Amortentia and re The morality of love potions/Merope and Tom Sr.

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 152332

> Betsy Hp:
> I think you might be misremembering canon, Pippin.  In HBP, 
> Dumbledore asks Harry:
> 
> "Can you not think of any measure Merope could have taken to make 
> Tom Riddle forget his Muggle companion, and fall in love with her 
> instead?"
> "The Imperius Curse?" Harry suggested.  "Or a love potion?"
> "Very good.  Personally, I'm inclined to think that she used a love 
> potion.  I am sure it would have seemed more romantic to her..." 
> [scholastic ed. p.213]
> 
> Dumbledore suggests that a love potion "seems" more romantic.  
> That's the only distinguishing difference he points out.  And it's 
> all in the eye of the beholder.

Pippin:
But canon has already told us they are different in the ways they work. 
Even amortentia  "will simply cause a powerful infatuation or 
obsession." Now as Slughorn proceeds to point out, that is
a dangerous state to be in, and Harry is right to fear later that
Ron might do something serious. But that's comparable to Molly's
fear that Bill and Fleur, under the pressure of wartime, might
be mistaking their feelings for one another and rushing into
marriage. 

If they had done so, even if Fleur had secretly used her veela 
powers to attract Bill and then stopped, they would still have a
lawful marriage, I think.

No matter how you become obsessed, it's not wise to marry
on an obsession.

Even in the grip of Romilda's potion, Ron only
says that he *thinks* he's in love with her -- and as the old
saw has it, if you're not sure it's love, it's not love. The potion caused
Ron to feel obsessed -- it didn't  cause him to be certain his feeling
was  real love. If he had married or slept with Romilda
before he was certain that he was really in love with her, or if
he mistook his feelings of passion for real love, then human 
folly would have been to blame, not magic. 

 I am inclined to think that if Tom forgot his old sweetheart, he 
probably wasn't in love with her either.

Betsy HP> 
> "Ron's fist was drawn right back; his face was contorted with 
> rage..." [ibid p.393]
> 
> Ron is exhibiting the physical signs of being angry.  His facial 
> expression is one of rage.  Now, if Romilda had entered the room and 
> suggested she and Ron have sex, why is it such a stretch to see that 
> *only because of the love potion* Ron would become physically 
> excited?

Pippin:
Right, and when he's physically excited, is he then compelled
to jump the bones of the person responsible? Even if he's crazy
about her and she's willing? No, he still has a choice. 


> Betsy Hp:
> This doesn't make any sense to me.  You're blaming Tom for not 
> realizing that his desire was false?  Should the muggle who became a 
> table have realized that he didn't really want to be a table?

Pippin:
He should have been able to tell that  he was obsessed, not really in love,
yes. I should mention that I was more under the impression that the 
witch had transfigured him into a table because she had grown 
bored with him.

Pippin