A Very Prophetic Christmas

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by Troy B

So many times have I read the chapter ‘A Very Frosty Christmas’ in HBP, thinking of it as a lovely filler chapter with no new plot twists aside from Scrimgeour’s visit to Harry, but then I thought to myself, How Sneaky has JK been before? There must be something… Then I looked for something very inconspicuous from the chapter, like Celestina Warbeck’s Christmas rantings, and realized quite a connection between her and a possibly regretful Voldemort (310-312 HBP UK Edition).

Here’s my theory: although she may not know she’s predicting it, Celestina Warbeck’s Christmas songs are a prelude to Voldemort showing regret for not keeping his soul whole during his quest for immortality (this implies that Harry vanquishes him).

Celestina Warbeck – her name comes from the English word celestial.
Celestial: adj. 1. of or pertaining to the sky or visible heavens.

The word celestial also frequently refers to the stars, which lay in the sky or “visible heavens.” Stars were and are still often used for the foretelling of the future using constellations/star positions. Could Celestina Warbeck be (maybe accidentally) foretelling Voldemort’s demise (lack of a whole heart/soul)?.

“Oh, my poor heart, where has it gone?
It’s left me for a spell…
…and now you’ve torn it quite apart
I’ll thank you to give back my heart!”

Oh, my poor heart, where has it gone? She doesn’t feel whole, she’s ‘lost’ her heart, the symbol of love (what power does Harry have that Voldemort doesn’t?).

It’s left me for a spell… The Avada Kedavra curse, by chance? This spell would certainly fulfill the next line:

…and now you’ve torn it quite apart. Has the Avada Kedavra torn (a word used often by JK to describe the effects on a soul by making a horcrux) her heart apart just like a horcrux does to a soul?

I’ll thank you to give back my heart! Will Voldemort realize the power of a whole heart (line 1), and wish he’d never torn it (line 3) or his soul with the Avada Kedavra curse (line 2)?

The most important thing about this whole correlation is that Celestina Warbeck was first introduced to us in Chamber of Secrets, the book JK claims is most relevant to the plot of Snape’s close-up (HBP).

Notice in both of the songs she sings, the importance of love, warmth and a whole heart is stressed, and it is further pushed by potentially foretelling Voldemort’s demise due to lack of these qualities. Remember this is what, in the end, would lead Harry to victory according to Dumbledore…