ah, the mysteries

[Olivier Fouquet]

No: HPFGUIDX 149955

Pippin:
 >Not quite full-fledged...you've neglected to give Arthur a motive
 >for all this. I'm sure you've thought of one, though <g>

Of course I have. Arthur is a pureblood who made a nice pureblood  
marriage and who stills live in poverty. There are references in each  
and every book that this is making his family bitter. If the Ministry  
couldn't recognize his talents, maybe Voldemort would. This motive is  
utterly improbable, but it is very close to the one you attribute to  
Lupin. And there are many more references to the Weasley family being  
bitter about their poverty than to Lupin being bitter about being a  
werewolf. That said, a OSE!Lupin (only slightly evil) seems to me  
more credible. Like a Lupin who would join Voldemort after HBP  
because he thinks all his lost and he felt some sympathy for his  
"equals".


Arley
 >I find one big hole in the theory of ESE!Arthur. He almost got  
killed when
 >poisoned by Nagini. Didn't he?

No, no, no. It is not a hole, it is on the contrary the strongest  
hint that Arthur is in league with Voldemort. Let us go back to the  
text. Nagini is slithering on the floor of the DoM; Arthur wakes up;  
Nagini strikes thrice "deeply into the man's flesh" and with enough  
strength to break Arthur's ribs. Arthur yells then fall silent  
against the wall. Harry wakes up and raises the alarm. He is panicked  
because Arthur is bleeding like mad (many references to it in the  
text). Now several minutes lapse between Harry waking up and  
Dumbledore sending Everard and Dylis (Harry has to convinced Ron,  
they have to walked with McGonagall to DD's office, DD interviews  
Harry…). During these long minutes, Nagini could have given a few  
more bites, let us say to Arthur's neck and Arthur was finished. Dead.

What would have happened next? Well, it would have been devastating  
to Harry and the Weasleys but at least Harry would have had a  
powerful motive for learning Occlumency. I mean, who wants to kill  
his friends every night?

What happened in canon? Well, somehow Nagini left Arthur alive, only  
just barely. Conclusion? Harry never associated his visions with  
something bad, on the contrary he thought they were useful, and so  
did other members of the Order. To quote Harry arguing with Snape:"I  
saw that snake attack Mr Weasley and if I hadn't, Professor  
Dumbledore wouldn't have been able to save him, would he? Sir?"

And what happened when Harry finally saw Sirius in the DoM. Well,  
first he believed it. Second, he had a very hard time convincing Ron  
and Hermione, and for good reasons, seeing as this was totally  
improbable. Then, Harry reminds Ron that when he saw his father being  
attacked, that wasn't a dream and Ron concedes that "He's got a  
point". From that moment on, Ron helps Harry convince Hermione,  
providing rationales, arguing against her until she finally gives in.  
Read the scene again and you will see that Ron's help was crucial. We  
all know to what that lead to.

So let us recap. Two things were absolutely necessary for Voldemort's  
plan. That Harry did not learn Occlumency and that he was convinced  
that his visions were real and useful. Why didn't Harry learn  
Occlumency? Because, according to himself "I don't like [my visions]  
much but [they have] been useful. I saw that snake attack Mr Weasley  
and if I hadn't, Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have been able to save  
him." And again, on the crucial moment, JKR again repeats this  
rationale.

I conclude that the attack was staged, that Nagini was ordered to  
inflict very serious damage but to stop just before death. And all  
that possible thanks to whom?

Best regards,
Olivier

PS: I reiterate that I don't believe in this theory, in my opinion,  
Arthur had to stay alive (even if it was extremely improbable) not  
because everything was staged but because JKR needed the plot point  
that Harry liked his visions. Just as she needed the plot point that  
Harry save Pettigrew, so that she had to make Lupin and Sirius  
killers, and Hermione and Ron passive witnesses.

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