Harry's fate in book 5 & Amos Diggory

[serenadust <jmmears@comcast.net>]

No: HPFGUIDX 49232

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, wynnde1 at a... wrote:
> Originally, I was going to respond to this off-list to Jo 
Serenadust, as this 
> is mostly just a big "me too" post, agreeing with the many 
fantastic points 
> she made as to whether or not Fudge could blame (or frame) Harry 
for Cedric's 
> death. 

::Blushing furiously::  Wow, thanks Wendy!  I'm sorry for the 
delayed response, but I'm so used to my posts sinking like stones 
and not inspiring any comments, that I didn't notice that you had 
actually written some very nice and well-thought out ones.

Wendy wrote:

> 
> Now me:
> Yes, yes, yes and YES! I think you are absolutely spot-on with 
this. In fact, 
> I'm rather annoyed with myself that I didn't think of it. <g> I 
dislike and 
> mistrust Diggory intensely, and have often thought that he could 
be 
> responsible for all sorts of blow-ups within what we think of as 
the "good 
> guys." I just never came up with this as one of the possibilities. 
<G> 

Well, Amos hasn't been discussed much on this list but I must 
confess that I'm very interested in his future in the series.  I'm 
positive that we haven't seen the last of him.

Wendy again:


> Although not mentioned as one of Dumbledore's "old crowd," I 
wouldn't be 
> surprised if he turns out to have been an auror in VW1, or 
actively involved 
> in some other way. And, if he was an auror or similar, I don't 
imagine he'd 
> have had any qualms at all about Crouch's decision to use the 
unforgiveables 
> against the Death Eaters.

I do agree with you here, Wendy.  He comes across as rather hard-
nosed and seems to me to be the type who would gladly have gone 
along with Crouch's agenda.  When they are all in the woods at the 
QWC, he is quite deferential to him, calling him "Mr. Crouch" rather 
than Barty.

Wendy continued:

 That sort of thing strikes me as right up Diggory's 
> alley, actually. He's a bully, a hypocrite, dishonourable, and 
pompous. <snip>

> At the end of GoF, I have always been suspicious of Diggory Sr.'s 
calm 
> attitude towards Harry, and I agree with you that Amos will want 
vengeance 
> for his son. Meaning, he wants someone to be *punished*, whether 
it's the 
> real perpetrator, or not.

Well, I'd have to agree that Amos definitely has bullying 
tendencies, and is rather pompous as well.  I didn't pick up on 
anything especially dishonorable or hypocritical about him as much 
as the fact that he's so besotted with Cedric and his 
accomplishments, that he's got a rather large blind spot where he's 
concerned.

<snip Wendy's discussion of Amos Diggory's probable actions 
following Cedric's death>
> 
> I don't like Diggory at all, actually, and (in a perverse sort of 
way) really 
> hope that we'll see more of him, because I'm sure he'll cause 
nothing but 
> trouble. And, in a departure from the many EverSoEvil theories 
which are 
> rampant around here (and in my own mind! <G>), It never occurs to 
me for a 
> second that Diggory could actually be Evil, in the sense of 
supporting 
> Voldemort. Nope, he's one of the "good guys," even though he goes 
around 
> acting like a jerk much of the time. Which makes it just that much 
more 
> interesting, don't you think?

Absolutely, Wendy.  I'm so glad that someone besides me thinks that 
Amos Diggory and his past and future role in the story will be 
significant.  Yet, somehow I just can't bring myself to *really* 
dislike him.  I know that he's given Harry a hard time, and will 
very likely give him worse in the future.  I just can't help feeling 
so very sorry for him.  After all, the last time we see him in GoF, 
he "sobbed through most of the interview."  For all of his bluster, 
I imagine that his wife is the stronger of the two of them, and that 
he's so utterly destroyed by Cedric's death, that his future actions 
will be the result of a broken, irrational heart.  Of course, that 
doesn't mean that they won't be terribly destructive, particularly 
to Harry.

> Wendy
> (Who would really like to thank Jo Serenadust for her thought-
provoking post. 
> St. Mungo's, not Azkaban . . . YES! And who is now fantasizing 
about writing 
> a brilliant 9-part defamation of Diggory's character, but somehow 
doesn't 
> think she could manage to do it justice as Elkins did with Crouch 
Sr. <g>)

Thank *you*, Wendy for your very thoughtful response.  I'd 
absolutely love to see your 9-part Amos Diggory defamation post a la 
Elkins!  I'm afraid that I'd have to play the part of Eileen in 
Diggory's defense as a tragic character, but I also worry that I 
couldn't meet her brilliant standard either.  Still, I'm willing to 
have a go, if you are <g>.

Jo Serenadust, ever-so-grateful that at least one other person on 
the list finds Amos worthy of character analysis and future plot 
impact
> 
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