Voldemort's Plan for Draco ... (wasRe: Ginny Haters/ a bit of Draco)

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 152266


> bboyminn:
> 
> Surprise, surprires, I'm with Gerry on this one. I think way too 
much
> is being made of the 'Revenge against the Malfoys' angle. First and
> foremost, if Voldemort truly wants vengence or revenge, why 
doesn't he
> just take it? Why this wacky scheme involving Draco? 

Magpie:
It's hardly "making too much" of the revenge on the Malfoys to point 
out that according to canon it's the plot of the book.  Why does 
Voldemort come up with a wacky scheme involving Draco?  Perhaps 
because that's what Voldemort does?  Why not just hand Harry a 
Portkey in GoF?  Because Voldemort is an evil overlord and so prone 
to the normal flaws of evil overlords: he comes up with 
overcomplicated plots where simple ones would do, the kind that 
suggest he likes watching people suffer for a long time in his 
elaborate scheme, and allows for many things to go wrong and for the 
heroes to surprise him.

Steve:
> 
> If we look at this chronologically, the first event that occurs is
> Draco realizing that the Vanishing Cabinet represents a way into 
the
> school. THAT is why I use that as my starting point, because it is 
the
> first usable piece of information available. The next logical step 
is
> for smarmy Draco to present this information to Voldemort.

Magpie:
Unfortunately you are not writing smarmy Draco's story so what you 
think the next logical step is doesn't matter unless it's in canon, 
which it isn't.  There's nothing illogical about Draco figuring out 
the Cabinet is a way into Hogwarts, and not having a way to use this 
to his advantage until Voldemort tells him to kill Dumbledore.  It's 
even in character.

Steve:
 The next
> logical step is that Voldemort hands Draco far more than Draco
> bargained for. I suspect Draco has delusions that he can be a DE 
and
> still keep his hands clean. Surprise, surprise.

Magpie:
Yes, quite a surprise given that canon directly contradictions this 
suspicion by having Draco becoming a DE by being given a task to get 
his hands dirty and Draco seeing this as the way to do it.  

Steve:
 But never
> before has Voldemort been able to get his DE's so close to 
Dumbledore
> and pull off a suprirse attack. That is the value of the Vanishing
> Cabinets, and that is the core of the plan. Tormenting the Malfoys 
is
> merely an added benefit.

Magpie:
Because...you say it is?  Because according to all the characters 
who actually know Voldemort he's given Draco a task to kill 
Dumbledore to punish Lucius.  To use your own brand of logic, the 
one where Voldemort is an efficient villain mostly interested in 
killing Dumbledore and Draco's squirming is just an added benefit, 
it's a bit odd that he sends the DEs with Orders not to actually 
touch Dumbledore because Draco is supposed to do it, and not tell 
Snape, his agent in Hogwarts, about the plan at all.  Canon offers 
up the possibility that Snape's only killing Dumbledore because of 
his own vow to Narcissa.

Steve:> 
> Once again, I ask, why concoct such an unlikely and wacky plan as
> merely telling Draco to kill Dumbledore. It makes much more sense 
to
> have a real plan with some potential for success and then to 
compound
> that basic plan than to start with a completely unlikely and
> impossible plan. If Voldemort truly wanted vengence against the
> Malfoys, he wouldn't waste his time with wacky schemes, he would 
just
> take his vengence and be done with it. 

Magpie:
Once again, I direct you to Harry Potter books 1-6, specifically 
book IV, the book with the unlikely and wacky plan that includes 
Harry having to win a contest for which he should be completely 
unqualified in order to get to the place Voldemort actually wants 
him.  And also Book VI, which includes an entire plot about 
Voldemort merely telling Draco to kill Dumbledore and the way other 
people in the universe react to this plan.  It's the book with the 
theme about murder splitting the soul and all that.  I've got no 
problem with criticizing the plot of the book and saying Voldemort 
is an inefficient villain, but you can't write in scenes or ideas 
that aren't there to make it more personally satisfying.  Well, you 
can, but canon has more weight.

-m