ChapDisc: DH 18, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore

[Blair]

No: HPFGUIDX 182549

> 1. Harry hasn't been this mad at Dumbledore since OotP. Was this 
> worse? Compare and contrast this anger with Harry's rage from a year 
> and a half ago.

Oryomai:
It's definitely worse.  There isn't even any way that Harry can come
to terms with his anger this time -- Dumbledore is gone.  Dumbledore
even lied to Harry when he told him that he was going to tell him
everything.  Harry's life and the future of the Wizarding World depend
on what Harry is able to do, and Dumbledore has left him without a
significant chunk of knowledge.

> 2. Dumbledore calmed Harry in OotP by launching into the whole 
> prophecy story, and he started it by saying "I am going to tell you 
> everything." In light of this DH chapter, did he?

Oryomai:
Um...no.  He did the usual Dumbledore -- I'll tell you only as much as
you need to know in order to think that I'm telling you everything.

> 3. Is Harry right about Dumbledore not trusting him with the whole 
> truth? We all know about Dumbledore's penchant for secrecy, but was 
> he withholding any information regarding the Horcrux hunt from
>Harry? Was he withholding any information that Harry needed to
>confront Voldemort? (Let's leave out the soul bit in Harry's head for
>this discussion, shall we?)

Oryomai:
Dumbledore never trusted anyone with the whole truth.  It's not right,
but that's what he did.  Harry needed *all* of the information in
order to know what he was doing.  Dumbledore left Harry with a
dangerous mission and left him with a billion questions.  Harry
should've known about the Hallows -- he wouldn't have been distracted
by them if he would've known what they were.

> 
> 4. Did Harry have a right to know about Dumbledore's past, especially 
> his friendship with GG? Harry admits he may only be mad because DD 
> didn't reveal it himself, but how would that knowledge have helped 
> Harry?

Oryomai:
I think Dumbledore's friendship with GG could've helped him learn the
lesson he never learned in 7 books: people aren't always what they
seem.  If Harry would've known about Dumbledore and GG, maybe he would
have thought twice about other people in the series...

> 5. How much do you think Rita was stretching the truth in the part of 
> her book we read? It was obvious where she put in her own opinion, 
> but on the rest did you think she was telling it honestly, adorning 
> the truth a little, or stretching the truth beyond acceptable 
> boundaries?

Oryomai:
Rita was probably stretching the truth a bit, but I don't think she
was doing it any more than any other journalist.  For Rita Skeeter, I
think it's positively honest. *eg*
 
> 6. With regards to "For the Greater Good", Hermione said Dumbledore 
> changed. Did he? Though Dumbledore rejected Grindelwald's 
> interpretation of that phrase, did Dumbledore reject his own 
> interpretation?

Oryomai:
Um...no.  We see DD's love of "For the Greater Good" in everything
that he does!  He doesn't tell people certain parts of the truth
because he is trying to protect them.  His idea of greater good is in
order to help people.  DD thinks that he's helping people by keeping
them in the dark about certain things (even though he's totally
wrong).  Dumbledore stayed true to his interpretation.
 
> 7. Rita had her own speculation. What do you think happened to 
> Ariana? Was it Albus's fault, as Aberforth contended when he broke 
> his nose, or was Albus taking the blame because he allowed the 
> circumstances that led to her death to occur?

Oryomai:
I think it was GG.  I think that that's why Aberforth attacked Albus,
and that's why Albus didn't fight back at all.  GG probably didn't
mean to do that, but it's possible he did.
 
> 8. As Harry asked above: if Grindelwald hadn't fled, would Dumbledore 
> have changed his ways? Would Dumbledore have necessarily chosen his 
> brother over Gellert? Do you think Aberforth did something that 
> showed Albus the error of his ways, and what could that have been?

Oryomai:
I don't think so.  I don't think Dumbledore entirely changed his ways
at all.  He switched what side of the argument he was on, but his
tactics were always the same.  No one can say for sure whether he
would've changed his ways or not, but I don't think so.
 
> 9. This is the only place where we see Dumbledore interacting with 
> Grindelwald. Did you see enough, were there enough hints to indicate 
> that Dumbledore may have loved Grindelwald for more than just his 
> mind? What about those five years it took DD to finally confront GG? 
> Did you think DD was gay and in love with GG after this chapter?

Oryomai:
This is definitely one of those things that's inside JKR's head.  I
didn't really see it.  I think we needed more time with the two of
them together in order to see it the way she did.  I think it took
Dumbledore five years to go after him (P.S. I think that the "five
years" are the five years between when GG started causing real trouble
and when DD went after him) because it brought back all the memories
of what had happened.
 
> 10. OK, what's with Aberforth and the damn goats? And where is Mike 
> Gray <Aberforth's Goat> when you need him?

Oryomai:
I'd really like to know the deal with the goats.  I wonder if it's
something totally misconstrued, just like DD's father's attack of the
Muggle boys.
 

Oryomai, who thinks it was a wonderful chapter summary by Harry
(should we call it a life summary since it's his real life?)