Blood Protection/Dumbledore and Harry

[littleleahstill]

No: HPFGUIDX 158511

„« Carol:
If the
> Potters made a will, their copy would certainly have been destroyed
> along with the house, and no other copy has been produced.

a_svirn:
I don't see what is so "certain" about it. It could have been in
their Gringotts vault. Or in Sirius's vault. For that matter it
could have been in some secret drawer in the Headmaster's office.
The same one that contained James's cloak and the key from the
Potters' vault. But in the end it doesn't really matter. He sent
Hagrid for Harry and dumped him at the Dursleys doorstep. All in
all, not the actions of someone concerned about legalities.

Leah:
It doesn¡¦t matter whether the Potters left a will.  It wouldn¡¦t have 
mattered if they¡¦d placed a ten foot neon sign in DD¡¦s office 
saying ¡¥Sirius is appointed Harry¡¦s guardian in the event of our 
deaths¡¦.   Lily¡¦s loving sacrifice had set up a deep protection for 
Harry, which would keep him safe provided he could call home the 
place where his mother¡¦s blood dwelt.  For that to happen, Petunia¡¦s 
home has to be Harry¡¦s home.  It¡¦s way beyond legalities.  When the 
White Witch claims Edmund as a traitor in ¡¥The Lion, the Witch and 
the Wardrobe¡¦, Aslan can¡¦t point out that this has been overriden by 
Code 318b of Narnian law or whatever; it is an old and deep magic, 
which he has to overcome with an older and deeper power.  From 
everything DD tells Harry, this protection of Lily¡¦s is something 
like this.  


Julie:
And even though Sirius argued with Hagrid, he did finally
give in. Whether he agreed that Harry would be safer
with the Dursleys or he was more intent on finding a
certain rat than taking guardianship of his godson, it
doesn't really matter much. His agreement sealed the
deal, effectively transferring responsibility for Harry
to Dumbledore

a_svirn:
What deal? There was a deal between Sirius and Dumbledore? I wonder
whether Dumbledore stuck to his end of the agreement and fulfilled
his obligations towards Sirius.


Leah:
I agree there wasn¡¦t any deal.  Hagrid told Harry he had DD¡¦s 
instructions to remove Harry and Sirius surrendered Harry to him;  
Sirius was obeying DD¡¦s instructions, however reluctantly.

Betsy Hp:
> Is there anything anywhere within the books suggesting that there
> was another way of keeping Harry safe?

a_svirn:
Yes, there is. Harry could have lived with his godfather and legal
guardian, who would have loved him and would have done everything in
his not inconsiderable power to keep him safe.

Leah:
Or or course, he could have lived with the Weasleys, with the Bones, 
with the Abbots or the Macmillans; any wizarding family on 
the ¡¥right¡¦ side would I¡¦m sure have been delighted to take him in 
and care for him like one of their own;  he could have lived with DD 
himself.  As JKR said once when confirming that DD was not Harry¡¦s 
grandfather; ¡§If he was his grandfather, why on earth would Harry 
have lived with the Dursleys?¡¨.   None of those homes  would  have 
given him the protection conferred on him by Petunia.  McGonagall 
tells DD what the Dursleys are like, and he continues to insist 
their house is the best place for Harry.  It¡¦s inconceivable that 
he  couldn¡¦t have found suitable wizarding guardians for Harry even 
then if all that was at stake was bringing up a baby.   It¡¦s not 
much good Harry having had a blissful upbringing for a year and then 
being dead at three. 

And while I can believe that Sirius would have loved Harry deeply, 
I¡¦m not too sure about keeping him safe, bearing in mind his 
disappointment about Harry¡¦s recklessness not  living up to James¡¦.  
But that¡¦s beside the point.  Sirius might have been the perfect 
substitute parent, and it still wouldn¡¦t have given Harry the 
protection Lily had left for him. 

Carol:
> If Black hadn't gone after Pettigrew, if he had instead gone to
> Dumbledore and explained the situation, I could see his having a
> claim. As it is, I see nothing wrong with Dumbledore's actions.

a_svirn:
Dumbledore did not make his decision *after* Sirius went after
Pettigrew. He made his decision *before* Sirius had a chance to
explain. That's why he went after Pettigrew ¡V there wasn't anything
left to him but his revenge.

Leah:
I don¡¦t think Sirius explaining the situation to DD would have meant 
that he could have kept Harry for the reasons set out above.  But I 
disagree that there was nothing left to him but revenge- how about 
explaining the situation to DD anyway, so that Pettigrew might have 
been caught, and then hanging around keeping an eye on Harry.  The 
mere mention of his name is enough to worry Uncle Vernon, so I 
suspect an occasional visit would have helped.  Even if DD wanted 
Harry kept out of contact of the WW until he was eleven, at least 
Sirius would have been about two books earlier.

Leah