Is Hogwarts So Safe?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 86534

Yolanda wrote:
> Dumbledore did not let the Azkaban guards 
> inside the school, because he didn't trust 
> them.  The Azkaban guards attacked on their 
> own, defying their orders.  The fact that 
> they were able to get inside the school, 
> could be because they had been given access.  
> Afterall, if they discover Sirius Black rushing 
> through the gates past them, they would need 
> the ability to follow him inside the school.

Carol:
Doesn't Umbridge state in PoP that she let the Dementors in to kiss
Sirius? Sorry I can't find the page reference.
>
Yolanda wrote: 
> Harry said trouble finds him and he's right.  
> I agree that Harry and DD attract plenty of 
> trouble to Hogwarts.  However, Hogwarts is 
> still as safe if not safer than the rest of 
> the WW.  So far, we've only had one 
> student/faculty death and that occurred outside 
> of Hogwarts.  Of course, Voldemort was able to 
> remove Harry and Cedric from Hogwarts prior to 
> killing one of them.

Carol:
I agree with you that Hogwarts is as safe as or safer than virtually
any other place in the WW. At least it has a headmaster with the
authority and the power to prevent Dementors from entering and the
anti-apparation safeguards. They could also close off the chimneys to
prevent entrance to Hogwarts by that route, as Umbridge did. As for
Voldemort removing Harry from the grounds, he needed a specially
arranged port key to do that--which, we can be pretty sure, won't be
allowed to happen again. And poor Cedric, of course, wasn't even
supposed to be there.  He was only killed for not being Harry.

Regarding Snape, who will be in much greater danger now that the DEs
are in Azkaban and he no longer has Malfoy as a go-between, I still
say that he's safer in Hogwarts than anywhere else as long as
Dumbledore is there. At Hogwarts, at least in Book 6, the only
intruder is likely to be yet another DADA teacher, and Snape will be
on the lookout for danger there. Outside Hogwarts, he'll have only his
wand, his occlumency, and his own cunning to defend him. (And maybe a
few stray potions.) Imagine the irony if he has to stay hidden in
Grimmauld Place all summer like Sirius!

Yolanda:
> Snape said he would remain at Hogwarts when he 
> chose to ignore the DE summons.  Snape strikes 
> me as being both a realist and a survivor.  The 
> fact that he chose to remain within Hogwarts 
> tells me that *he* feels protected there. 

Carol:
I don't think he was considering safety at that moment. He and
Karkaroff were faced with three options: return to Voldemort, which
they both rejected; "flee!" (Snape's contemptuous advice to the coward
Karkaroff, which Karkaroff took; and remain at Hogwarts, which I think
Snape did on principle. Granted, Hogwarts is at least as safe as
fleeing into the unknown, but it was also where Snape wanted to be as
a statement of where his loyalties lie. (It should prove safe for
awhile at least, regardless of his reasons for staying there; we know
Snape survives to do something of great importance in Book 7.)


Yolanda:
> JKR has deliberately raised the stakes book after 
> book.  Soon, if not already, nowhere will be safe.  
> I do believe that Hogwarts protections offer some 
> security, but I also agree that those protections 
> are not perfect.

Carol:
You're right. But I think and hope that Dumbledore will recognize
those dangers and take even more precautions to ensure that Harry, at
least, survives to his seventh year. And I think we can pretty much
count on that. . . .  :-)