There's not much to go on

[Barry Arrowsmith]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, Magda Grantwich <mgrantwich at y...> wrote:
> 
> 
> Personally I think the whole Longbottom attack was Lucius Malfoy's
> diabolical attempt to get his nutcluster sister-in-law and her limpet
> husband out of Malfoy Manor because it was getting crowded around the
> dining room table.  
> 

Kneasy:
Yeah,  they'd probably chewed the carpets to bits, too.
We mutter about motivations (as hinted at in canon) but sometimes it's
great fun to try and cobble together the most mundane motive one can
think of which then results in the most awful consequences. 

GH for instance - Lily couldn't be bothered to cook so James popped
out to the pub for a pie and a pint and Voldy followed him home. If only
he hadn't left his Invisibility Cloak with DD.... 

> 
> I lean to Red Hen's theory that including Barty Jr. in the group was
> an attempt to bring down Barty Sr. before he became Minister of Magic
> and set out on a (you should pardon the expression) witch hunt for
> all DE's, suspected DE's, etc. etc. The WW doesn't seem like it goes
> in for long term strategizing; Barty Sr. is a standout in that
> regard.  Everyone else just wants a good party and then go home to
> forget the whole thing ever happened.  Barty Sr. wants to exterminate
> DE's.  Barty Jr. turning out to be a DE would raise a lot of
> questions about Barty Sr in many peoples' minds ("can't even raise
> his own kid"  "always thought he was a little too, you know,
> hardnose").

Kneasy:
I've only visited Red Hen once and that was ages back. Didn't see this
one, but it's been suggested on the HPfGU board too - modesty forbids
that I name the poster, but there were a couple of posts on it Sept/Oct
last year - 113423, 116046. (There was some earlier stuff as well, mostly
PoA and the Dementors -  Fudge sent them after Harry, not Sirius - on 
instructions.) Fudge could be in it up to is neck. Just the sort of devious 
conspiratorial skull-duggery I relish. Didn't get much response though. 
Hope Red Hen did better. 
Sometimes I worry that there aren't enough evil-minded fans about. 
Let's face it, it's exactly the sort of stuff one would expect nasty folk like 
DEs to get up to, isn't it?
 
> 
> And there was probably a lot of old-fashioned lashing out too.  The
> Dark Lord - the all powerful - was apparently defeated by a toddler. 
> How utterly humiliating for everyone who'd followed him so devotedly.
>  It's the DE equivalent of kicking furniture.
>

Kneasy:
So incredible that they probably didn't believe it.
Yet - although Draco probably heard the tale n times back at Malfoy 
Towers,  he tries to co-opt Harry into his clique. Was dear old dad
behind this - with possibly unpleasant and probably life-shortening
consequences for Harry in mind - or did Lucius suspect that Voldy,
or part of him, was perched in Harry's cranium and that Harry could be
the new Slytherin superstar?
I've often wondered about that little episode - who knew what and when?