Dumbledore - father figure or manipulator?

[jferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 35677

Alhewison:"Yet in doing so he [Dumbledore] allowed Harry to be quite 
severely abused."

Agreed. Could Dumbledore have foreseen that Harry got his will to 
survive and grit from his experiences with the Dursleys? Maybe. I 
wonder how Harry would have responded to the challenges he's faced if 
he'd grown up in a safe, welcoming, middle class home that he could go 
back to anytime. I don't think Harry would be as tough as he is 
without it.

Alhewison:"Dumbledore tells Harry that it's choices rather than 
abilities that make a [wizard} yet, he seems to let Harry make choices 
without telling him half the information."

It's Harry's moral choices that matter, not his decisions. Harry's 
decisions all come from his moral compass, not the data he does or 
doesn't have.

Al:"Dumbledore might be acting the protective father-figure that Harry 
never had. Equally, he could be manipulating Harry to fulfil his 
destiny."

Here's the uncomfortable fact: Dumbledore has a higher duty than just 
to Harry. He has to save the world, maybe ours as well as the 
wizard's. What if Dumbledore knows Harry must be sacrificed to save 
everyone else? These aren't easy decisions. [Just ask a military 
commander or, for that matter, a fire chief.] Perhaps this is the 
explanation for the "look of triumph" we've discussed so much.

Al:"This confuses me then – is Harry's role/ fate already p