Albus Dumbledore Could Easily Avoid Death and Save Wizarding World: It Was a Matter of One Spell

If you’ve ever played The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind, you’re most likely familiar with the phrase, “With this character's death, the thread of prophecy is severed.” This text would pop up after an “essential” character’s death…and in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, it would’ve definitely appeared after Albus Dumbledore met his demise.

For many decades, Albus Dumbledore has been the beacon of hope for Magical Britain. The strongest wizard alive, the captor of Gellert Grindelwald, and the worst nightmare of Lord Voldemort, Dumbledore was seen as the ultimate savior by many, and for a good reason: in every war, the Headmaster had the wizards’ backs.

The demise of Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was devastating for the wizarding community as a whole since it lost its strongest protector and cleared the path for Lord Voldemort. It was also entirely avoidable for more than one reason, and all it took to change the course of events was one spell.

Saving Albus Dumbledore (and Britain)

After Dumbledore put on the Gaunt ring, he was cursed; and Severus Snape saved the day by containing the curse into the Headmaster’s hand. That solution, however, was seen as temporary since over time, the curse would still make its way through the rest of Dumbledore’s body. Except realistically, it was a permanent solution!

What do Muggles do with limbs with conditions that threaten an organism as a whole? They remove those limbs, for crying out loud, and save the organism!

Immediately after Snape contained the curse into Dumbledore’s hand, they should’ve cleaved the hand from the arm. This way, the Headmaster’s body would’ve been fine as the curse would’ve had no time to spread — and with Snape’s and Madam Pomfrey’s restoration magic, Dumbledore would’ve been completely fine.

Then, no noble sacrifice would’ve been needed — and with Albus Dumbledore alive, Lord Voldemort wouldn’t have dared to make such open movies as he did in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Magical Britain would’ve still had a menace lurking around, but at least, the open reign of terror would’ve been totally avoided.

Saving the Malfoys (and Britain, yes)

But what about the Malfoys, we hear you ask?

That’s, indeed, a valid point: one of the reasons Albus Dumbledore developed his suicidal plan with Severus Snape was to save Draco Malfoy and his family from Lord Voldemort’s wrath. If Dumbledore was to survive and keep fighting, the Malfoys would’ve been punished by death, and that included their young son…

So, was there really no choice for Albus Dumbledore but to give up? Of course, not.

The Headmaster of Hogwarts, the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, and one of the most powerful men in Magical Britain (including the Ministry), Dumbledore had more than enough resources to protect both Draco and his family. It would’ve required cooperation from the boy, sure; but it was an infinitely better option than a sacrifice.

All it took to prevent numerous tragedies and Lord Voldemort’s rise to power was a single spell — Sectumsempra — and using the Order’s resources to hide the Malfoys. This way, Dumbledore would’ve been able to continue the fight, help Harry find the Horcruxes, and destroy Lord Voldemort for good while saving many people in the process.

And come on, even Voldemort could create a magical hand for Pettigrew. Surely, Albus Dumbledore would have had an even more sophisticated prosthetic.