7 Harry Potter Fan Theories J.K. Rowling Debunked (And 3 She Approved)

5. Dumbledore Turned Fawkes Into A Horcrux

Fawkes Harry Potter
Warner Bros.

The Theory: The latter Harry Potter books began to delve further into Dumbledore's past, shining a light on things like his friendship with Grindelwald, and the tragic death of his sister, Ariana (which Dumbledore may have been responsible for).

The takeaway here is that the great wizard wasn't as perfect as he seemed, and he, like everyone else, has made many mistakes. In particular, his close relationship with the maniacal Grindelwald indicated that at one point, Dumbledore was extremely close to following a darker path than the one he ultimately chose.

And there are some that think he did indeed head down this path - at least part way - speculating that the former Hogwarts headmaster created a Horcrux at some point in his past. Horcruxes require the owner to have committed a murder in order to fracture their soul, and since Dumbledore may have cast the curse that killed his sister, this possibility was very much there.

The Debunking: As cool and interesting as this idea is, Rowling came along soon after the theory began doing the rounds, debunking it on her Twitter page.

Note that she only discounts the idea of Fawkes being the Horcrux - who's to say Dumbledore didn't use another vessel?

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!