[HPforGrownups] Re: OoP SPOILERS: Worries for Harry? Warning: Long Reply

[Kelly Grosskreutz]

No: HPFGUIDX 58471

> In a message dated 5/21/2003 1:58:48 PM Mountain Standard Time,
> cindysphynx at comcast.net writes:
>
> >
> > "Impotence of the authorities at Hogwarts."  OK, this is not good.
> > Dumbledore is the only real authority at Hogwarts.  No way would
> > they be calling Dumbledore "impotent," even if he, er, were.
> >
The Queen of Serpents replies:
> Ahem.  (will not read into it....no, no, no fanfic uses of Skele-Gro...no,
> no, no gaack)
>
> But to answer your question, why not?  JKR has said in numerous interviews
> that Dumbledore. Is. Not. Perfect.  and Harry has yet to comprehend it.
>
> Dumbledore actually makes quite a few mistakes in canon, most of which I
can
> understand, but are mistakes in judgement nonetheless. Some examples below
(
> Quotes are from American ed. Hardcovers.)
>
> PS/SS:
>
> 1) Leaves Harry with the Dursleys, who while perhaps necessary for
whatever
> the protection charm is, are emotionally abusive and are raising a spoiled
> brat. And McGonagall calls him on it!  ( "You can't mean the people who
live
> here....They've got this son--I saw him kicking his mother all the way up
the
> street, screaming for sweets...  the Boy Who Lived pg. 13) That Harry
turns out all
> right after eleven years of undeserved crap is a miracle.  Tom Riddle sure
as
> heck didn't. (I know, choices over abilities.)
>
On the surface, I would easily agree with you.  However, I want to read OoP
before I get into this anymore.

> 2) Hires back Professor Quirrel, who after a long sojourn (in freaking
> *Albania*), stutters and jumps at anything that moves. ( I know,
Dumbledore is an
> eccentric himself, but still, something is obviously wrong with the guy.)
>
Well, technically, Quirrell already had a job.  He had taken a one-year
sabbatical.  To the best of my knowledge, a teacher on sabbatical is
guaranteed he'll have a job waiting for him when he gets back.  Based on
what little of the curriculum we see Harry's class undergo under Quirrell,
it seems he was a competent enough teacher in the book-smart area (how to
treat werewolf bites was one thing they learned).  The reason he went on
sabbatical to begin with was to gain experience in the field.  I don't
believe Quirrell went to Albania looking for Voldemort, or that he even knew
V was there, for that matter.  I get the impression it was a chance
encounter, and that's when Q decided to join V's side.  Granted, Q came back
freaking at anything that moved, but he still knows the subject matter.  As
for the stutter, I don't know if it's been said if he acquired the stutter
in Albania, or if he's always had the stutter.  Based on comments Hagrid
makes in the Leaky Cauldron, he might have always had it.

> COS:
>
> 1) Hires Lockhart (I really, really, really hate Lockhart. I mean it.) who
is
> a fraud, a braggart, and imcompetent at almost anything except his very
> useful memory charms.  Are this kids going to learn anything at DADA?
It's no
> wonder Snape thinks he has to tough them up somewhat (though it's not
really his
> place to do so).  Even after he takes all the bones out of Harry's arm,
lets
> Cornish pixies injure students and destroy his classroom, and so on and so
> forth, he doesn't get sacked.
>
No defense made here.  I also can't stand Lockhart, and continuously wonder
why D ever hired him.

> 2) Doesn't try to interrogate Harry any further when he is obviously upset
> and not telling him everything. (in his office) I do appreciate wanting
Harry to
> talk about it when he's ready, but the basilisk is still running around,
and
> it's a matter of extreme luck that nobody's died.
>
I always did wonder why he let him go so easily.

> POA:
>
> 1) Hires Lupin, who while a competent teacher for once (thank heaven!) is
> nevertheless a werewolf , and does slip up once in a while (" He didn't
take his
> potion tonight! He's not safe!"--The Dementor's Kiss, pg 380) I know that
> Lupin is only human and I love him, but one slip up at the wrong place,
the wrong
> time and he could kill and/or infect a lot of students.  It really does
suck
> all around, I must say.
>
Why did Lupin forget to take his potion?  He saw on the Marauder's Map that
Peter Pettigrew *and* Sirius Black were in close proximity to three Hogwarts
students, one of them Harry Potter.  (correct me if it was just Peter he
saw).  Not only did he realize that Sirius had not killed Peter, he was
afraid that another murder or three were about to take place.  Snape had not
yet brought the potion.  Yes, Lupin is a werewolf, but he is also human, and
he can also forget something under extreme duress and shock like what he saw
in the Map.  I really think that if a situation like this had not arisen,
there would not have been a problem and he could have taught there for years
without anyone knowing.  And if, for some reason, Snape forgot to brew the
potion or something went wrong with it, there is always the Shrieking Shack
to fall back on.  Remember, Lupin attended Hogwarts as a student, and there
would not have been a mishap if not for the stupidity of one of his friends
and the idiocy/vengefulness of another student.  That mishap was also not
DD's fault, as he did not know that either Sirius or Snape was aware of
anything amiss with Lupin.  If anything, they should have come up with a
better way to make Lupin's friends not wonder where he disappeared to every
month.  Or maybe found a way to home-school Lupin if he's that big of a
danger.  Ok, I'm going to stop here before I start chasing my own tail.
Let's just say as I wrote this section that I believe a whole separate
thread could be started on the pros and cons of DD allowing Lupin to both
attend Hogwarts as a student and teach.

> 2) Does not take Snape seriously when he suggests that Lupin knows how
Sirius
> Black is getting into the castle. Snape flies way off the handle here,and
> most of his accusations are unfounded, but he is right to a point, Lupin
is
> hiding the fact that Sirius is an Animagus. (MD aside, though I love that
> theory..waves at the Safe House)
>
I just made a tangential post on this a few minutes ago.  Yes, D did screw
up here, if nothing else, for being arrogant enough to believe that he has
all bases covered.  I theorized that part of Snape's job is to help D see to
the safety of the school, and here he is ignoring the advice of his Security
Chief.  Lupin *did* know about secret ways into the school that very few
knew about, ways that D doesn't even seem to be aware are there.  Snape, in
his ranting, tries to alert D to the possibility, but is summarily
dismissed.

> 3) Not a mistake, but an admission of imperfection.  Dumbledore freely
admits
> to Harry and Hermione that he cannot save Sirius Black from the Dementors.
> (But they can.)
>
>
>
> GOF:
>
> 1) When Harry's name comes out of the goblet, Dumbledore allows him to
enter,
> despite the age limit, the unfairness of having two contestants from one
> school, and the obvious conclusion that something fishy is going on.
>
It was a magically binding contract.  We don't know what would have happened
had Harry been forbidden to participate at this juncture.  Even the other
Headmasters didn't argue Harry being bound to participate, but more that it
wasn't fair for Hogwarts to have two champions and that they wanted to have
another champion each.  His age was also brought up (mainly by Fleur).  But
I don't remember there being too much discussion from the other Headmasters
about wanting D to forbid Harry from participating.  Once his name came up,
it was a done deal that he would have to participate, and Crouch Jr. knew
it.  If anything, D is guilty of not being able to spot Moody, which is
exactly what you address in your next point.

> 2)  Does not spot that Alastor Moody, whom he is implied to have known for
> some years, is a imposter until it is almost too late.
>
> 3)  Cannot convince Fudge of anything (which is hardly his fault, seeing
as
> Snape's Dark Mark can't either)
>
Nope, not his fault, since Fudge was being willfully blind and probably
wouldn't have wanted to believe V was back if V had walked back into the
room and told him he had returned and wanted to pick up where he left off.
Yes, I agree, D is not perfect, but there are some things that are not his
fault and shouldn't be laid at his feet, and then there is the Lupin thing
which is a very tough decision to make to begin with and could be debated ad
inifintum.  One last point to make on the Lupin issue.  I say before that
Snape was against Lupin being hired partly because he thought Lupin was in
league with Black and would help him get into the school.  I say D hired him
partly because he felt Lupin would be invaluable when it came to knowledge
on Sirius Black, since he was his only surviving friend from school.

Kelly Grosskreutz
http://www.idcnet.com/~ivanova