Harry's reasoning regarding Narcissa's lie is faulty

[curlyhornedsnorkack]

No: HPFGUIDX 178108

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
><justcarol67 at ...> wrote:

> I agree that the Malfoys had nothing to gain from Voldemort's
> return, though I wouldn't put it past Lucius to try to regain his 
> old position as LV's right-hand man with Snape dead if LV had 
> won. ...

Snorky responds:
If I were Voldemort, I might hire Lucius as dog-catcher, but not as 
my right-hand man, because he failed too many times, and I'm not the 
forgiving sort. Lucius was a quivering useless mess by the time of 
the battle at Hogwarts.


><justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
> ...And I don't think that Narcissa's
> sentiments would have changed toward Voldie if he hadn't abused and
> disgraced her family, and, especially, endangered her son. I don't
> think that she was "dissatisfied with DEhood" per se (JKR says that
> she didn't have the Mark) and she seems loyal enough in HBP and DH 
> in everything that doesn't relate to Draco. I also don't deny that
> Harry's perception of her motives could be faulty (though I think he
> sees more clearly after King's Cross than ever before, in 
particular a
> recognition of the humanity of the Slytherins).
> 

Snorky responds:
In the sixth book, Narcissa thinks that the solution to the danger to 
her son and husband from Voldemort is to give Voldemort what he 
wants, as is shown in the first chapter when she insists Snape help 
Draco and kill Dumbledoor if necessary. At the start of the sixth 
book, her son and her husband have already been abused. Lucius is a 
hostage, and a young teenager is being forced, probably for a laugh, 
to save his father's life. In the seventh book, by saving Harry it 
seems she has decided that helping Voldemort isn't something that 
will help her family anymore.

><justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
> My question is, suppose that Draco had died in the RoR and Harry had
> told Narcissa that Draco was dead. What would her reaction have been
> then? I think she would have been too angry and distraught to be
> rational, and perhaps would have blamed Harry for Draco's death. I
> think she would have told Voldie that Harry was alive in that case.

Snorky responds:
She might not have cared whether she or Harry lived or died if she 
had found out Draco was dead. In view of her lack of fighting for 
Voldemort when she entered the castle, it looks like, to me at least, 
she left the Deatheater values behind. It could go either way, but I 
think she was fed up with being a Deatheater (bad pun, bad pun!)


I think Narcissa would have lied for Harry even if he had said Draco 
was dead because she had witnessed too much horror to accept 
Voldemort's reign as good for anyone besides Voldemort. Unlike her 
sister, she wasn't really psychotic. I think Narcissa  didn't want 
anything more to do with Voldemort, because when she was in the 
castle, during the final fighting, she only looked for her son, and 
didn't help the Deatheaters in any way.


This is just an aside, but I wouldn't have put it past Voldemort to 
let Narcissa die while everyone attacked Harry at once, if she had 
given him away. Voldemort had already treated her with contempt in 
front of everyone, so saying Harry was dead was probably safer for 
her than saying he was alive, no matter what the truth was.  But I 
don't really think that she would have used this as a reason to say 
Harry was dead if Harry had told her Draco was dead. 

><justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
...I imagine the
> elder Malfoys slipping back into something like the life they led
> before Voldemort's second rise to power, but without their former
> influence. Maybe Narcissa inherited Bellatirx's wealth (assuming 
that
> Rodolphus and Rabastan were dead). What they did all day, sitting
> around like a pair of dragons on their pile of gold, we're left to
> imagine. It must have been a boring and unproductive life.


Snorky responds:
Poor Lucius probably headed back to prison, and I wonder if JKR left 
room in her universe for people who'd want to sue the Malfoys down to 
their last Galleon for damages.

It's nice to be back!

-Snorky