Neville; Ch. 34 Summary; Dumbledore

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 14159

Gwen wrote:

> What exactly is the evidence that
> Voldemort makes a string of mistakes? 
> 
> Others have postulated (and I agree) that this is as much a proof to 
himself
> as to the DE's that he can do this. (I posted something similar 
after Ch.
> 33.) The fact of Harry has been bugging this dude for so long, I 
can't see
> him NOT wanting to prove in an irrevokable fashion his superiority. 
And
> again, he had absolutely NO WAY to predict that Harry's wand might 
share the
> same core. Sirius, for reasons that are probably best described as a 
plot
> device, had no idea that Prior Incantatem existed--that is, he asks
> Dumbledore what happens when wands with a common core duel. Is it 
possible
> that Voldemort also had never heard of this effect? I think it less 
likely,
> but more probable that he had no inkling that such an event might 
come to
> pass. 
> 
> But what is there to support the accusations of Voldemort's 
incompetence?
> Again, I do not subscribe to the theories that link 16 year old 
memory/ghost
> Tom Riddle to this incarnation of Voldemort. I see no evidence to 
suggest
> that Voldemort knows anything about his diary's activity. Therefore 
you
> can't include the 16 year old Tom's mistakes with Voldemort's. 
> 
> Even at that age, he effectively tracked down his birth father and 
killed
> him and the older Riddles with no apparent trouble. His early rise 
(VWI) is
> chronicled as a highly successful and terrifying campaign. If he 
were prone
> to Evil Overlord mistakes, why wasn't he brought down before cursing 
Harry?
> In PS/SS, it's not his incompetence, but Quirrell's, that allows 
Harry to
> get away. Voldy can't exactly do anything physical in the state he's 
in,
> even hold a wand. If he's not aware of or responsible for the 
diary's
> activity, then one must skip CoS and PoA, since they bear no 
connection to
> Voldy in GoF. 
> 
> Up until this point, his plans have gone about as well as could 
possibly be
> expected. As I read it, the only error he makes is underestimating 
Harry's
> resistance to Imperio and Crucio. 

I mostly agree with you; I don't think V has done anything 
phenomenally dumb; we are just sensitive to any signs of Evil Overlord 
Syndrome because it's so overdone by authors who back themselves into 
a corner because they've made their Overlord so invincible, then have 
to have him do something foolish (usually due to arrogance) in order 
to bring him down.  Each thing he does "wrong" can be explained 
without him having EOS.  But there are a few mistakes that V does make 
that are more serious than I think you're estimating:

(1) his arrogance at age 16.  No, the grown-up V doesn't know about 
the events of CoS.  But if we are looking at his character overall, we 
can fairly include what his projected 16-year-old self did and say, 
"This guy has a pattern of letting his arrogance and ambition 
interfere with his judgment."

(2) his not anticipating being unable to touch Harry.  This isn't 
Quirrell's fault; how's he supposed to know?  It's his hands that 
burn, but it's Voldemort who is allergic to Harryskin.  And while this 
may be unexpected, it is part of the "ancient magic" that V really 
ought to study up on.  Which brings us to 

(3) his not anticipating the possibility of Lily's protecting Harry, 
however she did it.  Again, this was not something anyone predicted as 
far as we know, but V refers to it as "ancient magic," which implies 
that it is at least theoretically knowable by him or anyone who pays 
enough attention.  (I still lean toward the "it's pure love" theory, 
in which case "ancient magic" is a rather ironic term, like the Deeper 
Magic that causes Aslan to be resurrected in LWW.  Both authors are 
deliberately using the term "magic" to describe what is usually called 
"love," "Atonement," "sacrifice," or some other deep 
emotional/theological power.)

None of this adds up to a string of bad errors, but I think the truth 
is somewhere between "he's a typical EO who causes his own downfall 
through sheer stupidity or sniffing too much asphodel" and "he hasn't 
done anything careless."

> > 6. How did Dumbledore defeat the Dark Wizard Grindelwald?
> >
> 
> I'm so glad you asked. I'm working on a backstory that will address 
my take
> on this, but I believe that there's no question Grindelwald was 
working with
> Hitler. I think that in both cases, the senior officers realized 
they were
> loose canons and conspired to do something about it. In the Muggle 
camp, the
> attempt on Hitler's life failed. On the Wizard side, it succeeded, 
and the
> disloyal officers (including a very young Voldemort and Lucius 
Malfoy's
> father) were able to set Grindlewald up to run into Dumbledore and 
his team
> of wizards who were on their way to besiege him. Without the 
assistance of
> his lieutenants, Grindlewald was forced to duel on his own. And 
Dumblydore
> kicked butt, but I don't think he's proud of it, in retrospect (see 
above).
> Maybe Olympe was part of the French Resistance wizards who helped 
him
> infiltrate the front to get to Grindy. (This also helps reinforce 
the Malfoy
> family prestige among wizards.)

I look forward to reading your backstory (a Dumbledore fanfic?  Rare 
event!).  Warning:  careful about your dates.  As far as we can 
determine, Dumbledore was giving Tom Riddle significant looks in the 
corridors of Hogwarts at the height of WWII.  It's almost definite 
that he was teaching at Hogwarts before 1945. 

Amy Z

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 "I might remind you that *your* pincushion,
 Thomas, still curls up in fright if anyone
 approaches it with a pin!"
                  -HP and the Goblet of Fire
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