Dumbledore the Counselor (was: Dumbledore the General)

[naamagatus]

No: HPFGUIDX 124417


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "lupinlore" <bob.oliver at c...> 
wrote:

<snip> 
> Is Dumbledore a heartless manipulator who sees Harry
> as a weapon or is he someone who loves Harry as a person?  He can't 
be
> both.  Either he sees Harry as a person OR he sees Harry as a tool. 
> If he sees Harry as a tool he deserves the worst consequences
> imaginable.  If he sees Harry as a person that that is a whole
> different story.  I would argue, as you do here, that JKR would have
> DD see Harry as a person.  That is not, however, what you implied in
> your previous post.
> 


I don't agree with the either/or here. We all have layered feelings 
and thoughts about each other. On a romantic level, for instance, you 
can love someone and at the same time take into account his financial 
status when considering the relationship's future.  

Harry *is* the only one who can vanquish Voldemort. DD didn't do that 
and he can't fix it. There it is - a fact. All DD can do is make the 
best decisions while taking this critical fact into consideration. 
The fate of all humanity is on Harry's, and therefore DD's, 
shoulders. If Harry dies, Voldemort CANNOT be vanquished. I mean, 
this is fiction, so of course we don't really take it seriously, but 
think of it - Hitler, Nazism ruling the world for ever. In this 
fictional world, these are the stakes. 

DD would be an irresponsible fool if he didn't take Harry's destiny 
very, very seriously. From this perspective, it's his love for Harry 
that requires justification. DD himself thinks that it is morally 
suspect - that the issue at stake is too large for personal feelings 
to play any part in it. 

I agree that JKR would have DD see Harry as a person. In fact, going 
by DD's own words, he does. But I think that it's not a simple issue. 
Choosing between the well-being of a person you love and the life, 
liberty and happiness of billions? How can it ever be simple or 
straighforward? 


Naama