Why not BRIBE the Dursleys, for heavens sake?

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No: HPFGUIDX 123112


Tonks writes:
 
>DD does not bribe the Dursley's because he is a wise man who is too 
>good and too noble to do that sort of thing. Period.

Good one.  I can see his halo and wings.  Very shiny.

Jim Ferer writes:

>Morality is not so easy.  Are you saying that it is moral, ethical, 
>wise to allow Harry to be abused as he was, even if improving his 
>life would violate some principle?  Is nobility found in watching a 
>child be treated with cruelty?

Exactly the problem I had with DD leaving him there unattended for 10 
long years.  DD did not have to go through any legal system to help 
Harry.  I don't believe the bribery thing would work because, like 
someone pointed out, the Dursleys' greed would have grown and grown.  
However, I think the simplest of threats would have worked.  And it 
wouldn't even have to be specific.  DD would only have to tell 
them, "Treat Harry well or 'things' will happen to you.  'Things' 
that you will not like, oh no, you will not like at all."  The 
Dursley's hate and fear magic above all else - they wouldn't risk 
doing anything to Harry.

>No.  Dumbledore must not have the power, for whatever reason, to stop
>what happened to Harry.  Probably the protective spells would not 
have
>worked had the Dursleys taken him in because they were paid.  It 
seems
>to me that Dumbledore was not completely aware how awful the Dursleys
>were, or it was beyond his power to help Harry.

I hope JKR can come up with a darned good reason, because right now 
it looks like he blithely dropped Harry off, assumed the Dursleys 
were going to love him like their own son (even with McGonagall's 
warning), and didn't bother to check on him again.

>There's other ethical dilemnas about Dumbledore.  Why does he allow
>sadistic teachers like Snape to do what he does? There's a lot that
>goes on that is questionable.

I used to think that DD knew about everything that went on in 
Hogwarts, but now I'm more of the opinion that he has so many 
responsibilities that he really doesn't know too many intimate 
details about what goes on there.

Nicky Joe