Moody's death (was: Dumbledore's authority WAS: Re: Fees for Harry)

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 179510

a_svirn wrote:
<snip> Harry only survived because of that wand thing (which was *not*
part of Dumbledore's careful planning), and even so it a was pretty
near miss.

Carol responds:

On the contrary, Harry is protected by the mere fact that only LV will
try to kill him. the DEs are under orders not to do so. Consequently,
Harry would not have been in extreme peril had he not revealed his
identity by using Expelliarmus.

a_svirn:
There is something wrong with this reckoning. Harry is protected by 
being Harry, and yet by revealing himself as Harry he got himself in 
trouble? Besides, so what if they didn't kill him outright? They 
could have captured him and deliver to Voldemort, couldn't they? 

And of course, it was inconsiderate of him to use Expelliarmus, thus 
endangering Dumbledore's brilliant plan. Then again, blessed as 
Dumbledore was with his extraordinary brainpower, shouldn't he have 
allowed for the possibility of Harry's betraying himself one way or 
another? Personally, I would have thought Hedwig was a dead giveaway 
(why didn't they send her to the Burrow beforehand?)

Carol:
He was not being pursued by Voldemort
himself but only by two Death Eaters, one of whom was the Imperiused
Stan Shunpike, Harry having Stunned or otherwise defeated all the
others. Evidently, Voldemort did not suspect that Harry would be with
Hagrid in the sidecar of the motorcycle.

a_svirn:
But then, you know, it's not thanks to Dumbledore's planning Harry 
had given such a good account for himself. That was pure dumb luck 
(or Rowling's skullduggery). He and Hagrid were outnumbered two to 
one, and Hagrid wasn't much of a protector to begin with (though 
that, admittedly, was more Moody's mistake than Dumbledore's). In 
effect, Harry was fighting four death eaters single-handedly and had 
to take care of Hagrid besides. These are *not* good odds, even 
without Voldemort. He could have been captured and even accidentally 
hit by the killing curse, come to think of it. 

Pippin:
The Ministry had made it an imprisonable offense to transport Harry
from Privet Drive by apparation, portkey or Floo powder. I speculate
Scrimgeour's motive for wanting Harry trapped was to force him to
endorse his regime. If he could arrest a few Order members
or force them into hiding, that would certainly help to show Harry
how hopeless his situation was without Ministry support. But
once Harry escaped Privet Drive and came of age, Scrimmy's position
was weaker. Not much point in locking the barn door after the
thestrals have flown.

<snip>
Presumably the Order had something to do with the delay
in Voldemort's plans. They'd have had difficulty doing it if they
were in Azkaban or on the run.

a_svirn:
This is the whole conspiracy theory you spin. Don't you think you are 
casting slurs on the memory of a brave man, who wanted the same thing 
as Harry had, and died heroically without betraying Harry's 
whereabouts even under torture? 

Pippin:
Right, they hunt down the horcruxes and then they get possessed.

Oops.

Dumbledore did at least know that Harry could resist possession,
whatever his fear that the V-chip might take over eventually anyway.
He couldn't be that sure of anyone else.

a_svirn:
Well, he was wrong then, wasn't he? Yet again. Hermione and Neville 
got rid off horcruxes without a hitch. It was only Ron, who 
hesitated, but then the Weasley siblings are notoriously susceptible 
to the  horcruxes. (And since it was Dumbledore who named Ron as one 
of Harry's faithful squires, it must mean that he slightly 
miscalculated on that score as well.)