[HPforGrownups] Re: What HP Character Scares You Most?

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 191877

On 3/2/2012 10:36 PM, sartoris wrote:
> I agree. Besides, when Harry "dies," it is Dumbledore he meets on the 
> other side, and Dumbledore's soul, unlike Voldermort's which lies 
> mangled in the corner, seems perfectly intact. At the very least, 
> Dumbledore isn't accused of murder, by whatever judges such things in 
> the magical world. And Dumbledore must keep a terrible secret--Harry 
> is a horcrux--which must have been a horribly lonesome burden. 
> Admittedly, I was infrequently annoyed by Dumbledore's lapses in 
> knowledge or understanding, but the guy was often practically 
> clairvoyant. I don't find Dumbledore creepy and would love to be in a 
> room with him. Not only is he bloody brilliant but funny to boot.

Bart:
     With Harry (and the story), DD had to play very close to the vest. 
As the leader of the opposition against Morty, who had a strong belief 
that Morty had NOT been killed during the attack on the Potters (as 
implied by the Prophecy), he had to be prepared for Morty's coming back, 
and had to figure out what it was that happened. He probably suspected a 
horcrux, but that wasn't confirmed (probably ruling out several other 
theories) until COS, and even then, multiple horcruxes, including Harry 
being one, was probably just one of several theories, and might not even 
have occurred to DD if it weren't for the Prophecy and evidence within 
Harry (such as the revelation that Harry was a parselmouth).

     Now, the point I am getting to is that, unless a possibility was 
eliminated, DD could not act in a way that would unduly complicate the 
solution to a plan. And, by the time Morty has come back, he has come to 
the following conclusions:

1) Harry is a horcrux.
2) In order for Morty to die, the horcrux must be destroyed.
3) The destruction of a horcrux normally involves destruction of the 
container.
4) The Prophecy implies that there is a way to destroy the horcrux 
without destroying Harry.
5) This way must be found.

     Everything DD does, from then on, is working towards #5. Note how 
DD stresses how important it is for Harry to learn occlumency (or 
however it's spelled), then, at the end of OOP, just drops it. This 
doesn't make a lot of sense, unless you consider that, if Harry had been 
able to develop the skill, he would be able to insulate himself from the 
Mortysoul, enabling it to be destroyed without killing him. But DD, upon 
seeing that Morty could not stand to connect to Harry, and realizing 
that Harry's personality precluded him from reaching the level of skill 
in occlumency necessary to completely insulate himself from the 
Mortysoul, a different solution had to be formulated.

     And that solution was, as I have said before, akin to a a real 
world fact: when a drunken driver gets into an accident with one or more 
other vehicles, the drunken driver often sustains the least injuries. 
This is due to the fact that, in accident situation, people's muscles 
usually tense up, holding the bones in place, so that the full force of 
the impact hits them. The drunk person's muscles are relaxed, so that 
the impact is more distributed, and less damage is done. For the horcux 
to be destroyed and Harry to live, he has to be completely relaxed at 
the time of the destruction. In order for this to happen, Harry must be 
absolutely willing to die; any concept that he might survive the 
encounter would paradoxically guarantee that he wouldn't. So, instead of 
telling Harry, "OK, you have to find and destroy the horcruxes, and 
after that, you need to let Morty kill you, but if you are absolutely, 
completely relaxed, you will survive", he had to get Harry in a mental 
state of willing to sacrifice himself; hence the complications of the DH.

     Bart