1. He "vanished" six months after the photo was taken and his body was never found. He is the only person in the photo whose fate and whereabouts is unaccounted for.

2. His name is far too good and far too evocative to be wasted. Jo loves her names. "Caradoc" means "beloved," "loved of God" or is occasionally translated as "amiable." The man's name was "Beloved Dear-Born." That cannot be a coincidence!

3. The historical Caradoc was one of if not the first great British hero. He lived at the beginning of the 1st Century AD. He resisted Roman invasion with skill and cunning. He was fiercely brave and determined. Like Caradoc Dearborn, he vanished for a long time during a series of battles against the Romans for the lands of Britain. For years, no one knew his whereabouts. He was finally captured in battle by the Romans and hauled to Rome as a war captive, where he was kept prisoner for some time and marched through town as a symbol of Roman victory. He eloquently defended himself and persuaded Emperor Claudius to allow him and his family to live, which he said would demonstrate Claudius' clemency and good will as a ruler. He lived out the rest of his days as a citizen of Rome.

The historical Caradoc embodied the traits of all four Hogwarts houses: he was brave, a shrewd and cunning survivalist, intelligent, quick witted and eloquent, and he was loyal, devoted and tireless in his efforts on behalf of the cause he believed in.

Does the real Caradoc's life give us clues as to Caradoc Dearborn's life and fate? Is Dearborn somewhere among Voldemort's ranks? Is he a prisoner? Pretending to be a Death Eater? Merlin forbid - a real Death Eater? Is he in hiding, or working secretly for the Order against Voldemort although everyone thinks him dead? Given that Aberforth is most likely the Order member that JKR tells us we haven't properly met, the chances that Caradoc can be significant to the conclusion of the series are remote.

Now might be the time to confess to those of you who think my theories so perceptive and brilliant that I believed Caradoc Dearborn was the Half-Blood Prince, and we would meet him again in Book Six. Having been proven so utterly wrong, one would think I would let it go. But no. My teeth are sunk into this one. I will only let it go after having read the final pages of Book Seven.

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