Which Wizard? An Analysis of R.A.B.

Discussion for Which Wizard? An Analysis of R.A.B. (http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-graceli01.shtml) by Grace Li.

Great theories on all four possibilities. I just want to clear up something that seems like a misconception. When Voldemort says "those who knew the steps I took to Immortality" (or something along those lines), that doesnt necessarily mean Horcruxes. Voldemort says himself that the night when he seemingly was killed in Godric's Hollow that "one or so of my expirements succeeded." All that can be deduced is that Voldemort shared with his death eaters some of his expirements, maybe not all of them, so maybe no death eaters know about the horcruxes.

What I dont understand is why did Voldemort conduct several different experiments if all he needed was to create Horcruxes. I do not believe that when Voldemort says experiments he is just referring to the horcruxes and the really he didnt try anything else, because I think that experiments means seperate experiments, not one experiments with several parts.

i just had an idea. What if the 'A' in R.A.B. is not a name but the word 'and'. i thought this after reading your last paragraph stressing that whoever stole the horcrux must have an acomplice.

or an even looneyer theory, maybe R.A.B. is three people using only one intial each

problem with this theory is that the note is writen in the first person, so why would the signature be more then one person...

i have no idea to be honest, unless its like a birthday card, one person writes and everyone signs it :)

I liked this editorial, though it mostly just summes up what other people have already said. I have never seen the Bagman-twist before. It was interesting, but can not be said to be heavily supported.

great editorial could be anybody.

love all the theorys! im sick of the regulus black one! Although im well aware that thats th one that makes the most sense.
I really like th idea of RAB's accomplise. They could be anyone...... maybe someone we know really well already(kinda like the HBP being snape)?
I still think that RAB dosnt have to be initials. It could be something like the half blood prince,H.b.p., again? or it could be 3 ppl or it could have an and in th middle, th possibilitys are endless!
good editorial

I'm a bit intrigued how you got from 'find your match' to familiarity with the prophecy. I don't see that as a requirement. Could you explain?

i just had an idea. What if the 'A' in R.A.B. is not a name but the word 'and'. i thought this after reading your last paragraph stressing that whoever stole the horcrux must have an acomplice.

or an even looneyer theory, maybe R.A.B. is three people using only one intial each

problem with this theory is that the note is writen in the first person, so why would the signature be more then one person...

i have no idea to be honest, unless its like a birthday card, one person writes and everyone signs it :)

This is what I think, I like it.

Now that's some food for thought, and I don't mean Ceasar Salad.

Firstly, I'd like to address Sirius' view of his brother ... weak and an idiot. Don't most big brothers think that of their little brothers? Don't have any firsthand knowledge since I'm not a brother, but that seems likely to me.

Also, I don't trust Sirius' judgment in this area. He also thought Pettigrew was a weak, talentless thing, and he turned out to be anything but. I think it's just Sirius' ego thinking that there are only two or three people in the world that are as good as he is. If RAB does turn out to be Regulus (and Sirius were alive), he'd have to eat those words.

I think we can eliminate Grandpa Black. Sirius says that his family were not DE, except for Regulus, but thought that LV had the right idea. We don't know when Grandpa died, though, and Regulus may have gone to him for help. Grandparents are always more sympathetic and willing to help. So I guess we can't eliminate him entirely.

I'd also eliminate Borgin for your reasons.

Father Bagman does sound promising, though. If it is him, I hope he didn't give the locket to Ludo for safekeeping. If he did, it's probably in some pawnshop somewhere.

To address a couple of other issues ... I don't think the DE knew about the horcruxes. They knew LV had taken steps toward immortality, but I don't think he'd take the chance of telling them exactly what. And as Dumbledore said, if Lucius had known what the diary really contained, he wouldn't have been so careless with it.

I also don't think that RAB had to know about the prophecy. When he says "meet your match" it's sort of like saying, "someday you're gonna get yours."

Wouldn't it be funny if R.A.B. is another one of Snape's self-styled titles like HBP? How about "Ruddy Auld Baron?"

Griffindora here! Haven't been on in awhile and I try to get on when I can but between work and going on vacation this past month, haven't been around much. Anyway, gotta respond to this editorial which as usual was great, well-written, giving thoughtful insight, etc., etc... I think there is another possibility as to what happened to the locket that was found in Grimmauld Place in OotP, that it maybe wasn't just tossed out when they were cleaning the place out. As we know from HBP, (sorry haven't got my copy with me, leant out of course to friends!) Harry discovered that probably right after Sirius's death :upset: , Mundungus Fletcher being an Order member and having access to Grimmauld Place, was raiding it for Black family heirlooms to sell as hot goods which Harry angrily confronted him over in Hogsmeade as legally now they were Harry's goods willed to him by Sirius. I personally think one of the things Dung grabbed off-handedly not realizing what it was was this very locket which he sold to who-knows-who and lord knows where it is now, something left as part of the plot of Book 7. Just my little ol' take on things...

Very good editorial! I like the idea of Bagman Sr. though there is not enough evidence to support it, but still there isn't enough evidence to support anybody.
I'm inclined to believe RAB is Regulus but I'd like to be surprised with someone completely different.

I don't believe that the DE knew about the horcruxes, and when Voldemort talks about his experiments, I always thought that he probably didn't know if his horcruxes worked or not, since he is the first wizard to do multiple horcruxes, he probably didn't know if that was possible to do.

I thought you did a good job with the editorial. I disagree on two points:
1.- the prophecy had nothing to do with Voldemort's immortality and someone trying to make him mortal again. Voldemort had started making horcruxes in order to achieve immortality years and years before the prophecy came out. So R.A.B. does not have to know about the prophecy
2. the death eaters didn't know about the horcruxes, they only knew that Voldemort had taken stepps to achieve immortality. Now they may have guessed, but they definitely weren't told by Voldemort. That is a secret that he would have wanted to keep at all costs.

I also believe that at least not all of the Death Eaters knew about the Horcruxes. I think Voldemort would want to keep information of his Horcruxes as private as possible, and Dumbeldore seemed to think that only he and Harry knew for sure about the Horcruxes.

It's great that people keep coming up with possibilities to explore, gives us more to think about!

I think R.A.B. is probably Regulus. He does seem to fit the best, especially if you take it that Sirius might have been slightly biased when he gave a personal account of Regulus' talents. But we never know what Rowling is going to do next!

I think there is another possibility as to what happened to the locket that was found in Grimmauld Place in OotP, that it maybe wasn't just tossed out when they were cleaning the place out.
It was tossed out, but when Hermione brought Kreacher's Christmas present to his nest, they saw some small glittering objects there. So, Kreacher may have retireved it, and you're right, it's still there.
As we know from HBP, (sorry haven't got my copy with me, leant out of course to friends!) Harry discovered that probably right after Sirius's death :upset: , Mundungus Fletcher being an Order member and having access to Grimmauld Place, was raiding it for Black family heirlooms to sell as hot goods which Harry angrily confronted him over in Hogsmeade as legally now they were Harry's goods willed to him by Sirius. I personally think one of the things Dung grabbed off-handedly not realizing what it was was this very locket which he sold to who-knows-who and lord knows where it is now, something left as part of the plot of Book 7. Just my little ol' take on things...
Also agree with you here. The locket could be anywhere. He might even have sold it to Aberforth when Harry saw them together in Hogsmeade. But even if Harry puts two-and-two together, the Ministry will never let him into Azkaban to question MF about it.

Dumbledore says he doesn't think the DEs knew there were multiple Horcruxes.

Well presented editorial. I like all the theories, they keep us all thinking about the possibilities. I'd have to say that by canon evidence Regulus is in the lead to be R.A.B., but it just seems too easy.

Interesting. I hadn't thought of Ludo Bagman - nice brainwave though.

I think you left out one very important criteria in your list- knowledge of the cave.

If you include this, then R.A.B. could be little Amy Benson. There's another thread that proposed this, and I posted my additional theory that Amy was a late bloomer in terms of magical talent, attended Hogwarts, was an early follower of Tom/Voldemort, fell 'in love' with him (as the abused sometimes do with their abusers), became a DE, eventually realized her love would never be returned, knew about the locket so as to have it and the note ready for when she found the Horcrux. The original thread proposed that R.A.B. died from the poison and became one of the inferi guarding it (which is why only one inferi jumped out of the lake when Harry did the Accio charm because she had the Horcrux).

There's two more new threads on R.A.B., and I haven't read them yet, so I don't know if this has been brought up yet. Cheers.

Originally Posted by halo6819
i just had an idea. What if the 'A' in R.A.B. is not a name but the word 'and'.
Now that's a theory! Could it be Regulus and Borgin :huh: Since I'm torn between both men being R.A.B, and one or the other would have needed an accomplice, this theory makes total sense.

good editorial! I'm most inclined to believe that its Regulus. I think that if it's not Regulus, then its most likely
a) a title, like "HBP" or
b) an abbreviation for a group of people...like, for lack of creativity, "Rebels Against Brutes." Wouldn't it be funny if there were another version of the Order that infiltrated the Death Eaters, or a group of Death Eaters gone good that decided to go against Voldy that no one knows about? Perhaps Regulus was a member of that group but didn't actually find that horocrux himself? I'm thinking those people, if this farfetched idea were remotely true, would have to be dead, or they would have helped the Order.
but I don't think the a stands for and, b/c that wouldn't make grammatical sense.

Now that's some food for thought, and I don't mean Ceasar Salad.

Firstly, I'd like to address Sirius' view of his brother ... weak and an idiot. Don't most big brothers think that of their little brothers? Don't have any firsthand knowledge since I'm not a brother, but that seems likely to me.

Also, I don't trust Sirius' judgment in this area. He also thought Pettigrew was a weak, talentless thing, and he turned out to be anything but. I think it's just Sirius' ego thinking that there are only two or three people in the world that are as good as he is. If RAB does turn out to be Regulus (and Sirius were alive), he'd have to eat those words.

I think we can eliminate Grandpa Black. Sirius says that his family were not DE, except for Regulus, but thought that LV had the right idea. We don't know when Grandpa died, though, and Regulus may have gone to him for help. Grandparents are always more sympathetic and willing to help. So I guess we can't eliminate him entirely.

I'd also eliminate Borgin for your reasons.

Father Bagman does sound promising, though. If it is him, I hope he didn't give the locket to Ludo for safekeeping. If he did, it's probably in some pawnshop somewhere.

To address a couple of other issues ... I don't think the DE knew about the horcruxes. They knew LV had taken steps toward immortality, but I don't think he'd take the chance of telling them exactly what. And as Dumbledore said, if Lucius had known what the diary really contained, he wouldn't have been so careless with it.

I also don't think that RAB had to know about the prophecy. When he says "meet your match" it's sort of like saying, "someday you're gonna get yours."

Wouldn't it be funny if R.A.B. is another one of Snape's self-styled titles like HBP? How about "Ruddy Auld Baron?"

I have to agree with you about Sirius' oppinion of his brother. Sirius also didn't have much of an oppinion of Snape or Petigrew for that matter and look at where Snape ended up (Potions master?) and Petigrew was at least clever enough to fool Sirius, Lupin, and James. I wonder if Petigrew could have fooled Harry? After all Harry was on to Malfoy from the start of HBP when Ron and Hermione kept trying to make him forget it. I wonder if they regret that now?

I'm glad you provided evidence to your specualtion and offered other canidates as to who R.A.B could be. I personally feel like it would be really really lame and anti-climactic if R.A.B turned out to be Regulus but I cannot discount him as a suspect (because he does have 2 of the 3 initals *sarcastic whoop*). Good editorial!

I enjoyed this editorial. There are several characters that we do not know their full initials, just that their last name begins with B. Lots of possibilities. I still think R.A.B. is Regalus Black.

I think if Ludo Bagman had ever had the locket in his possession, he would have sold it.
R.A.B. is Regulus Black! And no, it is not too easy, it just is for us, because we study the books.

Good thoughts
I believe Sirius's comment about Regulus being an "idiot" had more to do with the fact that he joined the Death Eaters and not his level of intelligence.
Also will someone...anyone please clue me into why it is commonly believed that R.A.B had do have prior knowledge of the prophecy. I am not at all convinced that it has any bearing as to R.A.B. identity.
Boromir mentioned that there is also another Black who has about as much a chance as any. Andromeda Black. I mean if we are seriously considering Bagman; then looking at the rest of the Black family tree is not a bad idea.
I think it will end up being Regulus then that will be at least one clue I got to all on my own without having someone else point it out to me. *sigh*

I think if Ludo Bagman had ever had the locket in his possession, he would have sold it.
R.A.B. is Regulus Black! And no, it is not too easy, it just is for us, because we study the books.
I agree. The general public may not think that is was too obvious like some people here do. Discounting a person just because it seems too obvious is really not a good reason. Besides, JK said that most people would figure it out in a week.

I'd like to know why people keep over-looking the fact that Mundungus raided the Black house after Sirius's death! He's said to have goblets and other odds and ends so it's very possible that the large locket that they couldn't open from the drawing room cabinet could be the horcrux and it could be in the possession of Mundungus, or even some random person on the street that he has sold it to.

I agree with the fact that the death eaters don't know about the horcruxes. It never says that they do, and there is a lot of stuff in HBP that really make me think they just knew he took steps, but didn't know what steps exactly. I definantely think it is Regulus, and I think he took Kreacher. (how convenient is it that he keeps stuff that they throw away? (i.e.- the locket) Anyone here opprotunity knocking? ...)

"those who knew the steps I took to Immortality" -Voldemort

This implies that the Death Eaters may have known about the Horcruxes (what other steps could he have taken?) but R.A.B. said "I want you to know that it is I who discovered your secret."

Good editorial. Really great "cliff-notes" version of most of the theories out there. Provides a pretty good reference to see them all at once, so good job.

"those who knew the steps I took to Immortality" -Voldemort

This implies that the Death Eaters may have known about the Horcruxes (what other steps could he have taken?) but R.A.B. said "I want you to know that it is I who discovered your secret."

Completely agree with you crashnburn. Dumbledore speculates that the Death Eaters don't know about the horcruxes, but the Dark Lord directly says they know about his steps to immortality, so I think it is pretty obvious to go with the direct statement by the one person who really knows where the horcruxes are over the speculation of Dumbledore. So I don't think R.A.B. is a Death Eater.

P.S. By the way I'm a Borgin=R.A.B. man through and through.

Mundungus Fletcher being an Order member and having access to Grimmauld Place, was raiding it for Black family heirlooms to sell as hot goods which Harry angrily confronted him over in Hogsmeade as legally now they were Harry's goods willed to him by Sirius. I personally think one of the things Dung grabbed off-handedly not realizing what it was was this very locket which he sold to who-knows-who and lord knows where it is now, something left as part of the plot of Book 7. Just my little ol' take on things...[/QUOTE]
on page 244 U.S eddition, when harry first sees dung, he's talking to the barman at the hogshead who happens to be pulling his cloak tighter around his neck... just a bartender reacting to the cold? or could it have been aberforth pulling his coak tighter to conceal a locket he just purchased off the "black" market? just a thought

I loved this editoral, i definatly think that one of the mentioned people is R.A.B! :tu: And I think that the accomplice to Ludo's dad had to be Ludo or Otto! As for the accomplice to Mr. Borgan, well i think that BOrgan and Burke work together!

good editorial- i like that you explored more than one possibility instead of saying "it's this person b/c ____ and it can't be these people b/c ___"
two things:
1) Regulus Black does seem the most fitting but...right when I finished the book I thought to go look him up in OotP to see if he had a middle name and I'm really not the kind of person who catches clues and stuff, so this makes me think that it's way too easy. But maybe we should look closely at what JKR answered when Emerson and Melissa guessed Regulus:
MA: R.A.B.
JKR: Ohhh, good.
[All laugh.]
JKR: No, I'm glad! Yes?
MA: Can we figure out who he is, from what we know so far?
[Note: JKR has adopted slightly evil look here]
JKR: Do you have a theory?
MA: We've come up with Regulus Black.
JKR: Have you now?
MA: Uh-oh.
[Laughter.]
JKR: Well, I think that would be, um, a fine guess.
Seems to me like she expected that to be the answer and wasn't that impressed (that may not be the right word). On the other hand, it could be right and she just didn't want to give it away.
2) Just an interesting thing- not only did R.A.B. have to know about the cave and the fact that the Horcrux was there, s/he also must have known which particular Horcrux was there, b/c s/he must have brought along the fake locket (unless you want to say that s/he just conjured it when in the cave which I guess is always possible). I just thought it was interesting that s/he figured out that it was the locket that was there, not just any old Horcrux.

Very well written editorial. It is always nice to see any alternative to Regulus being RAB. I know he has the most proof and such, but he just seems too easy. It is always best to explore all possibilities, which is exactly what you have done. I really can't think of anything I would add or argue with. Excellently done!

Nicely written, never really thought of Bagman or Sirius's Grandfather.

thats a very good editorial, very well thought and research. Mr. Borgins, Regulus and Bagman Sr. but regulus still keep popping as RAB, the intials, the locket and being death eater are very hard to ignore. but knowing JK, sometimes is not what it seems to be!

Good editorial. Though I'm not certain that it takes two people. After all, the potion was still there when DD and HP got there. Maybe R.A.B. had the good idea somebody else came up with to conjure goblet after goblet until the basin was empty and then just pour them back in... I mean, could R.A.B. just come up with the replacement potion right then and there to refill the basin? Is s/he THAT good?

Wow, that was really insightfull. I hadn't even though of anyone other than Regulus Black. Mainly because he is the most obvious one, as he was mentioned in a somewhat important discussion we all remebered him. I give it two thumbs up! :tu: :tu:

the main thing i realised after just a few editorials on this subject was that every one is asuming RAB, whoever he is, must be dead. This is not true as the not says he will be dead by the time LV reads the note something he has obviously not done as the fake is still there>

Another interesting theory to build on. Good Job.

1 Some interesting and original points.
2 Mundugus is there to remind us of the stuff, not to make finding the locket impossible. If Kreecher kept the locket from going out in the trash, he hid it in his closet/nest. Dung would not have looked there. Most wizards treat elves as if they aren't there.
3 If RAB was Borgin, and his motive was profit, perhaps he sold it to the Blacks, as Slytherin's. But in doing so he would risk Voldemort tracing it back to him if he ever learned they had it.
4 RAB needs to understand the power of horcrux to view destroying it as essential to Voldemort's destruction, and RAB needs to hope that LV will some day be in a real fight, but RAB doesn't need to know Trewlaney's prophecy.
5 RAB needs an edge on Dumbledore to find the cave so long before him. That edge could come from prior knowledge of the cave, or from Voldemort sending RAB to the cave to set things up. The latter would require LV either needing RAB to do it for some reason, or LV trusting his crew with his soul parts more than he needed to. Both of the latter seem unlikely, which points to the orphans.
6 The orphans also have the (literary) advantage that they could now have different names, if they were adopted, so they could be right under our nose. Also, since they are described as being significantly younger than Riddle, they might have been magical, but not had it manifest itself.
7 The potentially most interesting question has to do with the implications of the note itself. Did the writer take two trips, or did they come prepared to make the switch, or was it an adlib? If it is two(or more) trips, it is possible that not all of them were taken by RAB. Suppose the confederate returned with the fake locket because RAB had died, but the confederate wanted Voldemort to know it was RAB who outsmarted him?
If RAB came prepared to make the switch, then RAB must have known the form of the Horcrux in advance of a solitary visit. That requires even more inside information which it seems LV would be unlikely to share.
But if the switch was an adlib, that means RAB was carrying paper and pen to write the note, or somehow conjured it. And the locket: the locket could be a clue to RAB if there is any way to tell to whom it belonged, or what it contained before Voldemorts soul.
8 One other thing about RAB, they might, like Dumbledore, have been injured in attempting to destroy the horcrux . No one (except for MadEye) comes to mind, but the injury might not be visible, or even physical.

I have a new theory that's kind of far-fetched, but what if R=Rubeus, A=Albus and I haven't figured out the B yet....if you have any other ideas let me know.

I'm not convinced that RAB necessarily had to be accompanied when he/she took the locket. Voldemort might not have installed so many defenses in the cavern until recently, and if he's already read the note, he'd know that it wasn't *Dumbledore* who took his Horcrux. That means he could predict that DD might eventually try to penetrate the cavern -- not knowing the real locket wasn't there anymore -- and could have set traps against his enemy. Indeed, Voldemort might have dropped a clue or hint which led Dumbledore *to* the cavern, much as he led Harry to the Ministry in Book 5: if he knew DD was going after his Horcruxes (which would be obvious once Dumbledore's hand was damaged), he had every reason to set DD up (and nothing to lose, since the real locket was already gone).

Hmmm....that makes sense to me......

That editorial (which was very good by the way) made me think that if in any case R.A.B. is not Regulus Black,it could also heve been:

a)someone who tried to cover himself by his "death",whilst he wouldn't be dead.I mean, if you're dead, noone starts looking for you,doesn't that make sense?

b)someone who had knowledge of his near death,not because Voldemort would be killing him/her but due to natural reasons,perhaps some magical deadly illness(such as cancer).



P.S.:Have you seen "The life of David Gale"?

I may mistake, but it's never said that the writer is a partisan of Voldemort ; may be it's someone who stole the horcruxe to disminished LV, he wants him to become mortal, but it's not a good thing for LV to loose one of his piece of mind as then he'll finally be destroyed if he encounters THE enemy, as the writer hopes.
understood?... :whistle:

Wow... that gave me a whole new mindset on the whole R.A.B. thing. Although I still have the thought that it is in fact Regulus Black in the back of my mind, I'm starting to think it might not be him. The part about how it could possibly be Bagman didn't make much sense, until I read about how he was associated with Augustus Rookwood. He has the initials A.R., close enough right? But that's what got me thinking that it could actually be Rookwood and Bagman. R.A.B. The 'A' didn't have to be a middle name, it could mean 'and'. Makes sense, does it not?

Could RAB actually be a monogram, and so the initials would really be RBA? Granted, who would sign their initals that way? I love the theory that it is Regulus (only so that he is redeemed a little for becoming a DE in the first place), but I wonder if it is too obvious.

Also, whoever took the locket may not be dead. What if the person took the locket and wrote the note thinking their time was up soon, but Voldemort went to kill Harry before taking care of the locket-stealer, so that the stealer is still alive? I'm not good with timing, so if this isn't right, please correct me. Also, if this is correct, I don't think it would be anyone with allegiance to OotP because word of the locket would have made it to Dumbledore after LV's disappearance (unless the stealer thought it was the only horcrux and so thought Voldemort truly dead).

Hi. I was reading the very intersting article called "Which Wizard?" having to do with who R.A.B. is and one mentioned (but stated "highly unlikely") was that Mr. Borgin could be it. This is unlikely because (and I concur) he is very much alive. Well, how about Burkes? What happened to him? He also knew Tom Riddle and he is no longer around? Do we know his first name? After all, he has a "B" last name. Let me know what anyone thinks.

Wow! Excellent theories...Though I myself doubt R.A.B is Sirius' grandfather as well. The Borgin and Bagman Sr. theories are very well done. At first if you told me Borgin or Bagman Sr. would be R.A.B I'd think you were mad but the theories and facts are very convincing and even likely. I think Regulus Black is the best candidate for R.A.B out of all four. Especially since there was a mention of a locket in Grimmauld Place in the fifth book. Harry owns Grimmauld Place now so maybe if he remembers the locket he'll go back for it. I absolutely love the idea of Kreacher being Regulus' accomplice. That makes perfect sense because even Dumbledore said himself one person couldn't go into the cave alone. Even if Regulus doesn't end up being R.A.B, whoever R.A.B is, he must have an accomplice. I also find Kreacher going back to get the locket after the Weasley's and everyone had thrown it away likely as well. I find the theory on Regulus Black as the most probable of all. Even if R.A.B doesn't end up being Regulus I think this theory was very great, the facts were all there with proof from the book and it was very fun and inventive. The only thing that keeps nagging at the back of my mind is Regulus' character. He seemed really foolish, dumb and reckless, as Sirius described him. He acts too rashly. So can Regulus really be R.A.B and if not...maybe it is someone from the Black family? We know a locket was found at 12 Grimmauld Place and we also know Kreacher went and stole back some of the things that got thrown out, which makes the theory of Kreacher being the accomplice very likely. Anyways I found all the theories on Borgin, Bagman Sr., Regulus Black and Sirius' grandfather all very enlightening, fun and creative, great imagination there, with good based facts as well. These theories are very enjoyable!

Hilary :p :blush:

Well i must say in my opion i do not think that is any ONE wizard rather a band of wizards working together much like the DA. Think about it, when has JKR ever mentioned before hand a wizards' middle name? So why would a great writer like JKR all of a sudden late in the series fo the book start to mention the middle name. Further more as everyone has said no one wizard could get the locket by themselves due to the potion. So i feel that this is a group of wizards or being that had gone after the Horcruxes and the leader or spokesman is the one that is reffered to as the "I" in the note.

Well i must say in my opion i do not think that is any ONE wizard rather a band of wizards working together much like the DA. Think about it, when has JKR ever mentioned before hand a wizards' middle name? So why would a great writer like JKR all of a sudden late in the series fo the book start to mention the middle name. Further more as everyone has said no one wizard could get the locket by themselves due to the potion. So i feel that this is a group of wizards or being that had gone after the Horcruxes and the leader or spokesman is the one that is reffered to as the "I" in the note.


Yes, it's true one wizard cannot get the job done alone, as Dumbledore cleary stated. Though as we also learned Voldemort cared more about the magical amount of power that crossed his lake, opposed to the number of people who did. Therefore if R.A.B was a group of highly qualified wizards ,their powers would register greatly and the boat to cross the lake wouldn't hold all that magical enegry. It could also be argued that if R.A.B was a group it could be a group of underage wizards but that is very unlikely. It is doubtful that any underage wizard could make it to Voldemort's cave. The exception ofcourse would be Harry, who had Dumbledore by his side. So, after all that we know, it seems more likely that R.A.B is a person with an accomplice rather than a group of wizards.

Another thought that just crossed my mind after trying to prove my point about R.A.B not being a group. If R.A.B did have an accomplice, that accomplice must be an unqualified wizard or a creature, since i'm sure magical creatures magical powers won't register compared to a highly qualified wizard. Which makes the Regulus Black theory even more convincing...

Hilary :p :blush:

Yes, it's true one wizard cannot get the job done alone, as Dumbledore cleary stated. Though as we also learned Voldemort cared more about the magical amount of power that crossed his lake, opposed to the number of people who did. Therefore if R.A.B was a group of highly qualified wizards ,their powers would register greatly and the boat to cross the lake wouldn't hold all that magical enegry. It could also be argued that if R.A.B was a group it could be a group of underage wizards but that is very unlikely. It is doubtful that any underage wizard could make it to Voldemort's cave. The exception ofcourse would be Harry, who had Dumbledore by his side. So, after all that we know, it seems more likely that R.A.B is a person with an accomplice rather than a group of wizards.

Another thought that just crossed my mind after trying to prove my point about R.A.B not being a group. If R.A.B did have an accomplice, that accomplice must be an unqualified wizard or a creature, since i'm sure magical creatures magical powers won't register compared to a highly qualified wizard. Which makes the Regulus Black theory even more convincing...

Hilary :p :blush:

I was not saying that the entirety of the group was present when they crossed the lake but that it was maybe one or 2 of the members with say a house elf. i am saying that ther persons responsible for the locket being replaced is the action of a group that was like the order of the pheniox opposing Voldermort.
But also this came to mind as i wrote this would a witch/wizards power register if they had transformed into another form such as an animagus? would the boat pick up their powers? Maybe, maybe not. So something to think bout.

:gryff:

I was not saying that the entirety of the group was present when they crossed the lake but that it was maybe one or 2 of the members with say a house elf. i am saying that ther persons responsible for the locket being replaced is the action of a group that was like the order of the pheniox opposing Voldermort.
But also this came to mind as i wrote this would a witch/wizards power register if they had transformed into another form such as an animagus? would the boat pick up their powers? Maybe, maybe not. So something to think bout.

:gryff:


Yes I suppose that can be argued. But we also have to put into account that JK Rowling is writing these Harry Potter books and she's a phenomenal author so it would be really dumb if R.A.B was a group and half the group went into Voldemort's cave. It's just not her style. R.A.B is going to be really important in the final book of this series and it wouldn't be like J.K Rowling to just let some of the group go into the lake. But then again if R.A.B was a group I bet J.K Rowling will have a great explanation for it like she's done for everything throughout this series. I guess we'll just have to wait and see until the book comes out...

Hilary :p :blush:

i think that definately the most probable person RAB could be is Regulus for all the reasons stated before me and also, in the beginning of RAB's note, he addresses his writings to "The Dark Lord". As i recall in Hp and the Order of the Pheniox Harry once asks Snape why he refers to Voldemort as the Dark Lord and Snape is somewhat startled. It's obvious that death eaters refer the Voldemort as the Dark Lord. and since Regulus was a death eater

i just had an idea. What if the 'A' in R.A.B. is not a name but the word 'and'. i thought this after reading your last paragraph stressing that whoever stole the horcrux must have an acomplice.

or an even looneyer theory, maybe R.A.B. is three people using only one intial each

problem with this theory is that the note is writen in the first person, so why would the signature be more then one person...

i have no idea to be honest, unless its like a birthday card, one person writes and everyone signs it :)
:clap: I agree..........Well if it were two people and the 'a' was an and them it could be Remus and Black.....but they would have told Dumbledore...............it could be Regalus......or it could even be a nick-name that was given to the unknown person, one only voldemort would know.....

I was really excited to see the name Andromeda Black at least -mentioned- on here. Still, I don't think the theory as a whole has been posted, so this is mine so far:

This is still assuming the B. in R.A.B. is Black. In Chapter 6, "The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black" in OOTP you see a family tapestry in the drawing room at Sirius's house. He was telling about how his mom zapped him off of the tapestry with her wand when he ran away from home when he looked to see if Tonks was on there also. When Harry asked if Tonks was related to Sirius he said that Yes, her mother, Andromeda, had been his favorite cousin. Maybe it's stretching it a little bit, but perhaps Andromeda was Sirius's favortie cousin's middle name? Also, I have a likely suggestion for an accomplice in drinking the potion: Andromeda's husband. Andromeda was burned off the tapestry for marrying a MUGGLE, Ted Tonks. Now, seeing as how the boat in the lake in the cave where the Horcrux was hidden doesn't go by weight but rather -the power of the witch/wizard- then Tonks's dad, Ted could have easily went across the lake to help his wife, Andromeda drink the potion. Still that leaves the question as to where the locket is now. We could presume that it -is- the locket seen in the Black house when it was being cleaned. But is it also possible that Andromeda's daughter, Tonks, has it?

That would take care of two of the initials anyways.
R.A.B. = ? Andromeda Black

That is assuming that she was still going by the last name of Black and not yet Tonks.

Anyways, let me know what you think I guess.

Although it does not sound like Borgin could have done it on his own, where is Burkes in all of this. We do not know his first or middle name, but the B definetely fits. Grace Li disscused five criteria R.A.B. must have and I will go through them in relation to Burkes: 1) Burkes has not been seen, only his business partner has, so it can be safe to assume he is dead. 2) He and Borgin obviously have knowledge of the dark arts because of their shop. 3) It would hard to say if he knew of the prophecy, but if he owned a store in the seedy Knockturn Alley, he may have over heard some Death Eaters talking about it. 4) Almost everyone was weaker than Voldemort at the time. 5) He had a shop full of weird dark objects so he probably could hide the Horcrux with other odd objects. 6) He and Burgin must have been fairly close, so he could have gotten Burgin to aide him.

although you did a great deal of research and i applaud your effort i wanted to point some thing out.

Sirius's Grandfather Black (Order of Merlin, First Class)
Mr. Borgin (of Borgin and Burkes)
Regulus Black (Sirius's little bro)
Bagman Sr. (Ludo and Otto's dad)

what do all thes people have in common?
they all have the surname starting with b. but not one of them have the firstname starting with r besides regulus! and i dont think that any of them have a middle name starting with a! so i dont think it could be anybody but.....REGULUS BLACK!

Thats What I Think Anyways

The editorial is very well thought out. I agree with most of the theories although I think that if Bagman Sr. were RAB, JKR would have insisted that Ludo be mentioned in the movie version of GoF, just so he's introduced to the few people out there who haven't read the books. That being said, I would probably eliminate Bagman Sr. from the list.

This isn't the only Horcrux Harry will need to find, so making one obvious isn't beyond the realm of possibility. Regulus Black is more than likely RAB (with Kreacher as accomplice).

I think it is vey likely that R.A.B is Regulas Black. In O.O.T.P, when they are clearing out the house, they find a locket that they can't open.
But this means it could also be the grandfather.

Your theories are great though, i just thought people would like to know...

It also says that there are shiny things in Kreachers nest...

Hello everyone. I'm new here but I thought I'd share this bit of information I found. I've been having a grand time reading all of these theories (cheers to you lot that have written them for enlightening us with your research and fascinating deductions). I find Wikipedia very useful (as I'm new to *all* of the *online* Harry Potter universe) when attempting to clarify things in my own mind (some say Wikipedia's rubbish but I trust it). Enough chat, though. Here it is (I think you could be spot on ; ) ):
From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.A.B.#Translations_of_R.A.B._and_Black)
"Translations of R.A.B. and Black
In several foreign-language versions of the series, the surname Black has been translated into the respective language to carry the same meaning (the colour black). In those cases, the 'B' in R.A.B. has been changed accordingly. For example, the Dutch edition uses the initials R.A.Z. (as in Zwarts) in the note, the Norwegian edition has R.A.S. (as in Svaart), the Finnish edition has the letters R.A.M. (as in Musta)."

I have read this, and i think it would make sense to have Sirius's brother be the R.A.B. However, it doesn't have to be someone who knows the dark arts. I mean, for me, I've had the thought (and one other person) that it would be Amelia Bones, or her husband. I forgot her husband's first name (but me and one other person are re-reading all 6 books again), but he might be it too if his name starts with a B. Amelia Bones seems to be the perfect match. She head of the Deparment of Magical Law enforcment, and she MIGHT be an investigator. I know her name is Amelia Susan Bones, but wait, could there be more to her name, just doesn't want to be known for it? If you're confused, look at Dumbledore. His initials for his FULL name are A.P.W.B.D. What if Amelia had a name that was long like Dumbledore? Could there be a chance that there is an R there? Then there is her husband. Like i said, i forgot his first name, but if it started with an R, and his last name starts with a B, there's a chance that his middle name starts with the letter A. I don't know, but i think it might be one of those two. I thought it was Dumbledore at first, but Dumbledore wouldn't take Harry to the cave if he already had one of the Horcruxes. But hey, I read these books over and over again, and i am finding more clues as i re-read.

Interesting... just a note. I've also heard the idea that R.A.B. could be Andromeda Black or Amy Benson, the girl Riddle tormented in the cave, the theory being that their names are middle names that they go by. Far-fetched, maybe, but interesting. I do belong to the Regulus camp though. Anyway, great editorial, and brilliant point at the end; what if that accomplice is alive?

Er OK. good theori. But I don't think that R.A.B will be regulus black, borgin, bagman senior or sirius grandfather. Borgin is alive and he still meet the other deatheaters. Bagman senior.... NO WAY! And regulus? it's impossible.

I am Estonian and I don't speak English very well.

GryffinWildmage-I suggested Amy Benson long ago because she had the important advantage of knowing the cave. Second, JKR has given us Tonks as an example of a magical person who eschews her "magical" name. It seems unlikely that she is unique in this, and one can certainly imagine someone in a Muggle Orphanage not wanting to use such an unusual name. I even theorized that the R stood for Rosmerta, the other advantage of an orphan being the likelihood of a name change.

But the translation issue blocks "R. Amy Benson" as a possibility. It seems the "B" must be meant to stand for "Black". Which in turn points to Regulas. But we have been pointedly told that some members of the Black family have been blasted off the family tree, and others have quit it in disgust. I think there is a good chance that there is someone about who is a Black but doesn't advertise this fact.

There is also a controversy about Rosmerta's last name. While some sayit is her last name, I think it is her first. The translation of names which I checked did not list her, so I don't know if her name changed or not. If it retained the "R" then I think she still has a shot at it.

Why does RAB have to stand for a persons initials? It could stand for an oath. It has to have meaning between Voldemort and the person who wrote RAB. R.A.B. could be anyones initials in the wizard world but if it stood for something that was known only between Voldemort and the person who is RAB then Voldemort would know instantly who that person was.

I guess I'm saying if RAB stands for an oath of loyality to Voldemort and none of the other death eaters know of, then in my opinion that loyality oath exists between Voldemort and Snape.

I think Snape is undercover and has passed information to Voldemort directly by using his code name RAB that not even the death eaters know about. Informtaion that Dumbledore would want Snape to pass of course.
Perhaps it is done in reverse as well, as Voldemort has passed information to Snape by using the oath or code.

At any rate, if RAB is Snape then the shock and revenge that RAB wants to get from Voldemort will certainly take place once Voldemort realizes that someone he trusted betrayed him and turned to the good side.

TRIWIZARD-

I think people have pursued RAB as intials to a name because 1) it appears to act as a signature, and 2) Names are an apparently fixed and finite target, while phrases, slogans and oaths are quite open ended. Particularly since we don't even know what language it is meant to be in. In short, it is the easiest way to go.

While English would be a natural, the multiple references to the latin Hogwart's motto about sleeping dragons suggest that latin might the language of slogans (or oaths?) If it is a phrase of any sort, I would expect it to be one such that its meaning may be deduced before it is actually explained. But that doesn't seem likely.

The only part of the editorial that I saw which had a flaw was the one in which the author stated that Snape turned spy after the Potters' death. This, however, is not true. If you remember the chapter of The Goblet of Fire in which Harry falls through the pensieve, Harry witnesses the trial of Igor Karkaroff, the present day headmaster of Durmstrang. During his trial, Karkaroff is naming off names in order to wiggle out of his sentence. During this time, he names off Severus Snape. At this time, Dumbledore stands up and states that his name had been cleared by the court, that Snape had turned spy against Voldemort one year before Voldemort's downfall and had given the council useful information. Therefore, Voldemort did not turn spy after the Potters' were dead; he turned spy against Voldemort when he discovered how he interpreted the prophecy (or so Dumbledore believes). Minor detail, but important the plot none-the-less.

Very interesting suggestions, Phil Stone and Triwizard.

good editorial! yet .....im going for that R.A.B its not a name .could be an AK.....but something that keeps going throug my head its....i think there its a relation between the dissapereance of olivander an R.A.B.........could be....noneone nows...sorry for my spelling jeje my home lenguage its spanish .

Hey...it mentions that R.A.B. had to have someone with him. So people probably already thought of this, but I'm thinking what if the A stands for and? So it would be [name starting with R] and [name starting with B]. I don't know who those would be, you guys can figure that out. It's a possibility, right? It would leave lots of choices for who R and B would be, though. And also, the note is written using 'I', not 'we,' so that's kind of a problem...


just thought I'd throw that out there....

I agree that it is probably Regulus Black but Bagman's father forces me to have my doubts. But something struck me just now. Borgin is a very good possability and he might have known. But who's name comes up again and again in the books although we never see his/ her name? Burke. Where did he dissappear too? Someone will probably thow this one out but i feel it has potential. He obviously knew about the locket. The only loophole that i can see is that his name starts with a "C". But that would fit in with the "A" being an "and" theory. Rookwood and Burke, Regulus and Burke...many different combo's there. I'm interested in more theories.

firstly, excellent editorial. but, although i think regulus makes the most sense, why couldn't it possibly be a female??? i think ppl today r thinking too hard about power=men. women rock! but, to contradict what i just said, why couldn't it be burke? for that matter, why couldn't burke be a female, mr. borgin's widowed sister perhaps? maybe even his daughter or friend? where is burke? where has he/she been? the store is called borgin and burke's, why have we never met burke then? perhaps he/she is dead??? idk if this theory has already come up, i haven't read all the other replies to this editorial. but i think ppl r just reading too deeply, burke is pretty obvious, just as obvious (that's who i thought of when i first heard of rab, regulus just seemed like an idiot) as regulus, maybe a little less, as we don't know as much about burke as we do regulus. anyways, that's just my opinion... ---leslie
i :love: ron!!!

Read Book 6 again and you will see that Burke is indeed a man. If you want power=women...look and hermione, she'll play a powerful part.

OK i read it and when i read about what you put about Borgin i thought no. BUT what about Burke? We know he was originally the one who bought the locket off of Merope, Dumbledore had one of his memories in his pensieve. If Burke was happy enough to give Dumbledore a memory of The Dark Lords mother then what else has he told him? We also know that Burke sold the locket to Hepzibah Smith, not Borgin. She says, " of course, Burke know Ive got this one. I bought it from him, and i daresay hed love to get it back when Im gone..."

Hello all, been awhile since I have been here. I still think R.A.B is Sirius and Regulus's father. The one who, put every known protection known to wizzarding kind on the grim old place. To me this shows abilities neccesary to do what is required to find the cave, gain entrance and retrieve the horcrux. Sirius also hints and the things found at the grim old place that his father and mother had an intrest in the dark arts. It was also stated that Mr. Black thought Voldermort had the right idea until... Motive: Death of Regulus.

IT WAS OK BUT REALLY NOTHING NEW. REGULUS ARCTURUS BLACK HAS TO BE R.A.B. BECAUSE HE REALLY IS. NOTHING NEW.

i think it may be possible that Borgin's partner could have been the actual RAB it may not be possible because I personally do believe it is Regulus but still. Because we don't know his first name and it has a be. it's possible.

why cant it be Dumbledore's brother

i don't know if anyone has mentiond this already but it can't be Mr.Bagman ,Sr. Because to Be a Sr. your son or daughter has to have the same first and middle names. His is Ludo Bagman ,Sr.

Just wanted to say that I like the idea that the locket they couldn't open when cleaning sirius's house was a horcrux (maybe it was a horcrux at some stage but when R.A.B. "broke" the horcrux spell it involved locking the locket from being able to be opened) and that even though it was thrown out, that kreacher rescued it.

Can't wait to find out which of our theories are on track and off track when we finally get to read book 7!

I really liked this editoriral for a lot of reasons--namely that it gives more credit to an R.A.B. who is not Regulus Black. To me, yes, this seems too obvious. I guess we'll have to see.

Two possibilities that were not on this list that I think are viable are (as I think otehr people mentioned earlier):

1)Caractacus Burke of Borgin and Burke's shop. Sure, his first name does not begin with an "R," but isn't he, being dead, more probable than Borgin?

2) and possibily more probable is The Bloody Baron. What if Baron really is his last name? Being Slytherin's ghost, he is likely to have dabbled in Dark Magic, and seems to have battled and died considering the silvery blood taht resides on his transparent frame. It might be interesting is this is true, and in the seventh book we finally find the reason for his "bloodiness."

Personally, the only two options for R.A.B. that I have found that have any merit are Regulus and Mr Borgin. They are the only two people I could find that have the required aspects. These aspects are:

1. Calling Lord Voldemort the Dark Lord. Only Death Eaters and people associated with Death Eaters use that term. That one characteristic alone rules out many.

2. Motive. There is no shortage for motives in the wizarding world. However, these two people had very strong motives. Self-preservation. The only way to defy Voldemort and live would be to have something he values hostage. What more could you ask than a piece of his soul?

3. Voldemort's background knowledge. Mr Borgin, being Tom Riddle's first employer, knew Tom before he became the being he is today. He knew him when he was weaker. Therefore, perhaps he could have used Legilimency to see into Tom's mind. We must remember that while Voldemort is very skilled at penetrating other's minds, he is not so skilled in Occlumency. Regulus could have come across the knowledge in the same way. Or, which is equally if not more likely, he could have heard about Voldemort's past from fellow Death Eaters, who knew Voldemort when he was at school. Picture Voldemort lounging in the Slytherin Common Room boasting about feats he managed to do before he even had the basic knowledge of magic. Hard or easy?

4. Ability. From the start, we are lead to believe both of them we not very skilled wizards. But they were. Horace remembers Regulus semi-fondly, proving that Regulus had talent. And the fact that Mr Borgin is still alive even though he consorts with criminals every day proves that he is skilled in ways other than pure wizardry. Both also had possible helpers for the taking of the locket as well. Borgin had Caratacus (his mysterious partner has disappeared and no one seems to be saying why) and Regulus had Kreacher (a servant who is addled in the mind - possibly due to a bad potion?).

However, there is one clue that I have found that points to Regulus and is possibly the sole reason I believe it to be Regulus. Regulus'[ name is the brightest star in the constellation Leo, the Lion constellation. Lions are associated with Bravery, and if Regulus is the brightest star, maybe that means that Regulus was exceptionally brave. Brave enough to defy his master? Maybe.

I have not noticed anyone mentioning that in Monograms the middle letter is usually the last initial. RAB was one of the written segments in the book with the R and the B connected to underline the A. could the A be the last name? This would be a way of surprising people and yet keeping in a format that is traditional and recognized after the fact. It is just an idea that I had. I am not familiar with witch and wizard names enough to put forth a R first name A last name character that has already been met.

Sorry but I disagree with this theory :no:

Although I don't remember Sirius's grandfather's full name, I am 99% positive that it started with an A. Could it be where Regulus Black got his middle name from?

Please reply to this if you can confirm my name theory.

While I'm firmly in the camp that Jo has said R.A.B. is Regulus, it is fun to speculate that it could not be a signature at all. Perhaps its the last of the message. R.A.B. could mean something like Righteous At Burial. I'm sure someone out there has a better version of this. Please share!

I also like the H.B.P. option to R.A.B. as well. Not sure what it would be right now but I'm going to go nuts if the Title of 7 is H P and the R.A.B.!!!

There is one professor that has been around since the beginning, which very well could be a mystery R.A.B. For those of you who do not know who I am referring to, it's Professor Binns. The revelation of the title for book 7 is what has me guessing that the History of Magic teacher is one of the Deathly Hallows.

I will have to reread the parts of the books where Binns comes in to have more substantial evidence. The biggest things that are evidence enough for me are
1. He has been around since book one. - Why introduce a new character when no one knows about one that already exists and is often written about? Why would Dumbledore keep a ghost as an instructor if it wasn't for any real reason? Proof is why Trelawney had to stay at Hogwarts.
2. He's already dead. - He's a ghost. No one knows when he died or how he died.

Lyl

Lylian Mae- Dumbledore is very broad minded about who may teach at Hogwarts. The fact that Binns is a ghost does not seem to me to be as significant as the apparent fact that he is a boring teacher. Of course Dumbledore puts up with Snape, at least in part because the students manage to learn from him, and perhaps the same is true of Binns.

Do you think it is interesting that Harry doesn't seem to have heard much about how Dumbledore battled Grindlewald? If anything would keep the attention of the class, one would think that would do it. The only time they seem to have paid attention was when Hermione got the subject onto the historical roots of the crisis of the moment.

If Binns was RAB and Dumbledore was protecting him, he would need a reason to do so, most likely knowing what he had done. In that case, why did they go to the cave?

I agree that RAB, if a person, will be someone we know. JKR is too careful a writer to bring in someone totally new.

What about Joe Rowling telling the press that Regulus Black being R.A.B is "a fine guess" ?

swottygirl- I think "a fine guess," only commits her to the idea that it is not a bad guess, not necessarily the correct answer. It may be exactly whom she wanted us to suspect. The use of the word "guess", in the context of, as I recall, "theory", also strikes me as less than a categorical endorsement of the view. Which doesn't mean it isn't Regulus, only that at that point JKR did not want to confirm it.

I like the idea of RAB being Rookwood and Bagman. It says that these two were always together, and since two were needed to retrieve the Horcrux, it makes sense.

Yes .... a fair point, but what does the A stand for? It could be another person or it could stand for " Rookwood And Bagman" . But it is implied in book 7 that R.A.B is dead ,and your theory does not match that. Also Bagman seems slightly naive to me, an example being his co- worker is gone missing and he is not very worried .And lastly I do not think Bagman could be living this long with Voldy-dude not having a clue that he has been searchingfor fragments of his soul.

hllo, I'm an italian boy, so excuse me for my bad english :D

I think rab is regulus black. the Horcrux could be in grimmaud place(in the fifth book, when harry cleans) founds a locket(in italian Lucchetto o Medaglione). could the locket be the salazar locket?(i also ask you if in the book it is named locket or not)
and if that is the horcrux, now mundungus has it, because he stole it frot Grimmaud place.

Ultrin- I knew that last summer, so go to the ozer(other ) page...the one that talks about Regulus being R.A.B.

POSTED ON BEHALF OF TAMARA:

I could say with some certainity that R.A.B. is NOT mr. Borgin, and also NOT mr. Bagman. But indeed Regulus Black or his and Sirius' grandfather according to this theory.

The reason why I am so certain that R.A.B. isn't mr. Borgin and not Mr. Bagman is because R.A.B. isn't written that way in the Dutch version of Harry Potter and the half-blood prince but R.A.Z.. Sirius Black is called Sirius Zwarts in dutch ( which means exactly the same though) so that'd name his brother, Regulus, also a Zwarts, same for his grandfather. Mr Borgin is called Mr. Oorlof in dutch which isn't a surname to start with a Z and mr Bagman is Mr. Bazuyn which also doesn't start with a Z either.

I hope this could be placed in this editorial in some way, because it does exclude two people of the list of who is R.A.B.

I'm sorry if my grammar or English in any way is horrible, but that'd be because I am dutch..My apologies for that, I hope you still do understand what my point is.

Moreover the question is.... How is Voldemort going to see this message that R.A.B. has left for him? Somehow Harry is going to have to show it to Voldemort for R.A.B. to get any satisfaction out of letting LV know that it was he who discovered his secret in the first place. Which in my opinion means that R.A.B. is still alive and not dead yet. R.A.B. may know that he has to sacrafice himself in order for Harry to be able to destroy Voldemort.

R.A.B. did discover the secret of Voldemort making horcruxes. It could be that he had a hunch that LV was making horcruxes and his hunch was proved correct when Dumbledore destroyed the first ring horcrux. Even more so when Dumbledore and Harry came back to Hogwarts with the real locket horcrux.

I believe that R.A.B. is still alive and took the real locket horcrux and left Harry with the fake one.

I can not be convienced that it is Borgan, Regulus, Amelia Bones, Bagman or any one else for that matter. It is of my opinion that R.A.B. may stand for something that is known between Voldemort and R.A.B.
Not necessarily initials to a persons name.

TRIWIZARD- I like the idea that R.A.B. may be a secret nickname or code between someone and Voldemort/Riddle. But the translation factor means the B almost has to stand for Black/black, because there simply are not many words which translate into so many languages with these changes in initial (first) letter.

Further, JKR as a writer, would want thereto be an instance of the usage of the code/codeword before its meaning is revealed. Is there a saying, or spell or anything which bears it even in English?

I guess the other question is whether you think JKR must have slipped it in already, or would wait untill the last book to introduce it.

The R.A.B. could stand for something in Latin that is known only between Voldemort and R.A.B. If this is the case there would be no need for translation into different languages. It's my opinion that R.A.B.'s meaning is not in prior books and that it will be revealed who or what it is in the final book.

Has anyone put thought into how Harry is going to get this note from R.A.B. into Voldemorts hands?

TRIWIZARD- I always assumed that RAB took his satisfaction in knowing that he had played a part in defeating Voldemort, and that if Voldemort ever discovered the locket RAB left, satisfaction in knowing that Voldemort would know who had defeated him. Since he said he expected to soon be dead, I assumed he died taking his satisfaction this way. While he wanted Voldemort to know who defeated his plan, what he wanted more was to defeat the plan.

I am not sure Harry needs to show Voldemort the note. First because the more that HArry knows and Voldemort doesn't the better off HArry is. Secondly, if Voldemort discovers that the Horcrux is gone in HArry's presence, he may be able to read RAB from his mind any way, without even showing the note.

That being said, should Voldemort wonder aloud to Harry who could have done such a thing, I can imagine HArry giving credit where it was due.

What if R.A.B. knows that since Dumbeldore has died he too will have to sacrafice himself to bring down Voldemort? What if RAB is still alive and hasn't died yet? What if he knows that he is in a no win situation and that both sides are hunting him and that somewhere along the line either the DA or LV will kill him. So in essence he knows he will be dead soon he has no way of escape from either side.
RAB's mission is to defeat evil and I believe he will be around to help Harry do just that.

I believe that R.A.B. is still alive and took the real locket horcrux and left Harry with the fake one.



Personally, I believe that R.A.B was Regulus, and since I believed the theory, I had toyed with the idea that Regulus was still alive(it would be a great plot twist!) Now, however, I don't think Regulus is alive. Why? If he was alive, Harry wouldn't have been able to inherit number 12 and thae rest of the black's possesions.

i think that R.A.B is a nickname like HBP(half blood prince.)
i don't know who he is but this is what i think but am probly wrongmr borgin!!!

Could R.A.B. stand for three people? After all you would need more then one person or creature to get the locket. So i was thinking maybe R.A.B. was three people.

Okay, here are my thoughts.

1. I think R.A.B. is Regulus. Based on JKR's non-denial under direct questioning by Melissa and Emerson, she waffled and reclined. Also, although Senior Bagman is an interesting possibility, Jo has enough front story to deal with in Year 7 without having to explain the back dtory to how Senior Bagman would have come across a horcrux.

2. As it relates to the author's contention that one wizard could not have obtained the horcrux, I'm not so sure. Now, I know Dumbledore said this, but take it in context. The only reason one person would need assistance would have been if they had drunk the potion. If, for some reason, R.A.B. was able to get at the locket without drinking the potion, one could conceivably retrieved the locket without assistance.

Okay, so why do I think R.A.B. didn't have to drink the potion? Well, because the potion was still there when Dumbledore and Harry showed up. Jo makes sure she mentions that the basin is empty when Dumbledore scoops up the locket, so I don't think the potion was a magically refilling potion.

So, how did R.A.B. get the locket without drinking the potion? Well, the barrier mentioned in "Phoenix Lament", the one that allowed the Death Eaters on the Astronomy tower and no one else. The one that threw Lupin and Neville back, but allowed Death Eaters through with ease, and Harry mentions that "you must have had to have a Dark Mark to get through..."

Fore and back-shadowing ala JKR.

So, did R.A.B. have a team mate? Possibly. I think he didn't. Especially given the fact that his note is in the singular, not the plural ("It was I who discovered...I intend to destroy...").

But if he did, the field of potential candidates is whiddled considerably based on Dumbledore's comments in the cave.

1. Only one wizard, or at least of-age wizard of some considerable power, could sail in the boat. So, we know that two full of age wizards or witches of some capacity could not have sailed across. So, that leaves a) a witch or wizard under 17, b) a squib, c) a non-human or d) a considerable witch or wizard in animagus form.

I'll discount a) and b), because I seriously doubt Regulus would take an underage wizard or squib on this type of journey, especially given what he does not know about the hazards yet.

Now, c) is interesting. If he took a non-human, who would he take? Well, a house elf of course. And it would probably have been Kreacher. Hmmmm, makes Harry's ownership of Kreacher more interesting, eh?

And, of course, based on the fact that Sirius was considered by the dementors "less than human", enabling him to escape Azkaban, I think it equally possible that an animagus could have fooled the boat. So, who could this have been? Well, we only know of 5 animagi living at Regulus' time, and 3 are on the good guys' side (Sirius, James, McGonnagall), one is only on her own side (Rita Sketterbug), and one certain ratboy. So, odds are, unless Jo is going to introduce another animagi, our famous tagalong would be the highest candidate.

Unless you could have flown to the island, which would be a point for Rita. But then, of course, Regulus could have thrown ratboy over the lake too, come to think of it. Or McGonagall, for that matter. Catapultus horcruxus retrievi!

great, but you forgot Regulus was underage :)

I don't think the Dark Mark Barrier would be relevant, because Voldemorrt doesn't trust his people enough to let them have that kind of access to the horcrux. (I am also a little suspicious about the nature of that barrier in the Tower.) Now he might try to set it up so that something about him would allow him to pass through unmolested. "Accio Horcrux" in Parseltongue?

I think there may be more to the question of why one and only one inferi rose momentarily from the lake when Harry summoned the Horcrux. Is it more likely that Voldemort disabled summoning charms on the Island, around the bowl, or through the entire cave?

sfgilgalad. What makes you say Regulus was underage? According to the Lexicon and the Black Family Tree, he was born in 1961 and died in 1979, which would make him 17, or possibly 18 at the time of his death.

sfgilgalad. What makes you say Regulus was underage? According to the Lexicon and the Black Family Tree, he was born in 1961 and died in 1979, which would make him 17, or possibly 18 at the time of his death.
true :s

I have been thinking alot about who R.A.B. could be and it occured to me that in books 5 and 6 J.K.Rowling spent a considerable amount of time talking about the Bones family. Susan Bones and her Aunt, Madam Bones are both in OoTP. Susan Bones was barely mentioned in any of the earlier books and this is just like Jo to drop her in here only to use her again later. If memory serves someone in the Bones family was murdered by old Voldy. Maybe R.A.B. is a member that we have yet to meet from the Bones clan.

Just a thought. :)

Nice theories. i had an idea following the Bagman snr. maybe R.A.B stands for Rookwood.and.Bagman. its a bit of a long shot but might be true:tu:

nop only one adult wizard in the cave ;)

It's probably a long shot. But, I was wondering if anyone else thought that R.A.B. might have something to do with the children that Voldemort lured into the cave as a child. No one knows what happened to the two younger children Dennis Bishop and Amy Benson in that cave. Also, the children were orphans and anyone of them just as likely to be a Muggle-born wizard.
Like I said, a long shot, but I would love to hear if anyone else thought of this possibility.:huh:

yeah, maybe both of them were wizard too, and that's why Voldemort brought them with him. We could imagine that Amy Benson married a wizard named Bones...

[QUOTE=denogirl;2892908)

i have had a thought giving the whereabouts of the real locket horcrux. Maybe regulus did steal it from the cave and hid it in 12 grimmauld place where it was disposed of by the ootp. If you remember mundungus fletcher was stealing valueble heirlooms and other expensive items from the house. It could be possible Mundungus stole the locket and sold it on to a good paying customer. My guess is it could be a dark wizard/witch who bought it (possibly loyal to voldemort)- Mundungus isnt picky. Or it could be in a shop somewhere in knocturn alley.:slyth:

My thoughts went to Borgin and Caractacus Burke. We don't know Borgin's first name, and Burke is always conveniently absent from the shop. I wonder why?

sure, Burke is dead...

No mention is ever made of his whereabouts or his living or dead status. The only thing we know is that he was interested in Hepzibah Smith's artifacts back when Tom Riddle was working for them. I always wondered about those two. It would be something that would interest them.

All good points but i am saying that there are only a couple people who know about the cave so far that we the readers know about. Which are Voldemort, Harry, Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione and lets not forget about Amy Benson.''The young resident of the orphanage that Tom Riddle Jr grew up in. She ill-advisedly went into a cave with Tom and was never the same again.''

So maybe after Amy got better from whatever tom (voldemort) had done to her she went back and stole the locket.

I am not saying that she is definitely R.A.B i am saying lets not forget about everyone else beside Regulus A. Black.

Matt

Do you think that maybe Tom may have passed some magical ability onto her? That's the only way she would have been able to get access to the horcrux.

Galinda, et al, I hypothesized Amy Benson as RAB long ago, before translation seemed to have ruled her out, for several reasons.

Whoever beat Dumbledore to the cave had to have some information about it, and Amy and Dennis fit the bill. Their knowlege of the Cave would put them one up on Regulus when it comes to opportunity. Who or why would Voldemort trust with that information, unless he meant it to be a trap for Dumbledore?

Amy is described as being younger, so it is possible she became a witch with age. And being an orphan, she has the advantage of possibly being under our noses using a different name upon adoption. Finally, there must be other people besides Tonks who disdain their wizarding name. If Amy had an additional first name, like "Rosemerta", the staff at the orphanage might well drop it in favor of "Amy".

However, the translation factor seems to rule her out directly. And since what we hear about Amy is that she was never the same again, and we have reason to think she suffererd some sort of abuse, it seems likely that if she is about, under a different name, it is some one with a strong streak of cruelty. I would think that Dolores Umbridge is our best candidate for some one who was tortured as a child, though Filch is probably a candidate as well.

There may still be a way to make Amy or Dennis RAB, but is not going to be simple, due to the translation issue.

Rage Against the Bargains :)

it could be anybody

i thought you analysis was extremely thorough and really enjoyed reading it and like Alana i was curious as to whetherr R.A.B. stood for more than one person when i read it. If that was the case i don't think the A would stand for and, but a third person. This widens that possibilities and makes it harder to predetermine. Regelus is extremely possible, however it seems almost too easy. It is unlike Ms. Rowling to have such a simple solution

As a finnish reader I have a huge advantage as part of the names have been translated. For example Black is translated to its finnish correspondant Musta.

And just have a wild guess what might the letters be in the finnish version ;) Yes, indeed it is R.A.M, need I say more? Oh and no none of those other names are translated the same way. Also your fascinating theory about A standin for A crushes here as the finnish and doesn't begin with A. Sorry folks. Actually I think that it stands for Arcturus, name that happens to appear several times in the Black family line.

Oh yeah, just one thing yet. The finnish transaltor actually had to phone Rowling about the name and confirm it.

PS. Im sorry if I ruined the possibility of speculation for you. Just maybe it might be someone else we just can't think of ;)

How about the other founder of Borgin and Burke???? Is there any evidence for or againt the other????

I think i read somewhere in book five about a character Rabastian black. RAB. it is like J.k. rowling to make a character no one knows anything about, except for that it is sirius's brother, and make them an important character later. IE did anyone think that peter pettigrew would be that important when u read book three?

has anyone ever thought that dumbledore might be R.A.B . after all he was the one who figured out his secret (that we know of) and as we read in the last book HBP
"To the Dark Lord
I know I will be dead long before you read this
but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret.
I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can.
I face death in the hope that when you meet your match,
you will be mortal once more.
R. A. B."
is what was read. they say i FACE DEATH in the hope when u meet ur match u will be mortal once more. well dumbledore is dead ! and probaly wanted to protect harry from the curses on the locket.we know that dumbledore cared for harry and was trying to help him defeat voldemort.i know u probally think its a bit far fetched. but THINK about it . maybe im right maybe im wrong . only JKR knows
OMG I CANT WAIT FOR THE BOOK :drool:

I think i read somewhere in book five about a character Rabastian black. RAB. it is like J.k. rowling to make a character no one knows anything about, except for that it is sirius's brother, and make them an important character later. IE did anyone think that peter pettigrew would be that important when u read book three?

I think a number of Black family members "fit" for instance there are two Arcturus Blacks , two Regulus Blacks, Alphard Black ~ who was disowned and left money to Sirius, Andromeda (Black) Tonks. Regulus to me seems a little too easy. I think it probably is someone from the Black family going by all the translations....however which one is anybody's guess!

How about the other founder of Borgin and Burke???? Is there any evidence for or againt the other????

the other founder of borgin and burkes is calls caracatus burke!! no R or A there!!!

Personally. i have been speculating of whom R.A.B is since i read the 6th book... and i have just got to say that i do not think that Mr. Borgin is even someone to consider because when you find out other things about the books, you can go back and find clues that could have led you to know these things. That is just the way that J.K. Rowling writes. And the fact that the only person that has had most of the initials R.A.B. in his/her name is Regulas makes me come to think that he is the only possibility..

okay thanks for reading my response

Hi

I was just thinking that based on j k's response to guess that R.A.B. is regalus black as a 'fine guess' makes me think that it isn't regalus black. I mean sure it would make perfect sense that it is based on the evidence presented but my back up guess is some one else.

How about some one in amelia bones family? voldemort always targeted them and yes we know amelia bones is gifted but what about the rest of the family. in attacking Amelia Bones, maybe voldemort believed she has information about his horcrux left by one of the members of her family

it may sound far fetched but i think its entirely possible...we know how j k likes to mention seemingly insignificant details that come back to us when she reveals something.

I think this discussion is definitly rounding around itself. There are about 1million saying the same things, over and over...
According the none-english versions, (supposing that RAB is one person, and using his true names) only the name Black is the only one which fits with RAB.
That doesn't mean that RAB is a Black, but, well... If you think the person's name is B..., then it's 99% likely it's a Black family member.

So it is a Black.

A Black we know? Its unlikely that JKR will introduce a totallly new character in the last book, so probably yes, a Black we know.

A Black we know is a Black? We know that many Blacks have been blasted off the family tree. We know that decent people, Sirius for instance, are far from proud to be Blacks. The sort of person who would take on Voldemort is probably the sort of person who would not advertise being a Black. So possibly.

But if RAB is a Black we do not know is a Black, he/she could be nearly anyone. What must apply to RAB?

RAB needs to some how have knowledge of the Cave to go there. Personal knowledge, or from another. Who would have access to the orphans, and know their importance?

RAB must either suspect Voldemort of creating a Horcrux, or be able to recognize one once found.

RAB must either anticipate what is in the bowl and bring it expressly for the purpose of the switch, or normally wore the locket Dumbledore found and improvised a means of leaving a message for Voldemort. (This might allow Harry et al to trace RAB,)

RAB must be able to negotiate the original horcrux from the bowl. RAB must either know a trick, or have an assistant such as Dumbledore did. If the former, the trick may be Maya's idea of using the magical Hufflepuff Cup to drink the potion. If the latter, the assistant must also be underaged, or not a wizard, to fit into the boat. Kreacher, who seems mad even for a house elf is an obvious suspect. People who keep House elves, with the exception of Dumbledore perhaps, would tend to ignore their significance and speak in the first person of their joint efforts.

What else do we know?

Hi all, well im not sure if anyone has come up with this theory becuase I havent read threw the entire seven pages of discussion, but what if R.A.B. is Amelia Bones?

Quoted by Fudge" Amelia Bones. Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We think He Who Must Not Be Named may have murdered her in person, because she was a very gifted which and - all the evidence was that she put up a real fight. " pg 19 of The Half - Blood Prince

Ok, I know its far fetched but it could be possible. Firstly: She worked for the Ministry and was VERY gifted possibly meaning that she learned about the Horcruxs? and I mean she is very talented if she could even put up a fight againts 'He Who Must Not Be Named' !

Second: Fudge suspected that 'He Who Must Not be Named' killed her in person! That alone means that she must of been a HUGE threat for L.V. to kill Amelia Bones himself.


Third: I'm guessing she wasent a Death Eater, but who is to say she wasent MOCKING him when she wrote (and againt just my theory) on the parchment adressed "To The Dark Lord" on page 569 of The Half - Bloof Prince because she thought she figured out his secret??!!?? And MAYBE that is the reason why L.V killed her right after the fake horcrux was found HIMSELF! And maybe when she wrote the letter she THOUGHT she would of been killed long before anyone found it but she really wasent???!???

Anyhow just my threory but in my opinoin its worth some concideration! I honestly think R.A.B. being Regulus Black is just too easy :no: Let me know what you think!

Are you basing your theorie on Fudge's opinion?? Well, why not. I wouldn't :) Again, Amelia Bones' name doesn't change in the non english versions. RAB's name does. There have been a lot of people thinking of her though.
CF post 132

Maybe someone said this already but I'm going to anyway.

We know that two people are needed to obtain the locket from the little bowl thing. Also Sirius said that his brother was weak and cowardly. Maybe Regulus was there but he was the second person forced to drink the liquid. Then, to avoid any trouble, the other person stole the locket and signed Regulus's initials.

I know that's kinda weird and it leaves us asking who the second person is but there ya go.

Or, maybe they're siblings R. and A. B.

P.S. This is my first post on Chamber of Secrets!

Brilliant theories.
(Don't know if this is said before)
In the Norwegian copy R.A.B. has been translated into R.A.S., and Black is called Svaart in Norwegian. So if the translater doesn't guess too I would have thougt Regulus is RAB.

Borgin may be a better bet than many realize. Dumbledore placed such an emphasis on revisiting Voldemort's past that I believe a small connection such as Riddle working for Borgin is enough to make Borgin a much greater character than many realize. Another theory I like playing around with is that Dumbledore knew that the locket in the cave was a fake, but that the original Horcrux had been there and was demonstrating to Harry how to deal with them. Planning on Snape to have the antidote waiting for him when they would return to the castle as with the ring. If Dumbledore did know it was a fake then he must have known that it was taken...the note would fit for Dumbledore if you read it with that in mind an forget the initials.

I just found an old interview with J.K.R. from World book day March 4 2004. She says "Cathedral: Will we be hearing anything from Sirius Black's brother, Regulus, in future books?
JK Rowling replies -> Well, he's dead, so he's pretty quiet these days. "
I think that kind of eliminates him from the running. I think it's the history of magic teacher Binns. He gets a line in every book. He's dead and he never speaks so why make a point of mentioning him otherwise? He has to have some future role we haven't seen. That is J.K.R. pattern.

about other names than Black, read posts 137 & 132.
If, in 2004, she said we wouldn't hear about him, well, we did since, didn't we?

I just found an old interview with J.K.R. from World book day March 4 2004. She says "Cathedral: Will we be hearing anything from Sirius Black's brother, Regulus, in future books?
JK Rowling replies -> Well, he's dead, so he's pretty quiet these days. "
I think that kind of eliminates him from the running. I think it's the history of magic teacher Binns. He gets a line in every book. He's dead and he never speaks so why make a point of mentioning him otherwise? He has to have some future role we haven't seen. That is J.K.R. pattern.


:rotfl: well if R.A.B is Regulus he's still dead and we're not hearing anything from him just about him. JK Rowling is astoundingly good at not answering questions directly!

i just had an idea. What if the 'A' in R.A.B. is not a name but the word 'and'. i thought this after reading your last paragraph stressing that whoever stole the horcrux must have an acomplice.

or an even looneyer theory, maybe R.A.B. is three people using only one intial each

problem with this theory is that the note is writen in the first person, so why would the signature be more then one person...

i have no idea to be honest, unless its like a birthday card, one person writes and everyone signs it :)

I think that makes a lot of sense. What if R.A.B stands for Rookwood And Bagman? That would be an interesting twist to the story.

And as for the fact the the note is written in first person, it could have been written by one person, but the act of stealing the locket was performed by more than one person, and so, they signed for more than one person.

There is one professor that has been around since the beginning, which very well could be a mystery R.A.B. For those of you who do not know who I am referring to, it's Professor Binns. The revelation of the title for book 7 is what has me guessing that the History of Magic teacher is one of the Deathly Hallows.

I will have to reread the parts of the books where Binns comes in to have more substantial evidence. The biggest things that are evidence enough for me are
1. He has been around since book one. - Why introduce a new character when no one knows about one that already exists and is often written about? Why would Dumbledore keep a ghost as an instructor if it wasn't for any real reason? Proof is why Trelawney had to stay at Hogwarts.
2. He's already dead. - He's a ghost. No one knows when he died or how he died.

Lyl

Oh, I really like this theory. I hadn't really considered Binns before. But now that I think about it, it is true. Especially since he's already dead. I wonder for how long he's been dead...

Wait, I thought of something. Most people seem focused around the Black family, but they are not the only ones with a last name starting with B.

So here are some possibilities...

Bagshot
Bell
Binns
Black
Bletchley
Bones
Boot
Brocklehurst
Brown
Bulstrode
Bagman
Burke
Borgin
Benson
Bishop
Bayliss
Bryce
Boardman
Borage
Broadmoore
Babbling
Baddock
Branstone
Bradley

Any member of these families might want to be considered. I just think that Regulus Black is too obvious, and we have to search deeper.

Ok, and now, for the swedish version, what name can fit with RAS, if not someone from the Svaart (BLACK) family?

Yes, that's one bonus for the black family. I was only giving other possibilities. Though if it is a member of the black family, Regulus seems too obvious for me. It might be someone who's name has been burnt off the family tree...

And did everyone check all of the other B last names to see if any of them start with S in swedish?

I don't know, at first, I was certain it was Regulus, Sirius's brother...but now i'm doubting.

Sometimes, a dog is a dog. For example, Jo makes things obvious. With the title : "Harry and the Philosopher Stone", and the name Nicholas Flamel... It was really easy to guess what was the thing Hagrid got in Gringotts. Same for the Basilisk. Ok, in the other books, I didn't foresee :) But RAB is not the most important thing in those 7 books is it? The Title is not "Who Was The Very Mysterious And Wonderful RAB? And a bit of what happened to little boy harvey Toper in a school we don't remember the name".

The article failed to recognize another B surname-initialed wizard. Borgin of Borgin and Burkes was mentioned, but what about Burkes? He certainly fits all the criteria that Borgin has but is dead or presumed dead (a quality listed first as important in being R.A.B), yet he lacks the qualities the author points out about Borgin such as his fear or Malfoy.

sfgilgalad- Sometimes a dog is a dog, but sometimes he is a godfather. It seems to me that the plots and puzzles have become more complex as the series has progressed. JKR knows that many of the original readers of SS/PS are now at University, and are up for a greater challange.

grahamsanson- I am told that in the Dutch (?) translation, Borgin and Burke are Odius and Orloff. So the translation to RAZ doesn't work. This is why the Black family are the favorites for RAB.

Opal Eye- I have not checked myself, but I have been told emphatically by various speakers of various languages that in their native tongue, the local translation eliminates anyone but a Black from RAB.

I agree that Regulus seems to be too obvious, but also too hard to explain. For all the people who are certain it was Regulus, I have yet to see an explanation which convinces me of how he outsmarted Voldemort and found the cave, and why he would sign a note to Voldemort with his initials.

I agree that it far more likely to be a Black who has been burnt off the family tree(This is unlikely to be Borgin or Burke), who is likewise not proud of being a Black, and who perhaps has been under our noses throughout the series, under a different name. Ideally it would be someone with knowledge of the Cave, namely one of the orphans, or someone who knew them. But neither Bishop nor Benson pass the translation test, so we seem to be at the limits of what we can really be sure about.

hey everyone...


i agree with florioa's(5/14/07) theory about amelia bones. i dont know why but knowing how jo normally sneaks in these twists it just seemed all too coincidental that amelia bones just happened to die in HBP when she hasnt even been mentioned since OOTP. If you remember correctly Sirius Black was first introduced in SS and wasnt again brought up til POA, serving his major role.

However, that questions the intial of "R" which could be something along the lines of a title. Also theres the problem of Amelia's full name of being Amelia Susan Bones (though she is only formally announced as such in OOTP, and has been mentioned serval times without Susan.) As far as a companion, Emmeline Vance? It was never clear as to how she died...

Something to ponder....

xobohemepixieox- Madame Bones doesn't seem to pass the translation test, though I think there may be more to her than we know.

One reason for having her death at the beginning of HBP is to underscore how the "good guys" are being lost. Madam Bones was honest and just. And she was curious. With her gone, it is that much easier for Scrimgoer to act like Barty Crouch and throw people like Stan Shunpike into Azkaban without a warrant or trial. While the Ministry may now accept that Voldemort is back, they may be no more up to the challenge than previously.

There is one interesting point which may also explain what actually happened to Madame Bones. Recall that at the end of OotP, the Ministry finally accepted Harry's story about what happened, including, presumably, what happened in the graveyard at the end of GoF. Not long after Harry escapes Voldemort in part because they have brother wands, Harry gets into trouble with the Ministry at the beginning of OotP for fighting off the Dementors. He gets an Owl with a note that tells him to turn over his wand for destruction. This Owl is quickly countermanded, and Dumbledore later points out that it was not only illconsidered but illegal.

By the end of this book, Umbridge has admitted to sending the Dementors to Privet Drive. But she doesn't admit to trying to destroy his wand, and she would seem to have little motive to do so, if she was only trying to ruin Harry's reputation. But someone ordered Harry's wand destroyed. Who had a motive?

Since we have been told that no wizard is as powerful without the wand which choose him, the person with the largest motive to destroy Harry's wand is Voldemort. Mr. Olivander's disappearance is explained by some as the result of Voldemort needing a new wand. But Voldemort would prefer that Harry be the one to get a new wand, and Olivander doesn't disappear till after OotP. It seems to me that the order to destroy Harry's wand was given by someone who was trying to help Voldemort.

It seems more than likely to me that by the end of OotP, with the dangerous implication that whoever ordered the wand's destruction could be a Deatheater, someone at the Ministry who was aware of the order would be looking into the matter. Of all the named people at Harry's trial, the people who most likely were aware of the order, the one who most likely would investigate was Madame Bones. She would be a danger to a Deatheater at the Ministry, particularly if he had been compromised by leaving a trail to the order of destruction. As a high ranking member of the Ministry, no one would be surprised if she was targeted by the Deatheaters, so her death would not lead to suspicions as to hidden motives.

On this view, the end of GoF is more closely tied to the beginning of OotP, and the end of OotP is more closely tied to the beginning of HBP.

I agree with some of the suggestions that R.A.B. does not have to be initials of someone's name, but possibly a nickname like the Half-Blood Prince.

And I have a hunch that R.A.B. is Albus Dumbledore. He meets the criteria: he's dead, he's familiar with the Dark Arts and Voldemort, he also knows the prophecy, he's capable of stealing and destroying the Horcrux, and he did enlist an accomplice -- Harry.

Dumbledore also managed to destroy the Horcrux, which wasn't a locket at all, but rather the water in the basin. He ingested it into his own body, and then (by pre-arranged agreement with Snape) had Snape kill him, which effectively destroyed the Horcrux. Just the sort of challenge Voldemort would come up with - his own fear of death would convince him that no other wizard would ever be willing to die in order to destroy a Horcrux. But Dumbledore had no such fear -- after all, he said to Malfoy that Voldemort couldn't kill him if he was already dead, and he said this in a way that suggested it was not the absolute end.

I don't think he needs to be "weaker" than Voldemort at all. The phrase "met your match" can refer to the fact that Dumbledore knew full well the words of the prophecy -- that Voldemort would mark a child as his equal (or his match).

And R.A.B. could be some nickname that Dumbledore was aware that Voldemort had given him -- "Righteous Albus Bumblebore", or something.

Eagerly awaiting the final book!

MedeaV- If Dumbledore thought a death was essential to taking out this horcrux, why not wait? Why do it now, with so much else to do?

Perhaps RAB is s nickname, but it will still need to pass the translation test. That implies ending with Black. A nickname suggests someone from Voldemort's youth. Who could fit that?

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