Regressed Harry and DD

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 163175

Carol earlier:
> > Harry, as you say, is sixteen. DD is 150-plus. He's had much more
> > experience with life and people than Snape, and in the past, he has
> > usually been right. Harry ought, by now, to respect Dumbledore's
> > judgment. <SNIP>
> 
> 
> Alla:
> 
> He was usually right in the past? On the top of my head, I can bring 
> up several instances of Dumbledore being wrong. Some of those are 
> admitted by Dumbledore, thank goodness - like  whole OOP mess, some 
> of those like not figuring out who real Moody is and accordingly 
> failing to protect Harry from Graveyard are in my opinion quite 
> clear as well. So, what exactly Dumbledore did, which was so right 
> and Harry therefore **has to** respect his judgment?
>Carol responds:

Carol responds:
I didn't say "has to." That's your phrase. I said "ought." IOW, Harry
*should* respect DD, not Harry *absolutely must* respect him. There's
an important difference, and "should" or "ought to" is, of course, my
opinion. I sincerely hope that one of the lessons Harry will learn in
HD will be that DD's judgment *was* worthy of respect. And DD himself,
as a person, mistakes and all, deserved his respect as well because he
always did what he thought was right, no matter how difficult his
choices. If Harry is going to mature into a man worthy of respect
himself, he needs (IMO) to understand that the principles DD stood
for--fairness, choices, second chances, and all the rest--are *at
least* as worthy of respect as reckless courage and a saving-people
complex. Dumbledore genuinely cares about people, even those who have
gone beyond his ability to help, like Voldemort. He subtly guides
people yet allows them to make their own choices, including mistakes.
And Harry, thanks to Dumbledore, now has the makings of a hero. I
wonder if the same could have been said of him if he'd had some other
mentor, say Sirius Black. I rather seriously doubt it.

Carol, realizing that the distinction between "ought" and "has to" is
subtle but noting that it's real, nonetheless