Draco and Dumbledore WAS: Re: Dumbledore Does Lie - Sort Of

[dungrollin]

No: HPFGUIDX 159976

> Steve:
> Yet having seen Draco's reluctance to kill Dumbledore, and seen 
Draco's frustration with being a DE, stuck with Harry, and may 
influence how Harry reacts when he and Draco confront each other in 
the future....I think he had to let Draco come to a crossroads, and 
had to have Draco face a choice about his future and the path it was 
going to take.
> 
> Magpie:
Yes, I agree this was his thinking, and that it will be important to 
Harry for this reason. Storywise Dumbledore's decision not to act 
makes perfect sense to me.  I just also think that the decision 
included the understood risk that we saw.

Dungrollin:
Interesting that you both seem to think that it was DD who wanted to 
let Draco come to the crossroads and make a choice. I think it was 
JKR who wanted that, and wanted Harry to witness it.

Simply put, I reckon the reason that DD never 'brought Draco in' was 
that as soon as Draco was caught, he would have failed his task. 
Snape would then have a thin window in which to kill DD, or he would 
die himself, because of the vow. I know that not everyone sees the 
vow working in this way, but it's the only way I can make the whole 
thing work to my satisfaction. 

DD does not want to die until he really has to (presumably not until 
he's got the next Horcrux), bringing Draco in would only hasten his 
or Snape's demise.

When DD said "Why else do you think I have not confronted you before 
now? Because I knew that you would have been murdered if Lord 
Voldemort realised that I suspected you" I think he was fibbing a 
bit. In chapter 15, Snape doesn't tell Draco that the unbreakable 
vow included him finishing the task if Draco failed, partly because 
JKR doesn't want Harry to know that yet (even though the readers 
do), but also because Draco already suspects Snape of wanting his 
glory, and the information would not make him more amenable to 
letting Snape know what he was up to.

Sorry if others have already made this point - I think Carol touched 
on it earlier in the thread, but didn't see anyone present it in 
detail.

Dung