Depth? Things to take on their face value (Was: Sirius' loyalty)

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 139848

> houyhnhnm:
> 
> What would have been the right choice, then?
> 
> 
> 
> Sherry now:
> 
> What about having a family like the Weasleys raise him?  Or perhaps 
having
> bothered to find out the truth about Sirius and then letting Harry 
live with
> his true guardian, the one his parents chose for him?
> 

Oh, Dumbledore had any number of options that were better than what 
he did.  For instance he might have put Harry into hiding with 
himself as secret keeper - it's certainly sufficed to keep Grimmauld 
Place secure even in the face of Voldemort's return, so it's hard to 
imagine it would not have worked against the likes of Lucius Malfoy.  
Even better, he could have put out the story that Harry had been 
killed along with his parents then had the boy brought up under 
another name -- out of the country, if necessary.  And no, I don't 
think the shock of learning his true identity, etc., would have been 
worse than what happened to him.  If nothing else, he might have 
dropped by the Dursleys for regular visits -- and no, I don't think 
the most powerful wizard in the world would be helpless in the face 
of a couple of muggles.  If he did not want to resort to coercion to 
secure appropriate treatment for Harry, bribery was always an 
option.  And no, I don't think that course of action would have been 
morally incorrect.  If he could not have done so because the Dursleys 
would have kicked Harry out, then we are back to the fact that he 
should not of placed him there to start with.

Actually, I think this is one of those things JKR unfortunately just 
didn't think through.  The Dursleys worked okay as the evil 
stepsisters in a fairy tale.  When JKR groped for realism they 
suddenly became problematic in the extreme, and JKR found herself at 
sea with an "epitome of goodness" that apparently tacitly approved of 
child abuse, or at least turned a blind eye to it as a result of some 
kind of cold-hearted calculation.  This particularly shows up with 
regard to the disconnect  between OOTP and HBP.  Much of HBP consists 
of a scramble back from the last part of OOTP and the implications 
thereof.  With regard to this issue, JKR seems to be saying, "Whoops, 
that sent a message I didn't intend.  Let's pretend that didn't 
happen.  Let's pretend Dumbledore didn't make that 'I knew you would 
suffer' speech and we'll have him make this one about'I hoped you 
would raise him as a son,' instead."  Along with that several other 
things have gone into the void. I doubt we'll ever hear more about 
Mrs. Figg and her reports, or about Dumbledore's plan, both will 
likely disappear quietly along with the questions they raise.  Better 
a loving but disconnected bungler who wrongly trusted the Dursleys 
than a manipulative and uncaring accessory to abuse who had detailed 
reports and yet took no action for whatever reason. 

Of course you can come up with scenarios to weave the end of OOTP and 
the beginning of HBP together.  But all of them make Dumbledore's 
speech at Privet Drive at least disingenuous if not down-right 
hypocritical.  That's no problem if you believe in Puppetmaster!
Dumbledore, but Puppetmaster!Dumbledore is largely a creature of the 
fandom, and I just don't sense that is where JKR is going or what she 
intended.  So, at the moment, barring further revelations I don't 
think we'll get, I think she is contented to let DD rest of a bed of 
well-meaning mistakes.


Lupinlore