What about the Door?

[a_reader2003]

No: HPFGUIDX 99568

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "potioncat" <willsonkmom at m...> 
wrote:
> 
> I snipped a great deal. Very good post and you brought up a lot of 
> good questions.  I hope we haven't found a major flow in the 
> writing...but given Jo's details in the rest of the series, I'll 
> overlook it if we have.
> 
> It is very hard to believe that DD didn't know the marauders could 
> transfigure.  Does anyone know where it is that DD speaks about 
it.  Was he misleading us again?  And certainly, he knew after the 
prank that the boys knew about the tunnel and the way to disarm the 
tree.

Carolyn:
Probably. What he says (POA, p.312, UK edition) is: 
'Sirius told me all about how they became Animagi last night', said 
Dumbledore, smiling. 'An extraordinary achievement - not least, 
keeping it quiet from me. And then I remembered the most unusual form 
your Patronus took, when it charged Mr Malfoy down at your Quidditch 
match against Ravenclaw. So you did see your father last night, 
Harry..you found him inside yourself.'

This doesn't say when he found out for the first time, only that he 
heard Sirius confess to their activities the previous night. It also 
only comments on his admiration for the Marauder's working out how to 
become Animagi without him knowing, not that he wasn't subsequently 
aware of a werewolf accompanied by two huge animals roving the 
grounds. And he more or less admits that he was previously aware of 
the unusual form that James' patronus took.

Since Lupin was always accompanied by the other Marauders at all 
other times, and two of them in particular were extremely clever, and 
a by-word for trouble, it would not have been difficult for 
Dumbledore to work out what was going on once it was reported to him. 
Perhaps he thought Lupin deserved to run about in the fresh air, 
provided he was supervised - a very Hagrid POV! 

[And that's another person who must have spotted the four of them - 
Hagrid loves big dangerous animals, and was already an apprentice 
gamekeeper during their time at school. He would be the most obvious 
person to keep Dumbledore informed, even if he had no idea who the 
werewolf really was - again, surely he would?]

The alternative is assume SillyOldBuffer!Dumbledore - which I am 
greatly tempted to do at times.

Carolyn