Sirius and Prank again? Fools Rush in where Wisemen Fear to Go

[nrenka]

No: HPFGUIDX 130080

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Irene <irene_mikhlin at b...> 
wrote:

> Tom Riddle was a very different case - he wasn't socially fitting, 
> he was a manipulative sociopath.

True on the sociopathy part--but he sure did fool almost everyone 
else.  Well-liked, handsome, respected, not suspected, Services to 
the School, etc.  It says a lot about Dumbledore's skills of 
discerning character to figure out what seemed to elude everyone 
else, no?

<snip>

> And the victim is a generally very unpleasant child - might be a 
> liar, or as we had in one case, prone to stealing. It's very 
> difficult for an adult not to get into "servers him right"  
> attitude.

But how does this apply to Dumbledore and/or McGonagall, both of whom 
are presented as rather sharp in their judgements of people?

I have a hard time attributing a "serves him right" attitude 
especially to Dumbledore (I can perhaps see it with McG, but she's so 
strictly fair in most occasions that it's hard).  On the other hand, 
Dumbledore does like to generally let people work things out on their 
own.  At the moment, I'm disinclined to assume any gross idiocy or 
negligence in the past on Dumbledore's part, but again--this falls 
into the "oops missing evidence" area.

<snip>

> She can completely kill any sympathy I have for Snape, and I will 
> accept it.

You're a rara avis, in at least some circles--but that is my approach 
as well, the not betting against the author.  It's one reason why I'm 
reluctant to assume Dumbledore's idiocy or negligence regarding Snape 
and MWPP in the past--Rowling likes to make Dumbledore right, and 
that's powerful enough not to bet against with confidence.  It could 
always swing the other way, of course.

-Nora will have to go and statistically compile those apologia, 
someday