Dumbledore, Leader of Men (and Women) (was: Chapter Discussions: Chapter 4)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 83934

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "jwcpgh" 
<jwcpgh at y...> wrote:
> > Laura wrote:
> > "...Also, I'm not sure all of the tensions among the Order 
members 
> can be called petty. Yeah, Molly is way out of line throughout 
> OoP...."
> >  
> > Paula now:
> >  
> > Laura, why do you say Molly is way out of line?  <snip> 
> 
> Laura:
> 
> When she made that crack to Sirius about his not being a 
responsible  godfather because he spent 12 years in Azkaban, I 
lost my patience  with her.  She started out as a loving, if ditzy, 
mom type.  And  there's no doubt that she has been kind and 
welcoming to Harry.  But  as we've seen more of her, we see that 
she can't let her kids learn  independence.  She treats them all 
like they were 4 years old,  including anyone she decides to treat 
as her kid, i.e., Harry and  Hermione.  (Remember in GoF when 
she started being snotty to  Hermione because of the story Rita 
wrote about Harry, Hermione and Viktor?  That was just wrong.) 
<<

First place, Molly never says that Sirius was an irresponsible 
godfather. She says he's been known to act rashly, and everyone 
knows this is true. Sirius himself doesn't deny it. In fact, he 
knows that it was a rash act of his that led to his being 
imprisoned in Azkaban, and that's why Molly's taunt has so much 
sting to it.


I'm not sure I understand what the Skeeter episode has to do 
with treating people like they're four years old.  Molly was misled 
by Rita Skeeter, but who was to tell her things were otherwise? 
You think Ron wrote home and said, "Harry's all upset because 
the Prophet made Hermione out to be a scarlet woman and 
Harry doesn't like her that way at all?"

Laura:
> By the time we get to OoP, she has decided that she can 
ignore the  wishes of Harry's parents and insert herself in loco 
parentis to Harry. Why?<

Um, because Dumbledore asked her to? Because Harry's been 
writing Ron for a month asking when he can come to the 
Burrow?   Molly put her own family at risk, first  by giving Harry 
refuge from the Dursleys and then involving herself in the Order. 
Then  Sirius said she didn't have any rights in Harry. That was 
pretty unfeeling  of him. 

Especially when she'd spent the last month cleaning up *his* 
house, with out much help from him, apparently. If I had to keep 
house for a slob  who insisted on keeping a horse-sized 
carnivore in his bedroom, and wasn't even grateful to me for it, I'd 
be pretty ticked off with him myself.

Of course Molly's a little nuts by the time we see her in OOP. 
She's been fretting about Harry for a month and  no happier 
about his being stuck at the Dursleys than he was. And she 
doesn't know why any more than Harry does. But she's the suck 
it up and deal type. She's trying to cope by putting the danger out 
of mind and assuring herself that Dumbledore knows best.

But she has to put up with Sirius grumbling about Dumbledore 
all the time not to mention  whatever  wild talk Sirius indulged in. 
Probably hatching one halfbaked scheme after another to spring 
Harry from the Dursleys without Dumbledore's permission or 
lam it with him from the Ministry ditto.

Laura:
<snip>  It's not like Harry went to Molly for advice 
> at any point throughout the 5 books. 

And that had to hurt. He wrote to Hermione, Sirius and Ron, but 
not her, the ungrateful pup. And after all those Christmas 
presents and birthday  cakes too. :P

Pippin