Dumbledore's Choice (was Draco's Choice )

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 137254


Betsy Hp: 
(with many snips)
> Honestly, I think that when Dumbledore gives Draco a benediction of 
> sorts, 
> So Dumbledore again reminds Draco that he has a choice here.
> 
> 
> And again, Draco chooses not to kill Dumbledore.  And so again, 
> Dumbledore delivers his benediction.
> 

> This is followed by that incredibly powerful exchange:
> 
> "You're at my mercy...."
> "No, Draco," said Dumbledore quietly.  "It is my mercy, and not 
> yours, that matters now."  (592)
> 
> And Draco, with the freedom to choose finally returned to him, 
> lowers his wand.  Even with the temptation of the four Death 
Eaters, 
> who five times by my count try to turn Draco into a killer, Draco 
> shows us (and Harry) who he truly is: he is not a killer; he is an 
> innocent.
> 
> 
> I think the true measure of Draco's worth will be found in book 7.  
> Thanks to Dumbledore, Draco will finally be allowed to make the 
> choices that will show us who he is.  Based on his first major 
> choice, I think Draco will turn out well.
> 



Potioncat:
Lovely post, Betsy. It's taken me awhile to get my thoughts
together to respond, and I've read the other reactions to this one as 
well. 

Here are two quotes from JKR about HBP:

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****************


Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview July 16, 2005: Harry Potter 
and the Half-Blood Prince publication day
Edinburgh, Scotland


But I thought of Draco as someone who is very capable of 
compartmentalizing his life and his emotions, and always has done. So 
he's shut down his pity, enabling him to bully effectively. He's shut 
down compassion — how else would you become a Death Eater? So he 
suppresses virtually all of the good side of himself. But then he's 
playing with the big boys, as the phrase has it, and suddenly, having 
talked the talk he's asked to walk it for the first time and it is 
absolutely terrifying. And I think that that is an accurate depiction 
of how some people fall into that kind of way of life and they 
realize what they're in for. I felt sorry for Draco. Well, I've 
always known this was coming for Draco, obviously, however nasty he 
was. 
Harry is correct in believing that Draco would not have killed 
Dumbledore, which I think is clear when he starts to lower his wand, 
when the matter is taken out of his hands. 


Grossman, Lev. "J.K. Rowling Hogwarts And All," Time Magazine, 17 
July, 2005

Granted, we know Harry will not succumb to anger and evil. But we 
never stop feeling that he could. (Interestingly, although Rowling is 
a member of the Church of Scotland, the books are free of references 
to God. On this point, Rowling is cagey. "Um. I don't think they're 
that secular," she says, choosing her words slowly. "But, obviously, 
Dumbledore is not Jesus.")

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****************

Potioncat:

JKR knew what she was doing when she said, "DD is not Jesus".
 
Frankly I'm surprised we haven't gotten any `take this
cup' 
and `Jesus and the two thieves' posts.  At the beginning of
the tower 
scene DD is injured, but still very much in control. He hexes Harry, 
banters with the DEs, shows his disapproval of Grayback, and waxes 
philosophical with Draco. Physically he appears to get weaker, but 
mentally he is strong.

"It is my mercy and not yours that matters now." DD is not
talking 
about a witness protection program. He is talking about something 
magical. He gives Draco the choice (3 times) and finally Draco 
chooses. 

So far as we know, (and of course, we don't know) Draco has not
yet 
performed an Unforgivable Curse. He started to say "Crucio"
in the 
bathroom, but was interrupted.  Harry has gotten farther than that! 
In the remaining frantic moments of the evening, Snape will prevent 
Harry from performing Unforgivables. It appears to me that it is 
important to DD and Snape that these boys do not perform that level 
of Dark Magic.

Separate from any theories of whether this outcome had been planned, 
whether it is an AK, whether Snape is ESE is this idea:

DD did not incapacitate Draco as he could have. He left him fully 
able to make a decision and to act upon it. I really don't think
DD 
needed a wand to overcome Draco, even in his weakened condition. 
Draco makes his choice. He is not going to kill DD; and DD does not 
want Draco to be killed. 

Snape arrives. Draco has failed to kill DD and Snape must do so or 
die himself. He could take on the other DEs and go down fighting 
them. It's not clear at this point what DD's real condition
is and 
whether he could fight as well, if his wand were at hand; nor whether 
DD could survive afterwards without Snape to help him. 

But DD has made a choice. He is the sacrifice. He is doing something 
of magical importance.  This sounds very much like Lily's
sacrifice, 
although I'm not sure if he sacrificed himself for Draco or
Snape, or 
both. (If Snape is ESE, then DD has given his life to protect Draco. 
If Snape is loyal and following orders, DD has sacrificed himself for 
both.)

By having Snape perform the spell, Draco is kept innocent of both 
murder and of performing an AK.  If Snape avoided a real AK, he may 
have done less damage to his soul (assuming there are levels of 
damage) or he may have taken on the "sin" of an AK to protect
Draco 
from the consequences. Snape as sin-eater; yet a new role for the 
Potion Master. 

When Harry gets back to DD's body, DD's face is peaceful.
Whatever 
the final cause of his death, he died prepared and at peace and 
having set something in motion. God knows, I wouldn't be at peace
if 
I were AKed or fell off a tower, but then, I wouldn't sacrifice 
myself for a toe-rag like Draco. 

Potioncat