Foolish, but benign, DD (was Etiquette)

[ornadv]

No: HPFGUIDX 142681

>Lupinlore

>Well, I think that would have been VERY MUCH the point. In a lot of
>ways, DD comes across as a fool no matter how you cut it.
>It makes DD look like a bungler, particularly
>considering his disastrous failure to handle the Snape/Harry
>relationship (and once again regardless of whether he was correct to
>trust Snape or not), but better a benign bungler than a cold
>manipulator.

Orna
I think it has to do, with what DD vision is of helping Harry (and 
other people) to develop. In PS McGonagall is quite shocked, having 
Harry grow in such a Muggle and Bullying Family. She is right in 
telling him, that lots of Wizarding Families would be happy to raise 
Harry.   DD, who doesn't speak then about the blood-protection, 
prefers Harry to grow in a family, which doesn't treat him as some 
special phenomenon, and thus "magically" protect him from the 
hardships of growing. I mean, Dudley is some perverted mirror, of 
what might happen to a boy raised in unending and unrealistic 
spoiling admiration. It seems, he hoped Harry would have a more 
balanced upbringing – he was wrong. And, as you say – not the only 
time. Does it make him foolish? I'm not sure. It has the hallmark of 
being to optimistically trusting – when you shouldn't be. But, after 
all, these are complicated life-situations, and I'm not sure, I 
would be happy with a magical/coercive solution to them. On the 
other hand - you have a point – I mean, if something wrong and 
abusive is going on, and you have some sort of power to put an end 
to it – wouldn't it be your ethical duty to do it? 
I was thinking, that for some reason, in many complicated 
situations, DD prefers the non-magic way of speaking calmly, and 
forcefully (or the human way of magic – if you want to call it like 
that  - talking, relating)  – and letting life take his choices . It 
happens in the trial of Harry, in OotP, it seems in his dialogues 
with Snape, and of course his treatment of Tom Riddle, while he is 
at school. I'm sort of trying to think on what occasions he chooses 
magic. 

I think there is some complex interplay between cold and sometimes 
amused manipulation, magic, and sincere talking. And I'm not able to 
locate the key to when he chooses which. But all in all, I have the 
feeling, that the further the books advance, the magic gets more 
similar to human interaction and less big-bang magic. I think, 
that's what I meant, when I said, that the point wouldn't be to 
magically force the Dursleys to treat Harry better.  Should he have 
talked to them earlier? Perhaps. After all, we see him intervene 
with the Howler, when Harry's life is endangered by them. There is 
some detachment in his acting (not to mention having his study in a 
detached place guarded by ridiculous passwords). But it comes back 
to – what is his function for Harry, and the other people there – is 
he there to make their life as smooth as possible, or to guide them 
through finding their way in the sometimes unfortunate situations 
they are faced with, intervening actively, mainly when their life or 
developmental opportunities are seriously endangered. I mean, every 
social worker would have intervened earlier. But is this DD's 
function?


Orna -  just thinking aloud,  not dead-sure.