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

[Eric Oppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 191912

Quoting nikkalmati <puduhepa98 at aol.com>:


>
> As the story unfolded the number of readers disturbed by DD's   
> character increased, i suspect.  I am not talking about decisions   
> that could be attributed to "in war, generals have to make hard   
> choices" kind of decisions, or indications of weakness of character   
> or even childhood mistakes, but more sinister types of decisions.     
> I will list some.  1. Some were disturbed by his leaving Harry at   
> the Dursleys' or failing to check up on him to be sure he was all   
> right.  2.  As far as we can tell Sirius Black was never punished   
> for attempting to sic Remus on Snape.  There is an air of injustice   
> in sweeping the whole incident under the rug even though Snape could  
>  have been bitten and Remus would have been expelled or worse.  In   
> addition, through an inquiry the fact that the Mauraders were   
> unregistered antimagi might have come out.  3. He failed to question  
>  Sirius after the Potters' deaths to be sure he was guilty.   He   
> abandoned Sirius to the "legal" system. 4.  When Snape, a boy jus!
>  t out of achool and clearly distraught and terrified, came to meet   
> DD to ask him to protect Lily,  DD took the opportunity to extract   
> from Snape a promise of obedience in return for an action   
> (protecting his own order members), which DD was obliged to do   
> anyway.  5.  When Lily died and Snape was again distraught, DD   
> extracted another promise from Snape which amounted to an oath to   
> follow DD's orders in order to protect Harry.  6.  DD didn't tell   
> Snape that Harry would have to die by LV's hand whenever it was he   
> first knew it, but let Snape continue thinking he was acting to   
> protect Lily's son. 7. DD allowed Draco to roam freely at the school  
>  after he had nearly killed two students in his attempt to kill DD.   
> Add to this the strange fact (to me) that he and his brother   
> apparently just let Snape go after discovering him listening to the   
> prophacy, leading some to speculate that DD wanted LV to hear it;   
> the speculation by Harry that DD arranged for him to go after the   
> Sorcerer's!
>   stone in his first year; his inability to resist putting on the   
> ring with the Resurection Stone in it; and altogether you have a   
> very dubious character, in some people's eyes.
>
> Nikkalmati

These are all excellent points.  Also, he could and should have looked  
a lot more closely at Myrtle's death, rather than letting a boy he was  
already very suspicious of throw the blame onto Hagrid.  I mean, I'm  
no CSI expert, but I'd think that a look at the body would tell  
anybody that this was no Acromantula attack---no bite marks.  Asking  
her ghost, when it appeared, just what had happened would also have  
been a good idea. (I know quite a few investigators who'd sell their  
souls for that ability.)  It's just pure luck that they didn't lose  
Hagrid to the Dark Side, too...he had much better reasons to join up  
than someone like Lucius Malfoy ever could have, and with his way with  
animals, he could have been a valuable asset for them.

Letting Draco go flapping around the school after he'd already made  
one murder attempt was criminally negligent; if Ron or that girl who  
got the necklace by mistake had died, DD would have shared a lot of  
the liability.  DD had to know that Malfoy was likely to be put under  
pressure to do something, and should have Legilimens'd him the minute  
he was back in school.

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