Which Good Guy Might Crack? (WAS Weak vs. Unwilling, Fidelius, )

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 35060

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "cindysphynx" <cindysphynx at h...> wrote:
> Hmmm.  Which good character is most likely to Crack?

Eileen wrote:
> 
> > The other likely candidate for breaking under pressure might be 
> Percy. 
> > > 
I don't think Percy will crack.  When the chips are down, he is 
intensely loyal to his family.  For example, he rushes out to Ron 
when he is being dragged out of the water in the Second Task -- 
seemingly forgetting that he was there in an official capacity.  If 
his career was absolutely #1, I think he would have stayed at the 
judge's table.  In fact, I think it can be argued that a good deal of 
what underlies his earnestness in pursuit of academic and career 
goals is a deep need to win praise from his family -- Molly in 
particular.  That's not to say, however, that Percy won't face 
difficult choices when he realizes that his career will put him in 
conflict with his family.  I can see him showing blind loyalty to the 
MOM's official position, or sitting on the fence as long as he can, 
convinced that the MOM is right, but based on prior actions, I think 
betrayal is beyond him.  He's withstood the twins' endless and 
sometimes mean berating of him for years.  (Besides, my husband likes 
Percy, and I can't imagine him ever cracking.)

And while we're on the subject of insecure Weasleys, I don't think 
Ron will crack either, at least not in the spill-the-beans-under-
Cruciatus sense.  Based on his Shrieking Shack experience, where he 
withstood horrible pain and still managed to offer to die for Harry 
and try to protect his pet.  He may, however, be vulnerable to 
Imperius (Harry's ability to break Imperius seems to be 
extraordinary, based on the class' experience).  After all, he 
couldn't even shake Fleur's charms.  I speculate that JKR may have 
had him behave really badly in 
GoF to lead us to believe he could go bad, so we would believe he had 
betrayed Harry if Imperius is sprung on him.  Even in GoF, he patched 
up his quarrel with Harry as soon as he perceived that the Triwizard 
Tournament involved real danger to the champions. (Ok, I guess 
someone 
needs to send me my C.R.A.B. membership card.)
> 
And to finish off the Weasleys, I have come to the conclusion that 
Gred and Forge are vulnerable, and weren't put in the books solely 
for comic relief.  Why?  Unlike the other Weasleys, I somehow see 
that their greatest loyalty is not to the larger family but to each 
other.  Besides, they have a weakness for gambling (they gambled 
their entire savings on the World Cup) and they already have a 
relationship with the Ever So Evil Ludo Bagman.  Finally, we are told 
that most of their inventions are really dangerous, so they might 
make good munitions.  Can't you see their side business -- Weasley's 
Wizard Warheads?  The dark side definitely would want to get hold of 
such things.  They are ripe for blackmail. Imagine a few Ton-Tongue 
Toffees shoved down their throats. . . . (Yes, and LV will be finally 
defeated when his wand turns into a rubber chicken.)

Cindy:

> Would Hagrid Crack?  Yep.  Of course.  In a New York minute.  A few 
> weeks in Azkaban was about all Hagrid could handle.  

Hagrid doesn't need anything more than a tankard of mead to Crack.  
> 
Cindy again:

> Hermione will never 
> Crack.
> 
She certainly can keep a secret, but we haven't seen her in pain yet. 
And we don't know whether she could resist Imperius.  Maybe if she 
practices long enough . . . but my instinct says she's not a prime 
candidate for cracking.

> Unfortunately, it seems that McGonagall might have been written to 
> Crack at some critical moment.  She failed at one of her big jobs 
> (standing watch over Crouch Jr.), and I have to wonder if this is 
> supposed to suggest some form of yet-to-be-revealed weakness.
> 
She's definitely one to watch, though I don't like the Evil Woman 
implications.  She also has a soft spot where Harry and his friends 
are concerned (e.g., she let Harry and Ron visit Hermione against 
orders when she was Petrefied).  It seems really innocuous, but I can 
see her being hoodwinked into doing something really stupid on the 
pretense that it's for Harry, maybe by someone using Polyjuice Potion 
to impersonate Harry and ask for something.    

Lupin's another character who may have some weaknesses.  Though I 
think his feelings for Pettigrew will see him through any attempt to 
make him crack (and he's survived enough pain as a werewolf to help 
ward off any Cruciatus attempt), is anyone worried that he didn't 
have the guts to tell Dumbledore what he knew?  Can he be blackmailed 
into cracking or has he learned his lesson?

> Debbie (who realizes on rereading that she doesn't know the 
definition of Cracking, but believes she used the word "cracking" 
correctly)