Harry's behavior was Re: Riddle's information re:

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 83916

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Laura <jwcpgh at y...> wrote:

> No, I think that if DD had been honest with Harry from the time 
> Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place, Harry would have been able to 
> understand the situation, learn Occlumency and do everything he 
> could to keep LV from manipulating him.  Despite the poignancy of 
> DD's explanation at the end of OoP, Harry is not likely to be 
> persuaded by DD's stated motivation of potecting him, imo.  Hary 
> isn't bitter at the whole world at that point, but he's not too 
> pleased with DD, and the more he thinks about what happened during 
> the year, the less pleased he's likely to be.

Jen: Harry learns by experience, not by words; when he feels, he 
acts. Telling him everything sounds good in theory, but the outcome 
could have been disastrous as well. Dumbledore says: "You see...I 
believed it could not be long before Voldemort attempted to force 
his way into your mind, to manipulate and misdirect your 
thoughts....I feared the uses to which he would put you, the 
possibility he might try and possess you, Harry."  (OOTP, US 
hardcover, chap. 37, pgs. 827-828).

Harry wouldn't even have a chance to learn Occlumency properly 
before Voldemort would be accessing his mind for information about 
the Order, about the Prophecy, all without anyone from the MOM ever 
having to believe LV's back. What would Voldemort do that year, if 
not wasting time luring Harry to the Prophecy? Trying to use his 
connection with Harry to hunt him down and kill him, of course. 
Since "being vanquished" is LV's #1 fear, he would marshal all his 
resources to kill Harry first, then move on to the rest of the Order 
(or vice-versa, starting with the Order members to lure Harry to 
him).

Harry (the dear) for all his wonderful qualities, has a shadow side 
of being rash, impulsive and reactive. And out of the fiery crucible 
of his experiences in OOTP, he's starting to integrate crucial 
aspects of himself. Our first hint is when Dobby tells him about the 
Room of Requirement: "For a moment Harry was tempted to go now; he 
was halfway out of his seat, intending to hurry upstairs for his 
Invisibility Cloak when, not for the first time, a voice very much 
like Hermione's whispered in his ear: *reckless*." (OOTP, chap. 18, 
p. 387).

Harry will never have the luxury his father and Sirius had, to be 
a 'typical' teen full of arrogance, reckless abandon and boyhood 
pranks. His role will be one of life and death, and he *knows* that 
now, in a way no lecture, sermon or punishment could ever teach 
him. "It was his fault Sirius had died; it was all his fault. If he, 
Harry, has not been stupid enough to fall for Voldemort's trick...if 
he had only opened his mind to the possibility that Voldemort was, 
as Hermione had said, banking on Harry's *love of playing the 
hero*..." (OOTP, chap. 37, p. 821). Now, I think Harry is too hard 
on himself here, mistakes were made all around and Dumbledore is 
right to shoulder the blame. But the bottom line is, telling 
Harry "everything" at the beginning of the year would not have 
guaranteed anyone safety, especially Harry.

>The idea that an adult keeps you in ignorance in order to protect
>you is not one that kids understand. You have to be an adult to see
>why it might make sense to act that way. Kids want to be respected
>and trusted, not infantilized and patronized. And if the grownups
>who care for them want them to grow into thinking, responsible
>adults, they'll understand that and act accordingly. If the kid is
>old enough to ask the question, s/he's old enough to hear (at least
>some of) the answer.

Jen: The process of growing up and gaining independence is all 
about "intimacy  vs. induviduation" (if I remember my textbooks 
correctly!)--providing a secure base for an adolescent while 
allowing them more freedom of choice. And any adult who cares about 
an adolescent struggles to balance those two poles on a daily basis. 
Dumbledore, while not Harry's parent, is in the unenviable position 
of being the person *chosen* to hear the Prophecy (yes, the Prophecy 
could be a red herring as you mentioned, but Dumbledore appears to 
believe it's important and this belief underlies his relationship 
with Harry). 

Upon hearing the Prophecy, Dumbledore determines the Prophecy is 
real and sets out to play a very important role in Harry's life, a 
role that takes on added importance when Harry becomes an orphan. No 
one else save Dumbledore knows all the details about the Prophecy, 
the protections in place for Harry, Harry's role as the "One with 
the Power", basically the *only* one who knows about his entire 
life, like a parent would (or we think we do, anyway <g>). Molly 
loves Harry "like a son" and Sirius tries his best to make up for 
lost time, but neither have the history or knowledge that DD has 
about Harry. 

And none of these adults really know what's *best* when it comes to 
Harry--he's like no other person in the WW. Thus the fight in 
Grimmauld Place, where Molly wants to coddle him, Sirius wants to 
treat him like an adult (like James), and Dumbledore takes the 
middle ground, "need to know basis". It's a crap shoot, at best. 

Dunmbledore knows he failed Harry, "For I see now that what I have 
done, and not done, with regard to you, bears all the hallmarks of 
the failings of age." (OOTP, chap. 37, p. 826). This time I think 
Dumbledore is being too hard on himself, but as the adult it's right 
for him to take responsibility. Yes, he had to choose the lesser of 
two evils, but that doesn't change the outcome (and I don't think DD 
would argue with that premise!). 

And could the others have done better? Molly would want to keep 
Harry locked away with no information, for as long as possible. 
Sirius would happily turn into Padfoot and join Harry in all his 
adventures. I don't think Dumbledore acts totally unilaterally--
would Molly and Sirius really keep their opinions to themselves?!?
Together, somehow they all balance each other out and try to do 
right by Harry. It truly does 'take a village' to raise Harry ;)!