Uncharacteristic Dumbledore

[Matt]

No: HPFGUIDX 138138

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Chris" <labmystc at y...> wrote:
> [Troubled by Dumbledore's demeanor in HBP.]  [L]et's discuss 
> what we know about Dumbledore up to the beginning of book six.
>   
>   (1) He is always kind and thoughtful, and has a playful sense 
> of humor.
>   (2) He is polite to the extreme.
>   (3) He doesn't fail to admit when he has made a mistake, and 
> will be the first to admit "the trappings of an old man."
>   (4) He has an extreme amount of patience with Harry, and 
> shows a generous amount of compassion and caring towards him.
>   (5) He is widely known as the most powerful wizard in the 
> world.

All true, but let me add a couple of background points we also know. 
(A) Dumbledore is getting older.  (B) Dumbledore's heart-to-heart with
Harry at the end of OP marked a change in their relationship -- he has
decided to treat Harry as an adult.  (C) Dumbledore also feels guilty
about his past "hands-off" treatment of Harry.

Also, let us speculate that along with (A),
(A') Dumbledore feels his days are coming to an end, giving him a
greater sense of urgency.

Let's see if that background can help explain the discrepancies you see.

>   (1 and 2) [Dumbledore's] sense of humor and politeness are 
> a bit out of whack in two instances, first at the Dursley's and 
> then with Slughorn. He forces his way past Vernon and into the 
> house, forcefully sitting all three of them on the couch, and 
> then proceeding to knock them about their heads with goblets 
> full of mead. 

OK, this was not Dumbledore at his most cordial.  He does start out
reasonably polite ("your agapanthus are flourishing"), and he
certainly did bring his sense of humor along for the ride, although
perhaps with a bit more bite than usual (something that all of our
background factors may help to explain):

"I don't mean to be rude"
"And yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often"

.....

"I would assume that you were going to offer me refreshment, but the
evidence so far suggests that that would be optimistic to the point of
foolishness."

.....

"Oh, I'm so sorry.  But it would have been better manners to drink it,
you know."

Too, almost every time Dumbledore strains the boundaries of manners,
it is in response to some fairly inexcusable remark of Vernon's.  The
one exception is actually the piece I found most out of character for
Dumbledore in the whole scene -- his criticism of the way the Dursleys
have raised Dudley.  I guess that piece bothered me more than the rest
because it was an *unnecessary* swipe, whereas everything else
Dumbledore did or said seemed responsive to the situation.

>   When he figures out Slughorn has transfigured himself, DD 
> pokes him very hard with the tip of his wand, hard enough to 
> cause Horace a little pain. 

Again, this one is a bit unnecessary.  It rubbed me a bit the wrong
way, too.  But it is just a poke in the belly, a part of Slughorn's
anatomy which has, shall we say, ample padding.  So, as for the force
of the poke, let me posit (A'), and as for letting Harry see it, (B)
provides a plausible explanation.

>   (3) He is very adamant about his trust of Snape, no matter 
> what Harry tells him.... [Dumbledore does] not even consider 
> Harry's suspicions....

Here you fail to take Dumbledore at his word.  He says that his trust
is not *without regard* to what Harry tells him, but *in spite* of
what Harry tells him.  He listens carefully to what Harry says, and
then indicates that he has other information that casts the facts
Harry views as suspicious in a better light.  We know only what Harry
knows, not what Dumbledore knows, so of course from our [Harry's]
perspective Dumbledore's reaction may not seem reasonable, but that
does not mean it is unreasonable from Dumbledore's perspective.

>   (4) When he orders Harry to retrieve the memory from Horace, 
> he is very angry and short with Harry when Harry tells him he 
> has failed to do so. He is also short with Harry when it comes 
> to discussing Severus Snape.

Dumbledore has, for the first time, given Harry a job, and Harry is
not taking it seriously.  This is (B), Dumbledore treating Harry as an
adult.  Likely also (A'), Dumbledore sensing that time is running out
on him.

>   (5) Perhaps the most important of all...regardless of how 
> old he is, or whether his reflexes are failing him, DD is a 
> powerful wizard.  When facing LV in the Ministry, he was very 
> casual, without fear, and was in complete control. Now comes 
> HBP...he allows a ring to nearly kill him, gravely injuring 
> him in the process. A potion weakens him to the point of 
> death. He is disarmed by a mediocre, teenage wizard with no 
> real talent.

Let's cut the guy a bit of a break.  At the Ministry he wraps up a
half-dozen Death Eaters and then outduels the second most powerful
wizard in the world with impressive composure.  Within a few weeks of
that, he has gotten the injured Order members patched up, finished up
the semester at Hogwarts, helped the Order move out of 12GP, located
and destroyed the ring horcrux, and started to put his staff in order
for the coming year.  Yes, he is injured by the ring, but as I pointed
out in a post earlier today, Voldemort spent around 30 years
exercising his considerable powers to create and hide these horcruxes.
 As we see with the locket, it's hardly child's play to get at them,
much less disarm them.  And Dumbledore is working alone when he
locates the ring.  

He still seems to be pretty effective at the cave.  They do, after
all, manage to penetrate the defenses and retrieve the locket.  I
don't think Dumbledore can be faulted for being weakened by the
potion, which was presumably the vilest thing that Voldemort could
dream up in order to protect the horcrux.  As for being bested by a
"mediocre teenage wizard," Draco has never been portrayed as mediocre,
and we saw Voldemort bested by a teenage wizard in book 4, so that
part is not unprecedented (particularly given Dumbledore's weakened
state).

-- Matt