CHAPDISC: PS/SS 1, The Boy Who Lived and Avatar SPOILERS LONG

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 187734


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> Pippin:> 
> Dumbledore does say in OOP that it was the only way he could keep Harry alive. And why should he be sorry about that? He's not God -- it's not his fault that there aren't any better choices. He didn't make  Petunia so bitter or  Sirius Black so rash. Hagrid told Sirius where he taking Harry and there was nothing stopping Sirius from going along with them, except his own poor judgment.

Potioncat (agreeing with Pippin):
The only reason DD is involved is because Harry is the Prophecy boy. I don't think it's that DD had any special fondness for the Potters above any other Order member. Without the prophecy, Harry is just another orphan of war. DD is trying to give this child the best start in life possible--because of his Destiny. That means the best protection. DD's goal wasn't to find a good home for Harry, but to provide a safe place for him to grow up.

Look what happens to the Longbottoms after LV is vaporised. Without protection, who knows what would have happened to Harry? I can imagine Bella torturing the baby to death. I can imagine Lucius taking in the little-Dark-Wizard-who-destroyed-the-Dark-Lord with the idea of raising him up for Lucius's own purposes.

 
Pippin: 
> 
> Harry is never in any doubt that the protection at Privet Drive was necessary, so I don't see why we should be. Someone mentioned child soldiers -- but it isn't Dumbledore who makes war on children. It's Voldemort. Privet Drive is the one place where Harry doesn't have to be a child soldier, because it's the one place the DE's can't attack as long as the protection last.

Potioncat:
Agreed, I think DD's plan was to prepare Harry for the battle--but I'm not sure he expected the fight to come so soon. And I'm sure DD didn't expect to grow fond of Harry. I think Harry may be the only person he did care about as an individual.


> 
> Alla:
> > I get what JKR was trying to do with blood protection, and really if either Dursleys were better people, OR if I thought that what Harry underwent through at Dursleys, thing  like prodding and pinching, Dursley' hunting, trying to duck from Vernon hands and Petunia's pan, starvation, which I consider pure physical abuse, if I thought that these things could be just brushed aside, forget about absence of love, then I would have went easy on JKR with how convincing I wanted blood protection to be.

Potioncat:
It could have been written that Harry went to his loving Muggle relatives and lived happily until the time he went to Hogwarts and learned magic. But I think this way makes for a better story. He's not the well bred, well provided for Prince--who of course can face the Dark Lord---he's the skinny kid who's faced adversity who doesn't think he's anything special.

Just like I can imagine seveal different ways for  the prophecy to play out, but I haven't found one that makes as good a story as the one in canon.
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