Themes in OotP (was Re: Angry Harry in HBP?)

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 119890


Pippin:
> Mrs. Figg wasn't an old friend, true. But she could have told Harry 
> that the Order was keeping watch and couldn't let him know 
> more directly because the Ministry would just love to catch them 
> doing magic in front of Muggles. She could have told him that a 
> safe place was being prepared and that he'd be sent for once it 
> was ready.


SSSusan:
I agree, Pippin -- these comments from Mrs. Figg would've been 
wonderful.  My remaining question about the situation is, "Why didn't 
SHE *press* him to come?"  Surely she knew he thought of her as a 
batty old woman w/ cats who "babysat" him.  If he turned down tea, 
couldn't she have *pressed* it a bit, with a hint that she had 
something important to tell him from DD or something?  Again, I'm 
expecting more of the ADULTS in this book....

 
Pippin: 
> After the Arthur attack there's a problem. They don't want to let 
> Voldemort know how much they know, and Dumbledore has 
> already spotted him looking out through Harry's eyes.  
> Dumbledore can't be sure Voldemort won't be able to read other 
> people's minds through Harry's eyes, and only Snape can block 
> him.


SSSusan:
You're right about specific content and the Order's fear about Voldy 
being able to access it from Harry's mind.  But what about a more 
*direct* -- if necessarily vague -- admonition from DD to Harry?  Not 
*through* someone like Snape(!) or even Lupin, but directly from DD?  

Again, it could've been a letter.  Something that spoke earnestly & 
seriously about how Harry needed to work at Occlumency -- IN SPITE OF 
his *understandable* belief that the visions were helpful.  Couldn't 
DD & Snape have been in contact about how Occ. was going?  If they 
had been, surely Snape would've complained about how Potter wasn't 
trying hard enough, didn't seem to really want to block the visions & 
dreams.  Even with no report from Snape, DD knows about 
Harry's "saving people thing" and tendency to take everything upon 
himself.  DD needed to be SURE that Harry understood that, contrary 
to common sense as it might seem, there was a *reason* he must try to 
block the visions.  Even if DD couldn't tell Harry what that reason 
was, he could talk about its seriousness, talk about how dangerous it 
could be to Harry *and others* if he didn't.  Don't you think Harry 
would have listened to that if the tone had been serious? if DD 
acknowledged that he understood Harry's tendency to believe the 
visions and to distrust Snape?  I do.

For me it's about expecting MORE from the adults.  I'm not even 
talking about Harry's part, Harry's foul-ups, at this point -- of 
course there were some -- but just that if the ADULTS had cautiously, 
carefully, seriously approached him with this kind of (limited) 
information, things might have played out differently & less 
tragically.  

I know it's fiction and JKR wrote it the way she wanted to write it, 
but I'm getting back to the question which was raised by HunterGreen 
as to whether it was *believable* that so many adults would have 
failed Harry in this way.  As she said, "the whole situation was 
horrifically mismanaged" and I agree with that assessment.

Siriusly Snapey Susan