Time frame of OOTP

[juli17ptf]

No: HPFGUIDX 130129

Phoenixgod wrote:
> 
> Think about that when your letting Dumbledore off the hook for his 
> neglect, when your writing about how Snape's lessons in mind 
> violation was doing the best he could, when Harry rushed to his 
> grandfathers aid, thankful that he finally could at least *do* 
> something instead of sit like a mushroom.  Like he had for a year.
> 
> A year can be a very long time.
> 
> Phoenixgod2000, whose been thinking a lot about time lately because 
> his birthday was yesterday.(Are they supposed to be this depressing 
> when you aren't even thirty?)

Julie says:
  I really don't think anyone here has been letting Dumbledore off 
the hook. The argument is more along the lines of how to partition 
the blame. From your posts I'm guessing you'd assign the "blame" 
something like Dumbledore--85%, Snape--14%, and Harry 1%. Others 
would assign different percentages, and still others (myself 
included) would avoid the percentages because it's not really an 
accurate way to represent the mistakes made by all three, and, 
further, it's irrelevant now. 
 
I should add that these are mistakes which led to the confrontation 
at the DoM, which then led to Sirius dying (and Sirius made his own 
mistake in misjudging Bellatrix's intent and ability). Had any of the 
four taken different actions, it's possible the confrontation 
wouldn't have happened and Sirius wouldn't have died. But again, it's 
pretty much irrelevant, because no one is to blame for Sirius's 
*death* except Bellatrix. She killed him, nobody else. (Though some 
will throw in a bit of blame on Voldemort too, and probably rightly 
so.)

I've said it before, but my main reason for wanting Harry to shoulder 
his share of the blame--i.e., own up to his mistakes that helped set 
the stage for the DoM tragedy--is for his own sake, so he can 
recognize where he made mistakes and learn from them. And so he can 
accept what happened--NOT his fairytale version that "hateful and 
evil Professor Snape" caused his godfather's death, but the reality 
that Sirius died needlessly and tragically because of EVIL (the 
capital letter type of evil) perpetuated by Bellatrix and Voldemort. 
Because of EVIL that might be perpetuated over and over again on 
other innocent wizards if Dumbledore and his allies, including Harry 
(and-yikes-Snape), can't stand up to Voldemort and his cronies and 
take them down once and for all. 

When Harry owns up to his mistakes and places the blame for Sirius's 
death where it truly belongs, then he can move forward, and then he 
will be on his way to becoming not only a great wizard but a great 
man as well. (Something Snape, with all his anger and bitterness, is 
never going to be.) 

As for Dumbledore's mistakes and how they affected Harry, that's a 
completely different issue. The trust between them has been breached, 
and Harry will have to decide how and when--even if--that breach will 
be healed. (And healed doesn't mean it will ever be exactly the same 
again). 

Julie