc). and he hardly knows sirius, it's more like he admired him from afar.

he cares about these people but i don't think he knows real love yet. and princess potter makes an excellent point, that many witches and wizards have plenty of love in their hearts (mrs weasley!) but this force or power that harry has must be unique among all of them. plus, how do you put love in a room and study it?

I think that room has something to do with death that is being studied. Harry has some power of death in him because his mother died for him. Voldemort on the other hand has no power to die. I think that's why Harry is the only man capable of vanquishing him because he has the power of death. I hope that made sense.

I think that love is part of the answer to the unopenable room. I think the room represents the power of emotion and the ability to feel deeply and all through the spectrum of emotion. DD tells us that when unleased what is in that room can bring great joy and sorrow (or something to that effect I don't have the book with me for a full quote). Emotion does that. We all know that a tailspin of several emotions at once can be overwhelming. JK has already brought up the fury of emotions in her Dementor comparisions to depression.
We can agrue this point widely, but I dont' think VD can really feel emotions. Surely he can feel hate and maybe jealousy. But he can't fully feel the range of emotions particularly love.
When Harry forces Voldie out it is because of his feelings towards Sirius and about Sirius's death. While surley love was a major emotion in that it was certainly not the only one, grief, anguish to name a couple would have been part of it. So I think the pure power of emotion and the ability to feel like that is what drove Voldie to leave Harry.
And I think that is what is behind the door because we know that what is behind that door is what Harry posses that Voldermort does not.

How about Compassion? It's more than just love - remember his compassion for Luna because she was being bullied - despite the fact that he didn't actually want to speak to her.

It's LOVE.

But it's not as simple (or "cheesy") as people think it is. There are many types of love. Romantic love, love a parent has for a child, love for a friend, etc...

I think JKR will do better than to simply say it's "pure love". I think some of you are onto something when you bring up EMOTION. I think SACRIFICE will play a part too. To LOVE someone soo much and feel the full range of that EMOTION that you are willing to SACRIFICE yourself for it. Like God sacrificing his only son Jesus to save the human race.

I think the reason why the door is locked and Harry can't get into it (certainly not with a knife - a knife has nothing to do with love) is that he doesn't understand it yet. What's behind that door CAN be used as a weapon. ONLY if you fully understand it.

Harry right now is experiencing a chaotic whirlwind of emotions that he most certainly doesn't fully understand. And I also thinking he's missing some key experiences (including romantic love). Once he has them. And understands them. He will be able to get what is behind that locked door and use it to destroy Voldemort.

I just occurred to me that maybe it's the big "MEANING OF LIFE". Harry will end up like Siddhartha. He will finally get it in the last moments of his life then drop dead (after he vanuishes Voldemort of course).

I have read everywhere that it is Love. I could beleive that if it wasn't such an obvious answer. You can't lock it up inside a room, you can't lock it up at all. I beleive that the power Harry has that LV doesn't is heart.
I do invest some stock in the Heir vs. Heir theory, that brings me to heart. Heart of a lion and all that jazz. You can say that is love but I mean something bigger.
LV diesn't have a heart, he doesn't care for anyone. He was never shown what real relationships with people were. Harry grew up the same way but he was open to the chance. Instead of hate he was full of longing for that stuff.

Add something DD said in book 2 about choices and there you have what I think.

I know it's a little hard to read but let me know if you understand what I mean

I thought it was meant to be love - thats what DD said

Good thread, and I like the idea the secret force is love - I dont disagree that there's a lot of evidence in its favor.

I have another suggestions: the DoM room contains secrets about "Dreams." yes, dreams is another major theme in the HP series. there were insertions about dreams in the HPIII DVD, and JK said that some insertions would be later clues about the future books. Maybe that's one.

What we do know they are studying in the DoM:
1). Time (the room containing the hummingbird and jar).
2). Death (the so called "Death Room" where the Sirius dies)
3). Human Intelligence (the room with all the brains)
4). Prophecy (the Hall of Prophecy)

surely human love would be another mystery that they could be interested in, but wouldn't they also be interested in dreams? Dreams are, after all, quite powerful too. Dreams are life-giving in that they can be inspirational and motivating, and they bring us all together, at least in a sense.

The quote explaining the room:

"There is a room in the Department of Mysteries," interrupted Dumbledore, "that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. that power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you."

Now let's look at when Voldemort tried to possess Harry at the end of the DoM scene:

And then Harry's scar burst open. He know he was dead: it was pain beyond imagining, pain past endurance-
He was gone from the hall, he was locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes, so tightly bound that Harry did not know where his body ended and the creature's began. They were fused together, bound by pain, and there was no escape-
And when the creature spoke, it used Harry's mouth, so that in agony he felt his jaw move...
"Kill me now, Dumbledore...."
Blinded and dying, every part of him screaming for release, Harry felt the creature use him again...
"If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy..."
Let the pain stop, thought Harry. Let him kill us...End it, Dumbledore...Death is nothing compared to this...
And I'll see Sirius again...
And as Harry's heart filled with emotion, the creature's coils loosened, the pain was gone, Harry was lying facedown on the floor, his glasses gone, shivering as though he lay upon ice, not wood...

So in this quote we see that Voldemort tried to possess him, but when Harry's heart filled with emotion for Sirius, Voldemort left because he could not possess a body filled with the emotion he hates. Thus, the emotion in the room that Harry has is the same emotion he felt at this part of the book, thinking of Sirius...

So, what is the emotion? Is it grief or mourning for Sirius, is it compassion? Or is just love, pure love which he felt for Sirius, the only person left in his life who he truly loved, and who had just died? I think it's love, because he did love Sirius. Bellatrix says it, "Ooh, did you love him, baby Potter?" After this, Harry gets very angry. I think he did love him, and when that emotion came over him, Voldemort could not bear to possess him. That's what's in the room, and that's what saved Harry.

Well, it's good to bring up the threads from the bowels of the Forum. I'm glad to see this one again.

The Door refered to is the one in MoM kept locked at all times. As some of you think, I agree that there is no way Jo brought up this room only to keep it locked through the end of the series. Love, Life, and Dreams have been the ideas brought forth (to catch you up). And if you think Love is ho-hum as an option...let me throw some oil on the fire. What if the material in the room is Spirit. Not spirit as in Holy Spirit as in the Catholic sense; but spirit as in what resides in one's soul? Souls (someone mentioned VM's soul here) is a good start. But I'd be pretty shocked in the MoM was collecting souls like the Dementors.

More likely, the spirit of a person contains the moral conscience, and emotions needed to abide the conscience including but not limited to love, compassion, pity, understanding...and the list goes on. What I'd like to see happen is that this door does open (through the use of Wormtail's hand, which would melt) and that the force would absolutely demolish the Dememtors. They would be overwelmed by the spiritual energy, and would thus draw out the souls trapped inside of the Dementors. That would be a nice way for the dementors to vaporize. I don't see getting rid of the dementors any other way. And...maybe...the way the Unspeakables study these Spirit forces is through patronuses (past folks patronuses left behind-spiritual energy incarnate?)

Thoughts anyone?

I had (and still have) no doubt that the force in the room is LOVE.

The problem posters in this thread seem to have with that idea (and its "cheesiness") is that they're thinking of it as "an emotion," as something someone FEELS. That's a VERY limited view of love (and certainly not what The Beatles meant in "All you need is love ...".)

From the Vedantic perspective, love is a synonym for both God and consciousness. It is a natural force, existing independently of any particular organism, which can be thought of as the smallest quantum of energy which exists, "so small that it ceases to be unique," and which can consequently vibrate at ANY frequency (frequency of vibration being the essence of all things material) and so KNOW everything ("God is ominiscient")and BECOME any-thing (in the sense of Whitman's child who went out each morn 'and the first thing that he saw, that thing did he become'; "God is omnipresent, He's everywhere and IN every thing"; and it's part of Siddhartha's penultimate reallization, that even the rock was alive.)

I leave it to JKR to find a way for the unspeakeables to harness that force for use against V., but I feel sure that V's vulnerability to the force lies in the fact that he now has some of Harry's blood in him (remember Dd's slight smile when he learned that it was blood V. had taken from H.?) ANd this would explain why it did not destroy him when his avada kadavra spell didn''''t work on infant Harry and rebounded: at THAT time he did not have love in him.

Manifesting in a person, the force creates compassion for the loved object - an empathetic identification with the object, so that if the object is an appropriate (usually opposite-sexed) person the desire is to become one with it physically, while if it's someone in pain the desire is to stop the pain (since the one who is loving feels it also.)

The idea that it's V's soul makes no sense to me at all: look at what living soulless beings are like (after a Dementor's kiss); that's certainly not the state V. is in.


The BIG puzzle to me is the wording of the prophecy which says "neither can live while the other survives ... ." JKR has written that she spent time getting that wording exactly right. But aren't H and V BOTH alive and surviving at this point? (I haven't done the work on this one, but I think someplace early on, when V's first encounter with H is discussed, the speaker says that V "survived" the rebounded spell.)

Perhaps "must die AT THE HAND of the other" is relevant (although of course we think at once about Wormtail, and then of his still-unpaid debt to H.) But that doesn't explain the "neither can live" clause. Anyone have any thoughts about that?

Okay, so we've thought of Love, Life, Dreams and Spirits so far. Truthfully, the room containing spirits or souls seems a bit far-fetched to me. Because a person can only have one soul, can't they? So how's Harry so full of this power? Does he have more than one soul? :) It doesn't really match, does it?

Okay, on the other hand, if you fit "dreams' into the prophecy, it doesn't match either.

"It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. that power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests"

I don't know. I'm probably being a big skeptic, but Dreams still doesn't fit in with what we already have. Harry isn't very much full of dreams. In OotP, those were the result of him entering Voldemort's mind. But still.. I know Harry's always been having prophetic dreams since book 1. He dreamed of his stag Patronus even before he conjured it. He dreamed Quirrel's turban was talking to him and asking him to switch houses. Yet it still doesn't seem like a huge-super-powerful thing.

What Haynesworth just said made me realize something:


And then Harry's scar burst open. He know he was dead: it was pain beyond imagining, pain past endurance-
He was gone from the hall, he was locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes, so tightly bound that Harry did not know where his body ended and the creature's began. They were fused together, bound by pain, and there was no escape-
And when the creature spoke, it used Harry's mouth, so that in agony he felt his jaw move...
"Kill me now, Dumbledore...."
Blinded and dying, every part of him screaming for release, Harry felt the creature use him again...
"If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy..."
Let the pain stop, thought Harry. Let him kill us...End it, Dumbledore...Death is nothing compared to this...
And I'll see Sirius again...
And as Harry's heart filled with emotion, the creature's coils loosened, the pain was gone, Harry was lying facedown on the floor, his glasses gone, shivering as though he lay upon ice, not wood...

So in this quote we see that Voldemort tried to possess him, but when Harry's heart filled with emotion for Sirius, Voldemort left because he could not possess a body filled with the emotion he hates. Thus, the emotion in the room that Harry has is the same emotion he felt at this part of the book, thinking of Sirius...

So, what is the emotion?


If you just look at "And I'll see Sirius again." that sentence is brimming with HOPE.

So to further complicate discussions, I'll throw in a new possibility that the power Harry has is HOPE.

(Okay, actually I'm just playing around here. Ever since my first reading of OotP, I've been a firm believer that the mysterious power is love. But coming up with new theories is fun)

Runes~*~

Mod I did a search and nothing came up. Please merge if you have to.

But in OoTP when the DA get to the circular room in the DOM there is a locked door. Later Dumbledore mentions it and says that within that door there is something more wonderful and more terrible than death. It is something that Harry posses in such quantities and that Voldemort has none of. And then he says that it is what brought Harry to Sirius that night.

At the beginning of the Chapter The Only on He Feared Harry is chasing down Bellatrix and she says "Did you Love him Potter". I think this was a clue that Jk was giving us.

I believe what is studied in the Locked Room is Love.

I've read many threads and editorials on the subject but I've yet to see anyone mention the first thing that popped into my mind after I decided it wasn't love.

Selflessness. The ability to put someone else's needs ahead of your own.

Think about it. It's something Harry has in great abundance, and something Voldemort certainly does not have.

It's also something that can be both great and terrible.
It's great because it makes you feel good to make others happy. But it's terrible because it opens you up to the possibility of being used.

And it certainly could be what drove Harry to rescue Sirius. He risked his own life to save him. He put Sirius' life ahead of his own.

And here's the part I find most interesting. When Voldemort possesses Harry and asks Dumbledore to kill him we don't know what Harry is thinking. Maybe Harry agrees, maybe he is willing to sacrifice himself to ensure Voldemort's death and protect the world. At this point neither he nor Voldemort know Dumbledore can't kill him. So when Voldemort realized Harry was willing to sacrifice himself he was unable to bear the selflessness coursing through him.

There's probably a better word for it but I think the main idea works very well.

Comments and criticism are very very welcome.

It could be the power that harry have (and voldemort doesn't)...well think about it about there's a reason if that door won't open like the others (and there are very dangerous things in other ones)
And maybe that reason is that no one have mastered what lies in that chamber yet (or maybe no one CAN master it....)

My point is that maybe it is (after all) something that could destroy Voldemort, but maybe only Harry will have the power to open, enter in that room and control, wield, tame, use, learn....(whatever) that power...and tht's why it had not been use against Voldemort until now

Just a thought...


Peace

I think the room is similiar to the brain room, except it contains hearts. They would study the emotions that come from the heart instead of thoughts and memories from the brain. These would include love and sorrow. Since the cover for HBP has come out, I think the American cover depicts Dumbledore teaching Harry by use of the Penseive how to read and understand his emotions. My theory is that by placing the wand to the heart rather then the brain, emotions can be placed in the penseive like we have seen it used for memories. Since the light is green instead of silver, I believe something besides memories are being studied.

Who would go in the room to study....could this be an area that Harry goes with Dumbledore to study the ancient magic.
What would be the requirement to open the door...to have loved and lost, to be willing to lay your life down to save others or to be able to love yourself. Harry doesn't think too highly of himself.

Would hate also be kept in the same room?

If the room housed love, it would be dangerous. Most people see love and hate as being opposite, when really they are born of the same thing. You don't bother "hating" something you don't care about. It wouldn't be the first time that the power of love has been manipulated to a political or personal agenda. Just ask U2!

(edit) Having just re-read the quote, it makes scence that it doesn't need to be any particular emotion, just emotion itself.

What do we know about students of Slytherin? They're amitious, covet status, power ... even the likes of Crab Jr and Boyle Jr want to be near power if they can't gain it for themselves- why else hang out with Draco when he treats them the way he does?

We know "power corrupts". Greed for anything, but particularly power, will cause some people to focus in on themselves, their own needs and wants. We know that in some people, depending on the level of greed will do anything no matter what cost. At present, LV is fighting for power, and possibly his very existance if he has interpreted the prophecy as "kill or be killed". LV and the DE are killing without remorse, which I see as having no emotion...

Unless you want to focus on psychotic joy and amusement, particularly in Bella's case

I've read many threads and editorials on the subject but I've yet to see anyone mention the first thing that popped into my mind after I decided it wasn't love.

Selflessness. The ability to put someone else's needs ahead of your own.

Think about it. It's something Harry has in great abundance, and something Voldemort certainly does not have.

It's also something that can be both great and terrible.
It's great because it makes you feel good to make others happy. But it's terrible because it opens you up to the possibility of being used.

And it certainly could be what drove Harry to rescue Sirius. He risked his own life to save him. He put Sirius' life ahead of his own.


And here's the part I find most interesting. When Voldemort possesses Harry and asks Dumbledore to kill him we don't know what Harry is thinking. Maybe Harry agrees, maybe he is willing to sacrifice himself to ensure Voldemort's death and protect the world. At this point neither he nor Voldemort know Dumbledore can't kill him. So when Voldemort realized Harry was willing to sacrifice himself he was unable to bear the selflessness coursing through him.

There's probably a better word for it but I think the main idea works very well.

Comments and criticism are very very welcome.

I agree that the concept of self sacrifice is incredibly important in this series...and it started in the series with Lily's willingness to sacrifice herself for Harry...I am still stuck on that because the AK that LV cast at Harry did not show up on the priori incatum, but that is another thread...however...I think there is a link somehow with that room and self sacrifice...and unconditional love and the fact that the AK didn't show up in the priori incatum is not an editing error, I just know it!

Again...I go back to the story of Jesus Christ and the story of Aslan in Chronicles of Narnia and Froto in LOTR, there are some similarities in these and in Aslan's case...it was a loop hole in "ancient magic" that allowed him to "raise again" because he was "innocent" and sacrificed himself for Edmund, who was guilty. There's going to be something from beyond the veil and that room that melted Harry's knife and Harry is the one with the power to vanquish the dark lord...we're all probably just dancing around the answer!

It may be something that involves Lily's blood, but I don't understand why there is a room especially for that sort of power, and I really want to know what on earth that is :sad:

There are some feelings that are generated by the thought process, so they come from the brain not the heart. Some of the feelings coming from the brain are jealously, envy, and prejudice. Love and sorrow come from the heart, not the brain. I haven't decided where to put hate, but I'm leaning toward the brain. Therefore I have decided the room involves the study ot the heart. It was after all Harry's heart that saved him at the MOM not his brain. I think that the feelings comong from Riddle's brain were always in conflict with the emotions from his heart, so in his conformation to Voldemort, he removed these emotions from his heart. Therefore Harry has powers Voldemort does not have, Strong emotions that come from the heart.

There are some feelings that are generated by the thought process, so they come from the brain not the heart. Some of the feelings coming from the brain are jealously, envy, and prejudice. Love and sorrow come from the heart, not the brain. I haven't decided where to put hate, but I'm leaning toward the brain. Therefore I have decided the room involves the study ot the heart. It was after all Harry's heart that saved him at the MOM not his brain. I think that the feelings comong from Riddle's brain were always in conflict with the emotions from his heart, so in his conformation to Voldemort, he removed these emotions from his heart. Therefore Harry has powers Voldemort does not have, Strong emotions that come from the heart.

good one paintball...

The heart is a muscle. All emotion and thought come from the brain. I wish I knew what JKR meant by including that brain room!

I definantley think the power which resides in the room is the Power Of Love.

Lets look at the quote describing the room:

"There is a room in the Department of Mysteries," interrupted Dumbledore, "that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. that power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you."

So first of all lets look at the first line, It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. The first thing is the words wondeful and terrible, similar words have been used before by Dumbledore, in the Philosophers/Sorcerers Stone Page 216 - Philosophers Stone - Paper Back Dumbledore says to Harry It is a beautiful and terrible thing and after reading J.K I think she chose her words carefully, because dumbledore goes on to talk about the love Lily had for Harry, which i will go on to later, and i think that Dumbledore using these words to describe love in the first book, and using very similiar words in the fifth book suggest he is again talking about love.

The next thing is that Dumbledore describes this power as more wonderful and more terrible than death and the only thing i can think of to fit this description is love, because love can be such a wondeful thing, love can bring great happiness and friendships, but love can also do the opposite, love can cause heartbreak, and grief, like we saw when Harry lost Sirius, and love can cause people to wish they were dead, whe a loved one is lost, so the theory of love matches this description. Dumbledore then describes the Power as also more wondeful and more terrible than Than human intelligence, than the forces of nature I think the human intellignece reference, again fits in with the theory of love, because again love can sereve you well as well as bad, because love can make you do things which you know could be dangerous or stupid usually, like when the power of love made harry go to sirius rescue, the power of love made him do something stupid so again it fits to this description.

Next we go on to Dumbledore saying It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. that power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. We know that Harry possesses love because again in the Philosophers/Sorcerers stone Dumbledore says It is in your very skin so we know that harry possesses this so love fits with that, and which voldermort has not at all Love again fits again Dumbledore says that Love is the one thing voldermort cannot understand, and although this doesnt mean that Voldermort has none at all, i think it is more likley than not that he has none, as he has nobody to love and nobody to love him and voldermort clearly despises this power of love so again love fits. The next thing is that the power That power took you to save Sirius tonight. Which i have no doubt is love and backs up the theory of the power being love, harry clearly loved sirius, harry had never had anybody else to love and harry couldnt stand seeing sirius being hurt because of the love he felt for him, so again Love fits. The last part i am not going to touch on i am just going to quote from an earlier post as i agree completley so here it is:

The quote explaining the room:

"There is a room in the Department of Mysteries," interrupted Dumbledore, "that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. that power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you."

Now let's look at when Voldemort tried to possess Harry at the end of the DoM scene:

And then Harry's scar burst open. He know he was dead: it was pain beyond imagining, pain past endurance-
He was gone from the hall, he was locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes, so tightly bound that Harry did not know where his body ended and the creature's began. They were fused together, bound by pain, and there was no escape-
And when the creature spoke, it used Harry's mouth, so that in agony he felt his jaw move...
"Kill me now, Dumbledore...."
Blinded and dying, every part of him screaming for release, Harry felt the creature use him again...
"If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy..."
Let the pain stop, thought Harry. Let him kill us...End it, Dumbledore...Death is nothing compared to this...
And I'll see Sirius again...
And as Harry's heart filled with emotion, the creature's coils loosened, the pain was gone, Harry was lying facedown on the floor, his glasses gone, shivering as though he lay upon ice, not wood...

So in this quote we see that Voldemort tried to possess him, but when Harry's heart filled with emotion for Sirius, Voldemort left because he could not possess a body filled with the emotion he hates. Thus, the emotion in the room that Harry has is the same emotion he felt at this part of the book, thinking of Sirius...

So, what is the emotion? Is it grief or mourning for Sirius, is it compassion? Or is just love, pure love which he felt for Sirius, the only person left in his life who he truly loved, and who had just died? I think it's love, because he did love Sirius. Bellatrix says it, "Ooh, did you love him, baby Potter?" After this, Harry gets very angry. I think he did love him, and when that emotion came over him, Voldemort could not bear to possess him. That's what's in the room, and that's what saved Harry.

This post was for all you people out there who think that love is the power in that room, it fits into every quote, and i believe that love is what will see the end of harry and voldermort, harry will sacrifice himself to save the ones he loves.

p.s. give me feedback

Great post slimeysnake77, and convincing. The only problem with love is, that I can't see a way to use it (to vanquish Voldemort) or to study it.

I have the perfect solution of what is in that dam room that everyone keeps talking about. It is obv. Sirius's flying motorcycle lol. The MoM confiscated it when they took Sirius to Azkaban, and they have kept it in that room ever since! lol what do u think?

I have the perfect solution of what is in that dam room that everyone keeps talking about. It is obv. Sirius's flying motorcycle lol. The MoM confiscated it when they took Sirius to Azkaban, and they have kept it in that room ever since! lol what do u think?

That could be true, you never know! I believe that the room may contain Love as well, but I have another idea. What if the room just contains emotions in general? I remember Snape saying to Harry that only fools wear their emotions on their sleeves for all to see or something like that during an occlumency lesson in OoTP. (Just a thought, I'm really bored)

To slimeysnake77, with post #106, I must say, your post was excellent. It was well thought out, and well explained. Very good proof, too. You should check out one of Mugglenet's editorials in the North Tower. She has a post on how she thinks that love is the power in that room. She's got a lot of other literary analyses on that page that are very good, and make you think of different angles in the stories. It's a very interesting read.

There is a room in the Department of Mysteries," interrupted Dumbledore, "that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there.

. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there.



Is love more terrible than death? I wish it was something like Pain…but it has to be something that’s “wonderful” too. Imagination? Fear? It’s hard to argue for anything really. I hope she’s just leading us on to think that it’s love then BAM something much less corny. But in the end it’ll probably be love…she’ll make it seem les corny I guess. :whistle: Hmm I think I’ll look for some similar things in other fantasy books and see if I can come up with any similar power. Anyway, whatever it is, I hope that when it’s unleashed it gives a Pandora’s Box affect.

On a side note, whatever is in that room how did they put it in there and why? It is present in regular people or at least Harry, so why shut it in a locked room, simply to study.... to unleash on Voldemort...some other reason? Where did they get it?

i dont think its a room filled with "love". Everybody can feel, recieve and give love, not just Harry. Maybe its a power that is charged with love, or powered by love, but only harry can use it, using his love and nobodys elses. I think it would be a bit pig-headed to say that Harry is the only charater in the books that can love. It sounds, to be honest and i can think of no other word, it sounds stupid. Perhaps if the ancient, magical power is love :rolleyes: then I would be greatly disapointed in JK.

Anyway, if you look at it, Love doesnt really fit the discription in which Dumbledore gave:

"a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there"

First of all - Love isnt a force, its a feeling, an emotion, it doesnt have a form, therefore cannot be a force of some sort.

secondly, Love is more terribile than death? dumbledore has always said there are thing worse than death, therefore are you trying to say that being loved is more terribile than dying? he also saids its more its more wonderfull than death, Dumbledore said, and i quote "To the well organized mind, Death is but the next great adventure".

"More wonderfull and more terribile than death"

This basically means the same thing.

Then he goes on to say:
"than human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there"

a force that is at once more wonderfull and more terribile than:
1. Death
2. Human Intelligence
3. Forces of Nature

theres the proof that it cannot be "love". Furthermore the fact that JK used the word "mysterious". The word mysterious is usually used in a context that is describing something that is unknown. Love is known, its Human intelligence, we all know what love is, we may at times not understand it, but we know what it is.

here are two meaning from the dictonary about what the word Mysterious means:

Synonyms: mysterious, esoteric, arcane, occult, inscrutable

1 - These adjectives mean beyond human power to explain or understand. Something mysterious arouses wonder and inquisitiveness: “The sea lies all about us.... In its mysterious past it encompasses all the dim origins of life” (Rachel Carson). What is esoteric is mysterious because only a select group knows and understands it : a compilation of esoteric philosophical essays. Arcane applies to what is hidden from general knowledge: arcane economic theories. Occult suggests knowledge reputedly gained only by secret, magical, or supernatural means: an occult rite. Something that is inscrutable cannot be fathomed by means of investigation or scrutiny: “It is not for me to attempt to fathom the inscrutable workings of Providence” (Earl of Birkenhead).

2 - mysterious

adj 1: of an obscure nature; "the new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms"; "a deep dark secret"; "the inscrutible workings of Providence"; "in its mysterious past it encompasses all the dim origins of life"- Rachel Carson; "rituals totally mystifying to visitors from other lands" [syn: cryptic, cryptical, deep, inscrutable, mystifying] 2: having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding; "mysterious symbols"; "the mystical style of Blake"; "occult lore"; "the secret learning of the ancients"

The bits ive put in bold show the point im trying to make. That even The unspeakables that reasearch this power within the DOM arent even sure what it is/how it works. We all know what love is and how it works, yes its the most powerfull emotion, it can brilliant and terribile at the same time, but JK has suggested that the power that harry holds is something unknown, something that people are studying, suggesting that they know little about it, and its pretty far fetched to say that Harry knows most about love and is the only person in the whole book that knows how to truly love. The power being love just isnt a plausibile theroy. It may be charged/powered by love, but it, in its self, cant be love, if that were the case then everybody would be able to use this "power".

Phew, my hands are sore typing :p

I like your thinking T_o_X_i_C.

Maybe it has something to do with his Harry's scar and the reason why Voldemort couldn't kill Harry in the first place. I know that the main reason was his Mother's love but I know that there is more to it than that or else we wouldn't have found out so early on that what saved Harry was love, right? Doesn't it have to be a surprise.
Memory maybe?

I meant to add to my last post that, somebody said in this thread that the room must be "love" because there is a room of death. Death has no relation to love, the opposite of love is hate, and there wasnt a room of hate, its more likley that there is a room that has something to do with "life" or the "living" as there is a room of death, or so we can assume.

But anyway.....

Memory is a possibilty, but harry hasnt really got the best memory in the world, and i dont see how having a good memory would enable him to defeat Lord Voldemort. It seems to me that the DOM is layed out in a certain way, i got this from one of the editorials at mugglenet, heres how its basically layed out:

1. Round room with lots of doors which tend to switch places (entrance)
2. Room with aquariums full of greenish liquid and brains (intelligence)
3. Amphitheater with black veil (death)
4. Locked door (mystic power)
5. Shining room with clocks (time)
6. Big room with shelves and class orbs (prophesies)
7. Room with floating planets (the universe)

Thats all the rooms we know so far in the DOM. I think there is probably 12 signifigant rooms all together, as JK seems to be fond of the number 12, and that there are 12 doors. Obviously there are missing elements, it might be possibile to guess (we wont know or sure until the next book), however i noticed that all theese elements seemed to be conected to certain subjects at Hogwarts, like so:

Intelligence - History of Magic
Death - Defense Against The dark Arts
Prophesies/The universe - Divination
Prophesies/The universe - Arithmancy (could fit either)

Time could fit into any of them, my point is, JK seemed to have created rooms that parallel with different aspects of magic, the ones missing of course are :

Potions, Charms, Ancient Runes, Herbology, Care of Magical creatures.

Flying lessons is a very minor subject that only first years get, but im going to include it as the main entrance circular room doesnt really count so:

Theres the Circular room, which has twelve doors, :

*Note that we are not sure what arithmancy involves yet*


1. Room Of intelligence - History of Magic
2. Room of death - Defense Against the Dark Arts
3. Room of "mystic power" - ???
4. Room of time - Arithmancy/Divination
5. Room of prophesies - Arithmancy/Divination
6. Room of universe - Arithmancy/Divination
7. ??? - Potions
8. ??? - Charms
9. ??? - Ancient Runes
10. ??? - Herbology
11. ??? - Care of Magical Creatures
12. ??? - Flying

So im proposing that the other rooms in the DOM can be related to any Hogwarts subject, for example dont be suprised if the ministry is illegally breeding mysteious creatures (Care of magical creatures), Like Luna Lovegood said they were. Luna also mentioned Heliopaths and other such things. The only trouble im having is finding what the "power" room holds, and the only subject left is Muggle Studies, however The power room can hold any of the subject themes from numbers 7 - 12. Is it just me, or does anybody see a connection beetween Hogwarts and The DOM? They are both big, complex places afterall, any thoughts :tu: :td:

You got me thinking again T_o_X_i_C. But pretty soon I should think thoroughly before I post, but right now I don’t want to forget. So this might not be good, but it might get everyone thinking.

Okay, remember the veil room was an amphitheatre somewhat like the trail rooms. One idea we can take from this is that this was a place where people were put to DEATH most likely for punishment…perhaps experiment.

Then there’s the brain room. After Ron went through his little ordeal Madame Pompfrey said something about MEMORIES leaving the worst scars. So these brains probably gave Ron bad memories that he won’t soon forget.

Then there’s the time room. TIME changes people, they go from the health of youth to the misery of old age set on by the thought of death and the breakdown of the body. Time is inevitable, it’s always moving. Time brings many things with it. Waiting can be hell.

The Prophesies, FATE can be a horrible thing…just read Macbeth. If the prophesies do contain the truth of what will inevitably happen, just think of trying to escape from that knowledge, it would be torture! Imagine having that knowledge! Would you want to know?

And the last one we have knowledge on is tricky. The UNIVERSE, it could be about the mystery of our existence, that maybe our whole life was planned before we were even born. It could be the realization that we are so small and insignificant, that in the bigger picture, we are useless…not a comforting thought.

So that leaves us with the mystery room. All of the other rooms can be somewhat good or positive, but have very strong negative connotations. So I don’t think that it’s Love. Something like truth might fit in but again does Harry have a lot of truth? What would melt metal (this could simply be security on the door). What is so feared that is must be locked at all times. Could it really bring down Voldemort? It’s in the department of mysteries, so it is not fully understood…it’s a mystery. It could also be a form of punishment? The others were a part of life…they are inescapable things, a part of being human. If we put love in, then we’d have to put in other emotions. They appear to be things that make us living beings, things that define our existence.

Hmm I am starting to think that it might be truth despite Harry having to have a lot of it. It would make sense really Voldemort couldn’t stand to possess Harry because he could see the truth in his wrongs and his existence. Listen to this. Truth is more wonderful and terrible than death, the truth about yourself, your wrongs and guilt can be terrible, the truth that someone you thought was dead is alive is wonderful! The truth is better that human intelligence! The absolute truth about everything is beyond all human intelligence. The truth is more powerful than nature. And the last part is the clincher, “it is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of many subjects for study that reside there” the truth is stranger than fiction after all, I think it fits perfectly! Without a doubt I think its TRUTH. If I didn’t convince you that it’s truth at least I convinced myself. But only time will tell for sure!

And the truth shall set you free. Over and out!

I think you just started a whole new way of looking at the mysterious room. You haven't completely convinced me, but you got me thinking about it. It does seem to fit, but how could truth be used against Voldemort as a weapon? Will the truth about Voldemort not being pure blood get out and destroy his following because they're all about being pure blood? Or will they accept him as he is simply because he is more powerful than they? It's a tough one to figure out.

You got me thinking again T_o_X_i_C. But pretty soon I should think thoroughly before I post, but right now I don’t want to forget. So this might not be good, but it might get everyone thinking.

Okay, remember the veil room was an amphitheatre somewhat like the trail rooms. One idea we can take from this is that this was a place where people were put to DEATH most likely for punishment…perhaps experiment.

Then there’s the brain room. After Ron went through his little ordeal Madame Pompfrey said something about MEMORIES leaving the worst scars. So these brains probably gave Ron bad memories that he won’t soon forget.

Then there’s the time room. TIME changes people, they go from the health of youth to the misery of old age set on by the thought of death and the breakdown of the body. Time is inevitable, it’s always moving. Time brings many things with it. Waiting can be hell.

The Prophesies, FATE can be a horrible thing…just read Macbeth. If the prophesies do contain the truth of what will inevitably happen, just think of trying to escape from that knowledge, it would be torture! Imagine having that knowledge! Would you want to know?

And the last one we have knowledge on is tricky. The UNIVERSE, it could be about the mystery of our existence, that maybe our whole life was planned before we were even born. It could be the realization that we are so small and insignificant, that in the bigger picture, we are useless…not a comforting thought.

So that leaves us with the mystery room. All of the other rooms can be somewhat good or positive, but have very strong negative connotations. So I don’t think that it’s Love. Something like truth might fit in but again does Harry have a lot of truth? What would melt metal (this could simply be security on the door). What is so feared that is must be locked at all times. Could it really bring down Voldemort? It’s in the department of mysteries, so it is not fully understood…it’s a mystery. It could also be a form of punishment? The others were a part of life…they are inescapable things, a part of being human. If we put love in, then we’d have to put in other emotions. They appear to be things that make us living beings, things that define our existence.

Hmm I am starting to think that it might be truth despite Harry having to have a lot of it. It would make sense really Voldemort couldn’t stand to possess Harry because he could see the truth in his wrongs and his existence. Listen to this. Truth is more wonderful and terrible than death, the truth about yourself, your wrongs and guilt can be terrible, the truth that someone you thought was dead is alive is wonderful! The truth is better that human intelligence! The absolute truth about everything is beyond all human intelligence. The truth is more powerful than nature. And the last part is the clincher, “it is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of many subjects for study that reside there” the truth is stranger than fiction after all, I think it fits perfectly! Without a doubt I think its TRUTH. If I didn’t convince you that it’s truth at least I convinced myself. But only time will tell for sure!

And the truth shall set you free. Over and out!

10-4 good buddy, we read you loud and clear. Yee-Haw!

I wonder if JK has read this quote by Oscar Wilde

'The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.'

In the Department of Mysteries we have the 'death' room containing the veil. Given the consequences of falling through the veil surely it would make sense for this room to be inaccessible. I personally believe that the inaccessible room does contain 'love' and that this is the power that Harry has and that Voldemort cannot understand:
'There is a room in the Department of Mysteries... that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and terrible than death... It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight... It was your heart that saved you' (my emphasis).

Just a thought! :tu:

I wonder if JK has read this quote by Oscar Wilde

'The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.'

In the Department of Mysteries we have the 'death' room containing the veil. Given the consequences of falling through the veil surely it would make sense for this room to be inaccessible. I personally believe that the inaccessible room does contain 'love' and that this is the power that Harry has and that Voldemort cannot understand:
'There is a room in the Department of Mysteries... that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and terrible than death... It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight... It was your heart that saved you' (my emphasis).

Just a thought! :tu:

Yes love is more terrible than death. That might be why I dislike it so.

I think you just started a whole new way of looking at the mysterious room. You haven't completely convinced me, but you got me thinking about it. It does seem to fit, but how could truth be used against Voldemort as a weapon? Will the truth about Voldemort not being pure blood get out and destroy his following because they're all about being pure blood? Or will they accept him as he is simply because he is more powerful than they? It's a tough one to figure out.
Of course truth could be used against Voldemort as a weapon! It could be used in many different ways, depending on how JKR wants to use it and what form it is in!

First off, maybe only someone who is ready to face the truth or who wants to face the truth could open the door to the room. I believe that Harry will be the one to do this.

Perhaps, the truth would only show the truth of oneself. So then when a person is “exposed to the truth” they will come face to face with who they are…who they really are in the deepest part of their being. Perhaps it would play your whole life before you, without the illusions and self-deception that the mind makes, but the bare, stark reality of existence. Not a view of life clouded by hope or fantasies, but you would see yourself as a bit of life, pitiful and insignificant. Every weakness would be exposed to your eyes, the harsh difference from who you made yourself out to be and what you are would be devastating to anyone, you would not be able to recognize yourself! You might see every emotion that ran through your head, every thought and every decision. You would see the side of yourself that you always refused to accept. You might see every bit of pain that you caused others, every bit of jealousy, every lie and all of your fears. How could you accept yourself!

If Harry had to go through this first, he might survive the pain. However Voldemort has done so many horrible things and has hidden behind so many lies that it could kill him. Voldemort might find that he does not possess his own true body and his life was an illusion and that there isn’t enough “human” in him to survive. Maybe this was why he “died” the first time, but he wasn’t “human” enough to die fully.

He could be stripped down to Tom Riddle, but I think in the end he will die regardless.

There are numerous other ways that truth could be used as a weapon, and if it is truth I am willing to bet that there are many hints on how it could be used.

Any other ideas on how truth could be used as a weapon, or what form it will take? Any more reasons why it couldn't work?

I had been thinking about this room a bit and when re-reading OOTP I realized that someone else who Harry knows, other than Dumbledore, may have a very good idea of what is inside the room. Right after Sirius' knife melts, Luna says, "You know what could be in there?", but she is cut off by Hermione. Now usually JK lets Luna say her crazy things, but I think she had Hermione cut her Luna off because I think Luna may really know what is in there. JK doesn't usually do things at random and I wouldn't be surprised if we don't find out from Luna in HBP or book 7 what may truly be in there.

I agree, Chaps.

I definately think that Hermione interrupting Luna was very coy on JKR's part. Luna's idea could be right on the money, no doubt! We have assumed that the door that melted Harry's knife is the door that DD is speaking of when he tells Harry that he has so much of the power that resides behind a door that is locked at all times in the dept. of mysteries...Could be two completely different doors!

I had been thinking about this room a bit and when re-reading OOTP I realized that someone else who Harry knows, other than Dumbledore, may have a very good idea of what is inside the room. Right after Sirius' knife melts, Luna says, "You know what could be in there?", but she is cut off by Hermione. Now usually JK lets Luna say her crazy things, but I think she had Hermione cut her Luna off because I think Luna may really know what is in there. JK doesn't usually do things at random and I wouldn't be surprised if we don't find out from Luna in HBP or book 7 what may truly be in there.

Nah, I don't think so. Probably Luna thought there were heliopaths (which she'd mentioned once before).

it seems too obvious to be love. I most certainly hope that its not because that would just be corny.

That's interesting about Luna being cut off by Hermione. You could be right but it could also be that they were in a bit of a Hurry and Hermione couldn't be bothered wasting time listening to what Luna thought now (that is said coming from hermione's perspective, I'm not being short). I think that the room will be of importance though, JKR has made made it too mysterious not to explain it. Is it the room where love resides or is it somewhere completely different? Could the melting of the knife mean it's somehwere different as melting seems rather evil or is it because the knife could be used for evil that the room of love melts it? Am I making sense?

You are making sense, but I think the reason the knife melted is simply because the room is under a much higher level of security with a larger range of spells that protect it from objects like Sirius's knife.

I think another good possiblity is hope. For those of you who have not read it yet, check out the editorial Love, Love, Love. It is a very well thought out and written editorial on why it hope not love that Harry possesses and Voldemort does not.

You are making sense, but I think the reason the knife melted is simply because the room is under a much higher level of security with a larger range of spells that protect it from objects like Sirius's knife.

Yes that would be the obvious answer, just trying to think of other posibilities and make my mind work :) . I am sure that Dumbledore has said that it is love and not hope that resides in Harry...That makes me think the room is filled with love (but then it is difficult to assume that things are straight forward with JKR and HArry Potter lol!)

I just hope that it is truth, I guess no one else likes my theory. :rotfl: I just hope that I won't be disappointed if it's love. I'm sure Jo will make it seem less corny.

Time to put my theory on public display.:rotfl:

So, I'm wondering if the we are supposed to be asking ourselves about the room devoted in the Dept. of Mysteries that contains information on the power that Harry has that Voldemort does not?
Like everyone said, it is love. I think the best evidence for this is when LV is posessing Harry, trying to get DD to kill Harry in hopes of killing LV, Harry begs for death, then thinks of being able to see Sirius again. It is the love that comes into his mind for Sirius that LV can't stand and which forces him out of Harry's body. I wonor if now Sirius's death will have a similar effect as Harry's mum's death in protecting Harry.

It seems like love is the obvious choice. I however am hoping it isn't as that is kinda cheesy. Although the clues seem to pioint to it being so.... I wonder how this is going to be explained......

the force so powerful is love, i also think that this is the core of harry's choice and the core of the book

its proboly love although jk will make it seem better so i wont be disappointed

I also think that what inside the room is love ...the power of love. We must not forget the the theme of all the series is Love.

Love, obviously... maybe to defeat Voldy Harry just has to push him into the room full of LOVE!!!!!

It is also obvious that love is something Voldemort does not have. JKR has made many parallels between Lord Voldemort and Harry. Both Harry and Voldemort were orphaned as babaies, and they both grew up in homes that fostered no love. It was not untill they attended Hogwarts that they found accceptance and friends. However, Harry, unlike Voldemort, forms strong bonds with his friends based on love and respect. Voldemort forces his power on others and forms "friendships" (if you could even call them that) on fear and power trips. In the lobby of the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledor tells Voldemort that there are somethings worse than death. Voldemort cannot comprehend this, and it seems like Voldemort has gone so far down his desperate path that to see it ruined would be the end of the world. But, since his path has been determined by hisdeep hatred and desire for revenge, maybe he his living a life worse than death. I wonder just exactly waht JKR thinks is worse than death? Anyway, to get to the point, love is the thing that saves Harry multiple times, and is described as very powerful (powerful enough to even deflect the death curse). So it makes very much sense that something that powerful would be under strong protection.

In two readings I never paid much attention to that room... I am so glad for this thread!

OK, so, assuming that this room is the (hem-hem) LOVE room, what is it doing at the Ministry? How does one represent love so as to study it? Who studies it? What would be in this room?

I see that I'm in for another reading of this book...

"It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. That power also saved you from Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests....It was your heart that saved you"
(Dumbledore, p 743)
Remember also it is the blood of his mother that kept him safe from Voldemort at the Dursley's. So this force being either his mothers blood or his mothers love??????? In OotP it is blood, but in the CoS it is... "Love,Harry" (Dumbledore, The hospital wing)
I guess it does bring into mind that there will be more info revealed in the next book about Lilly Potter? I hope so....
great question! :tu:

Jeanne

what is the love room doing at the ministry? wizards and muggles have a lot to study about love until today. how does one represent love? brains represented thoughts, the weapon was represented in the form of prophesy, some are saying the veil represent the line between life and death... i think that love is represented in some other ways. who studies it? wizards. even muggles are trying to study love. what would be in this room? (refer to above answer, 'how does one represent love?') it could be anything.

...yes, but what could it be?

Rooms contain things. Something is in the room, something that is kept under lock and key... I mean, a physical thing that can be locked up behind a door. Unless JKR has very corny plans with that, like love opens all doors (at which point I would gag and pass out), it seems to be something quite profound.

...yes, but what could it be?

Rooms contain things. Something is in the room, something that is kept under lock and key... I mean, a physical thing that can be locked up behind a door. Unless JKR has very corny plans with that, like love opens all doors (at which point I would gag and pass out), it seems to be something quite profound.

Well I guess the first question would be what is love exactly? What form could it possible take on? What is the physical form of pure love. What sort of object could it inhabit or how could it be contained.

I am still clinging to the idea that it could possibly be something other than love.:grumble:

There are also many definitions of love or kinds of love. Love is hard to explain, it isn't all cut and dry, love isn't something explainable like hate or sadness. Let's define what kind or what aspect of love it could possibly be.:D (<---fake enthusiastic smile)

Oh, I really wish it wasn't there in the first place. Somehow it seems to cheapen the ride for me. Can't explain it.

Sorry if someone has said this before...I read the first few posts. That's the room that contains a force and remains locked at all times, right? Last night I finished re-reading OotP, and I came across Luna's statement... they were in the Dept. of Mysteries first room, the one with twelve doors that spins. When Harry tried to open it and it was locked, Luna said something like "You know what I think is in there?", and Hermione writes her off by saying "Something blibbering, no doubt." Later on Dumbledore tells Harry about one locked room with that force thing, and I was like wow, Luna knew that! I, for one, am a supporter of the "Luna is a misunderstood genius" theory...
As for that door, I guess it's love, but how do you keep love in a room? Hmm... I guess that's why they call it the Dept. of Mysteries.

21 days!

I am losing my mind. I've forgotten why I came up with the "Truth theory" in the first place. Love is not worse than death! I change my mind back again, it's truth in the room.

If you have no clue what I am talking about go to page 6 and read my theory. It may make you more confused but at least it's an alternate to the love theory.

Wouldn't that be something if that's where the people who fell into the veil go...

Wouldn't that be something if that's where the people who fell into the veil go...

Ninerings thats a good idea. Or maybe just people who die in the magical world in general. (BTW I like your sig)

I'd really like to know where the archway came from...it was obviously removed from somewhere. People dont build random archways. They usually come from walls. Hopefully we'll find out soon.

21 days!!

I'm leaning towards some kind of Icon or Artifact which is linked to a "Higher Power" behind that door. Love cannot just "be" behind that door, there has to be some kind of "thing" there which represents love. And the kind of love that we are talking about is the kind of love that is willing to sacrifice for others, just as James did for Lily and Harry and just as Lily did for Harry and just as Harry has been willing to do so on several occasions for others. I just think that whatever is behind that door will be "spiritual" in nature. Sorry if that sounds too "Star Wars"-ish, or LOTR or Chronicles of Narnia-ish. But, that's really what I think.

I'm leaning towards some kind of Icon or Artifact which is linked to a "Higher Power" behind that door. Love cannot just "be" behind that door, there has to be some kind of "thing" there which represents love. And the kind of love that we are talking about is the kind of love that is willing to sacrifice for others, just as James did for Lily and Harry and just as Lily did for Harry and just as Harry has been willing to do so on several occasions for others. I just think that whatever is behind that door will be "spiritual" in nature. Sorry if that sounds too "Star Wars"-ish, or LOTR or Chronicles of Narnia-ish. But, that's really what I think.

Sacrificial love does sound better somehow. Does Harry Have that in him? Yes indeed he does, he's always playing the hero! I think I said this before but it could be something like Pandora's box. Either that or The Pillar of Storge :rotfl:!

Edit: Sacrifice is at once greater and worse than death if you think about it.

I was going through older threads and came across this one. I thought it was really interesting.
I agree with a lot of people who say they hope the force behind the door is not love. I can't imagine what would happen if you went into that room... would you just fall in love with everything? Love seemed like the obvious choice before, but after reading all these I think you are onto something with truth being behind the door.

I just hope that it is truth, I guess no one else likes my theory. :rotfl: I just hope that I won't be disappointed if it's love. I'm sure Jo will make it seem less corny.

Time to put my theory on public display.:rotfl:

When Dumbledore says "It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature," I can't help but be reminded of the story of Adam and Eve in the garden. When they ate the forbidden fruit, they were no longer blissfully happy. They had knowledge of good and evil. Or I guess a conscience. 'Truth' seems to be the closest word for this, since "knowledge' is already covered in the brain room.

I think someone mentioned time as a possibility, but I don't think so. There already was room for clocks and time turners, and wouldn't time fall under the "forces of nature"?

Anyway, I guess sense of right and wrong is what I am thinking of, though I know that was already stated. I like the thing about a higher power too...

But, if truth really could be held in a room, what would happen to people who entered? Maybe it's kind of like eating the forbidden fruit. (Or opening Pandora's box like someone said). Maybe the door has to stay locked because if everyone had full knowledge of all the truth in the world, no one would be happy. Can you imagine going through your whole life and never having to ask a question, or wonder about something? Life wouldn't be worth living if we had all the answers. It would probably be worse than death for Voldemort to be in that room, because he would gain full realization of everything he has done wrong.
I'm really confusing myself here. How the heck would anyone get in to study that room if the door is always locked? Apparating?

Well thats all I have to say for now. Whoever was the first to come up with this, good job! :tu: And, I'm sorry if I just repeated anything of yours.. I didn't think there was anything written here about what would happen if you went in the room, but I'm sorry if I missed it.

EDIT: How would truth be the power that took Harry to save Sirius?

"There is a room in the Department of Mysteries," interrupted Dumbledore, "that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human comprehension, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many objects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. That power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you."

I am pretty sure that that means love, and though I do respect all of your other opinions, those of you who are saying that it isn't love because it is too corney, I think you are clinging to a hope as impossible as the harry/hermione ship.

Anyway, I am going to go after this as if it is love. I am sure that it is the room that Harry came into contact with because of the fact that the other "forces" DD talks about are also seen during the battle at the DOM:

"more wonderful and more terrible than death": The room with the veil.
"than human comprehension": the brains, you need a brain to comprehend
"than forces of nature": the planets and their orbits are considered a force of nature


"the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all" In the 6th book, DD most definetely says that what harry has is love. What will help him vanquish LV is love. " 'You are protected, in short, by your ability to love!' said Dumbledoor loudly."


So naturally, the force that DD is talking about is love.

Now that that is out of the way, my question is how could love possibly be in the form of something that can be enclosed into a room. Well, knowing that there are hardly any limits to magic except for the ability to die and then come back to life, the room could do anything once someone walks into it. My theory is that the room is empty because love is a force and not an actual object. However, I think that, like the Mirror of Erised, it shows anyone who walks into it something.

Keeping this in mind, I think that it would show you what you love. For instance, Harryhas some feelings of love for his parents, Sirius, Dumbledoor, The Weasleys, Hermione, Luna, and Neville. Note that I am not talking about him being IN love with the person, but having a feeling of love towards them, like when he realizes that he has a rush of appreciation towards Luna and Neville because they alone had responded to the coin for the DA members on the night of "the lightning struck tower".

So therefore, I think that if he walked into the room he would be overwhelmed with the presence of his loved ones. Perhaps it has a large mirror on one of its walls that shows harry with all of his loved ones. Another thought that came to mind is that it would show pictures of all of Harry's happiest times or maybe the times when he first realizes he has some feeling of love for them.

On the other hand, I think that if LV were to walk into a room of love, he would see nothing, since he has loved no one. Either that, or he would see the things that he fears, such as darkness or death. I think that it would be a combination of darkness and nothing. Basically, I think it would be pitch black when he walked in and it would give him a sense of nothingness because he does not know how to love. However, it could also cause him great pain like when LV possesses Harry in the MOM.

If this is even remotely true, this room would be a great place for the final battle seeing as Harry would have a huge advantage being completely drenched with the feeling of love. This would see to it that he had a very easy time overpowering LV by using his love for others. Also, Voldimort would either be in pain or in darkness since the room would bring out his weekness.

If this sounds too corny to you, I am sorry, but Love is a reaccuring theme in the Harry Potter series. I think that love is just as corny as considering any other virtue, or whatever you want to call it, a power: Truth, Bravery, Honesty, etc. I think that, even though love is perhaps the most used of them all, they are all corny but needed because they are a part of life, especially love, and the mark of a good story is that it reflects true human emotions.

I don't think its corny at all! I like your idea, LostPixie, of the room being something different to each person, like the Mirror of Erised. Except I sort of think it would be somehow more than just showing you what you love. It is described so vividly, as being greater and more terrible than death and all that, so it makes me think there has to be something completely overwhelming and dramatic that happens to you when you enter the room. There must be some negative aspect of the room, since it has to be kept locked. Maybe you'd never want to leave the room because you would be too happy?
I wonder if the Mirror of Erised is in the Department of Mysteries. Anyway, I think we're going back there. I agree it would be a great spot for the final battle.

Yea, good point, AlasEarWax. My idea wasn't exactly dramatic enough, but I'm hoping there is a battle in there at any rate.

I am reading Phylosophers Stone again and noticed that there is another door similar to the one in the D.O.M. in Gringotts bank. There is no keyhole and it is locked. It held the phylosphers stone in it. The goblin runs a long finger down the door and it opens and he says if anyone but a goblin did that they would be transported inside the room.

Not sure if they are conected in anyway? There is a statue of a goblin with the wizard, witch, centaur and elf in the M.O.M. so could they all have helped in forming the M.O.M.?

I think the room is a Love room. Love is more wonderful than death and if you lose someone you love either by them dying or not returning the love you have for them then it is more terrible than death. You, yourself would rather be dead than have the feelings like Harry had when Sirius died. Love is a very complex thing and no one knows why you fall in and out of love or understand unconditional love for your family (escpecially children) so it is more wonderful and terrible than human comprehension. This also fits for forces of nature. Why do opposites attract? Can you carry on a long distance relationship? Love fits for all these criteria and Dumbledore has said it is so himself.

As for how Love is shown in the room I dont know. I like Lost Pixie's idea best so far. But it has to be very powerful force. I envision the final battle here in this room. I wonder if to enter it you need to feel love. I wonder if James and Lily worked in the D.O.M. together and this is where they studied...the locked room. Will Harry find a way to open it when he goes to Godric's Hollow? Wouldnt that be a real kicker if Harry's parents worked for the Ministry...ha.

But I see Harry taking Voldy into this room physically. Then the Force inside the room will vanquish Voldy and his scar horocrux (it will be a self sacrifice thing for Harry) Would like to see Harry given life back by the Force like the phoenix reborn thing but may be wishful thinking.

Maybe he has to open the locked door with Ginny.

i think wut is behind the door cant be seen if u managed to get the door open that u would die but thter would be nothin in the room just an empty room.

Dumbledore says its full of love

My opinion is love. Or maybe the power of the Soul or something like that?


Also, anything could be the love itself in the room. Death is symbolized with a Veil and an Archway. Love could really be anything.

I think that if JK mentioned this room, it is because it has a major role in the end... She isnt the kind of writer who includes things just for the sake of it... I think this room could be where the final fight between Harry and Voldemort takes place... You know Dumbledore said it was full of love... So, if love saved Harry once, maybe it could save him again this time... What do you think??

I have long felt that we would see that room at the end of book seven amd that the final battle would be held there. But was at a loss for what would actually be in that room other than an overpowering amorphous presence of love which would destroy V (perhaaps he would not be able to stand the pain and he would destroy himself0 amd would not affect harry for he is so full of love for others.

Ninerings and lost pixie -

these are really terrific suggestions .

Unless all people who have died saving others or lived to help others are magically transported through the veil all of harry's "saviors " will not be in the room so I am leaning toward lost pixie's room. We already know that V was frieghtened by the shadows of the people he murdered coming out of his wand, think how much worse it would be if all the people who tried to protect harry were in that room - he would be faced with Lily, James, Sirius, and Dumbledore in addition to harry -pretty scarey for V I would think.

I have seen locked room and it is Madame Puddifoot's!

But really, I think the door is symbolic and doesn't open at all. Love isn't anything concrete, you can't show it.

So far in the DOM, we have the rooms

1. Intelliagence/emotion
2. Death
3. ?
4.Prophecy
5. Time
6. Space/Universe

Following this pattern, it should be one of fabled "mysteries of life"

Love is the most obvious, but that would be way too easy and could fit into the emotion catergory. And what would be in the love room? Valentine cards?

It could be life. They study death, so why not life?

Or, it could religon, studying why certian people choose different religons and what is the "true" religon, although we see no religon in the wizarding world so far.

And lastly, it could be humor, just to throw a twist in.

For me, the Department of Mysteries is one of the neatest, strangest and most curious Mystery through out the Potter series, and unfortunately it was never even mentioned or explained in book 6. I can't imagine book 7 ending without knowing more about the veil, the locked door and whats in it, why and how Luna knows about this place, and the what is up with those Unspeakables....? There is so much left for us to learn about this place. It was defiantly one of my favorite parts, and favorite places to read about in all of the Harry Potter books.

Back in 2003, when OOTP first came out, I had written an explanation on how each door in the Department of Mysteries was a room in which the Unspeakables would study human mysteries. I think I may have even posted it on this message board (I can't find it though). I found what I had typed up in a saved notepad in my computers documents, and it made me think about this topic....

I didn't really update much that I wrote from the first time, but I thought I would post it again to see if this topic can get going again since it's so interesting to me, and is still a mystery unexplained.

THE DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES:
Each door in the circular room of the Department of Mysteries is a door which leads to a particular mystery (hence the name).
We saw, or at least heard what was through some of the doors......

Mystery of Time: The door that Harry and the gang went through with the clocks, time turners, and the bell (which changed the one death eaters head into a baby and back to normal again and again) and which also lead into the room where all the prophecies where, could also be known as the door into the Mystery of Time. I think just seeing all the things that were through that door make it obvious that this where the Unspeakables study the mysteries of time.

Mystery of the Mind: The door which lead to where the brains were I believe is to be where the Unspeakables would study the mysteries of the mind.

Mystery of the Universe (planets?)?: Ron, Luna and Ginny spoke about being "chased into a dark room full of planets." Could this be the door where the Unspeakables study the mysteries of the universe or planets?

Mystery of Death: The room with the veil, I believe is where the Unspeakables study the mysteries of death. Dumbledore clearly states that this room is called "The Death Chamber" (page 817, American version) and, although there are still a lot of questions left unanswered about the arch, and what exactly happens when going through it, I believe that it may be a type of "gateway" into the next life. And where better to study the mysteries of death then the gateway to the other side?

Now for the biggest Mystery of them all, the locked door..............

Mystery of the Heart (Human Emotions?The Heart?)?: I guess the best way to describe what I am trying to get at with this door is to quote Mr. Dumbledore himself! (page 843, American version) .........

"There is a room in the Department of Mysteries that is kept locked at all times." (The door Harry could not get through, which melted his knife! I also have a feeling Luna knows whats in here. I think she was about to say on page 776!)

"It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible then death, then human intelligence, then forces of nature." (Could he mean emotions and feeling? A force, such as love, could be wonderful, but a force such as grief, and sadness could be more terrible then death itself! No matter how intelligent you may be, emotions at times may take over, and forces of nature can not stop your emotions! )

"It is, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you posses in such quantities and which Voldemore has not at all." (Although Voldemore may have emotions, such as anger and hate, he has no emotion for anyone but himself, no love, no sadness, no care for others.)

"That power took you to save Sirius tonight." (the power of love? Worry? caring?)

"That power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detest." (When Harry was being possessed by Voldemort, wishing that the pain would stop and wishing for death, the thing that seemed to have stop Voldemort from continuing was Harry saying (page 816) "And I'll see Sirius again......" Then it goes on to say - "And as Harry's heart filled with emotion, the creature's coils loosened, the pain was gone.")

The last line in Dumbledores speech is, "In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you."

So, I believe that this "power" that Harry has so much of, and which the Unspeakables study behind the locked door, is the power of human emotion from the heart.

Now, the reason I think that this "power" is more then just the power of love is because of the talk Harry and Luna have in the last chapter (page 862) " An odd feeling rose in Harry---an emotion quite different from the anger and grief that had filled him since Sirius's death. It was a few moments before he realized that he was feeling sorry for Luna."

The fact that Harry can show human emotion and Voldemort can't, or doesn't, is Harry's strongest quality. Dumbledore says (Page 824) , "Harry, suffering like this proves you are still a man! This pain is part of being human----" Harry is human, and the fact that he cares so much, and that he can feel so much for someone else is his greatest power, also that others care and feel for him. Where as Voldemort has no feelings for anyone but himself, making him less then human, as said plenty of times through out the books.

Also, Dumbledore tells Harry (page 838) the reason his "perfect plan" did not work is because Dumbledore cared so much for Harry, and, I quote " Acted exactly as Voldemort expects we fools who love to act." Voldemort knew that love and human emotion can be a weakness, and that is how he knew that showing Sirius in trouble, in Harry's vision, would get him there, but as Dumbledore says "In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you."

My theory about what is behind the Closed Door in the Department of Mysteries.

I believe it is impossible to open the door...whatever you try. The 'Power' Dumbledore talks about is : MYSTERY. You just dont know whats behind the door. So how is this Mystery thing a power? Simple, Mystery leads to questions, questions lead to progress, progress lead to more mystery.Its the evolution of life...the 'Grand mystery'. Who Am I? Is there a God? What is behind that door?

This is the door of questions...

I believe JKR will not mention that room again. Its one of those things you keep low and make the books fun to re-read.

Well ,... i think that room contains something leads to the power of love that voldemort is scared of it cus he knows that harry is protected by it ,... and that's all

I just posted something similar, although abbreviated, inThings that Took...To Catch, so if you read it there, you can skip this. It's just that the questions there started to touch on this subject and I had to pose my idea. Then I thought it probably should be repeated and expanded under the heading in which it belongs.

Anyway...

When I finished reading OoTP the first time, I along with many others, became completely haunted by the mystery of what lay beyond the veil. Both Luna and Harry hear the whispering. Serius falls through the veil and everyone knows, except Harry of course, that there is no returning. Clearly it is death...but it seems to be a living death....something right next to you but you can't see it, you can't touch it, you think you can hear it, you sense its existance.....but it is just NOT tangible. Something that exists in another dimension (if you like M.C. Escher, picture his work entitled "Relativity.") Anyway, I had this epiphany. There's a MAZe in there! (There's been a maze, or puzzle-frought passageway in every one of the books so far, so it's not such a far-fetched idea.) The maze on the other side of the veil is like the mirror image of the maze one picks his way through over the course of one's life; once you're on the other side of the veil, you get to pick your way through a counterpart maze where you meet up with all the loved ones who've gone before you.

And when you've finally succeeded winding your way through, you get to be reborn.... and walk through the doorway of the unexplored room in the DOM.

Sometime in the last week or so I read something (sorry I forget where) that said that the only thing JKR hadn't touched on was the concept of "reincarnation." That brought to mind this idea of mine that's got to be at least two years old. Funny how different things trigger different ideas, isn't it?

Anyway, the more I've thought about this lately, expecially now that HBP is paperback ready, the more convinced I am that both the veil and the locked door in the DOM are destined to play an essential part of the final book. (Yes I know this should go in Divination....but I'm really just trying to cover what I believe to be behind the door.) From Day 1 (and I do mean SS/PS) I believed that Harry's scar was part of Voldemort (and now I'm sure it's a piece of LV's soul or a horcrux). And I believe that, in order to release that soul fragment from Harry's forehead, Harry must somehow go behind the veil WITHOUT actually DYING HIMSELF, maneuver through the maze, and come out through the sealed door in the DOM (maybe he'll get to meet his parents and see Serius and Dumbledore again --- yes, the ARE really dead!:lol: )

Maybe you need to negotiate the maze as you search for true understanding of what is just INSIDE the locked door. Maybe it is LOVE.

I believe JKR will not mention that room again. Its one of those things you keep low and make the books fun to re-read.

Really? You think after being shown all of those wonderful mysterious and unexplained rooms, after Sirius was killed there by a "veil." in the "death chamber", after being told there is a locked door that holds a power Harry possess which Voldemore does not, and after hearing about these Unspeakables but knowing nothing about them or what it is they do there, you think JKR is going to leave it all a mystery, and none of these unexplained things will come into play or be explained in book 7?

I surely hope not.

I guess that's one of my biggest worries when it comes to book 7 and the end of the series. Although she has reassured us that everything will be explained and all of the answers will fit into book 7, I worry that not all of my questions will be answered. If these questions about the Department of Mysteries are not answered in book 7, then there will be a lot of people out there wanting the answers, including me.

I personally believe it will all be answered and that some, if not all of these things will somehow come into play in book 7.

I also believe that it is love in that room. But people ask how can love be an object or thing that you can study. Maybe it can take a form. Like happy thought produce a Patronus. What if so much love can produce something like that with ancient magic?

[/quote]'Yes, he's got an army of Heliopaths,' said Luna solemnly.
'No, he hasn't,' snapped Hermione.
'What are Heliopaths?' asked Neville, looking blank.
'They're spirits of fire,' said Luna, her proturberant eyes widening so that she looked madder than ever, 'great tall flaming creatures that gallop across the ground burning everything in front of -' OOTP In The Hog's Head

What if this LOVE can take the shape of a fire potrunus of some sort. What ever was in that room was really hot and melted that Sirius knife. What if it was love in the form of a 'Heliopath'. I know Luna is crazy but what if she is right about there being a fire spirit, but not about the name. It could be ancient magic.

Something is protecting Harry, it could be a Heliopath. If Harry is going to be harmed that protection love in the form of a Heliopath is summoned. Lily died for Harry and when Voldemort tried to kill him off, Harry was protected and something(heliopath) rebounded. What if the Heliopath destroyed Voldemort and most of the house? No one knows how it was destroyed. This would be a plausable reason. Also in the first book why would Quirrell hands burn if he touched Harry. He was protected by love/Heliopath. And in OOTP why would Harry be so uncomfortable to be possessed by Voldemort. Dumbledore said Voldemort couldn't stand being in a body full of love. How would be in a form to where it would bother him. Maybe he was being burned be the love protection/Heliopath.

I know a lot will disagree but I think that if happy thoughts can take a form and repel things why can't love...:love:

[QUOTE=angel_lily]I also believe that it is love in that room. But people ask how can love be an object or thing that you can study. Maybe it can take a form. Like happy thought produce a Patronus. What if so much love can produce something like that with ancient magic?





Well, I like it. Something about fire:

Dumbledore....phoenix....fire.....rebirth
Harry..........heliopath....fire.....love
Voldemort....basilisk.......fire.....death

???

(Oh, and I'm not quite sure Luna is crazy -- I prefer to think of her as a very learned eccentric.)

oooo I didn't mean to be so harsh on Luna, I love her, but I know that is what most will say about her and won't believe what she says. I like your word for her better! She is one of my favorite characters.:clap:

oooo I didn't mean to be so harsh on Luna, I love her, but I know that is what most will say about her and won't believe what she says. I like your word for her better! She is one of my favorite characters.:clap:


Ever notice how so many of the muggle versions of the Quibbler have just an iota of truth? just enough so they won't get sued Every issue? Well....that's the world of our lovely Luna!:D

Whats locked in that room is all the people who died that loved you in harrys case he has alot of people who died and loves him but in voldemorts case their is no one

Here's a scary thought... How about God?

We all seem to dance around the religious issue. The Christian holidays are celebrated, (Christmas, Easter, halloween) but no one goes to church on Sundays, or Temple on Friday evenings, or a mosque, etc. Religion is conspicuouly absent.

I am sure JKR does not want to bring it up so as to avoid alienation potential readers (book and movie ticket buyers), but I would think God must be in this series somewhere. Again, why celebrate the Christian holidays if it did not mean anything...

I am NOT suggesting that God him/herself would be behind the door in the DoM, but some sacred truth, perhaps? "God so loved the world..."

There is nothing that has caused more grief, death and misery than a war in "God's name". Even the wizards had to deal with witch burning, persecution to the point of creating this alter-society. We see so much cross-over in HBP to where LV is causing death and destruction in the muggle world, dementors are breeding in the mist, that perhaps this all leads to a reckoning of the muggle and wizard world.

What about religion? I do like the idea someone posted that the other side of the veil leads to the room that cannot be penetrated by Sirius' knife that can open any door.

This begets another question: Why is it a KNIFE that Sirius gives Harry that can open any lock? Why not a universal key? We can speculate that a knife is used to cleave, cut, sever, kill, disect, split, etc.. JRK could have used and axe, or sword, or mace or some such other object. Why a knife? Any thoughts?

We can speculate that a knife allows more precision than a saw or axe or sword: a knife can be weilded with one hand: a knife is an elemental tool for humans: knives can stab us; we can "twist the knife into our hearts"; we get "stabbing pains" like Harry does with his scar; truth can stab at our conscience; the curse Harry uses on Malfoy cuts him like a knife and makes him bleed; wizards use wands for most of their magic--why is a knife used here?

It is also interesting to note that the knife blade melts when put into the lock. There will not be need of weapons of any sort in heaven (so we are told). Is it heat or love or truth in that room? Christians read in the bible, " I am the Way, the Truth, and the LIfe.."

I suppose it is best to ignore the religious questions because of the controversies that are right below the surface of our daily lives. The HP books are wonderful to bring so many diverse people to together to discuss philosphy. There is so much hatred and bigotry in our lives, gods invoked for political gain, that I, for one, do like that JKR avoids this topic with a very long pole. My beliefs are my own business and I do not want to make it yours.

But, it is fair game for discussion boards.........

I also think that Luna does hold the key. We see that someone as odd as Trelawney does seem to get it right once or twice amist all the distraction. I believe that Luna is the same. Why else is her last name LOVEGOOD??!! Love is good: The name Luna implies "lunatic" which was used to describe people who acted odd during times of full moon--(like Lupin). Is there a connection here, too? Could Luna hold a key to help the werewolves? Perhaps one or two of her odd trinkets might actually prove usefull--like two of Trelawney's prophesies and many of her card readings.

I was reading elsewhere the idea of a super-patronus to vanquish LV. But, after reading this thread, I am convinced that the answer and climax of the story will be here. The mystery of it all will be revealed--wherelse? but in the Department of Mysteries.

I also wonder if there are 7 rooms--like the 7 books and the 7 tasks. Has anyone explored this?

--

Here's a scary thought... How about God?

We all seem to dance around the religious issue.

I am NOT suggesting that God him/herself would be behind the door in the DoM, but some sacred truth, perhaps? What about religion? I do like the idea someone posted that the other side of the veil leads to the room that cannot be penetrated by Sirius' knife that can open any door.

This begets another question: Why is it a KNIFE that Sirius gives Harry that can open any lock? Why not a universal key? We can speculate that a knife is used to cleave, cut, sever, kill, disect, split, etc.. JRK could have used and axe, or sword, or mace or some such other object. Why a knife? Any thoughts?

We can speculate that a knife allows more precision than a saw or axe or sword: a knife can be weilded with one hand: a knife is an elemental tool for humans: knives can stab us; we can "twist the knife into our hearts"; we get "stabbing pains" like Harry does with his scar; truth can stab at our conscience; the curse Harry uses on Malfoy cuts him like a knife and makes him bleed; wizards use wands for most of their magic--why is a knife used here?

It is also interesting to note that the knife blade melts when put into the lock. There will not be need of weapons of any sort in heaven (so we are told). Is it heat or love or truth in that room?

I also think that Luna does hold the key. We see that someone as odd as Trelawney does seem to get it right once or twice amist all the distraction. I believe that Luna is the same. Why else is her last name LOVEGOOD??!! Love is good: The name Luna implies "lunatic" which was used to describe people who acted odd during times of full moon--(like Lupin). Is there a connection here, too? Could Luna hold a key to help the werewolves? Perhaps one or two of her odd trinkets might actually prove usefull--like two of Trelawney's prophesies and many of her card readings.

I was reading elsewhere the idea of a super-patronus to vanquish LV. But, after reading this thread, I am convinced that the answer and climax of the story will be here. The mystery of it all will be revealed--wherelse? but in the Department of Mysteries.

I also wonder if there are 7 rooms--like the 7 books and the 7 tasks. Has anyone explored this?

--

Note: hope you don't mind my edit of your post...just wanted to copy the highlights I'm responding to.

You're right, we are all dancing. Nobody wants to offend anyone else, so we use euphemisms. But I think, in a way, we're all sort of saying the same basic thing....and our interpretation is based on our own beliefs.

Very neat ideas about the knife...you should check out JKR writing style thread in Divination. There are listings throughout of the parallels, metaphors, contrasts, etc. Talk about literary analysis!

The super patronus? Sounds like it goes along with my concept of the super soul. But I'm not going to elaborate here because I think everybody's had enough of that for one day.

And 7..7...7? Discussed, challenged, elaborated, reiterated, studied, explored, researched, chronicled, recorded, documented, investigated, defined, exposed, dissected, etc. Need I say more? :lol: :lol: :lol: :D

Well he said it was love maybe it is I can imagain something like a pensive and the mirror of erisied mixed where you can see your true love i'm really reaching here but if you knew who your true love was you'd start to love them more but that would throw the whole blance of your's and thier's life's up so maybe that's why it's locked and if it's alway's locked how do we know what's really in there maybe it's one really really happy loving family locked in there. who know?

Whats locked in that room is all the people who died that loved you in harrys case he has alot of people who died and loves him but in voldemorts case their is no oneThis is good stuff --- I agree. I always thought it was kind of cheesy saying "love saved you Harry" and "you have love' but the way he explains it actually makes sense sometimes.

He has the power of love

The department of mysteries is a resource that Harry may not be able to take full advantage of for a couple of reasons. (1) Not to sure there is a lot there for him to use. The need for finding Horcruxes is the priority, not finding something to use against Voldemort, at least right now. (2) Everyone he knows there at the Ministry doesn't have a clue what is in the department of mysteries, or access to it per se'. Most of the people willing to help Harry are aurors and people on other floors. (3) And most importantly that he is not employed there such that he would have the freedom to roam anywhere in the place. Yes, there are a lot of people at the Ministry willing to help Harry out, even the new Minister is willing to (at least if he gets Harry as bait in return).

The problem Harry will have is simpley that he can't get to anything in the Ministry, not that he could or couln't use whatever he got there. Love is going to play an important role in the final installment, but I just don't think that the "room of love" is going to play into it.

I'm pretty sure the room holds love. The real question, I think is how do you keep love in a heavily gaurded room? Is love a particular object? Or is it like the Mirror of Erised where you see the things you love? If that door was to be opened what would you find in that room? If the room does contain love do you think it'll help Voldemort in the long run? By now Voldemort should know his weakness is love. If Voldemort were to open that door and find out a way to put the love inside of him (assuming thats how that works?) will he be undefeatable?

Ah so many unanswered questions.

Very, very interesting. I definitely thought there was something important behind that door when the group failed to enter, but I somehow overlooked what Dumbledore said later on. From Dumbledore's description, it sounds like something Voldemort would love to get a hold of, and perhaps something that Harry could use to his advantage. If, that is, anyone could ever bend whatever power it is to their will. From the sounds of it, that seems impossible, but I can't help but feel that it should play a significant role later in the series.

Good catch, MagpieOnaga.
Does that mean Harry will try to get back into the dept. of mysteries

For some reason, I want to believe that if Harry opens that door..
He'll see all the people he's ever loved in his life. And the only way he can get there is if he dies at the end. I don't know why I think that; it is just a thought.

If its love, that sounds a bit cheesy. The whole love thing is a bit cheesy IMO.

What about the weapon hidden at the ministry, or was that the prophecy? The prophecy didn't seem like a weapon, more like knowledge about Harry and Voldemorts connection. Whats in the room may well be something that actually could be used to kill one of them for good.

Well, remember no one knew the contents of the prophecy and Dumbledore didn't tell them, so they thought it was a weapon.

ok first off, im new to this, and this actually my first forum post ever, i searched around for a while and couldnt find anything about this.

in order of the phoenix, when Harry and the others are in the room with the revolving doors, there is one door that is locked. Neither Alohomora! or Sirius's knife (which is supposed to be able to open any bewitched lock) can open it, and it actually destroys the knife. (page. 775-776)

later on after the events that happened, when Harry is in the office with Dumbledore, towards the end of the chapter The Lost Phrophecy, page 843-844 dumbledore says this:

"There is a room in the department of mysteries, that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderfl and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. it is also perhaps the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you posses in such quantities and which Voldermort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight, That power also saveed you from possesion from Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end it mattered not that you could not close your mind, it was your heart that saved you."


now we all know Dumbledore said its the power of love that Harry has over Voldemort.

So i was thinking the room would hold som significance in the last book. Maybe a connection with the veil? Maybe he will fight voldy there? Maybe he'll meet some old friends there?

Any ideas on this? I couldn't think of anything fantastic, just that voldy hates love, and that room is full of it.

And this concludes my first post ever

I certainly do think it likely and very interesting indeed. And love is an underestimated power... when in itself, it is timeless. :D

:welcome: to CoS by the way :D

You may also want to check out:

Department of Mysteries -- the unexplored room (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=11271)

I would say thet that is some thing I never thought befor and i think it's really:clap: :D :tu: great.
do you think that maybie harry draws love from the room instead of him fighting LV there?

it's a thought that everyone should ponder.

OK, I was thinking that maybe Harry would find someway to harness the room's energy and attack Voldemort with it, I mean, can you really see Harry casting the Avada Kedavra on anyone? O, and this might be moved to divination :o

Also, grats on your first post!

Thanx! maybe that spell that Dumbledore used on Voldemort during the fight. The one that vibrated the shield, maybe that has some connection to the room. And just something i remembered Slughorn saying in HBP about the amotentia potion. pg. 186

" When you ahve seen as much of life and love as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obssesive love..."

so if a potion, that can be brewed by anyone, can be as dangerous as he says it is. How dangerous is this room? Probally why its locked, but maybe Harry can go in there since he has such an abundance.

I pray there isn't a thread about this as i put alot of work into posting it :p

In the order of the phoenix, when Dumbledore is explaining the prophecy to Harry, he says this

"There is a room in the Department of Mysteries,' interrupted Dumbledore, 'that is kept locked at all times.It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than the forces of nature. It is also , perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. The power that took you to save Sirius tonight. That power also saved you from possesion by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you. '

Pg 743, Softcover Bloomsbury edition.

so if we say the power is love, could this room indeed have something to do with Voldemort's demise. notice how Dumbledore says both "more wonderful and more terrible than death" as if looking at it from both sides..... im just interested to know what people think about this room, and it's importance, especially with all the reference to Voldemort saying there's nothing worse than death, and with Harry having powers that the dark lord knows not???

any ideas???

I think that at some point Harry will have to find a way to get in there, but what he will find only Jo knows.

Like people have already mentioned, maybe it's where this power of 'love' is. It makes sence, because Dumbledore says that this room is locked at all times, and so was this door. But, how does love look like? It must be powerful.. but dangerous if its kept locked at all times. And when harry tried to use Sirius' knife, it melted... so could perhaps the force behind the door may have melted the knife?

I have been thinking about this room a lot. With all of the emphasis on the "power to love" i really think this room is going to be as important as the Veil in the end of the book. We were only introduced to it briefly, but there is enough information to make me believe that we were introduced to it for a reason. Anyone else?

The locked room in the DoM definitely sounds like the power contained within it is indeed love. But then I wonder, how does one capture/harness love as a form of raw energy? I suppose that’s why it’s in the Department of Mysteries. :) In any case, I believe this room must be important, since Dumbledore took the time to give us some information about it. It’s likely we may see it again, and this time we may get to see the door opened. Which leads me to another thing I wondered - why couldn’t Harry open the locked door if the power that resides behind the door is abundant within him? Maybe it was because Harry didn’t really understand his power to love, nor did he really appreciate its strength. Perhaps when he does he’ll be able to open the door.

One of the scenarios I have played with is Harry going through the Death Veil to seal the victory over Voldemort, but soon thereafter emerging via the Love Room, because of the purity of his sacrifice. Okay, JKR will make it sound better.

At the end of book 5, Dumbledore tells Harry about the room that Harry could not get into in the Department of Mysteries (the one that melted his knife). He says that there is a power so intense, that Harry uses to great effect and of which Voldemort has none. And then he tells us that that power is love.

Is anyone else perplexed by this mysterious room? This room seems very important, since the underlying theme of the Harry Potter series is his ability to love, and it doesn't seem that Dumbledore would take the time to tell Harry about this room if it didn't mean something. I immediately thought of several questions:

1. How do you get a room full of love?
2. Why is the Ministry so keen on studying this mysterious power? Do they know something about the upcoming battle and Harry's power that even he doesn't?
3. Does Voldemort know that this room exists? Does he care?
4. Will this power somehow be unleashed to Harry's favor in book 7?

Any ideas?

1. How do you get a room full of love?
2. Why is the Ministry so keen on studying this mysterious power? Do they know something about the upcoming battle and Harry's power that even he doesn't?
3. Does Voldemort know that this room exists? Does he care?
4. Will this power somehow be unleashed to Harry's favor in book 7?

Any ideas?

1: Absolutely no idea!
2: Human curiosity I think explains it best.
3: If he does, then I think he isn't worried at all. Remember how he scoffs at Dumbledore in his "teaching" interview in HBP?
4: All signs point to yes.

i know what you mean how can you get i room full of love, maybe its different for each person, kind of like the mirror of erised, or however it is spelt.

im pretty sure it is love.. cause in the fourth book or was it the 5th book dumbledore says that that room holds a secret that is being worked on by the ministry.. and it holds something harry has in great abundance.. so thats pretty clear cut..
the interesting thing would be the source of it. whats creating the love.. what does love personify.? it will be the death of voldi.. and i predict a stong light to emit from it. blinding light... and that will be the end of that chapter.. the next chapter will start in a calm tone.. and there will be a sort of realization as to how many didnt make it.and what exactly happened/.. hehehe.. yea i know.. running away with my imagination.

If the room contains love, how is it opened? and could there perhaps be a battle in this room with voldermort since love is harry's big power??:love: :love:

I think the room will have a good chance of coming up in the last book. It seems to be more guarded and secure than all the other rooms in the Department of Mysteries, and Dumbledore spoke of it in a way that can be interpeteted in more ways than one.
"There is a room in the Department of Mysteries," interrupted Dumbledore, "that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. That power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he desests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you."

I can't really see the thing in that locked door being anything else than something to do with love and the emotions surrounding it. Dumbeldore said the power in that room is the same thing that Harry has, which Voldemort despises and has none of. What else can it be but love and having a kind heart? I have no clue how love can actually be physically contained within a room, but I'm hoping Rowling will let us discover whats in there in the last book.

I think each room in the Department of Mysteries contains a differnet Mystery the Ministry of Magic it is trying to slove. For example, the room with the brains could have been the Mystery of Knowledge. Then the room with the veil could be the Mystery of Death, and the room with the Prophecies could be the Mystery of Time. Then the room with the locked door could've been the Mystery of Love.

rowling has put a specific amount of emphasis on how horrible killing another human being is, going so far as illustrating how it splits the soul. yet harry is supposed to kill voldermort? it seems extremely contradictory to me and i think the locked room, perhaps containing love, could come in handy

how to unlock it? and how to harness its powers?

I think that Harry will harness the power of love found in that room and use it to help defeat Voldemort. I feel sure that it will play a major part in the final book.