Dumbledore knows? (Re: Speculating on Voldemort's conscience)

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 142384

Debbie:
> I don't have time right now to address most of Jen's points. I
> have been working on Potioncat's assignment....Though I've already
> missed the Monday deadline! 

Jen: Uh-oh, detention for you!;) I'll be glad to see a summary of 
all the many horcrux debates so far, as I've followed them and still 
can't make up my mind.

>  Debbie:
> I appreciate your dilemma, Jen. Of all the objections that have
> been raised to Horcrux!Harry, why Dumbledore didn't tell him is
> one of the most significant, because "Well, Dumbledore made a
> mistake" just doesn't seem consistent with his thorough
> consideration of the possibilities. I am coming around to the view
> that Dumbledore very much suspects that the last Horcrux is Harry,
> but deliberately withheld that information from him. Unlike "DD
> goofed" this explanation is very consistent with Dumbledore's
> behavior with regard to Harry. He may not lie to Harry, but he
> definitely withholds information....

Jen: Except he would be guilty of an outright lie in this case, 
telling Harry he believed the last horcrux was Nagini. He *is* the 
master of witholding information, and if he suspected Harry was a 
horcrux, I believe he would have evaded the question as he did with 
the ring story. Instead he told an elaborate reason why he believed 
it to be Nagini, even going into detail about living things acting 
as horcruxes (ding, ding, ding! Another tip-off for Dumbledore to 
consider Harry) and how Voldemort has so much control over her.

Another possibility I'm considering is denial on Dumbledore's part. 
He talked a good game about the nameless, faceless creatures who 
might die if he allowed his personal feelings for Harry to 
intervene, but I could live with a Dumbledore who could not get past 
his love for Harry :). Not exactly a heinous flaw for a man to have, 
eh? JKR said "immense brainpower does not protect you from emotional 
mistakes" and that "Dumbledore exemplifies this". If his wisdom did 
indeed isolate him as JKR said, could Harry have been the one crack 
in his armor, built up to protect others rather than himself? Even 
with all the resolve in the world, could his feelings for Harry have 
kept him skirting around the issue of Harry as a horcux, never quite 
allowing that possibility to surface?

Debbie:
> Telling Harry that after finding and destroying all of the other
> Horcruxes *and* Voldemort, he will likely have to kill himself
> isn't information that will help Harry in his quest; in fact it
> might weaken his resolve if he knows this is the last thing he
> will ever do. I think DDis relying on Harry to recognize what he
> has to do when the time comes.Until that time, for Harry to 
> entertain the possibility that he is a Horcrux is a burden; it
> will not help him at all in accomplishing his other tasks.

Jen: My thought is Harry would be almost relieved to know he is a 
horcrux, one less to worry about finding, you know?  He doesn't fear 
dying, understands the value of being like James and Lily and all 
the others who believe defeating Voldemort is a cause worth fighting 
and dying for. I *could* see Harry detaching himself from his 
friends if he found that out, something Dumbledore has always 
discouraged (perhaps because of his own mistakes in that area?). So 
that could be a reason for Dumbledore to withold, except that takes 
us back to the story about Nagini. *Sigh*. Circular.

Jen