Dumbledore's decisions (was:Re: Depth? Things to take on their face value...)

[M.Clifford]

No: HPFGUIDX 139853

> Sherry:
> Don't get me wrong, I love Dumbledore.  But he is a far more     
> interesting character with flaws, one who makes huge mistakes,   
> than as the epitome of perfection and always being right.
> 
> > Betsy Hp:
> > I think in this case, Dumbledore was like Churchill in WWII, <snip>   
> > They did the best they could with what they had, and IMO, they 
> > made the right call.  One I'm grateful I've never had to make.  
> > But the very fact they had to live with their decision and I'm 
> > sure hated that they had to make that sort of choice means that 
> > neither are "the epitome of perfection".
> 
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Oh, I don't know about  the "best he could", Betsy. I am really not
> so sure about it.
> 
> I mean, not to go back to Dursleys, but checking on Harry once in a 
> while would have  been nice, especially since we know now that 
> Petunia did not have anything over Dumbledore's head <snip>

> And I certainly do not think that Dumbledore did the best he could  
> by Sirius, in fact I am more sure of it than with Harry's case, 
> <snip>
> 
> In Sirius' situation though, Albus went against the very basics of 
> Sirius' nature, when IMO it would have been easy enough to let 
> Sirius do something useful for the Order either by Using 
> invisibility cloak or in his animagus form, which was not widely 
> known ( I mean some knew, but I think that if Sirius knew that he 
> was doing something useful , he would have been more careful, IMO).
> 
> Instead he basically put Sirius' in  the house,which was more like a 
> prison to him and which made him succumb to depression with amazing 
> speed.
> 
> No, I don't think that was the best Albus could do.
> 
> 
> JMO of course,
> 
> Alla

Valky:
I'm really dissappointed that I cannot counter your argument strongly
Alla. You manage to make me empathise with your sense of failure on
Dumbledores part. I'd like to say well Alla, you're just wrong, but
IMO theres really no solid canon rebuttal for you, yet. Sorry that I
can't fully restore your faith in Dumbledore for you. ;p 

Even so, as failures go on Dumbledores behalf. These look just too big
to be taken quite at face value. (that's what this thread is about
still right?) At the very least, I am still very iffy about taking
Sirius' death and his torment in Grimmauld place at face-value-as-it
comes-from-Harry's-POV. Dumbledore does contend that Sirius was too
mature to be truly affected by the taunts of Snape. The compliment to
Sirius upon his maturity, which IMO implied wisdom and reason beyond
what Harry was able to comprehend at the time, strikes me as something
to be taken beyond its face value in Harry's POV, that Dumbledore was
just s wrong about that. IOW, as hard as it is, I would like to cling
to the shred that DD's mistakes did not and do not pervade what he
*knew* about things. What he felt is most definitely a different
matter, and it lead him astray, it seems. But Dumbledore made bold
claims in regard to what he *knew* about Sirius, and he further claims
to be the only one who *knew* what danger Harry was in following
Godrics Hollow. I suppose in that respect I must back the comparison
Besty makes to Churchill, there were certain things that DD could not
doubt, and choices that Dumbledore made upon those things, were
certainly regettable. But I think that they are *not* his mistakes, I
am sure we will discover this before the story concludes.

Now I know in OOtP Dumbledore sat Harry down to tell him everything.
And I am sure he did tell Harry everything, and, at face value, in
that everything there seems to be nothing. But Dumbledore said he
would *tell everything*, he didn't say he was going to then explain
what it means.

 
Valky