Dark Magic/ Ministry and Dementors/ Snape's role LONG

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 176590

> > Mgapie:
> > Oh, I didn't read that chat. I have to say though, that it 
reminds 
> me 
> > of why people were so puzzled by Harry's Crucio. Why are we 
> supposed 
> > to know the Dementors are a sign of the underlying corruption of 
> the 
> > Ministry, exactly? It seems like just another one of those random 
> > signs of ethical superiority of Dumbledore et al. that's not 
> > explained. Obviously they're awful things, and yet I could easily 
> > imagine a scene where, say, the twins locked somebody in a room 
> with 
> > Dementors (maybe in a cage so they can't actually suck his soul 
or 
> > something) being played as satisfying revenge. Or Harry doing it 
> to 
> > somebody (he does say he'll let the Dementors have Peter).
> ><SNIP>
> 
> Alla:
> 
> I cannot help but ask ( not sarcastically at all). Are you 
seriously 
> wondering why is it bad for Ministry to associate themself with 
> Dementors? Are you saying that it was not explained enough why 
> creatures who suck the happiness out of you are bad?

> 
> And I have to say, I cannot for the life of me imagine Twins 
locking 
> up somebody with Dementors, their pranks and all that.
> 
> I believe, obviosly JMO that they will totally drew the line there.

Magpie:
As I said in my post, no *I* don't have trouble coming up with 
reasons it's bad to have Dementors guarding Azkaban, but what I find 
cruel is not always in line with what the books find cruel. I draw 
the line before the books in general. Since I've been surprised in 
the past at how cruel and callous (imo) characters can be when 
they're putting people in their place, it's only arbitrary to me that 
Dementors are the place the line is supposed to be drawn. The 
Dementors could just as easily have been something that was just 
supposed to be harsh but hey, that's the way it is and people like 
Bellatrix deserve it. I could see the Twins scaring somebody with a 
Dementor the same way Sirius might scare somebody with a werewolf.

I mean, why should it be so clear to me that sucking the happiness 
out of Death Eaters is such a bad thing given everything else I'm 
told in the books? The question isn't just whether I see that 
Dementors are scary or awful to be around--obviously they're that. 
Jen originally listed getting rid of the Dementors (or at least 
getting them out of Azkaban--I don't know where they are now--
wandering around looking for victims?) as one of the victories of the 
book, which it isn't if the only reason we know Dementors aren't 
guarding Azkaban is from a chat where JKR was specifically asked that 
question (because it's not in the book). You might shudder when you 
think about Dementors--other people shudder when they think about 
Marietta's scarred face only that's just what she deserved because 
she's a traitor.

Alla:
> 
> I mean, I shudder when I think about them, as I do not do about 
> Voldemort. It is a great example of knowing Dark magic when I see 
it.
> 
> I find them horrifying, absolutely horrifying personally.

Magpie:
But knowing it's Dark Magic doesn't make me immediately assume they 
couldn't just be something JKR liked having for just that reason so 
that the prison would be properly scary. Is the main reason this 
punishment is off-limits that JKR's experienced depression and based 
them on that?

-m