Old, old problem.

[Shamyn D. W.]

No: HPFGUIDX 150962

> Alla:
> 
> Welcome to the list! 

Thank you.


> Shamyn D.W.: 
>> Even if it had been known for sure that
> > Voldemort was NOT dead (all Dumbledore had to go on was a prophecy,
> > remember), he was still too weak to be any kind of threat.  Other
> > kinds of magical protection would have been enough to protect 
> Harry.
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Dumbledore always believed that Voldemort indeed will be coming back 

What reason did he have, beyond Trelawney's prophecy? 

Alla:
> I mean, just look at what happened to Longbottoms, the parents of 
> another prophecy boy. That happened AFTER Voldemort was 
> supposedly  dead.

I thought the Longbottoms were tortured into catatonia by Voldemort
himself?


> Alla:
> 
> I have to apologise for voicing such a strong disagreement with your 
> first post. :)

I expected it! :-)

> 
> But yes, this is to me beyond the realm of possibility. It is 
> obviously only my opinion, but I never saw Puppetmaster
> Dumbledore lurking in the shadows of Potterverse.

No? To me it seems quite obvious that Dumbledore is very manipulative.
 He's never unkind about it, but it's there.

> May I ask you what in the books caused you to believe that 
> Dumbledore would do anything to modify anybody's personality, 
> including Harry's?

Read my stories. *grin*  No, really, it's more typing than I feel like
doing, and I DO set out some of my reasoning in my stories. Er... They
*are* H/D slash, though, so...

Shall we start with Dumbledore's not checking up on Harry's welfare in
almost ten years, nor sending anyone else to do so? He *knows* the
type of people the Dursleys are, after all. 

And then there's the person Dumbledore sends to get Harry. Hagrid.
Intimidating just by his size, quite prejudiced against Slytherin -
"there's not been a Dark wizard that didn't come out of Slytherin" (or
words to that effect) - a blatant untruth, btw. The man is also a
drunk and rather slipshod in his duties.  Almost any one of the other
staff would have been better.

And then we have Snape. Yes, he had a grudge against Harry's father,
and later he has to maintain a look of hostility towards Harry in
order to preserve his status as a spy, but again Harry is being
subjected to abuse.  

Even  a detached Dumbledore, if he's the kindly person he's made out
to be, would have tried to curb that, wouldn't he? And surely the
other staff have noticed? Why haven't any of them tried to intervene?

> Isn't Dumbledore always for people making their own mistakes and 
> finding their own paths in life? Isn't he a bit TOO detached in the 
> books and his approach is not really hands on?

That's part of the problem, though, isn't it. Harry is raised by
Muggles in such a way that he'd really have little knowledge of even
the way the Muggle world works. Then he's snatched to the Wizarding
world, and set free to make his own way, with no instruction in how
THAT world works.  That's not detached, that's... Well, I can't recall
the proper word. 

 
> Besides, you seem to agree that Dursleys environment was abusive, 
> what makes you think that Dumbledore would condone what Dursleys 
> did, especially after his little speech in the beginning of HBP?

Again, he didn't check up on Harry for almost ten years, did he?


> Shamyn D.W.: 
> > Even one of his strongest supporters, Minerva McGonagall, says
>>  that the Dursleys are "the worst sort of Muggles" and was against
>>  putting Harry there, although she bowed to Albus' authority in the
>>  matter.
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Because if he placed Harry for the reason you suggested, IMO he is
> a   monster and somehow I doubt that this is what JKR had in mind. 

Perhaps not, but that's what is there.  On the surface Dumbledore is a
kindly old man; but the things he's done or caused to be done!

> Oh, what part of Lily do you think needs to be modified in Harry? 

Thinking for himself, and I did mention the possible temper (the
latter of which Harry seems to have anyway). If Dumbledore truly did
believe Harry to be the one to eventually kill Voldemort once and for
all, he'd want a weapon that he - or someone - could control, wouldn't he?

> Isn't that the point of all this - for Harry to discover the best 
> parts of his parents in himself in order to win his quest, NOT to 
> forget about them?

I said nothing about Harry forgetting about them, but don't you find
it rather odd that Harry, even now, has been told so little about his
parents or other family? The Potters *had* to have had family records
stored away in a Gringotts vault, at least. Even if JKR didn't want to
go to the trouble of making up that past (a tedious and rather useless
activity, I admit), how hard would it be to mention that Harry had
spent some time researching his family records and now knew his history?

Draeconin