ah, the mysteries

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 149970

> 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.
> 

Pippin:
But JKR seems highly satisfied with the  message of her books.
She calls them very moral and doesn't seem to think there'll be any
doubt in the end about what her moral position is. She could
easily have arranged things so that Lupin did not look like a 
cold blooded killer -- she has shown him in the grip of emotion
many times.

No doubt Lupin is as kind to Harry as he can afford to be, and
Snape is as hateful, but is the moral conflict in the
books  between kind people and hateful ones?  I think not --
it's between those who see power and hate as worth
killing for  and those who do not. 

Nagini sparing Arthur is  well in character for Voldemort. 
Once Voldemort became aware that Harry was 
along for the ride he would immediately see that killing Arthur 
was  less to his advantage than allowing Harry to think that his 
visions had saved him. Killing has always meant less to Voldemort 
than power -- that's established in PS/SS when he orders Lily to
stand aside, and confirmed in CoS when he casually declares that
killing Mudbloods and Muggles doesn't matter any more.

Pippin