Once more - with questions. part 2.

[Barry Arrowsmith]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "pippin_999" <foxmoth at ...> wrote:
>
> 
> Pippin:
> Unless Dumbledore's peripheral vision is extraordinarily poor, he should
> be able to see  Dobby pointing to the diary too.  Besides, Lucius slips up 
> a bit. "Have you caught the culprit?" should have been "I take it Hagrid had 
> an accomplice?" Only someone with information on the real villain would 
> *know* that Hagrid had been innocent all along. Even Harry couldn't be
> sure till he'd heard from Aragog.
> 

Depends on positioning, which is alluded to, but not nailed down for certain.
According to the text:
"And still, behind his back, Dobby was pointing..."
The assumption being that Dobby is behind Malfoy when viewed from DD's
position, 'cos if he'd been in front or to the side, then Lucius would have 
seen his signals. And if he's behind Malfoy, can DD see what he's up to?
Probably not. 
And anyway, it's more fun if DD is a sneaky, conniving old rogue who 
keeps his cards (and his sources) close to his chest. 

> 
> Pippin:
> Kneasy, my boy, you're on to something. Not that I believe Dobby was
> Dumbledore's agent-in-place at the Malfoys though I could well believe be
> became a Dumbledore agent when he went to work at Hogwarts. But since
> he's the one who warns Harry of Umbridge's ambush and he seems
> to be currently employed in supervising Kreacher, that's hardly bangy.
> 
> But according to Dumbledore in HBP, Lucius believed The Diary would 
> simply cause the Chamber to reopen.  A memory, we're told,  should not 
> have been able to think and act for itself. I assume  that means the Diary
> should have had only limited volition, like the  portraits and the
> Marauder's Map -- they can do the sorts of things they've always 
> done, but they don't attempt anything new. Mrs. Black can't be
> persuaded to temper her opinions, and the Map, though it is now
> older than two of its makers will ever be, still has the sensibility
> (so to speak) of a teenager.
> 
> If the Diary were an object of that sort it would have been no 
> threat to Harry. His blood is purer than that of many a Slytherin --
> Severus Snape for one. But Dobby knew it was something more,
> knew that Harry Potter specifically would be in great danger. So,
> did Dobby recognize the Diary as a horcrux? Do all House Elves
> have this ability? Does Kreacher?
> 

Hmm. Worth thinking about, might offer more on that after pondering.
Though as one who doesn't totally trust everything that DD says to 
Harry, the deductions do tend to get a bit twisty. For example, how
did DD know what Lucius thought would happen?

> Pippin
> Congratulating Kneasy on his ascent to the heights of BNFdom
>

BNF?
Wasszat?
Go on, I'm mug enough to fall for it.