The Statute of Secrecy

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 158929

---  "Ken Hutchinson" <klhutch at ...> wrote:
>
> > Carol wrote:
> >
> > ... regarding the interaction between Dumbledore and
> > Mrs. Cole. Dumbledore had to hide the fact that the 
> > school he was recruiting Tom Riddle for was a school
> > of magic from Mrs. Cole because of the Statute of 
> > Secrecy, so in order to send Tom to the school ..., 
> > Dumbledore had no choice but to trick her into 
> > thinking that the blank paper she was looking at was
> > an official document. ...
> > 
> 
> Ken:
> 
> ...I think that Dumbledore reveals himself as a conniver
> in this scene. He was not *forced* to do anything, he 
> *chose* to do what he did. The things he did were small
> ethical infractions and they have their Muggle 
> equivalents. .... A wizard or Muggle who wanted to act
> properly would have gotten an official document 
> authorizing Tom's attendance at a boarding school and 
> would have realized that Mrs. Cole could have been 
> charmed into revealing the background information
> necessary understand young Tom. ... This wasn't 
> Dumbledore's finest moment. 

bboyminn:

Exactly what is Dumbledore's great ethical crime here? He
didn't use magic to compel Mrs. Cole to act. He simply
used magic to side-step awkward questions about the exact
nature of the school. Awkward questions that he must
avoid if he doesn't want to seem like some kind of 
crackpot.

As to your suggestion that he should go to the muggle 
government and get an offical document stating that Tom
must attend Hogwarts, that would certainly be unethical.
It is up to Mrs. Cole, as Tom's guardian, to determine 
whether Tom will go to any particular school, not the 
government. Picture the police arriving at your door one 
day with a document telling you which school your kids 
will go to; not a pretty sight.

Note again, that Dumbledore did not compel or alter Mrs.
Cole's decision. He did not magically force her to give
a specific decision on Tom. She reached that conclusion 
on her own, as it should be.  All he did was sidestep
questions about certain unusual aspects of Hogwarts. He
diverted the converstation into more productive and more
relevant territory.

Also, note that it is MRS. COLE who offers Dumbledore a
drink of Gin, not the other way around. Nor did 
Dumbledore force Mrs. Cole to drink; she drank quite 
freely and quite liberally of her own choice.

If Dumbledore had used magic to coerce or force or trick
some decision or action from Mrs. Cole, I would agree 
with you, but all he did was avoid some awkward questions.

Just a thought.
Steve/bboyminn