On lying and cheating/ Killing DD/ HBP potions book and diary

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 165453

Alla wrote:
> 
> We do not even know that Potion is killing the person, no? So why
> should Harry have the same feelings as of today? And we do know that
> Avada kills people.
> 
> I would like to think that if we learn that potion did kill DD,
> Harry would have those feelings, yes. <snip>

Carol responds:
While I agree with you that Harry was following Dumbledore's orders in
giving DD the potion, I don't think that DD was being straightforward
with him in saying that LV would want to interrogate the person who
took the Horcrux. If that were the case, he'd *really* be endangering
Harry because he'd be inviting LV to the cave--but there's no
indication that LV even knows that RAB took the original Horcrux, much
less that he knows that Harry and DD took the fake one. 

And note that DD says the potion won't kill *right away*, not that it
won't kill at all. Harry either isn't listening or he's bound to obey
Dumbledore by his given word. I forget which comes first and don't
have time to check.

But, in any case, the potion changes everything. It enables Draco to
easily disarm a weakened Dumbledore and puts Dumbledore (seemingly) at
Draco's mercy. Had DD been his normal self, he could easily have
Stupefied Draco and dealt with the DEs as he dealt with Fudge and
company in OoP. And Snape would have hurtled up the stairs to find
that the UV had not been triggered and everything was all right. They
could take Draco into hiding and Snape's cover would not have been
blown. Maybe that's the outcome DD was hoping for all along when Snape
thought he was taking too much for granted.

At any rate, while Draco's bringing DEs into Hogwarts makes DD's death
 possible, Harry's makes it inevitable. That does *not* mean that DD's
death is in any way Harry's fault. He was following orders against his
will. But if Harry were to think about what happened in any detail, he
would realize that he played a part in Dumbledore's death, just as he
did in Sirius Black's. In this case, however, Snape is not merely a
convenient scapegoat onto whom Harry can dump all his guilt and anger.
He is, or appears to be, DD's murderer, and Harry can conveniently
forget his own role. I doubt that he'll remember it unless Hermione or
someone reminds him, but I could be wrong. If someone we love dies,
it's natural to go through a series of "if only's." So maybe Harry
will reach a point where he realizes that *if only* he hadn't given DD
that potion, DD could have fought off the Death Eaters (including,
Harry will believe, Snape). What he won't see until it's pointed out,
and maybe not then, is a parallel between his situation and Snape's.

Carol, who is just trying to see from Harry's pov and is not in any
way blaming him for Dumbledore's death 
>