I don’t really think it’s probable that Dumbledore will become the next Dark Lord. The only thing that has happened so far to suggest this is the one line by Dumbledore in Chapter 84 (there might be other evidence but it would help if you would explicitly point it out). And I suppose there’s an argument to be made that Voldemort couldn’t have “marked Harry as an equal” since Harry was a baby who Voldemort expected to easily kill (which is why Voldemort didn’t bring reinforcements). And there’s probably some people on here who think Narcissa was burned alive (but I am almost certain that Dumbledore faked her death and that she is living in a secret OOTP base somewhere).
But I think the counter evidence is stronger. It’s too late in the story to suddenly change the villain, and Dumbledore probably wouldn’t have the opportunity or motive to cause mass death. Those points seem simpler and like stronger arguments than the above. Consider that, in canon, Voldemort attacking a baby was apparently enough to mark Harry as an equal. Also consider that Dumbledore was completely hysterical when he mentioned the possibility that he would become the next Dark Lord.
It would help if we actually knew what some of the unheard prophecies say. Maybe Dumbledore was misinterpreting one of them, and he doesn’t have to be a Dark Lord at all, but Harry would still fight him. That’s not a great solution and it’s actually less probable than anything above, but it does represent a kind of middle ground based on details and possibilities not yet made known to us.
And, I actually like the idea of Dumbledore being a Dark Lord who was corrupted by his power. I really don’t think it would be sad, because I’m not attached to canon Dumbledore very much. I actually don’t really care about any of the Canon!Harry Potter main characters, I just realized that. I only care about the minor characters, and thus far HPMOR has only improved those characters.
Dumbledore as Dark Lord just would be really cool. Maybe the rule of cool will outweigh my above probability based assessments, and he’ll end up being a Dark Lord. I hope so, at least, unless EY figures out something even cooler to do.
As far as evidence in the form of plot hints, I’ll have to go do a proper search when I’m not about to go to bed, but in the mean time…
IMHumbleO, there’s a strong case that Quirrel could be trying a supervillain gambit in order to make the world a better place. We know that there’s a Dark Lord >somewhere<, and if it’s not Quirrelmort then I think it can only be Dumbledore. Of course there is a whole spectrum of possibility here—maybe Quirrel is supervillain gambitting but is STILL the Dark Lord, maybe he isn’t but Dumbles is the Dark Lord anyway, &c, &c. Also relevant is the fact that Dumbledore seems to have access to the Philosopher’s stone but is not using it to save lives. I don’t understand why that is, and as a result it feels like there’s some major aspect of the Dumbledore-Voldemort dynamic that we’re in the dark about.
Anyway, without going through and marshaling all the evidence I’m not prepared to make a bet either way on how it’s all going to pan out. I do think the Dark Lord Dumbledore scenario is one that would have to be weighed in order to make such a bet, though, which is why I brought it up for discussion. I agree that that sort of ending could be done cool-ly. Whatever happens, I have a baaaaad feeling that Harry is going to find out that the world is a very, very ugly place pretty soon and I hope he comes through that without being irredeemably darkened.
(there might be other evidence but it would help if you would explicitly point it out)
There’s this, from chapter 80:
You would expect that chain of light to miss a step, sometime down through the centuries; that it would go astray at least once, and then never return. But it has not. The Line of Merlin continues, unbroken.
(Or so say those of Dumbledore’s faction. Lord Malfoy would tell you otherwise. And in Asia they tell other tales entirely, which may not make Britain’s version wrong.)
My viewpoint is essentially opposite yours, lolz.
I don’t really think it’s probable that Dumbledore will become the next Dark Lord. The only thing that has happened so far to suggest this is the one line by Dumbledore in Chapter 84 (there might be other evidence but it would help if you would explicitly point it out). And I suppose there’s an argument to be made that Voldemort couldn’t have “marked Harry as an equal” since Harry was a baby who Voldemort expected to easily kill (which is why Voldemort didn’t bring reinforcements). And there’s probably some people on here who think Narcissa was burned alive (but I am almost certain that Dumbledore faked her death and that she is living in a secret OOTP base somewhere).
But I think the counter evidence is stronger. It’s too late in the story to suddenly change the villain, and Dumbledore probably wouldn’t have the opportunity or motive to cause mass death. Those points seem simpler and like stronger arguments than the above. Consider that, in canon, Voldemort attacking a baby was apparently enough to mark Harry as an equal. Also consider that Dumbledore was completely hysterical when he mentioned the possibility that he would become the next Dark Lord.
It would help if we actually knew what some of the unheard prophecies say. Maybe Dumbledore was misinterpreting one of them, and he doesn’t have to be a Dark Lord at all, but Harry would still fight him. That’s not a great solution and it’s actually less probable than anything above, but it does represent a kind of middle ground based on details and possibilities not yet made known to us.
And, I actually like the idea of Dumbledore being a Dark Lord who was corrupted by his power. I really don’t think it would be sad, because I’m not attached to canon Dumbledore very much. I actually don’t really care about any of the Canon!Harry Potter main characters, I just realized that. I only care about the minor characters, and thus far HPMOR has only improved those characters.
Dumbledore as Dark Lord just would be really cool. Maybe the rule of cool will outweigh my above probability based assessments, and he’ll end up being a Dark Lord. I hope so, at least, unless EY figures out something even cooler to do.
As far as evidence in the form of plot hints, I’ll have to go do a proper search when I’m not about to go to bed, but in the mean time… IMHumbleO, there’s a strong case that Quirrel could be trying a supervillain gambit in order to make the world a better place. We know that there’s a Dark Lord >somewhere<, and if it’s not Quirrelmort then I think it can only be Dumbledore. Of course there is a whole spectrum of possibility here—maybe Quirrel is supervillain gambitting but is STILL the Dark Lord, maybe he isn’t but Dumbles is the Dark Lord anyway, &c, &c. Also relevant is the fact that Dumbledore seems to have access to the Philosopher’s stone but is not using it to save lives. I don’t understand why that is, and as a result it feels like there’s some major aspect of the Dumbledore-Voldemort dynamic that we’re in the dark about.
Anyway, without going through and marshaling all the evidence I’m not prepared to make a bet either way on how it’s all going to pan out. I do think the Dark Lord Dumbledore scenario is one that would have to be weighed in order to make such a bet, though, which is why I brought it up for discussion. I agree that that sort of ending could be done cool-ly. Whatever happens, I have a baaaaad feeling that Harry is going to find out that the world is a very, very ugly place pretty soon and I hope he comes through that without being irredeemably darkened.
There’s this, from chapter 80: