The Gleam & the Hiss

[ftah3]

No: HPFGUIDX 36214

cindysphynx wrote:
> A few of us, just one or two maybe, 

LOL.  One or two?  :P

Cindysphynx continues:
> have theorized that Dumbledore's 
> Gleam means he has seen some fatal weakness in Voldemort's rebirth 
> strategy.  Eh, maybe.
> 
> But if that is so, then how can Crouch/Moody's behavior be 
> explained?  
<snip>
> Crouch/Moody questions Harry.  We get to the part about Wormtail 
> taking Harry's blood:
> 
> *********
> 
> "What did the Dark Lord take from you?" said Moody.
> 
> "Blood," said Harry, raising his arm.  His sleeve was ripped where 
> where Wormtail's dagger had torn it.  
> 
> Moody let out his breath in a long, low hiss.  "And the Death 
> Eaters? They returned?"
> 
> **********
> 
> Apparently, Crouch/Moody attaches some significance to the use of 
> Harry's blood.  

Agreed, which would also align with the fact that Dumbledore might 
see something significant there, as well.

Cindysphynx again:
<snip theory that Crouch/Moody would jump Voldy's ship and try to act 
the good guy if he thought the blood thing was a fatal mistake>
> That means Crouch/Moody (and by extension, Voldemort) believes that 
> using Harry's blood is not a fatal error for the Dark Side.  Why 
> would Crouch/Moody and Voldemort, both smart, talented, experienced 
> Dark Wizards come to the exact opposite conclusion as Dumbledore?

I don't necessarily see it this way.  During a discussion of why 
Avada Kedavra is categorized as an Unforgiveable spell, I did a 
horrible job of postulating that it might not be only the outward 
effects of the spell that make it Unforgivable, but also the effects 
it has on the user.  I was trying to draw a parallel between the fact 
that Voldemort can be presumed to have used the spell a lot, and the 
fact that he turned into a not-quite-normally-mortal physically 
mangled and psychotic evil force.  I was playing with the philosophy 
that doing evil not only has negative effects on others, but also on 
the self.

The reason I bring that up: Similarly, using Harry's blood.  
Voldemort uses Harry's blood to regenerate, and one of the side 
effects of that is that Voldemort has greater power over Harry ~ i.e. 
the Mother-Love in Harry's skin no longer repels Voldemort.  So it 
was important to use Harry's blood because it allows Voldemort to be 
less vulnerable against the one who has foiled him from birth.  So 
this is a boon, to both Voldemort and Crouch/Moody.

I don't think this rules out a down-side, though.  Many elements of 
the graveyard scene emphasize a connection between Harry & Voldemort 
~ the sharing of blood, new capability for direct tactile access, the 
meeting of the wands.  The power inherent in a variety of wizard 
connections crops up elsewhere in the series ~ the Mother-Love thing, 
the concept that Rat-man Pettigrew is now somehow bound to Harry 
because Harry saved his life...etc.  In all cases but one, the 
possibilities inherent in such connections are never stated in detail 
before we see their effects:

Blood-sharing: We are told that Voldy needs Harry's blood (at least, 
the blood of an enemy) to regenerate.  This happens.

Blood-sharing, part 2: after the fact, Voldy enlightens Harry as to 
the fact that he can now touch Harry due to using Harry's blood to 
regenerate (at least, I recall that direct connection being made; 
correct me if I'm wrong).

Wands w/ the same core: Ollivander tells Harry that his wand has the 
same core as Voldemort's.  No mention of what may happen because of 
this.  We don't find out until much later the repercussions possible.

Mother-Love: we find out that Harry's mom died protecting him.  
Later, we find out that it had powerful repercussions.

Rat-man owes Harry: Dumbledore mentions that saving a wizard's life 
creates a powerful bond.  We've still not seen what this actually 
means.

So, a lot of hints, allusions, or seeming unimportant asides 
eventually turn out to have surprising and important repercussions.  
Because of this, I think that Voldemort and Crouch/Moody are certain 
of how the blood-sharing works to their advantage, and might find it 
inconceivable that any disadvantage would be significant enough to 
worry about; and yet Dumbledore would have the opposite opinion ~ he 
would know the advantages to the bad guys, but will suspect that the 
advantages to the good guys may outweigh the former.

I.e., two very smart men focusing on the possiblities which could 
benefit them the most.

Ehm.  If that makes any sense.  I guess my main point is that I think 
there is quite enough foreshadowing to indicate that The Gleam is 
Dumbledore intuiting a fatal flaw which may or may not have been 
considered by Voldemort.

Mahoney