Strange Dumbledore, strange language, strange possibility)

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 141986

bboyminn:

> Two points here. First, I'm not buying any grand 
> conspiracy theories between Dumbledore and Snape. I'm 
> more inclined to believe it was a spur of the moment 
> thing at the top of the tower. Afteral, to assume they 
> could plan that unlikely event, is as ridiculous as 
> assuming they could plan the very unlikely and illogical 
> death of Sirus (referring to the circumstance, not the 
> actual death). Dumbledore accepted his fate, Snape knew 
> that there was a cause and a goal greater than the moment, 
> and they both accepted that they were and would be condemned.

> As to people's continued references to this as a children's 
> series, that is simply not true. JKR never wrote this with a 
> target audience, or if there was a target audience, it was 
> 'General' not children. The publishers marketed the books 
> to children, but that was a purely commercial decision, 
> thought admittedly a wise one, but JKR herself said that 
> she wrote these books for herself. If other people liked 
> them that was fine, but she was telling the story that had 
> to be told, and telling it the way it had to be told, and let the 
> chips fall where they may. So, the series is written for 'general' 
> audiences which includes kids, but doesn't necessarily target them.

houyhnhnm:

Oh, I agree.  I'm just hedging my bets.  I think both Snape and
Dumbledore, either together or separately (I'm not partisan on that
score) were trying to prevent such a scene from occuring all year.
Then, for whatever reason--coincidence, fate, karma (I'm partial to
the DADA curse theory myself)--Snape found himself in a situation
where he had no choice, if he really is DDM, but to kill Dumbledore. 
By Dumbledore's plan, I meant the plan to preserve the life of Harry
Potter so that he could defeat the Dark Lord.

But the argument has been made lately on this list, that one or
another interpretation can't be right because the resolution of the
plot has to be something that will resonate with a twelve-year-old.  I
don't necessarily agree;  I didn't participate in that thread.  But
it's been in the back of my mind. What if they are right?  Ginny343's
post got my mind off on a tangent.  What kind of plot contrivance
*would* satisfy this hypothetical twelve-year-old audience and satisfy
my adult taste at the same time.  It couldn't be a "plan" for DD to
have himself killed so Snape can get in tighter with Voldemort. 
That's just too revolting.  But a Dumbledore who, knowing his time was
coming to an end anyway, decided to take a couple of Voldie's soul
pieces with him.  That works for me.  And I think it would work for
the concrete operational contingent as well.

As for the Potter series not really being kids' books, it's not the
first time an adult work has been marketed as children's literature. I
had Junior Classics Illustrated editions of _Alice in Wonderland_ and
_Gulliver's Travels_ as a child, and neither of those are really
children's books (especially the latter).