Trelawney Predicted Dumbledore’s Death In Harry Potter 3 – Theory Explained

The Harry Potter books and movies are packed with moments of foreshadowing, and there are some that continue to be a topic of debate among fans. Such is the case of one of Sybil Trelawney’s superstitions in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which ended up predicting Albus Dumbledore’s death. One of the most popular and beloved worlds in the realm of fantasy is that of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, to which the audience was introduced in her debut novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first entry in a series of seven novels.

The Harry Potter series tells the story of “the boy who lived” and Lord Voldemort, the darkest wizard of all who had a personal vendetta against Harry, as he couldn’t kill him when he was a baby. The popularity of the novels made way for a big-screen adaptation, and so Harry and friends took over film from 2001 to 2011, with the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, divided into two movies. Although the Harry Potter movie saga was as loyal to the source material as possible, there were many characters, spells, events, and more that had to be left behind for different reasons, and some of these were key in understanding some characters and even offered some interesting moments of foreshadowing.

Among those cut moments that live only in the books is that of the Christmas dinner in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The third story in the series was also the introduction of Sybill Trelawney, professor of Divination at Hogwarts and the one who made the prophecy concerning Lord Voldemort and the one with the power to defeat him. Due to her very eccentric personality, her talents as a Seer were often put into question, and many teachers and students were annoyed at her ways and how she always saw death omens to impress the class, though many of her predictions turned out to be accurate. Even some of Sybil Trelawney’s superstitions turned out to have some truth to them, as seen during the Christmas dinner in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, in which she accidentally predicted Dumbledore’s death.

Fans have pointed out that during the Christmas dinner in the third Harry Potter story, Trelawney was the last one to join the table, and she was frightened when she saw how many people were sitting there. Trelawney explained that if she joined, there would be 13 people on the table, an unlucky number, and so the first to rise would be the first to die. However, Ron had his pet rat Scabbers with him at that moment, who later turned out to be Peter Pettigrew in his animagus form, so there were already 13 people at the table – and when Dumbledore stood up to welcome Trelawney, he became the first to rise and also the first to die. As this wasn’t a prediction that came to Trelawney in a trance like many others, fans have put it into question, with some believing it was just a coincidence. Others have noted that later on, Ron and Harry stood up at the same time, with Trelawney quickly asking which one rose first, and so this might have been a hint at the original plan for Ron Weasley, which involved his death.

Sybill Trelawney earned a not-so-nice reputation due to her eccentricity and for making predictions to impress that obviously never came true, but many of the real ones ended up happening. It’s understandable, then, to put this particular moment into question as it was a moment of superstition on her part and not a prediction, so it can be either interpreted as Trelawney’s beliefs being right, or as a terrible coincidence. The official Wizarding World website has even added this moment to the list of times where Trelawney was right in the Harry Potter saga, though they do point out that it was a superstition, so it can be taken as a canon interpretation, but whether it can be considered accurate or a coincidence is up to every viewer.

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Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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