Break out the box of tissues! I'm not gonna lie, I cry every time I read this book. This is a long post because there were a couple of very powerful pages. I cut it down as much as I could.
Death is sadly a huge theme of book 6. Dumbledore and Harry are working together to learn about Voldemort's past. They discover what Dumbledore had feared; Voldemort made as many as 7 Horcruxes as a young man.
Horcruxes: pieces of one's soul. It is very dark magic. They are made by splitting the soul through murder and placing it inside of an object. Dumbledore first feared that Voldemort had done this when Harry came face to face with a living part of Voldemort from his old diary in the Chamber of Secrets. Through a lot of research, they discovered that he had thought of making 7. The whole point of making such a horrible thing is to cheat death. Even though Voldemort was supposed to have been destroyed when Harry was a baby, he couldn't die because he had many pieces of his soul concealed in Horcruxes. If the world has any chance of destroying Voldemort, his Horcruxes must be found and destroyed first.
Discovering this gives us huge insight into the type of person Voldemort was. He was scared of death. He was so scared of death that he was willing to do something that no other wizard ever dared to do before; kill 7 times and split his soul into 7 pieces to almost ensure that he could live forever. Compared to Harry's parents who were willing to give their own lives for their son, Voldemort shows a lot of weakness.
Harry and Dumbledore discuss this situation a great deal. Harry asked if Voldemort would be able to die if they destroy all the Horcruxes. Dumbledore tells him that he believes that Voldemort will be a normal wizard but it will still take "uncommon skill and power to kill a wizard like Voldemort". Harry said he doesn't have uncommon skill or power and Dumbledore reminds him that he does; he has something Voldemort does not. Love.
"Big deal!" is what Harry thought. He didn't truly understand what that meant. Dumbledore becomes a little frantic. He reminds him that Voldemort made Harry his most dangerous foe when he singled him out upon hearing the prophecy. Harry doesn't think it matters. He still thinks he doesn't have a choice.
"'You are setting too much store by the prophecy!...If Voldemort had never heard the prophecy, would it have been fulfilled? Would it have meant anything? Of course not!...'
'But," said Harry, bewildered, "but last year, you said one of us would have to kill the other--'
'Harry, Harry, only because Voldemort made a grave error, and acted on Professor Trelawney's words! If Voldemort had never murdered your father, would he have imparted in you a furious desire for revenge? Of course not! If he had not forced your mother to die for you, would he have given you a magical protection he could not penetrate? Of course not, Harry! Don't you see? Voldemort himself created his worst enemy, just as tyrants everywhere do! Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All of them realize that, one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back! Voldemort is no different! Always he was on the lookout for the one who would challenge him. He heard the prophecy and he leapt into action, with the result that he not only handpicked the man most likely to finish him, he handed him uniquely deadly weapons!'
'But--'
'It is essential that you understand this!...It is Voldemort's fault that you were able to see into his thoughts, his ambitions, that you even understand the snakelike language in which he gives orders, and yet, Harry, despite your privileged insight into Voldemort's world (which, incidentally, is a gift any Death Eater would kill to have), you have never been seduced by the Dark Arts, never, even for a second, shown the slightest desire to become one of Voldemort's followers!'
'Of course I haven't!...He killed my mum and dad!'
'You are protected, in short, by your ability to love!..."
'But sir,...it all comes down to the same thing, doesn't it? I've got to try and kill him, or--'
'Got to?' said Dumbledore. 'Of course you've got to! But not because of the prophecy! Because you, yourself, will never rest until you've tried! We both know it! Imagine, please, just for a moment, that you had never heard that prophecy! How would you feel about Voldemort now? Think!'
'I'd want him finished,' said Harry quietly, 'And I'd want to do it.'
'Of course you would!...You see, the prophecy does not mean you have to do anything! But the prophecy caused Lord Voldemort to mark you as his equal...In other words, you are free to choose your way, quite free to turn your back on the prophecy! But Voldemort continues to set store by the prophecy. He will continue to hunt you...which makes it certain, really, that--'
'That one of us is going to end up killing the other,' said Harry."
Voldemort fears death so much that he created his own destruction. He chose to make a prophecy concerning his death a reality. If he hadn't acted, nothing would have happened. But he acted by killing Harry's parents, which protected Harry from being killed, which created Voldemort's worst enemy-a wizard empowered by love and seeking revenge. So he must destroy Harry before Harry destroys him.
I apologize that this is so long, but I'm not done. There is another aspect of death in this book; the death of the most amazing wizard of all time. Voldemort gives Draco Malfoy the task of killing the only wizard he ever feared; Albus Dumbledore. He chose Malfoy because he is mad at his father. He knows he won't succeed. So Malfoy's mom goes to Professor Snape and makes him do the unbreakable vow that he will help Malfoy and even do it for him if he must. Well, Malfoy hesitated and Snape had to do it. He then flees the school with the rest of the Death Eaters. We find out more in book 7 concerning Snape's allegiance, so I won't go into it further. I just want to add one more quote from Harry's thoughts at the funeral.
"And Harry saw very clearly as he sat there under the hot sun how people who cared about him had stood in front of him one by one, his mother, his father, his godfather, and finally Dumbledore, all determined to protect him; but now that was over. He could not let anybody else stand between him and Voldemort..."
Harry's life is strewn with loss, all for his protection. He is the one who can defeat Voldemort and he can not let anyone else die for him. It was his turn to fight.
