Wand Lore / Luna / Alchemy

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 181687

> > a_svirn:
> 
>   Harry because he already hated Snape with passion and would 
likely 
> want to avenge Dumbledore's death. 
> 
> Pippin:
> But no matter how great his desire for vengeance, Harry is not a
> killer. Dumbledore already knows this, specifically because Harry 
did
> not even try to kill Sirius or Pettigrew, and in general because he
> believes killing is much harder than innocent people think.

a_svirn:
I don't know what does it mean, "Harry is not a killer". He tried to 
kill Snape in "The Prince Flight". He killed at least one death eater 
who pursued him from the Privet Drive. Well, he stunned him but that 
amounts to the same thing. Moreover, his interpretation of the 
Prophesy was that one of them must kill the other, and Harry saw 
nothing wrong with the prospect of killing Voldemort. So Harry is 
perfectly capable of killing either in self-defence or in a rage. 
Still less I understand how could Dumbledore "know" that Harry is not 
a killer. He should have known better than anyone how easy it is to 
kill someone who gets in the way of mortal combatants. And that's 
exactly where he put Snape. 
 
 
> a_svirn:
>  Dumbledore made  sure that Harry would be distracted from the
> Horcruxes, and turn to  the Hallows instead.  
> 
> Pippin:
> Huh?  Dumbledore made sure that Harry would not
> pursue the Hallows until he understood them, so that Harry
> would not go after the wand and would not achieve the stone
> until he understood its proper use. 

a_svirn:
I beg to differ. He made sure of nothing of the sort. He made sure 
that Harry would want to go after the wand because he would think 
that with the last Hallow he would become the master of Death, and 
that would enable him to vanquish Voldemort. And that was exactly 
what he did think, until his grief for Dobby made him redefine his 
priorities. Which is something Dumbledore could not anticipate, much 
less make sure of. 

> Pippin:

> Dumbledore could not have anticipated that Voldemort would
> think he had to kill Snape in order to secure mastery of the wand,
> because even if Snape had been master of the wand, it should have 
been 
> obvious that  it wasn't necessary to kill him, only defeat him. 

a_svirn:
Yes, he could. Voldemort's motto was "when in doubt, kill". 
a_svirn