Dumbledore's Challenges

[Jim Flanagan]

No: HPFGUIDX 5662

After reading some good posts about why Dumbledore tolerates Peeves 
recently, I've thought about parallels including the Headmaster's 
choice of teachers and his decision to send Harry to live with the 
Dursleys:

- Dumbledore may tolerate Peeves because he helps teach the students 
about how to deal with adversity and the unexpected. This could be a 
very valuable skill in a world not yet free of Lord V.

- The same can be said about his choice of teachers:  Snape and Moody 
are psychotic; Hagrid and Lockhart are incompetent (as teachers); 
McGonigall is very strict; etc.  Learning to deal with these 
different personalities will be critical whether one finds employment 
in the MOM, as an Auror, or as a conductor on the Knight Bus. If the 
students aren't challenged in ways other than academics, they might 
as well be in a nice warm womb for seven years.

- Giving Harry the invisibility cloak and tolerating his other 
escapades may be Dumbledore's way of toughening Harry up, even though 
he knows that Harry could well be injured or killed in the process. I 
suspect that Dumbledore fully expects and wants Harry to break the 
rules. Successful assassins *must not* follow rules. At the same 
time, Dumbledore leaves watchdogs like Peeves, Snape, and even 
McGonigall in place as foils for Harry, while he (Dumbledore) manages 
things from behind the stage.

- The adversity of growing up with the Dursleys might be just the 
kind of upbringing that Voldemort's chief rival needs to have. Maybe 
Harry must "see" Vernon Dursley in Voldemort in order to kill him. A 
kind and gentle Harry might falter at the last moment.  Living in an 
abusive home might also foster patterns of thought and behavior 
(e.g., deviousness and "a certain disregard for rules") that will be 
critical for defeating Voldemort. Would Ron, George, Fred, or Percy, 
coming from a warm and loving home, have the "stuff" to overcome 
Voldemort?  I doubt it.

Comments?

-Jim Flanagan