No doubt the most biggest mystery in the HP series currently is the identity of the mysterious RAB. What great and powerful wizard has made his way through voldie's magic and captured one of his holocruxes. Many theories have been proposed, and I, of course have my own. So, let us take a minute and sort through it all.

What do we know about RAB? First, we know that he must be a powerful wizard, or at very least extremely crafty in order to have bypassed the traps that almost killed Dumbledore. We know he had to have known an incredible amount about Voldemort, in fact, he knew Voldemort, and Voldemort knew him. Furthermore, RAB knew something about Holocruxes. To date we only know of four people that know anything about holocruxes : Sluggy, Dumbledore, Voldemort and Harry (plus Ron and Hermione who Harry told). Whoever RAB is, he probably had access to one or all of these people.

The fact that he left a note, and the contents, reveals quite a bit about RAB's character. Though I don't have my copy of HBP in front of me, the note pretty much said "I don't care if I die, I just wanted you to know it was me!". Now, this is different than a 'you killed my pa, and I want revenge' sort of note. Whoever RAB is, more than defeating voldie, they wanted to 'one-up' him.

As far as the initials themselves, we know that the last name begins with B. This could possibly mean that RAB is either from the Black family, or the Bones family (Amelia Bones). Based solely on the initials, the two most likely candidates are Regulus Black, and Amelia Bones. However, I am pretty sure we can count them both out. Rowling has never been that obvious, and I honestly don't think she is going to start now, so close to the finish.

So, now let's talk about who's surely not RAB. Non of the Heroes of course, and non of the order of the pheonix. Non of them would have endeavered in something like that without consulting Dumbledore, and non of them would have left such a vindictive note. I beleive that we can also rule out the Deatheaters. If Voldemort's hold over all of them is anything like his hold over Draco Malfoy and his mother, I honestly think non of them would have the guts to go against their own master.

We can rule out old Sluggy for the simple reason that he enjoys the finer things of life far to much to risk them by challenging the Dark Lord. If he felt so bad about telling Voldie about Holocruxes that he needed to redeem himself by getting them back, he wouldn't have been stupid enough to leave behind a note with his name on it.

So, who do we have left? Who else knew Voldemort that well? Who could have known about the Holocruxes? Who could have been clever enough to get it? Well, there are only two options. Either she will introduce a new character, or it's someone we already know... someone who has been lurking in the shadows for all six books.

Voldemort is possibly the most powerful Wizard alive (well sort of) and in hiding his Holocruxes, he assumed that only the most powerful wizards would seek them out. But, perhaps RAB isn't a powerful wizard at all. Perhaps he is someone that everyone has always overlooked and never considered a threat. I propose that RAB is non other than the squib: Argus Filch!!!

Now before, click away dismissing Filch as every character in the book has, hear me out.

What do we know about Argus Filch? Truthfully, we know next to nothing. For being a regular character in all of the books, Filch has been given surprisingly little attention. All of the other staff members at Hogwarts are all pretty well developed characters. and have all been given the spotlight at one time or another... all except Filch. His name is interesting. Argus is a Greek reference that refers to a Guardian with 200 eyes. It roughly means 'ever-watchful'. Filch means thief or theft. Now, I find it interesting that Rowling, who is so wonderfully thoughtful in her names (Tom Malvoro Riddle) would have a charater running around with a name that means theft and not shown a single instance where the character has stolen.

We know that though Filch comes from Wizarding family, he cannot perform magic. Furthermore, we don't know which family he comes from. There has not yet been a reference to a Filch family. My guess is that he probably from the Bones family of great Wizards but probably changed his name to avoid embarrasment. Because he cannot cast magic, he harbors a special resentment for all students of Hogwarts which is why he enjoys disiplining them so.

The assumption that everyone makes about Filch is that because he cannot cast magic, he knows nothing about it. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Filch has been at Hogwarts longer than Dumbledore. He was at Hogwarts when torture was commonplace disipline. He was there when Voldemort walked the halls. He was there when Hagrid was expelled. He has been dealing with Magic longer than most of the regular characters. He might not be able to cast it, but he knows more about it than most. Plus, he's the one that always has to clean up the mess.

Filch knew as much about Voldemort as anyone. He saw him learn and grow as a wizard. Plus Filch has access to all of Hogwarts records. He saw the rise of the Deatheaters. How could he have learned about the Holocruxes? Remember? Ever-watchful! He could have easily overheard many conversations on the matter. The thing about Filch is that no one ever pays him any mind. If he overheard the Professors talking and then emerged from the shadows, they wouldn't have given it a second thought. He is the night watchman after all.

Now, I know what you are asking. How in the heck could Filch bypass all of the traps Voldis set up. Well like I said, Voldie set the place up to stop powerful wizards. I doubt he ever considered that a non-magic user would even know about the cave, much less attempt to steal his Holocrux. Furthermore, just because Filch can't use magic, nothing says he can't drink a potion, or use a magical item. We know he has a whole room of stuff that he has confiscated over the years from students, plus he has access to some of the most powerful items in the wizarding world. Remember, Filch has the keys to ever drawer of scrolls, potion cabinet, and secret room in Hogwarts. If Filch had need of powerful items, he has the access. He even has a drawer in his office marked "confiscated and highly dangerous".

But why? Why would Filch risk his life to 'one-up' Voldemort. Simple. He has something to prove! For years he has watched wizards come and go learning and becoming great, while he has been stuck cleaning up their mess and making sure they don't wander the halls after dark. Why Voldemort? Because he is the most powerful. Filch would love to take out the most powerful wizard in the world just to show all the stuck up little -wizard brats that he could even though he couldn't cast a single spell. Furthermore, he wouldn't care if he died in the process. He already hates everyone and his life. Might as well trade it for one grand moment.
He would one up the evil wizards by taking out their dark lord, and one up the good wizards by accomplishing what even the great Dumbledore couldn't.

Well... that's pretty much my theory and I'm sticking to it. However, we all know by what we have seen from Rowling, whoever the mysterious RAB is, it will makes sense, be wonderfully written and enthrall us all. Take care...

Argus Filch