When 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' first hit the shelves in 1997, it became quite the phenomenon, capturing the imaginations of children and adults alike across the world. The seven books went on to sell a combined total of over 500 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling book series in history.

As it is with such immensely popular novels, innumerable fan theories have been concocted that attempt to explain away some of the more ambiguous segments. One such theory concerns Professor Albus Dumbledore and has him pinned as Death, and it seems as if J.K. Rowling has given the theory her blessing.

The theory originates from a story in the series' seventh book, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.' The story titled 'Tale of Three Brothers' involves three brothers who come across a river too dangerous to swim across. Befuddled, they decided to use magic to construct a bridge and cross over safely, but this results in the appearance of the hooded figure of death who confronts the trio.

Annoyed that he's denied three souls, death decides to cheat them but does so by hiding his intentions through three wishes that he grants the brothers. The first two brothers ask for a powerful wand (the elder wand) and a resurrection stone to bring back people from the dead, but the third is skeptical, he asks for an invisibility cloak and goes to on survive the encounter, while his brethren succumb to death.

This third brother goes on to live a long life before finally handing over the cloak to his son and greeting death as 'an old friend.' The fan theory in question claims that Tom Riddle aka Voldemort is the first brother, Snape the second, and Harry Potter the third. This leaves Dumbledore as the representation of Death, a possibility that's backed up by several instances from the novels.

For one, it's Dumbledore who hands down the Invisibility Cloak to Harry. Harry's told that it's been handed down to him by his father, and a note accompanying the cloak reads: "Your father left this in my possession when he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well."

This fan theory is further supported by another instance from 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.' When Harry is targeted by the killing curse by Voldemort, he finds himself entering King's Cross Station and greeted by Dumbledore as 'an old friend.' 

Rowling, who has an active presence on Twitter and constantly entertains these theories, gave it her approval, writing: "Dumbledore as death. It's a beautiful theory and it fits."