TBAY: Fear or Respect? (was: Dumble and Vol)

[Melody <Malady579@hotmail.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51221

Melody stood and watched Grey Wolf praise her bunny Coney for the fine
catch of two large badgers.  She shook her head and thought to
herself, "Oh, Meg is not going to be too pleased when those two drag
*them* home to the safe house tonight.  The badger is her school
mascot after all."  Though, Melody was slightly pleased Coney was
finally using her skills in ways more suitable than chomping down in
fellow TBAY'ers.

Looking around and seeing no one, Melody sat herself down in the grass
and started picking at the blades.  Grey looked over from his teaching
Coney how to restrain an animal without getting blood on your fur and
saw her sitting there quietly.

"Did what I say bother you that much, Mel?" he asked concerned.  She
normally is not *this* quiet.

"No...I mean yes...I mean...Oh sorry Grey," she sighed.  "I just don't
like talking about fear.  It is such a hard topic to face."

Grey walked back over to Mel and sat down next to her.  "You mean you
fear fear?" he asked trying not to smirk too much.

"Ok.  Quite laughing," she smiled trying to relieve his discomfort in
suppressing his amusement.  "But when you said Dumbledore *fears*
Voldemort, I immediately thought the worse.  That the fear is
crippling.  That it (fear) was keeping him from finishing his
spymaster job before that fateful night.  That for some reason,
Dumbledore feared the step of fully removing Voldemort from being a
threat."

Grey Wolf surveyed the girl's earnestly.  "Mel, I did not mean to
imply that at all.  I was just saying that Dumbledore has a *healthy*
fear of Voldemort."

"Is that a fear or more a respect?" she asked.

"Now you are talking an awe of Voldemort, and that, of which, I
disagree," he said kicking his legs out and leaning back against the
tree stump.

Melody looked back down at the grass.  "But Dumbledore must have a
sense of awe about Voldemort's powers.  One always is fascinated by
their equal.  Especially when they reach the same goal by a different
route.  I guess, I see Dumbledore kind of respecting Voldemort in a
way.  In a sense of awe and fear, for he alone knows the full powers
the man has because he has them too.  That is not why Dumbledore has
not neutralized Voldie's threat, but I guess I am asking, is that a
'fear' Dumbledore has?  It does seems Voldemort kind of has an 'awe'
of Dumbledore."

"I think you are using biblical definitions again, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yeah," she smiled slightly.  "And I thought you missed the four love
lessons in OT.  I guess I *am* kind of splinting fear like that.  The
English word for fear can mean many things where it once did not."

"So your problem before was in the degree of fear I was attributing
Dumbledore having?" he asked like a good tbay character.

"Yes," she nodded appropriately.  "Before I was unsure how much fear
they had for each other.  I mean - it does seem, by the way you
presented it, that Dumbledore was loosing because of his uncertainty
for what to do.  His fears were creeping in on him, and he was
isolated in his 'safe haven' of Hogwarts.

"That is why I reacted the way I did.  I see no crippling fear there,
but then again...I could understand if Dumbledore did.  They were
loosing, and how are they to defeat Voldemort *now*?  He was so
incredible powerful and the spells he used were quite...quite...evil.
 They trick the mind, body, and soul.  There is nothing, it seems,
they could do to detect anything.  Nothing the powers of good could do
that would trump evil.  It was all *chaos* **everywhere**."

She stopped a second to regain her composure.

"Mel, are you shaking?" he asked scooting over to her.

"I just do not like fear Grey," she said between attempts at calming
gasps.  "It is too controlling, too manipulative, too..."

"But Mel, I did not mean to imply that Dumbledore feared Voldemort
like that.  You see fear, in and of itself, is not a bad thing.  It is
healthy in fact.  Like fearing the pain of burns, so you don't touch
the stove," he explained.

"No, I see your argument Grey.  In fact, I can't disagree.  In that
realm, Dumbledore does fear and it caused him to care even more for
the world he lives in.  It is *this* fear of it not existing that
drives him.  So then, is it better to say that Dumbledore fears
because he loves?" she asked looking up to the wolf for an answer, but
did not wait for him to reply.

"And then Voldemort.  He fears because he does not love.  He does not
know how to understand his enemy, right?  He is confused by their
'higher moral choices,' right?" she asked pausing to let him speak.

Grey Wolf nodded.  "Yes, Voldemort cannot even begin to understand the
power morality has over a (moral) man's actions.  I don't think
Voldemort can understand that Dumbledore *wouldn't* use an AK, even if
using it would destroy Voldemort.  That is why he fears Dumbledore.
Because, if Voldemort was Dumbledore he would of AKed himself long ago."

Melody began regaining her composure.  "He fears because he knows the
enemy wants him gone, but he does not know how they will go about it?
 Grey, that sounds completely human to me.  Seems silly to think your
enemy will kill you only in the ways they deem fit.  And really, you
could insert any name there for Voldemort to fear.  They all wanted
him dead, and all are fairly capable of doing it even if Dumbledore
has reserves about unforgivable curses.  The fact one good guy has
reserves does not change the fact some loony could kill him."

Melody rolled over in the grass and rested her head in her folded
arms.  "No, there has to be another reason Voldemort feared
Dumbledore.  Maybe it is simply, that Voldemort knew his match.  He
know Dumbledore could take him, but the fact he never seemed to must
of amused Voldemort and inflated his ego.  The great Dumbledore, high
in his precious school, helpless to it all just because he will not
what?  Order Voldemort's death?  Use an AK?  Come now.  That doesn't
make sense.  Dumbledore must of done something that caused Voldemort
to truly fear him so much."

"In fact!" she said excited as she rolled over and sat up, "that is
what I was hung up on.  I was equating Dumbledore's fear to be the
same one Voldemort feels for Dumbledore.  Voldemort is truly afraid of
Dumbledore.  Not because he can kill him, but because of how his mind
could work to bring about his downfall.  Now, if we parallel that back
where I was concerned--Dumbledore fears Voldemort because of what
Voldemort could do to him?  We have a stalemate then.  Both side in
their ivory towers not taking that last step needed.  Though we do
have Voldemort winning the ground covering with the DE's vs. Good
wizards.

"*But* in the real battle, between the head of one and the head of the
other, was it really at a passing?  Voldemort did not go after
Dumbledore, and it seems, Dumbledore will not go after Voldemort.
Maybe I am assuming much here, but can you at least see why I objected
at first?  If that parallel is true, then it means Dumbledore was
loosing the war because he feared him enemy.  He was letting that fear
stop him.

So I guess, that parallel is not true then?  Dumbledore was loosing
his war because of his morals not fear?  He just will not stoop that
low.  He would rather die with honor than live with guilt.  Yep.
Sounds like a *Gryffindor* to me."


Melody