Draco and Dumbledore LONG, beware

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 160191

> Alla:

> Katie and Malfoy - yes, he did, but he did it because he was there 
> and who says that if he was not there, someone else would not have 
> done so?

Pippin:
And who says if Harry was not there to save people, someone else
would not have done so? Does that mean Harry gets no credit for
what he's done?

> > Pippin:
> <HUGE SNIP>
> > You seem to forget  that it is Voldemort, not  Dumbledore or even 
Draco, who has chosen to make war on children. 
> <HUGE SNIP>
> 
> Alla:
> 
> No, I remember it very well, I just think that Dumbledore has a duty 
> to not put them in the line of enemy fire,whenever possible.

Pippin:
I am glad you remember it, but your theories don't appear to reflect
your knowledge, since you seem to think Dumbledore should believe 
that if Draco is out of the way the threat will be contained for a while. 
Voldemort  is expecting Draco to fail, certainly he's got an idea of 
what he's going to do next, and  certainly it will involve Hogwarts. 

Hogwarts has been in the line of fire since Voldemort first arrived there.
It has been under low grade attack, in the form of the DADA curse,
since he returned to the wizarding world the first time.

As long as he's alive it will be threatened. Putting Draco in custody
is like moving the deckchairs on the Titanic.  Is Draco the
only one who knows that Borgin has  cursed objects for sale,
or that Filch is careless about checking bottles, or that Rosmerta 
is susceptible to the Imperius curse, or that  the vanishing
cabinets, if they can be fixed, will form an unguarded entrance to
the school? Of course not! 

 Draco performed a very useful service, though he didn't intend to, 
by exposing some holes in the Hogwarts defenses. Think of 
Draco as a weakened virus -- he provoked an immune response 
without  killing anybody, although unfortunately, as with the virus,
there was a possibility that he might. But as long as the reservoir 
of the disease is out there, the threat level is never going to be 
zero.


> 
> > Alla:
> > And of course Houses are likely be united, etc, I just not sure 
> what it has to do with letting wanna be assasin run around the school.
> > 
> > Pippin:
> > Draco has shown, ingenuity, determination, and the leadership 
> skills  to persuade a pair of young toughs to be seen in public disguised 
> as  little girls. Who else could persuade the Slytherins they need to 
> be united?
> 
> Alla:
> 
> HAHA. After HBP I would not be surprised if Draco indeed would be 
> that Slytherin ( waves at Betsy, remembering our past heated debates 
> about that), but I am still hoping that someone better could emerge.
> 

Pippin:
We've  been told we've met all the major characters -- I don't think
there is anyone better out there. Draco has been beautifully positioned
to move into that spot. It would be a waste of very skillful character
development if we don't get to see that he could fill it. 

Alla:
> But question one do you seriously think that Draco needed to do 
> serious persuaasion work on Crabbe and Goyle who looked to me as his 
> faithful slaves throughout the books and question two even if he 
> did, does it mean that this somehow mitigates his murder attempts or 
> something.

Pippin:
If they consider themselves his faithful slaves without whips or chains 
or magical coercion then Draco's leadership skills are even better than 
I thought. <g>

It doesn't mitigate his murder attempts, but do you see that Draco
put far more effort into smuggling weapons into Hogwarts and 
maintaining his relationships with Crabbe and Goyle, than he did
into planning how he would actually use those weapons to
commit murder? I think what confuses the issue is that the attacks 
are scary, so judged as terrorism they're not feeble, but they weren't 
intended to be terror acts. They were supposed to be stealthy and
secret, which is the opposite of terrorism. 

Dumbledore looks not for effects but for causes, and sees that
*something* is stopping Draco from being as effective at murder as he
is at smuggling or at getting his friends to take on  humiliating and
dangerous tasks for him. Dumbledore hopes that this
something is the fact that Draco is not a murderer at heart and
does not really wish to become one. This is more than wishful
thinking on his part, since Bella, Narcissa, Snape and Voldemort 
himself all seem to agree. Draco, black sheep though he might
be, is not yet a murderer. As such, he was still part of 
Dumbledore's responsibility and it was  as much Dumbledore's duty
to protect him as it was to protect Harry or Katie or Ron. 

It seems to me that JKR is illustrating the  New Testament parable 
( and Talmudic midrash) of the Good Shepherd here. For those
who aren't familiar with the story, the good shepherd leaves
the flock of ninety-nine, and goes after the sheep who is lost,
rejoicing more over the one who is found than the ninety-nine
who never strayed.

Before it was a  Sunday School story, it was sound management
advice. The flock is safe in its numbers, while the lost sheep 
is not only in greater danger, it has information that the shepherd 
needs. Outliers are always worth looking into. 

And of course if you are looking to inspire loyalty in men,
who are a bit harder to control than sheep, they need to feel
that you would do as much for the least and worst as you 
would for the most and best. Do you think that Harry would be
so loyal to Dumbledore, or that readers would love Dumbledore
so much, if he was willing to give up a child for lost so easily?

Pippin