[HPforGrownups] What mistakes Dumbledore made? Re: Loyalty & Trust

[Sherry Gomes]

No: HPFGUIDX 139815

Pippin:
> Snape has many times made Harry unhappy. He has threatened to
> do worse. But when has Snape *ever* between the time  he returned 
> to Hogwarts and the events on the tower, endangered Harry or
> any other child? We can't fault him for the failure of the 
occlumency
> lessons any more, not if we're taking things at face value, right?

Alla:

Sure we can, Pippin. :-) Remember Harry feeling worse after the 
lessons? Harry may be damaged to learn Occlumency, but I am doubting 
that Occlumency per se made him hurt that much. JMO of course.



Sherry adds:

And here we have one of Dumbledore's biggest mistakes, except for trusting
Snape of course, the fact that he didn't sit Harry down and explain the need
for occlumency.  Now we know that Harry wouldn't have been good at it
anyway, but neither we nor Harry knew that in OOTP.  If Dumbledore had
really explained it, no, not Snape, but Dumbledore, instead of being too
afraid to look at Harry that year, Harry might have tried harder.  Maybe
not, considering the teacher, but he might have tried.  At least he would
have known why he should have.  Perhaps, Voldemort might not have been able
to trick him into trying to rescue Sirius, and Sirius might not have died.
That is not to say I blame Dumbledore for that, because I lay the blame
squarely on Bella and Voldemort.  and Harry, being Harry, would probably
have had to go and be sure Sirius was ok.  But still ... things could have
been different.



Pippin: 
> And at face value, a shove that knocks a boy to the ground and
> a jarfull of cockroaches that misses is just a shove and a miss, 
not
> an attempt at murder.

Alla:

Sure it is not attempt at murder, but this is an attempt to 
physically hurt a student, just as a throwing curse at Harry at the 
end of HBP.



Sherry now:

And even if we didn't have the ending of HBP, no provocation should cause a
teacher to shove a student and throw a jar at him!  Even though Harry was
wrong to look in the pensive, Snape was wrong to physically react as he did.


Sherry