Of Caves and Tarot Cards

[mt3t3l1]

No: HPFGUIDX 135447

Thanks for replying to my post. Here are some further thoughts:

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at e...> 
wrote:
> Merrylinks:
> > <snipping>
> > In spite of Harry's warning that Draco has fixed something and
> > that Hogwarts is in danger, Dumbledore dismisses Harry's fears and
> > chooses to go to the cave to hunt for the Horcrux. As a result, 
> > Hogwarts will be invaded by Death Eaters, including one who is a
> > notorious werewolf.
> 
> Jen: Dumbledore is very intent on Harry not getting side-tracked by 
> the Draco situation. Since Harry is prone to reckless choices at 
> times, I think that's probably a wise decision. And Dumbledore may 
> not be ignoring what Harry tells him either, just trying to 
redirect 
> him back to the more important business at hand.
> 
> I don't believe Dumbledore knew the extent of Draco's plan, i.e. 
the 
> Vanishing cabinents nor DE invasion. But he knew Draco was 
> attempting to kill him. He's not at all surprised when Draco 
corners 
> him on the tower.


Here is what Harry said to DD just before they left for the cave:
"You're leaving the school tonight, and I'll bet you haven't even 
considered that Snape and
Malfoy might decide to --"
"To what?" asked Dumbledore, his eyebrows raised. "What is it that
you suspect them of doing, precisely?"
"I...they're up to something?" said Harry..."Professor Trelawney
was just in the Room of Requirement...and she heard Malfoy whooping,
celebrating! He's trying to mend something dangerous in there and if
you ask me, he's fixed it at last and you're about to just walk out
of school without --"
"Enough," said Dumbledore. He said it quite calmly, and yet Harry
fell silent at once; he knew that he had finally crossed some
invisible line. "Do you think that I have once left the school
unprotected during my absences this year? I have not. Tonight, when I
leave, there will again be additional protection in place. Please do
not suggest that I do not take the safety of my students seriously,
Harry."
"I didn't --" mumbled Harry, a little abashed, but Dumbledore cut
across him.
"I do not wish to discuss the matter any further."


The way I read that, Harry's concern is not Draco, but the safety of 
the school. Dumbledore dismisses his concern. If Dumbledore's boggart 
is causing other people suffering or death because of his own 
mistakes, he has now set himself up to experience that very thing. 
(We agree that DD is not worried about Draco's attempts on his life.)

> 
> Merrylinks:
> > I think Dumbledore is seeing his future.<
> <snip> 
> > As Dumbledore drinks the potion, he says, "Make it stop;" "It's
> > all my fault;" "Don't hurt them;" "Please...no not that."  All of 
> > these are consistent with what he is going to learn when he 
> arrives 
> > at the Astronomy Tower. 
> <snipped rest of explanation, see upthread>
> 
> Jen: You know, you may be right. He seemed to be reliving his past 
> mistakes, but actually Voldemort would find it much more 
interesting 
> to force someone to see his own death, wouldn't he?? The thing 
> Voldemort fears the most. He assumes everyone would be tortured by 
> the thought. But DD doesn't fear dying or the ways he might die.
> 
> My only quibble, if he's seeing the future: Dumbledore seems to be 
> begging and pleading in the cave, something he doesn't do on the 
> Astronomy Tower (I'm of the camp he's not begging Snape to spare 
his 
> life, but asking him to do what he must). The begging and pleading 
> still makes me think he's being flooded with past memories, 
> exaggerated many times over and magnified by the potion.


My read on DD's begging and pleading in the cave is that it's not for 
himself, but for the safety of the students. If you are right, if the 
potion magnifies a person's greatest fears and guilts, sort of like 
an extreme dementor attack, then DD's constant pleading is consistent 
with that. On the Tower he acts more in character, but recall that 
when DD says, "Severus...", it says, "The sound frightened Harry 
beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, 
Dumbledore was pleading." Pleading, not for himself, but for the 
safety of the students, just as he had in an extreme way in the cave.

What do you think?

Merrylinks

P.S I like your idea that Voldemort would find it much more 
interesting to force someone to see his own death because that is 
what Voldemort himself fears the most.