Talk:Hedwig (Harry Potter)

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[edit] Theory

I heard a theory awhile ago, but didn't want to mention it right away. I've done some digging and reading, and I now think the theory is plausible enough to mention. It is known in the books that Dumbledore is an animagus, but he never revealed his animal form. The theory is that Hedwig is his animal form. Here are some of the points to consider.

• When Hagrid gives Hedwig to Harry in the first story, he doesn't say that he (or anyone else) bought the owl, he specifically gets the owl when him and Harry split up (when Harry went to get his wand). It's possible that Dumbledore instructed Hagrid to pick up this specific owl, and arranged to be in the cage at that time, or it's that Hagrid was in on the secret the whole time.
• With one exception noted below, the two are never seen together. A viewing of the 4 movies so far reveals that the two haven't yet appeared together in any scenes. Since JK Rowling was involved, in some aspect, in all the movies, it's possible that she knew from the first that she was going to reveal that the two are actually one character, and made sure that the two didn't appear filmed together.
• In book 5, Harry discovers that one of Hedwig's talons is injured, with no explanation. Later in the book we find out that Dumbledore's hand is severly injured.
• After Dumbledore apparantly dies in book 6, Hedwig isn't seen or mentioned. This is noteable because book 6 is the only one that doesn't end with a scene involving the students on their way to the train, or on the train on their way home. If this theory is true, then Hedwig's absence would have to be explained if the trip home was in the story (the owl would be with Harry's luggage, and if it wasn't, it would be noteworthy enough to be a plot point, or mentioned at the very least).
• Dumbledore has indicated that he's able to keep an eye on Harry without anybody knowing it.

Here are the two main points against the theory, with possible explanations.

• Hedwig is apparantly a female owl. There are two possible explanations. First, it's possible that Hedwig is actually a male owl, and Harry just assumed he was female because Hagrid refered to it as "she" when he first presented it to him, and Harry never had a reason to check to make sure (there's no reason to assume he'd know how to determine an owl's gender anyway). Second, we don't necessarily know everything about shapeshifting, it's possible that an animagus' animal form can be a different gender from their human form.
• There is one scene, in book 5 or 6 (can't remember which at the moment), where Dumbledore and Hedwig appear together, at the Dursley home, but this can easily be explained with the use of the Time-Turner device introduced in book 3.

I wanted to mention it here instead of adding it directly to the article, because I wanted some feedback of whether or not it's worth adding. Of course, once the 7th book is out, this entire discussion will become moot, as we'll find out for sure if it's true or not (and if it's true, the article will definitely be edited accordingly).

- Ugliness Man 13:41, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Interesting theory, I do however think it is too speculative at the moment to include in the article but like you say we only have to wait till the next book to see if it is true and edit the article accordingly. I am however interested in the claim that Dumbledore is an animagus? I don't seem to recall that fact from the books. Can you provide verification for that information, i.e. book/chapter or interview link, because if it is correct then that is certailny information that should be included in Dumbledore's article. Death Eater Dan 17:02, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

I found the LiveJournal post that introduced me to this theory, here's what it has to say on that subject:

Dumbledore certainly would have had an animangus form.

He was "the greatest wizard in a thousand years" (or something like that--don't have a book in front of me) and once taught transfiguration (see book 2, the part in the CoS where Riddle refers to Dumbledore as "his old transfiguration teacher") so surely he could transform into something. Sirius had more loyalty than any other quality, so he was a dog. Pettigrew was a sneak more than anything else, so he was a rat. Rowling confirmed to us that a wizard doesn't chose its animangus form, they just turn into what suits them. Can you think of a more appropriate animal for Dumbledore than an owl (you know all the clichés and sayings, such as "wise old owl" and "wise as an owl")?

Animangus forms represent the wizard or witch's appearance (Rita Skeeter's beetle markings similar to her jeweled glasses, Minerva's cat having markings around the eyes like her glasses, Sirius Black's dog being black like his hair was). Dumbledore has a long white beard, and long white hair. Hedwig is white. And here's another note about Hedwig's looks:

So, I was wrong in my initial assumption, the books don't implicitly state that he was an animangus, but give many clues that point to that conclusion. So if you were to add that information to the Dumbledore article, it would probably be in the form of speculation.