Dumbledore the Godfather

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 173837

Eggplant wrote:
> I don't see where Dumbledore told Harry that at Kings Cross he
expected Harry to live. He told Harry that he didn't die because
Voldemort had his blood and he was still alive, and Voldemort was
still alive because the snake was still alive. Dumbledore told Snape
that he expected Harry to destroy the snake before he confronted
Voldemort for the last time and he expected Harry to die. Seems to me
a flesh and blood Dumbledore would have more incentive to tell the
truth to Snape than a ethereal Dumbledore would have to tell the truth
to Harry; we have already seen examples of ghosts that are ashamed of
themselves and want Harry to think well of them. I can't think of any
reason Dumbledore would lie to Snape about that, I can think of a
reason Dumbledore, even at the very end, would be let us say,
economical with the truth. After 7 books we have learned that even
when Dumbledore tells the truth to Harry it is never the whole truth.
> 
Carol responds:
It does seem that before DD learned that Voldemort had used Harry's
blood to resurrect him, DD feared that Harry would have to die. After
that, he tried to find a way to make the AK rebound on Voldemort as it
did at Godric's Hollow, but only after the Horcruxes were destroyed.
At any rate, certainly by "King's Cross," Dumbledore knew that Harry
had a good chance of surviving--and if he failed, he would know that
death is not so terrible after all (unless you're Voldemort).

I think that flesh-and-blood Dumbledore could not tell Snape the whole
truth because he didn't want Snape to tell Harry the whole truth. As I
see it, the whole point of Snape's message to Harry, the whole urgency
of it, was that Harry had to face Voldemort believing that he was
going to die, willingly sacrificing himself like his mother before
him, only his sacrifice was for the WW, not just for one person. Love,
sacricial love, is Harry's ultimate weapon. And had he faced Voldemort
knowing that the drop of blood and the Elder wand/Hallows could save
him, his willing sacrifice could never have happened. He had to go
into the arena bravely facing death, and he could not fight back or
his sacrifice would not be a sacrifice. (Think of the difference
between James's death and Lily's.) 

What Harry had to know, what Snape had to tell him at the last
possible moment, was that his scar contained a soul bit and that Harry
must die by Voldemort's hand. No wonder Snape is horrified. But Harry,
hearing the message, would know that he was the last Horcrux and can
only destroy it by, in DD's words, "setting out to meet his own
death." Neither Snape nor Harry can know that Harry has some chance of
surviving the encounter that will make Voldemort mortal.

Thank goodness JKR found a way to kill the soul bit in the scar
without killing Harry and found a way for him to go back to destroy
Voldemort permanently and to see that death is not so terrible after
all, so that he was no longer afraid. (That was always my biggest
objection to Horcrux!Harry. If Harry died, how could he destroy
Voldemort. And how could he destroy Voldemort if the last accidental
Horcrux still remained in his scar? The Hallows subplot, confusing as
it is, makes that possible.)

Eggplant:
> And did you notice how many times when Harry asked a question
Dumbledore would tell him that he already knew, and sure enough he
did! Much of the information in that chapter came from Harry not
Dumbledore, and perhaps all of it did. I think JKR is giving us
permission (if we want to) to interpret it to mean Harry (and
Voldemort) were just knocked out and Harry's subconscious was putting
the last peaces of the puzzle together.  

Carol:
The near-death experience interpretation, which Geoff and I and
perhaps others have presented, seems to be fairly close to JKR's own
interpretation. She talks about King's Cross as "the gateway between
two worlds" in the chat transcript if you're interested. (Sort of
explains how ghosts can choose not to "go on," as well.)

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/7/30/j-k-rowling-web-chat-transcript


Carol, who sees the Dead!Dumbledore of the King's Cross scene as the
redeemed Dumbledore, imparting wisdom to Harry and trusting him to
make the choice that will save both himself and the WW