Dumbledore the Strategist

[eileennicholson at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 130638

 
>Betsy  Hp:
>snip<
>Dumbledore himself can do  nothing or he will be under
immediate suspicion. For Sirius to be rescued he  *had* to act
quickly. Harry and Hermione were his only options,  IMO.<


Eileen: 
I just thought that since he had  Sirius with him in the castle, he could 
have done something very simple, such as  hiding him somewhere or sending him off 
somewhere by magical means, and  just leaving the 'prison' door open. It 
would just add another strand to Sirius'  reputation for escaping. Using the time 
turner seemed unnecessarily complex if  the purpose was just to save Sirius. 
Why would Dumbledore be  immediately under suspicion? He provided (at least 
some of) the evidence that  sent Sirius to Azkaban in the first place (and - 
guessing here - I imagine he  tipped Fudge off about Sirius' whereabouts after 
Godric's Hollow). The only  one who might give him away is Snape, and although 
Snape is really mad at  him, I'm sure Dumbledore knows he wouldn't do  so.   
 
>Betsy Hp:
>snip<
>I do take issue with the idea that  Dumbledore cared little if Sirius lived 
or died. Dumbledore, while a very clever  and stratigic
thinker, has always struck me as someone with a heart. I  believe he
was horrified to realize that Sirius had been innocent this  entire
time, especially since his testimony helped send Sirius away. And  so
I think the rescue of Sirius was definitely an important part  of
Dumbledore's goal when he sent Harry and Hermione off on  their
adventure.<
 
Eileen: 
Having Harry save Sirius would be much better from Dumbledore's point of  
view than doing it himself, I agree; it fits in with his plans for Harry.  Was 
Dumbledore convinced of Sirius' innocence? I think he probably was, but  I'm not 
sure...did he want to save Sirius from the Dementors? Yes, I don't  think 
Dumbledore would wish that fate on anyone. 

>Betsy  Hp:
>snip<
>I agree with Michael that Harry's presence very nearly  screwed the
entire plan. Where I disagree with Michael is how quickly  Quirrell
was suspected. I think *Death Eater* activity was suspected  (hence
having Hagrid fetch the Stone to Hogwarts), but I think  Dumbledore
didn't realize it was Quirrell until Snape cottoned on to him  after
the troll incident. Since Quirrell was so young (and presumably  not
a Death Eater before his world tour) I'm sure they (Snape  and
Dumbledore) suspected an older more powerful Death Eater  working
behind him. I think the obstacles and the mirror were a  very
cleverly set up trap, and Harry was *never* supposed to be  involved.<


Eileen: 
He would have been confident of catching Quirrell in the trap...but he  
didn't need to, did he, as he already knew Quirrell was involved.  Presumably he 
was out to catch the older more powerful Death Eater as well,  and there was 
always the chance that this might turn out to be Voldemort...how  did he think he 
might achieve this? 
 
This post was returned to me for snipping, so I had a chance to think a bit  
more about it. ;-) When Dumbledore set up the Mirror of Erised, he knew  that 
Harry understood its secret, didn't he? The information about the Devil's  
Snare had already been taught to the first years, Harry and Ron should really  
have remembered it themselves. They'd already defeated a troll. Harry would be  
the ideal choice if you were looking for someone to catch a flying key from a  
broomstick. Hagrid was known for letting information slip out, and he was 
seeing  Harry outside lessons, perhaps encouraged by Dumbledore? Ron had 
demonstrated  his skills at Wizard's Chess. Hermione had proved to be good at logic, 
plus  we don't know whether there was actually any poison in the potion 
bottles. And  Dumbledore had provided Harry with the invisibility cloak. I think 
there are  some reasonable grounds here for considering that Dumbledore might have 
thought  the three friends would get  involved.       
 
>Betsy Hp:
>Again, I agree with the Prophecy being bait in a trap,  just like the
Stone in PS/SS. However I do disagree with the thought of  Dumbledore
being so cold blooded. Yes, the losses the Order endured were  small;
Sirius was their weakest member. But I think Dumbledore  highly
regrets his loss. >snip<

Eileen: 
I guess I'm just thinking back to the way it used to be - Voldemort in  power 
and seemingly unstoppable. Order members being picked off one by one.  
Dumbledore needing to find a weak link in Voldemort's armour. And he finds one -  
the prophecy. Perfect! If it hadn't existed, he'd have needed to invent  it. And 
it gave him the opportunity to introduce a flaw into Voldemort's  game plan, 
the fear and uncertainty of what Harry might do or become. And  to achieve 
this, Dumbledore was prepared to put Harry through living with the  Dursleys - 
and that seems to me to be rather cold-blooded.(I'm letting the  personal 
element creep in here; I worked in Local Authority Children's  Homes for a while and 
saw a lot of examples of the damage done.) And I don't  think having Sirius 
as Harry's guardian would have suited Dumbledore at all,  either after Godric's 
Hollow or after Azkaban. I'd be really pleased to be  convinced about 
Dumbledore's good intentions, so help me out here if you can,  but I'm a bit 
concerned that he thinks sometimes the end justifies the  means....... 
 
Eileen  Nicholson    


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