DD: an appreciation (Was Re: Snape, A Murderer?)

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 95917

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" <justcarol67 at y...> wrote:
> Kneasy responded: 
> I  was being sneaky and enticing you into committing youself before
> I quoted the extract below, because there's a possibility he already has. 
> > 
> > GoF chap.37
> > 
> > "He did not wish to tell me," said  Dumbledore. "But I am a
> sufficiently accomplished Legilimens myself to know when I am being
> lied to and I - persuaded him - to tell me the full story, before I
> left for the Department of Mysteries."
> > 
> > The bracketing of  a phrase with dashes, as above, is a generally
> accepted convention for the use of a euphemism, a bland phrase that
> replaces something not very pleasant or downright nasty. Is JKR
> following common prctice?
> > 
> > Now all we have to do is determine just what sort of 'persuasion' DD
> used when rushing to rescue Harry. 
> 
> Carol:
> I agree that "persuaded him" set off with dashes suggests something
> slightly unscrupulous, but JKR may be misleading us (again). More
> important, Kreacher is a house-elf, not a human being, so different
> means would probably be necessary to get the truth out of
> him--something related to the magic that binds Kreacher to the Black
> household rather than an Unforgiveable Curse or veritaserum. As DD has
> expressed disapproval of Sirius's treatment of Kreacher and has gone
> out of his way to help both Dobby and Winky, I seriously doubt that he
> Imperio'd, much less Crucio'd, Kreacher. It would be completely out of
> character--and altogether evil.
> 
> And you mean OoP, chap. 37, don't you?
> 

Yes, chap 37 is the reference I quoted.

>From what we have read so  far, I cannot see how DD could have any
influence on the bond between a House Elf and it's family. What possible
threat could DD use? Threaten to set him free? How? And Kreacher would
just love that anyway - he could slide off to a more typical Black household.
And if threats were all he used, why not say so? And he got lots more than
just where Sirius had gone; there were the orders from the Mafoys and
the admission of deliberate injury to Buckbeak.
No, magic was used there and DD was in a hurry - with a real emergency 
and a potential disaster to avert.   

And note that in chap. 37 he also claims that he  doesn't  care if numbers
of nameless and faceless people and creatures are slaughtered in the future
so long as Harry is alive, well and happy. If we take him at his word then
Kreacher was toast. He would have no compunction.

Let's look a little closer at this stain-free, gentle and very parfait knight that
you have constructed.

Has he ever expressed regrets over any of the deaths in the series so far?
None that I can find. Not even those, (Cedric, Sirius) for which he must bear
some responsibility. Cedric died because Harry was in the TWT, and Harry
was in the TWT because DD insisted that Harry was bound by a magical
contract that Harry did not make; something DD knew. No way would
Harry be able to confound the Goblet. He gives an end of term valediction,
true; but what does it consist of? Voldy killed Cedric, the same could 
happen to you, I hope you'll be as brave. He openly admits blame for what
happened to Sirius, but no regrets, no apology. No words of commiseration
over the deaths of James and Lily either, not even to McGonagall the day
after the event. This is a cold man, despite the copious crododile tears 
produced as emotional blackmail for Harry. Perhaps that's how he defeated
Grindelwald - he talked him to death.

And he's still holding things back from Harry. Chap. 37 again, where he's
explaining blood protection and Petunia:

"But she took you," DD cut across him, "She may have taken you grudgingly,
furiously, unwillingly, bitterly, yet still she took you, and in doing so, she
sealed the charm I placed upon you. Your mother's sacrifice made the bond
of blood the strongest shield I could give you."

"..the charm I placed upon you.. shield I could give you." Not "..that your
mother placed on you" or "..shield you could have." How the hell does
DD come to be involved in Lily's 'sacrifice' charm? It reads as if he thinks
that he arranged it, that it's not the automatic protection given by Lily's 
death and it's continuation through Petunia that many readers assume. 
"Unwittingly given" as Voldy says in the graveyard. And if DD did arrange 
it, it had to be planned in advance.

Of course, it is possible that it could be placed by DD unknown to Lily,
that way it would be unwitting so far as she was concerned, but it implies
that he thought the Fedelius charm was not going to be enough. That 
would clear up those questions about his power of Legilimancy and why
he never suspected Peter. If he did suspect and took precautions....
Wonder if he did the same with the Longbottoms? We'll only  find out if 
there's a showdown in St Mungo's and they sacrifice themselves for Neville.

Old magic. That's what  was used and that was Voldy's weak spot. He 
despises it. Again, the implication is that it does not happen automatically,
otherwise he would have known more about it. It must be invoked, it seems,
for it is 'magic' and not an in-built instinctive response that anyone can call
on. But invoked by whom - a young witch, good but not exceptional, or an 
old wizard who studies his enemy for weaknesses.

DD is not 'nice' but he is effective. That's what matters.

Kneasy