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

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 179526

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.)
>
Carol responds:

I'm confused. What Weasley siblings other than the eleven-year-old
Ginny are notoriously susceptible to Horcruxes? (She was susceptible
only as a lonely little girl who wanted a friend. What girl of that
age *wouldn't* write in a diary given the chance--unless she had
access to the Internet? <eg>)

Later, Ron helps Hermione to get rid of a Horcrux without a hitch. And
Ron's destruction of the locket Horcrux is among the more moving and
symbolic incidents in the whole book--he destroys his own demons (envy
or jealousy and lack of self-confidence) in so doing. Harry is right
that Ron is *meant* to destroy the Horcrux, or that it's his job, not
Harry's. Ron has already proven his worth by saving Harry's life and
retrieving the Sword of Gryffindor; destroying the Horcrux proves that
worthiness to himself.

It's hard to say what Dumbledore anticipated here. He gave Ron the
Deluminator, providing him with a way back if he lost heart and left
the quest. Snape comes up with the doe Patronus idea on his own, as
well as placing the sword in a location that would require courage to
retrieve. The Patronus leads Ron back to Harry, and the Horcrux
strangling Harry, making it necessary for Ron to rescue him, adds the
element of chivalry. Neither DD nor Snape could have anticipated just
how perfectly Snape's plan would work, but both seemed to know somehow
that Ron's presence was necessary to the success of Harry's quest,
which Snape only imperfectly understood, thanks to DD's secrecy. No
doubt Harry's "sheer dumb luck" played its usual role, as well.

At any rate, you seem determined to bash Dumbledore, Snape, Ron, and
every other character, but I see them all rather differently. I even
liked Harry better than usual in this book. (DH!Dumbledore, I confess,
was rather hard for me to come to grips with, partly because of JKR's
contrived plot, but I don't see him as cold-hearted, only as
manipulative, secretive, and trusting too much to his own intellect
and to little to the intelligence and talents, not to mention loyalty
and moral fiber, of others, including both Harry and Snape.)

Carol, agreeing to disagree on the other points raised so far on this
thread as we're clearly not going to convince each other