Betrayer!Molly (was: Who's going to betray the Order?)

[Wendy St John]

No: HPFGUIDX 75919



In response to my post positing that Molly Weasley might betray the Order,
Dan wrote:

"I don't think so. You see, to betray Harry by trading information to
Voldemort in return for a little favor would be, well, idiotic, and I don't
think Molly is that big of a fool. She's seen friends (and family?)
murdered by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. She knows that he is Evil and
Not to Be Trusted. That's the thing. Unless there is a magical contract;
some sort of binding promise of ancient magic, in the vein of life debts
and Lily's protection... something fundamental that cannot be broken, I
don't see her letting Harry and the rest be endangered out of despair and
fear. I've read her as protective of her children, and Ginny's involvement
with Harry in a fight against Death Eaters is no help, but the real
question is: is she stupid enough to trust a Most Evil Wizard?"

Now me (Wendy):

I agree with you that Molly would never willingly betray Harry. (It was in
my original post, but you snipped it in your response, so I'm not sure you
noticed it). And yes, Molly knows Voldemort is evil, and it is fairly easy
for us to sit here and say, "Everyone knows you don't trust a Most Evil
Wizard." But when I put myself in her shoes for a moment, it stops being a
question of "is Molly really that stupid?" and becomes "is she terrified
and desperate enough?" She's in a horrible situation - there's a war, and
the horrors of the previous war are still fresh in everyones' minds.
Molly's entire family is one the "front line," so to speak, and she is
terrified - perhaps to the point of obsession - that one or all of the
people she loves so dearly are going to die. People have been known to do
strange things in defense of their loved ones, and we've seen that Molly
can be both unreasonable and fierce. I don't think she's stupid, but I do
think she might be able to "convince" herself that she's doing the right
thing, that she's saving her family and not actually betraying Harry. It
wouldn't perhaps be a  *rational* choice, but I think she's in a situation
which might easily make one behave in an irrational manner. I don't know if
you have any children, but in my experience, being a parent has really
changed the way I look at things. 

Here's a story which might help to explain my reasoning here - my son is
nearly five, and about two and  a half years ago, one of his friends (a
child I loved) was hit by a car and killed in a freak accident (she was
sitting in her stroller at an ATM when a car jumped a barrier and hit her).
Now, of course we all know that cars are dangerous, and parents in general
are careful about cars and children. No one lets his or her child go
running blindly into the street. And before this friend of Connor's died, I
would have counted myself among this group of "parents in general." But
now, I have serious issues with cars. It's not just that running into the
street can be dangerous. Now, as far as I'm concerned, Cars. Are.
Dangerous. It has become commonplace for me to feel terrified when my child
is near a car which has its motor running. Period. There are times when I
have physical feelings of panic, for example, when coming and going from
stores where I've parked the car and then have to take my child across a
parking lot. Even hearing a car driving down a nearby aisle can cause my
stomach to lurch. Anytime Connor leaves the house, I won't let him get too
far ahead of me, in case he were to run into the street when a car was
driving by. And I've been known to shriek at him (to the point that people
for a block in either direction turned their heads to see what was
happening) for letting go of my hand in a cross walk. When these things
happen, I actually now think of them as my "Molly moments." <g> 

Do cars pose a danger to my son? Yes. Absolutely. Are my reactions to this
danger irrational? Very likely, because of an event which horrified me and
changed my outlook on this issue in a fundamental way. As a result, have I
taken every step I know to take to ensure my child's safety? You bet I
have. Unlike Molly, I don't actually have to betray or endanger anyone else
in my quest to keep Connor safe from being hit by a car. Heck, even that's
not entirely true. If we're walking along the sidewalk and another mother
and child are approaching us, I'll move to the side away from the street
when we pass - forcing that other mother and her child nearer the street,
and therefore nearer the potential danger posed by any passing cars. Does
this make me a bad person? Or do I just have a more intense fear than the
other mother? It's probably not a perfect analogy, but I think it helps to
illustrate what I think might be going on in Molly's head.

So, bringing this back on topic: does Voldemort pose a danger to Molly's
family? Yes, a very real and imminent danger. Because of this, could she
behave in an irrational way? I believe it's possible that she could. Will
she take every step she knows to take to ensure her family's safety?
Absolutely. As a parent myself, I have no doubt of this whatsoever. 
Whether or not she decides that betraying the order would actually acheive
her goal of protecting her family is the important thing here. Most of us
on the list probably think that trying to make a deal with Voldemort would
most likely *not* do her any good, because he seems rather untrustworthy.
It's also not the honourable thing to do, but I think that point might fall
by the wayside in the face of Molly's fears. In any case, it seems *to us*
like a stupid choice for her to make. However, we're not in her shoes, and
it isn't our loved ones who are at risk here. Will it seem stupid to her,
or will she ultimately decide that it's worth the risk? Or will one of her
children (or Arthur) be killed, after which she is so desperate she feels
she has no choice *but* to go and try to bargain with Voldemort for the
lives of her remaining family members? It's not for us to decide; Molly's
going to have to make these decisions for herself. As I said in my earlier
post, I find it very unlikely that the possibility wouldn't cross her mind
at sometime. Whether or not she acts on it, we'll just have to wait and see.

I'm not expecting everyone to agree with me, but the more I think about it,
the more I believe that this scenario is definitely a possibility. And not
all that far-fetched a possibility, at that. 

 :-)

Wendy