The Unbreakable Vow(s)

The concept of Unbreakable Vow was introduced in the second chapter (Spinner’s End) of HBP. It was shown that Snape and Narcissa made the vow about three conditions, prominent of which was that Snape would do the work assigned to Draco if in case Draco was unable to complete it.

An unbreakable vow will obviously be an important part in a storyline. A person who made the vow has to do what he promised, or else face automatic death. Making an unbreakable vow requires a great deal of grit and determination; and of course in their absence, recklessness.

What motivates the person in such cases is the fear of death- and Death has always played an important part in the storyline. I really find it hard to believe that there is only one Unbreakable Vow in the whole storyline, and that too between Narcissa and Snape. I also think that this Unbreakable Vow was only shown by JKR to somehow convince the readers that Dumbledore is indeed dead, which is a double-edged sword.
It can be that Snape made the Unbreakable Vow. During the vow, not once it has been said that Snape is vowing to help Draco to kill Dumbledore. He only says that he will help Draco to complete the assigned task. This task could have been fixing the vanishing cabinet, or at least Snape would have thought the same while making the vow. After all, it is magic (seems to me quite like law!) Of course, it can be otherwise and he indeed promised to slay Dumbledore.

Back to the Unbreakable Vow, the possibilities of Unbreakable Vows in the books are many, including Big V\Death Eaters\RAB, old D\Snape and others….

The crucial role they shall play is well understood. Here are some of the Unbreakable Vows that I think may have been made:

• It can be that Big V, as a test of devotion, made his top Death Eaters have an Unbreakable Vow with him. This may explain their unflinching faith in their master, and also the mysterious deaths of the ones who dared to defy him.

• But there may be a counter-point. It seems an improbability that Dumbledore didn’t have some spies in Voldemort’s Death Eater circle, given his accurate information about their affairs. Also, Karkaroff died a year later after his rebellion (Though it may be that the Unbreakable Vow had a certain to give the Death Eater the opportunity to return)
• It may be possible that the Unbreakable Vow was made by the enigmatic R.A.B. After rebelling Voldemort, he\she realized that now he would die, and as his own revenge, he procured Voldemort’s Horcrux.

• Since Snape took Dumbledore’s refuge, old D has been asked the same question by countless people- Could Severus Snape, the fickle Death Eater, be trusted? Harry himself asked the same question at the controversial juncture of almost every book. But Dumbledore was always positive about Snape’s faithfulness.

• Can it be that Snape made an Unbreakable Vow of loyalty with old D, which made Dumbledore so confident of him. This speculation may prove another point- on how Dumbledore could not be dead (all roads lead here!). it can be that the Unbreakable Vow made by Snape and Dumbledore contradicted the Unbreakable Vow made by Snape and Narcissa. Since Snape first did it with Dumbledore, therefore it got a priority and Snape was able to somehow alter the vow made with Narcissa. It sounds something like The three laws of robotics (on Asimov’s books)- a certain law could interfere with another law, creating a paradox.

If you do not like over-the-top speculations and hate fan-fiction, please think before reading further. It could have happened that:

• A thousand years ago, the great Godric Gryffindor and the shrewd Salazar Slytherin made an Unbreakable Vow. The Vow said that if a stronger member of Slytherin’s family attacked a weaker member of Gryffindor’s family, the stronger member would die, and vice versa. This theory is on the verge of fanfiction, and may sound far fetched, but it explains the following points:

• Dumbledore fought with the Dark wizard Grindelwald 50 years ago, in 1945. At that time, Grindelwald was the stronger wizard, and was a descendant of Slytherin. Dumbledore was weaker at that time, and was the descendant of Gryffindor (assuming that). Following the vow made by their forefathers, when Grindelwald attacked Dumbledore, he died. Also, Dumbledore was left with the mark- a scar in the shape of London Underground on his left knee.
  

• Many years later, in 1981, Lord Voldemort arrived in Godric’s hollow. Both he and James Potter were of equal powers, but Voldemort being quicker killed him. Then he murdered his wife Lily and proceeded on to confront their innocent one year old son. Harry Potter, was powerless at that time but was the descendant of Gryffindor (assume that!). Voldemort, being the descendant of Slytherin and the more powerful wizard, went against the vow and attacked Harry. The Vow followed and Voldemort was killed, leaving Harry with a simple scar (like in the case of Dumbledore). But Voldemort still survived owing to his Horcruxes.
  

• Why doesn’t Dumbledore kill Voldemort once and for all. Here is the simple explanation- he knows, by experience of course, that he is the descendant of Gryffindor and the stronger sorcerer, and Voldemort is a Slytherin. If he kills Voldemort, he would die in his place, owing to the vow. Hence, it is prudence that forces him to hold his wand.
  

• A question may be asked- Why doesn’t Dumbledore allow Harry to be killed by Voldemort, knowing that it will be Voldemort who will face the consequences. It can be that he isn’t sure that the Vow was void for two times, or he feels that it would be useless as big V is currently immortal.

I wouldn’t think about the vow so much if it wasn’t for the picture of it being made on the cover of HBP. After all, a picture speaks a thousand words…