Yet another DD Dursley thread (was Harsh Morality )

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 121045


Lupinlore: <snipping>
> As to the idea that DD was preserving a weapon or arranging things 
so 
> Harry would not be arrogant, IMO those are also non-starters, 
given a 
> Good Dumbledore.  The only moral reason for his decision is to 
> preserve Harry's individual life.  Sorry, but when push comes to 
> shove all "the good of the many" stuff just doesn't cut it.  

Jen: I'm not convinced Dumbledore felt he was making a Good decision 
when he left Harry with the Dursleys, but I am convinced at the time 
he felt like he was making the Right decision for both Harry and the 
WW.

There were very compelling reasons for Dumbledore to keep Harry away 
from the WW until he was old enough to start making decisions for 
himself, i.e., 11 years old. Harry chose, completely on his own, to 
attend Hogwarts. And he did that without knowing anything about 
being prophecy boy, or that the weight of the WW was resting on him. 

To raise Harry in the WW was the equivalent of taking away all his 
choices in Dumbledore's eyes. And yes, I believe for Dumbledore that 
is the most heinous of crimes. Raising Harry in the WW would be 
truly turning him into a weapon. The chance that Harry would be 
manipulated into doing what Dumbledore and others expected of him 
was enormous that way. 

The DE's were shocked in OOTP that Harry had no clue about the 
prophecy.  In their minds, Harry would already know long before age 
15 that his only purpose in life was being groomed to defeat 
Voldemort. He was spared that cruelty by Dumbledore's choice, even 
though he was forced to endure another type if cruelty at the 
Dursleys (more on that below).

I didn't state it exactly right in my previous post, but I don't 
believe Dumbledore *sacrificed* Harry for the good of the many. 
Instead, he believed both were important, that to be truly 
compassionate one must love the individual human beings while 
attempting to improve the condition of humanity at the same time.

Lupinlore:
> Now, I'm hoping rather against hope we are going to discover that 
> Petunia and/or Vernon drove an incredibly stiff bargain that 
prevent 
> DD from acting.  That is, that DD was in effect restrained against 
> his will.  I don't have warm fuzzies on that one, though.

Jen: It is clear the Dursleys felt their main job in raising Harry 
was to knock all the magic out of him. They seem to honestly believe 
this is not only Good for Harry, but also their moral obligation. 
And when the owls start arriving with letters to Hogwarts, it's 
quite obvious that the Dursleys never, ever expected to have 
anything to do with the WW again. They are shocked, enraged, 
defensive and desperate in their attempts to keep Harry away from 
Hogwarts and magic away from everyone.

In my mind it's clear the Dursleys would only accept Harry if they 
were able to raise him as they chose, i.e, by erasing the WW and all 
mention of magic forever. 

Jen