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Ron vs. Rupert is simple. Slughorn didn't find Ron very interesting and never bothered to learn his name.
Yes, Slughorn also calls Ron "Ralph." "Rupert" is Slughorn's mistake, not Rowling's. She may have added "Rupert" to Slughorn's mistakes for the sake of humor, though.
R. A. B. is Regulus Black.
While this is the reigning theory, it is not established fact.

Can we just finalize some points? (I know I'm coming into the discussion very late.)
There IS a remedy for Veritiserum, and, Mary, it is mentioned. And you could guess that it's not all-powerful.
R. A. B. is Regulus Black.
There are still 5 Horcrukes left. (Yeah? The locket. Y'know where it is? It's with Mundugness. Read 'The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black' again or something in that area of Book 5. A 'heavy locket that none of them could open' is mentioned. Horcrux, anyone?)
Snape is good and Dumbledore pleaded for him to kill him. Let's face it, no matter what, Snape would have killed Dumbledore. If he was good...well, Dumbledore is a dead cookie anyway due to all those Death Eaters so it might as well be Snape to prevent Malfoy from becoming a Killer and give him a cast-iron post w/Voldy.

blushes
I did put in the close italics.

Italics off.

Humm. I didn't find Harry convincingly in love with Ginny. An idyllic love was indeed fitting, rather than a contentious one, but lacking scenic possibility. In particular, the parting scene did not convince me that they really didn't wanther happiness.)

I love to see more story on Harry and Ginny, quite romance and absolutely interesting

Mary,
You may have already seen it, but I have blogged some of my own ideas about Snape's motivations here. The comment box discussion below my post is also quite worth checking out.

Very unlikely, unless a time limit is placed in the wording of the Vow itself, which was not the case with Snape's Vow.

Is there a time limit on the Unbreakable Vow?

You have to mean Unforgivable Curses, the one that Snape (apparently) used does not cause people to fly through the air, and Snape can cast spells silently. If he did not kill him, but threw him from the tower, so as to look as if he killed him
Well, if Snape had really refrained from killing Dumbledore, he would have dropped dead from not fulfilling the Unbreakable Vow.

(We can hope therefore that she will not argue for the murder of an innocent man being right under some circumstances. )

You know, if you look at www.dumbledoreisnotdead.com, he points out some evidence.
If you put it together, even if Dumbledore is dead, you could come up with a way that Snape could be justified that is not morally problematic. You have to mean Unforgivable Curses, the one that Snape (apparently) used does not cause people to fly through the air, and Snape can cast spells silently. If he did not kill him, but threw him from the tower, so as to look as if he killed him -- Dumbledore actually succumbing to the poison -- well, for proportionate cause, I think you can morally mislead people into thinking you have committed murder.

It's a literary flaw not to put such things in the book, which contain no clues that the potion isn't all-powerful.
Agreed.
The wizarding cops don't seem to use veritaserum much-- what, three of the memories Dumbledoor got were from folks that the wizards hadn't bothered to investigate beyond "well, they coulda done it, and there aren't any easy alternates hammering on my door"?
Since false memories had been planted in the people making them think they'd done it, veratiserum would have done nothing but confirm their supposed guilt.
My gut instinct for narative causalty says that Snape will be saved at the end-- he'll probably die right afterwards, though.
I think you're right, on both counts. Some people think that he will kill Voldemort, but I think, from the prophecy among other things, that could only be the case under one condition: if Harry is indeed a secret horcrux and hasn't been dehorcruxed yet. So Snape would only have killed Voldemort's body: the last bit of his soul within Harry would have to be destroyed by Harry himself.

Snape is probably going to wriggle out onto the right side in the end.
I don't know anyone who thinks Draco Malfoy won't. :)

The wizarding cops don't seem to use veritaserum much-- what, three of the memories Dumbledoor got were from folks that the wizards hadn't bothered to investigate beyond "well, they coulda done it, and there aren't any easy alternates hammering on my door"?
That said... I think the books can go both ways. My gut instinct for narative causalty says that Snape will be saved at the end-- he'll probably die right afterwards, though. I don't have any good proof, but I have sucessfully guessed major plot points in each of the previous books. :^)

having looked at the FAQ -- the answer is that the wizard could use magic to prevent it.
Heck, they found out every time magic happened during the summer near Harry. What does it matter if you can enchant it? You would have to be able to hide that you did, as well.
(Perfectionists 'R' Us. ;)

It's a literary flaw not to put such things in the book, which contain no clues that the potion isn't all-powerful.
And even if Sirius could have lied under it, his very lies could have given them places to look.

One plot hole in the books is that when they caught Sirius Black they didn't think, "A big Voldemort supporter!" and fill him full of Veritiserum.
Actually, J.K. Rowling answered this one in the FAQs on her website (paraphrasing here): veritaserum isn't infallible. Wizards have a number of different defences against it, including transmutation and occlumency. Barty Crouch Sr. never thought of giving it to him because he was so mad with power at that point; had he, he would have declared that Sirius had defeated it through some trick when he claimed his innocence.
Snape, of course, is a master at Occlumency so it wouldn't be much use using it on him.

Unfortunately, my suspicion is that Dumbledore is dead because he asked Snape to kill him if it became the only way to prevent Malfoy from becoming a murderer or getting killed by Voldemort.
Me, too. :(
Snape's face was filled with "hatred and revulsion," but that could be because Dumbledore was forcing him entirely into the spy role that he already hated.
One plot hole in the books is that when they caught Sirius Black they didn't think, "A big Voldemort supporter!" and fill him full of Veritiserum.
But Harry, to go to more moral balanced issues in the books, didn't kill Sirius and more important*, didn't let Sirius and Remus kill Peter. He may decide the pump full of Veritiserum is the right solution before killing him.
*It's more important because just before he tried to kill Sirius, Sirius had told Ron not to hurt himself. Then when Harry was about to, and Crookshanks tried to intervene, Sirius tried to push Crookshanks away. Harry tries to tell himself that Sirius cares more about the cat than Harry's parents, but I don't think he succeeded in fooling himself. So he had two large clues that Sirius was not the heartless murderer he had been told.

so how bout people get on with actually living their own lives
I have a real life. It's a life filled with books. 0:)

Putting a freezing jinx on Harry -- protecting someone else's life at risk of your own is noble. Is anyone bothered that when Lord Voldemort told Lily she could run away, he wasn't interested in her, she tried to protect Harry and died?
(Leaving aside the utilitarian calculus -- but it is not wrong of a man to consider for himself that there are reasons why others' lives may be more valuable than his. Two women on the Titanic arrived at a lifeboat with room for one more at the same time. It would have been wrong for the woman with children to tell the childless woman her life was more valuable; it was not wrong for the childless woman to say, as she did, "You go. You have children waiting for you." (and she did drown, one of only two women in first-class to do so.))

Ron vs. Rupert is simple. Slughorn didn't find Ron very interesting and never bothered to learn his name.
There is an interesting character dynamic. Slughorn is obviously very proud of blood, very ambitious and very selective in his interests. But he doesn't succumb blindly to those impulses; he frequently fights him.

Ok ok ok ok ok... So dumbledore is dead. whether or not ALL OF THESE theories are true the seventh book will tell us....so how bout people get on with actually living their own lives instead of tryin to think about the inner workings of a book character? HP is great and all but jesus, u's are digging into this a bit much i think.
adios

<>
the book reads (GoF, U.S., pg 651): "one, too cowardly to return... he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever... he will be killed, of course."
I don't think it is obvious which of the two is Snape and which is Karkoroff. Both did not return right away - it took Snape two hours.
Also wanted to mention that in the Half Blood Prince, Ron is referred to as Rupert by Slughorn in one spot, pg 485 ("Had a house-elf taste every bottle after what happened to your poor friend Rupert."), could this be a slip up where they used the actor's real name (Rupert) instead of the character's name (Ron)?
What do you think?

one had ran, one he believed lost forever
Snape had managed to convince him otherwise when he apparated two hours later. Also, it turned out that what Voldemort said was right (from his own point of view, not in reality because I believe Snape is loyal to neither Voldemort nor the Order): Karkaroff turned out to be the one gone forever who was found and killed and Snape the one who ran.

He had to do what he did becuase Vold. noted in the fourth book that he believed that he had lost Severus forever. Remember he said that three were dead, one had ran, one he believed lost forever and one (Barty Crouch Jr.) was still loyal.

But, maybe Rawling sees Dumbledore as a wise, but faulty, ordinary human being.
I think that's exactly what it is. Dumbledore was very wise, which makes his mistake correspondingly massive. I think he also has a weakness when it comes to those he considers his friends. While Harry clearly has faults, Dumbledore seems oblivious to them. The same could be true with Snape.

Publius,
Some interesting ideas there; I guess we'll know when Book 7 comes out. (I'm not looking forward to the wait -- I only started reading the books a few months ago, so I've never had to wait for a Harry Potter book to come out!)
I'm still having trouble believing Dumbledore could be so blind to someone who seemed so evil, when the only reason anyone else trusted Snape was because they trusted Dumbledore's wisdom. But, maybe Rawling sees Dumbledore as a wise, but faulty, ordinary human being.

Also, pleading for his own life seems really out of character for Dumbledore, who in Book 5 was telling Voldemort that one of his weaknesses was in not realizing that there are worse things than death
Unless Dumbledore wasn't pleading for his own sake, but for Snape's sake, i.e., that he not tear his soul by committing murder. It is possible that Dumbledore realized, either from the look on his face or from his being there, that Snape's loyalty wasn't as absolute as he had thought. He has made mistakes before, such as underestimating Snape's resentment towards Harry's father in the Occlumency fiasco. He may have made another mistake this time.
I've just written a lengthy post about Snape's motivations and loyalties. Check it out if you care to.

There's an interesting site called http://www.dumbledoreisnotdead.com/ that discusses the possiblity that Dumbledore's death was faked. I'm hoping so, because that seems to be the only scenario that doesn't a) have Snape really be a bad guy, which seemed to obvious for Dumbledore to miss if it really were the case; or b) create a scenario attempting to justify the deliberate, direct killing of an innocent person. Unfortunately, my suspicion is that Dumbledore is dead because he asked Snape to kill him if it became the only way to prevent Malfoy from becoming a murderer or getting killed by Voldemort.
One reason I really doubt Snape actually betrayed Dumbledore is Dumbledore's pleading with him. Dumbledore had said repeatedly that he trusted Snape completely, despite the fact that no one seemed to quite understand why, and Dumbledore never really explained it. So, it seems unlikely he would assume that, upon entering the room, Snape would kill him. If he doesn't think Snape will kill him, why plead?
That is, unless he was pleading with Snape to perform the curse. If he knew Snape wouldn't want to do it but believed it was the only way to keep Malfoy, Snape and Harry alive, then it makes sense that he would plead.
Also, pleading for his own life seems really out of character for Dumbledore, who in Book 5 was telling Voldemort that one of his weaknesses was in not realizing that there are worse things than death, and in Book 6 comments that Harry's life is more valuable than his own.

This is a great forum - ever since I read yr 6 I have been wanting to discuss it. Since the beginning I have been rooting for Snape. I think both in his heart, and as an actual double agent, he has a leg on both sides of the fence. I think he was treated so badly as a child, and then as a student (by Harry's dad and Sirius) that he is filled with hate and cannot trust. Even if Harry and Lupin and the late Dumbledore were to sit down and tell him without anger/give the many examples that Harry is not arrogant like his Dad, and that Malfoy is actually the type of boy that Snape thinks Harry is, Snape would not be able to see it. Something huge will/would have to happen for Snape to see "the light" and I think that will happen in yr 7 (especially if that is the last book in the series). I do think that Dumbledore pleaded with Snape to prevent Malfoy from killing him - whether or not that means that Dumbledore wanted to be killed by Snape. He was protecting his student. I do definitely see connections to Star Wars in terms of Anakin being so blinded by arrogance and fear that he turns into Darth Vader.

I have read an article that compared the Weasleys' clock, with every hand always pointed at "mortal danger" as being paranoid.
Why would it be "paranoia" for someone to believe that Voldemort intends to do away with all the members of the Order of the Phoenix? The article betrays absurd ignorance.

Did it bother anyone but me that Dumbledore is dead because he put the freezing zinx on Harry instead of protecting his own wand??
Not really. He was dying from the potion he drank anyway, and the only person that could have saved him is the person who killed him. He lost nothing by giving up his wand but managed to convince Malfoy not to become a murderer (which is something he couldn't have done with Harry free, since Harry probably would have killed him, or at least wounded him severely, once he realized what he was there to do).

Did it bother anyone but me that Dumbledore is dead because he put the freezing zinx on Harry instead of protecting his own wand??

You know, I suspect we will all know in a few years, when the next book comes out. 0:)
Insofar as Rowling can clear it up. Much of the debate revolves around how morally responsible Snape is, and even if we know what he was thinking, people can debate that.

one more thing- I think it's quite possible that Snape did not know what Malfoy was supposed to do at all. He may not have wanted to know.
If he didn't know, he wouldn't have said that he did since Narcissa was about to tell him. Nor would he have gotten jockied into vowing to do what he was trying to discover and (we can assume) stop.
We know that he keeps trying to summon malfoy, and wants to know what he's doing, wants to know the plan. I think he really doesn't know.
I think Snape knew what Malfoy was supposed to do (kill Dumbledore), but not how he planned to do it (i.e., by bringing Death Eaters in through the Vanishing Cabinet).
OH- and, when Malfoy was sneaking around, and Snape gets mad at him, Malfoy mentions that he would have had Crabbe and Goyle with him if Snape hadn't put them in detention. Interesting...
I think he was stalling (either that or probing their minds to find out if they knew what Malfoy was doing, which they didn't). I think he did know, but he didn't want to go through with it, but knew he would have to once Malfoy completed his plan. I think that Snape owed a wizard's debt to Dumbledore, and like the debt Peter Pettigrew has to Harry for sparing his life. I think Snape did betray Dumbledore for reasons of his own (which we can only speculate on now, as I have above) and that Snape's betrayal had magical consequences, hence his being in pain (and his rage at being called a coward).

one more thing- I think it's quite possible that Snape did not know what Malfoy was supposed to do at all. He may not have wanted to know. The first parts of that Vow were quite vague ("protect draco") which he could easily fulfill. He flinched at the last one, perhaps because he didn't even know what he would have to do. We know that he keeps trying to summon malfoy, and wants to know what he's doing, wants to know the plan. I think he really doesn't know. Obviously at the end, he realizes what malfoy has been ordered to do, thus what he has to do... maybe??? OH- and, when Malfoy was sneaking around, and Snape gets mad at him, Malfoy mentions that he would have had Crabbe and Goyle with him if Snape hadn't put them in detention. Interesting...

First a note: Interesting passing of the torch to harry from DD (dumbledore)-- in the beginning, DD says Harry doesn't have to worry because harry is with DD. At the end, DD says he didn't worry because he was with harry.
I think THE crucial line about Snape is this one: (p. 604)
"DON'T--" Screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them-- "CALL ME COWARD!"
What has Snape done that is so brave and no one knows about it?
She describes him there as being in PAIN like a dog stuck in a burning building! Like, trapped with the evil death eaters, perhaps? Perhaps because DD has insisted he keep spying? (that argument snape and DD had about DD taking too much for granted and snape not wanting to do it anymore?) It's just interesting how she wrote that. I don't think it could just be bruised ego, he's been called worse I'm sure. Thoughts?

OTOH, we can still hope for the romances we like. We know the series will end with book 7.

Matthew said:
Tammy--Harry wasn't going to bring anyone along on his quest anyway, and he didn't tell Ginny about it because she wasn't cleared by Dumbledore for the information about the Horcruxes. Only Ron and Hermione were supposed to know--he wouldn't even tell McGonagall. That said, I'll bring the torches and pitchforks. :-)
True, true... he wasn't planning on taking ANYONE, then he could only tell Hermione and Ron, because Dumbledore said so... but he still broke up with her over Stupid Superhero Reason #3.

I'm interested to see that so many others saw what happened at the end the way I do. Harry paralized, Snape sent for, plead with. Dieing in war in order to deceive the enemy and thus finally defeat the enemy. Especially if the hand injury were like cancer or gangrene and could not be stopped, only slowed. Dumbledore was going to tell Harry about it 'but not yet'.
I still don't buy the "it-was-all-according-to-plan" theory for reasons I've stated above as well as this: if Dumbledore had ordered Snape to kill him in place of Malfoy, that would mean that Dumbledore would be leaving the timing of his death up to Malfoy and when he chose to make his move. That would be an extremely foolish thing to do. Malfoy could have fixed the Vanishing Cabinet months earlier and made his move, forcing Snape to kill Dumbledore (since if it was all according to plan, Dumbledore would know about the whole of the Vow, including the "I will kill Dumbledore if it looks like Draco will fail" part) before he had finished teaching Harry what he needed to know. I also don't think that Dumbledore would have had Harry with him had it all been according to plan, since it made Harry hate Snape far more and tipped off all the good guys that it was Snape that did it, thus making Snape's word worth nothing outside of Death Eater circles.

I had thought from an earlier episode that Harry's ability to take Voldemort into himself, might require Harry to die in order for Voldemort to be killed -- trapped in Harry.
I'm interested to see that so many others saw what happened at the end the way I do. Harry paralized, Snape sent for, plead with. Dieing in war in order to deceive the enemy and thus finally defeat the enemy. Especially if the hand injury were like cancer or gangrene and could not be stopped, only slowed. Dumbledore was going to tell Harry about it 'but not yet'.

The idea that Harry is a horocrux is incredibly interesting, and would answer a lot of questions, such as why Harry lived. Additionally, it would have implications for the prophecy that Harry would either kill Voldemort or die himself.

And I think there may be one more Horcrux unknown to everyone, perhaps even to Voldemort--Harry himself.
I had that thought myself. Given the connection between them and Harry's absorbing some of Voldemort's powers (like speaking Parseltongue - something we've only ever seen elsewhere in direct descendents of Salazar Slytherin). Then there is the fact that he had just committed two murders when he turned on Harry...
It also brings to mind this exchange between Harry and Dumbledore:
"The snake?" said Harry, startled. "You can use animals as Horcruxes?"
"Well, it is inadvisable to do so," said Dumbledore, "because to confide a part of your soul to something that can think and move for itself is obviously a very risky business."

I don't think Snape's actions were at all planned or foreseen by Dumbledore, and I'm certain he's dead. (He wouldn't put the rest of them through this kind of grief if he weren't.) I agree with Publius--Snape is most likely forwarding his own agenda here. It may be an unrequited love for Narcissa, or it may be a twisted, ruthless and vainglorious ambition--"I will bring down the Dark Lord myself, and if anyone has to die to fulfill that . . . well, they're all thugs, Mudbloods, or Muggle-lovers anyway." He also appears to have sacrificed Emmeline Vance for the sake of keeping himself trusted by and useful to the Death Eaters, and I can't see Dumbledore or the rest of the Order countenancing that.
Tammy--Harry wasn't going to bring anyone along on his quest anyway, and he didn't tell Ginny about it because she wasn't cleared by Dumbledore for the information about the Horcruxes. Only Ron and Hermione were supposed to know--he wouldn't even tell McGonagall. That said, I'll bring the torches and pitchforks. :-)
And I think there may be one more Horcrux unknown to everyone, perhaps even to Voldemort--Harry himself.

There was too much snoggling in the book. Not that teen romance would be implausible but that it didn't harmonize with the rest of the book, the way the school story has always harmonized with the fantasy elements.
Agreed.
(Though I have read an article that compared the Weasleys' clock, with every hand always pointed at "mortal danger" as being paranoid. But everyone really is in mortal danger, all the time in this book. To tell the truth, we all are, all the time. )
We should all keep in mind that it was "programmed" during the lull between Voldemort's downfall (i.e., it was either built or altered after Ginny's birth) and his return, so it is too sensitive for the current climate of constant danger. Someone should try to retune the thing.

"And Fleur, while excitable and talkative before, was not like this. Her character was changed to give the Weasleys grounds to be hostile to the match. (But Bill was not characterized enough to make it clear that he loves Fleur in spite of this.)"
Love makes people extremely annoying when they're doing the Public Display of Affection thing. I think they'd have liked her better if she wern't snogging Bill in front of them ;)

Why he went into the Unbreakable Vow is a bit of a mystery (at least to me). If he really had been loyal to Dumbledore, he certainly wouldn't have done it (if he really didn't know what The Plan was, he would have let Narcissa tell him), and if he had been completely on Voldemort's side he wouldn't have done it either but would rather have let Draco go to his fate.
One possibility (and perhaps the most charitable to Snape): he was in love with Narcissa and had been since his days at Hogwartz, but she wouldn't have anything to do with him since he was a poor (note the hand-me-down potions text), greasy-haired half-blood (the opposite of the rich, handsome, pureblood Lucius). Perhaps he still secretly carried the torch and felt compelled to help her.

I didn't see JKR depicting what Snape did as good. It's not as if all the other characters are nodding their heads and saying "Yes, he made a difficult but wise choice in the end. After all, Dumbledore was probably dying anyway." Instead, they're horrified and sickened.
Just because Snape did what he did, and it's a key plot point, does not mean that JKR is portraying it as the best thing that could have been done. The world's books would be pretty dull if every character chose the best/most moral option every time. Imagine the fairy tales. "The princess told the prince that he could enter any room in the castle except for the one behind the little door in the attic. So the prince did as he was told and they lived happily ever after." I mean, where's the story if nobody makes a wrong or evil choice?