Does Dumbledore love Harry?

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 124845


<SNIP>
> 
> Bethany again:
> 
> I guess I don't know what you mean by "Either way he loses Harry".  
> I mean, couldn't Harry defeat Voldemort without losing his life?  
> There's nothing in the prophecy that we know of "for sure" that says 
> if one dies the other has to as well. I'm more of the belief that 
> when/if Harry defeats Voldemort, he will lose the powers that he 
> shares with him. I don't think Harry has to necessarily turn to the 
> dark side to stay alive.  But, if it is fated that way, then 
> Dumbledore will definitely be losing someone very dear to him, and 
> yes, someone he loves.  

Okay, what I meant was this:

On a surface reading of the prophecy "Either must kill the other
because neither can live while the other survives" there are three
possibilities:

1)  Harry kills Voldy.  Harry survives.  WW survives.
2)  Harry kills Voldy.  Voldy kills Harry.  WW survives.
3)  Voldy kills Harry.  Voldy survives.  WW destroyed.

There IS no option "Harry survives.  WW destroyed."  Therefore the
choice posited for Dumbledore "Saving Harry at the expense of the WW"
is obviated.  In order for Harry to survive the WW must be saved.  JKR
has constructed the prophecy in such a way that we need not have much
fear that DD's love for Harry and his love for the WW will come into
direct conflict.  If Harry is to survive he HAS to save the WW.  There
is no way DD can decide to value Harry's life over the WW, because
that just isn't an option.  If the WW goes down, so does Harry.




> 
> No one can convince me that Dumbledore does not love that kid.  
> Harry's strength, his sheer will to survive through all the 
> heartache he's been through - we all love him, how could Dumbledore 
> not?  I especially see it in the end of book five when he speaks 
> with Harry so patiently after Harry is raging and throwing things in 
> his office.  It's very apparent to me.  But, as I said before, love 
> and sacrifice go hand in hand.  In the end, love won't matter as 
> much as duty and the greater good...

But that flies DIRECTLY in the face of the end of OOTP where LOVE is
what is emphasized, NOT duty.  Now, you might posit that sacrificial
love is what will be seen (i.e. Harry decides to give up his life to
save the WW).  But I don't see any indication at all that JKR sees
that as DUTY.  As you said in your penultimate sentence, sometimes
love and sacrifice go hand in hand.  I think she would say that she is
interested in love, and not very interested in duty.  Furthermore, I
strongly, STRONGLY, suspect that any sacrifice will be portrayed as
Harry's choice, not DD's.  JKR just doesn't seem AT ALL interested in
exploring that kind of theme.


Lupinlore