OOP-Dumbledore's "gleam"

[chappysmom]

No: HPFGUIDX 67219

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, MadameSSnape at a... wrote:
> In a message dated 7/3/2003 8:01:32 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
> ugadawg02 at y... writes:
> 
> A commander in battle cannot afford to take into consideration 
his "caring" > for someone - "We must use the tools we have," as 
Lincoln said.  If the defeat > of Voldemort requires somehow the 
sacrifice of Harry Potter, or Severus Snape, > or Dumbledore himself, 
then that is what he must do.  


-------------Agreed, but wasn't Dumbledore also making sure 
his "weapon" (Harry per the prophecy) got old enough to be able to DO 
something about it? I mean, sure, at a year old he almost defeated V 
just by sitting there, but doesn't Harry now have to learn enough and 
become strong enough to actually defeat the Dark Lord fair and 
square? Even with the prophecy on his side, I doubt Harry would have 
been able at 11 to take him on. (Can you imagine Dumbledore showing 
up at Privet Drive and saying, "We have a job to do" and taking Harry 
out to confront Voldemort--even assuming they could have found him? 
And even at the end of GoF, did Harry really know enough, could he be 
strong enough, to defeat Voldemort? 

I think that, as he found out about the cruciatus curse--you have to 
MEAN it for it to work--our innocent Harry up until now hasn't been 
able to definitively defeat Voldemort. He's just been interested in 
defense, not offense. Until he's ready to take the war into his 
enemy's camp, he can't win. Dumbledore has had to wait until HARRY 
was old enough to be that tough--and if he was willing to give him a 
couple extra years of "innocent" childhood (ha, knowing what Harry's 
childhood was like!), I think that just shows Dumbledore's good heart.

--Deb