Dumbledore's death

There is ongoing fan debate regarding the spell or spells cast by Snape, and whether Dumbledore died as a result. The book explicitly and repeatedly states that Dumbledore has died, and Rowling has indicated that she is not reluctant to kill major characters (e.g., ). However, this does not mean that the cause of death was the Avada Kedavra curse. Snape also caused him to fall from the Astronomy Tower, which would not be expected to result from the curse, and could indicate the simultaneous use of a silent spell.