CHAPDISC: DH Ch 9, A Place to Hide

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 179927

Potioncat wrote:
> I went looking for the quote that I had in mind. At JKR's site she 
says the Patronus makes a good messenger because it is an "Anti-Dark 
Arts device and was resistant to interfernce." (paraphrased somewhat)
So it's hard for me to understand how an anti-Dark arts device can be
used by a witch for dark purposes. <snip>
> 

Carol responds:

But she's not using it for a dark purpose. She's using her own spirit
guardian (JKR's description of a Patronus) to protect herself, Yaxley,
and the witch she thinks is Mafalda Hopkirk (really Hermione) from the
Dementors, which *are* Dark creatures and would as soon suck a Dark
witch's or DE's happiness as anyone else's (and their souls as well,
given the opportunity and the slightest excuse. In fact, probably the
only reason, aside from the Patronus, that they wouldn't suck
Umbridge's or Yaxley's soul is that those two provide them with
Muggle-borns as prey).  So the fact that Umbridge intends to deprive
the Muggle-borns of their wands and happiness and perhaps send them to
prison in the custody of the Dementors has nothing to do with her
Patronus's ability to protect *her* from the Dementors. Her Patronus
is still an anti-Dark device.

As for the Patronus messengers being resistant to interference (e.g.,
you can't conjure someone else's Patronus and send a message using
their voice even, presumably, if you're Polyjuiced to look and sound
like that person), that has nothing to do with Umbridge's ability to
cast a Patronus. (Whether she could use hers as a messenger to DEs and
other Voldemort supporters, I don't know. She isn't knowing how, for
one thing, since Dumbledore is the one who came up with the idea and
taught the Order members how to do it. (Evidently, he didn't give
lessons in person, or he'd have known that Snape's Patronus was a doe,
but maybe JKR didn't think about that.) I don't think that she
(Umbridge) could use her Patronus for such a purpose even though it's
her spirit guardian because an anti-Dark device probably couldn't be
used to communicate an evil message.

But, again, protecting herself and others from Dementors is not evil
even thought she and Yaxley are evil people. Even evil people are
entitled to defend themselves using good magic, apparently.

Carol, snipping the stuff on Snape but thinking that possibly he was
there on LV's orders to search for anything that could be used against
the Order and tearing the place up in case LV used Legilimency on him
so he could "prove" that he'd found nothing