DE Motivations (WAS: Harry's wands in the graveyard/other ponderings)

[erisedstraeh2002]

No: HPFGUIDX 43899

Grey Wolf wrote:

> I've always wondered about what moves the different types of DE, 
> because so far the only two we know are Crouch Jr (which I don't 
> think is a common circumstance) and Macnair, who joined for the 
> pleasure of the blood, which may be a slightly more common 
> motivation, but that is too crude for the types of Lucius.

Now me:

I have to say that this isn't something I've given a lot of thought 
to before, but I'm going to correct that right now!  I agree with 
Grey Wolf that Crouch Jr. was looking for a substitute father figure 
in Voldemort, and that Macnair is blood-hungry.

As for the others:

Wormtail - the most interesting, IMO.  Reading the canon on the 
surface suggests that he's only with Voldemort because he's afraid of 
him (as he says in the Shrieking Shack in Ch. 19 of PoA with regard 
to Voldemort, "What was there to be gained by refusing him?").  He's 
portrayed as spineless and stupid, but I don't think he's either.  I 
think it took a lot of brains and courage to come up with the idea on-
the-spot to blast a street full of Muggles in order to frame Sirius.  
And then he bit Goyle Jr. while posing as Scabbers in PS/SS - there 
is definitely *something* to this, IMO.  I think Sirius' line in Ch. 
19 of PoA sums Wormtail up nicely: "...you never did anything for 
anyone unless you could see what was in it for you" (UK ed. p. 271).  
Wormtail's primary motivation is greed, IMO.  He stuck with the 
Mauraders until Voldemort gave him a better deal.

Lucius - Greed as well, but power mostly, I think.  He seems to 
*love* bullying the Hogwarts governors into forcing Dumbledore to 
step down in CoS, and bullying the Disposal Committee members into 
executing Buckbeak.  He hates Muggles and delights in torturing them 
at the World Cup in GoF and in plotting to kill/petrify Muggle-borns 
in CoS.  I see this as a combination of power-lust and hatred born of 
prejudice.

Crabbe Sr. and Goyle Sr. - We don't have much on them, but Voldemort 
saying "You will do better this time" in GoF suggests that they're as 
stupid as their kids.  So possibly they weren't smart and/or brave 
enough to fend off Voldemort (but why Voldemort would want stupid 
followers is a mystery to me!).

Avery - his terror at facing Voldemort in the graveyard suggests that 
he is fairly low on courage and could have been bullied into joining 
the Dark Side.

I'm looking forward to seeing how JKR develops the DEs in future 
books.  All of them, except the ones in Azkaban, Crouch Jr. and 
Wormtail, renounced Voldemort after he fell from power.  And while 
Wormtail didn't openly renounce Voldemort, he didn't go looking for 
him until his true identity was revealed and he had nowhere else to 
go.  So Voldemort has precious few *loyal* followers, and he knows it.

~Phyllis
who also repeatedly rechecks locked doors and turned off coffeepots 
(nice to know I'm in good company!)