A Small Dementor Puzzle

[linman6868 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 18997

Steve wrote:

 the Dementors are more or less neutral as far as allegiences go. 
They 
> will side with whomever gives them the most of what they want, 
which 
> is human prey. They are currently on "our side" simply because ours 
> is the only side there is. One might assume that during the 
Voldemort 
> years from 1971-1981, the Dementors were in some way allied with 
the 
> Dark Side, but there is nothing to tell us for sure. 

But it's the transition period after VWI that interests me the most.  
Voldemort disappears; they know Harry had something to do with it; 
they think he's pretty much gone but don't know for sure; they've 
apprehended Sirius Black and packed him off to Azkaban without a 
trial:  and the rest of the trials are now being held.  In these 
trials, the dementors seem to be treated as a given--that is, a part 
of Azkaban that everyone is used to seeing there.  So the only thing 
I can conclude is that the MoM, at some point during VWI, decided 
they needed a really strong deterrent at Azkaban and made some 
heinous treaty with some of the dementors.  When Voldemort fell, the 
rest of the dementors joined in, since there wasn't likely to be any 
better prey to be had.  Besides, it probably gratified the dementors 
to turn around and live off the souls of the Death Eaters; I mean, 
loyalty doesn't seem to be a highly-regarded concept among them.

And it's not 
> because they're "bad" -- they are what they are and they like what 
> they like, rather like a tiger isn't "bad" because he eats people. 
I 
> get the sense that they're version of intelligence is somewhat like 
> an animal rather than human.

I'd like to be able to think this well of them; but actually, I think 
animals have more soul than these guys.  For me, they fall into a 
similar category to Voldemort:  they're so evil that as creatures 
they're boring.  I think one real mark of evil is that it's devoid of 
real feeling and motive, just a mindless itch to hurt and dominate.  
Voldemort is slightly less evil than the dementors precisely because 
he is still resourceful, retains a modicum of charisma, and can still 
narrate a past.  But, since the universe is all about him, the 
universe becomes a thin, insipid thing.  Harry's universe, OTOH, is 
richly peopled, even with people he can't stand, like Snape and the 
Dursleys.

Lisa I.