This New 'Harry Potter' Theory About Dumbledore Will Blow Your Mind

Tumblr is a place where, among Photoshopped pictures of celebrities as different kinds of bread and reaction GIFs for every occasion, a love for "Harry Potter" can yield a mind-blowing epiphany.

Tumblr user harryjxmespotter took common fan theory one step further regarding “The Tale of the Three Brothers,” a fable told in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

As existing fan theories suggest, the three brothers who want to cheat Death in the fable are represented by characters in Harry Potter's world.

Voldemort, Rowling's central villain, represents the first brother, who asks for a wand more powerful than any other. This very power proves to be his downfall.

Snape represents the second brother. He asks for a tool to resurrect loved ones, so Death gives him the stone.

It is the bittersweet reality of resurrecting the woman he lost (in Snape's case, the woman is Lily Potter) and then realizing he can never truly have her back that takes this brother's life.

Harry represents the third brother, described in the fable as “a humble man,” who merely asks to live a long, happy life without the fear of Death.

Death bestows an invisible cloak upon the third brother, and when he comes to the end of his days, he is the only of the brothers to do so with dignity and sovereignty over his fate.

As the tale is told,

Death searched for many years but was never able to find him. Only when he attained a great age did the youngest brother shed the cloak of invisibility and give it to his son. He then greeted Death as an old friend and went with him gladly, departing this life as equals.

For the first time since the final book was released eight years ago, clever fan harryjxmespotter is adding the sage character Albus Dumbledore to this existing theory as the major crux.

Finally, the theory feels complete and, frankly, bolstered. With Dumbledore representing Death, every character in “The Tale of the Three Brothers” has an appropriate counterpart character.

Now, please excuse me while I sleeplessly pore over all seven books for supporting excerpts I never noticed before.

Citations: This Harry Potter theory about Dumbledore will throw EVERYTHING off (Cosmopolitan)