COS Chapter Eighteen: "Dobby's Reward"

[for-diddled.livejournal.com]

* Dumbledore’s beaming at Harry. Yes, Albus, it must be nice to know that Harry now worships you so much that he cares about your reaction more than anyone else’s.

* So how long has Dumbles known that Riddle’s been possessing Ginny? After HBP, I wouldn’t be surprised to know that he’d guessed from the start, but has been sitting on the information to let Harry “try his strength” or whatever.

* “Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was actually called Tom Riddle.” Yes, Dumbles, because you never tell anyone. Which seems somewhat odd, given that the pureblood fanatics who apparently make up his biggest supporters might hesitate at joining a known half-blood. Plus, of course, it’s a lot harder to be scared of Tommy Riddle of Slytherin House than it is of Lord Voldemort, Master of Death.

* On second thoughts, it’s not that odd. After all, the threat of Voldemort provides a useful means of distracting people from the underlying problems facing the Wizarding World, not least of which is the fact that this Machiavellian schoolteacher is controlling everything behind the scenes.

* Seriously, for all his supposed modesty in not accepting the Minister of Magic post, he seems to have acquired a remarkably large amount of influence. He’s already Headmaster of wizarding Britain’s only school, Supreme Warlock of the Wizengamot, Chief Mugwump and head of the International Confederation of Wizards, which in Muggle terms is like being Education Secretary, Speaker of the House of Commons, Lord Chancellor and Secretary-General of the UN all at once. More powerful, in fact, since the Education Secretary doesn’t hire and fire individual teachers, or expel individual pupils. No wonder he wants people distracted by Voldemort.

* Someone really ought to write a parody fic with Dumbledore as this sinister villain controlling everything behind the scenes, and the Death Eaters as a group of noble freedom-fighters trying to overthrow him, who have an unfair reputation as a group of dark wizards due to Dumbledore’s control of the press. Or better yet, Voldemort could be an agent working for Dumbledore, giving the WW something to unite against in order to stop them questioning Dumbledore’s authority.

* I wonder if Dumbledore’s being so lenient to Ginny here because he’s remembering how he was once taken in by Grindlewald?

* For some reason, I now find myself always suspecting the worst every time Dumbledore’s eyes start twinkling. I wonder what he could be up to here?

* Note how it’s Ron who immediately thinks of Hermione being OK. Another clue to Hr/R?

* Special Awards for Services to the School and two hundred points? Hardly an appropriate reward, IMHO. Not only is fighting millennium-old monsters not a recognised extra-curricular activity, making it inappropriate to give them points for it, but a glorified school trophy seems a bit inadequate. They should be given Orders of Merlin instead.

* Dumbledore doesn’t seem surprised that Lockhart tried to memory charm Harry and Ron. So does this mean that he knew all along about Gilderoy’s modus operandi? And he still hired him nevertheless? Remind me again, why is it that Dumbledore’s considered the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts has ever had?

* Harry doesn’t think he’s like Tom, because Harry’s in Gryffindor and Tom’s just a Slytherin. Oh dear. Maybe Voldemort’s idea of abolishing Houses was a good one after all.

* Also, note how Harry thinks “doing well in Slytherin” means “evil”. Yet more evidence of the Houses dividing students and encouraging them to think of members of other Houses as being beneath them. Seriously, it’s like the Founders thought that the WW was too boring, and set up a system purposefully designed to lead to as much civil war as possible.

* This would be an excellent opportunity for Dumbledore to say to Harry, “Look, Harry, I know you don’t like some Slytherin students, but Slytherins are people too, Slytherin House is every bit as good as any other House, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being sorted into Slytherin.” Instead, he seems to confirm Harry’s idea that choosing not to be sorted into Slytherin is some sort of moral test he had to pass.

* Getting all psychoanalytical here, I think that maybe Dumbledore knows deep down that he’d have been better-suited to Slytherin than Gryffindor (he’s cunning and manipulative enough, at any rate), and compensates by doing down Slytherin House whenever he can get away with it.

* Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled the sword out of the Hat, apparently. So does that mean that no other House member would be able to receive help from the Hat, or would they have pulled out something equally cool? If, say, Pansy had been taken into the Chamber and Draco had gone down to rescue her, would he have pulled out Slytherin’s crossbow or something?

* I’d like to think that Helga Hufflepuff, at least, would have offered up her weapon (battle-axe, maybe? Mace?) to anyone who needed it, regardless of House.

* So why did the governors want Dumbledore back? When has he done anything to stop the attacks?

* I don’t believe the cursing families part, either. A shrewd political operator like Lucius would never resort to something so obviously illegal. More likely the governors are just trying to cover their backsides in case Dumbledore’s angry with them. You know what he’s like about personal loyalty, after all.

* Come to think of it, does anyone know whether any of the governors went on to mysteriously find themselves in a position where their only option involved doing some humiliating and demeaning job for Dumbledore?

* So Lucius, a man whom even Voldemort described as “slippery”, now virtually goes to pieces the moment his plot’s uncovered. Has JKR been getting the car batteries out again, perhaps?

* If any more of Voldemort’s schoolthings turn up, Mr. Weasley will have them traced back to Lucius. That’s right, one of the main good guys is going to frame his personal enemy based on nothing more than a hunch.

* So “Lucius throws a sock which Dobby happens to catch” is now the same as “Lucius hands Dobby a sock.” Hmm, you’re on shaky legal grounds there, I think.

* Unfortunately, being free doesn’t seem to have changed Dobby’s inherent servility. Even more unfortunately, he’ll be back to inflict it upon us in later books.

* I hope than when Dumbles cancelled all those exams, he just cancelled the internal end-of-year ones, rather than the OWLs and NEWTs. How’re those seventh-years going to get jobs without any qualifications?

* Lucius Malfoy’s been sacked as a school governor. By whom, exactly? Do governors have the power to sack each other?

* Ginny Weasley’s perfectly happy again. She may have recklessly endangered her fellow-students’ safety (why did she write in that diary again? Why?), but none of them actually died, so that’s OK.

* So Percy – who, let us not forget, seems to have cared for Ginny the most out of all the Weasley brothers – has specifically asked her not to tell anyone about his girlfriend, so what does she do? Tell as soon as someone asks. In front of the twins. The best you can say is probably that she’s being extraordinarily naïve; the worst, I suppose, is that she’s maliciously hoping that the twins’ persecution of Percy might amuse her in some way.

* So, to recap, she’s written in this diary even after she suspects it’s possessing her, not told anyone that she’s the one attacking people, and completely betrayed Percy’s confidence. And yet, somehow, I still like this version better than the second one.

* Still, kissing in deserted corridors doesn’t seem particularly IC for the Percy we know. More evidence that he’s not nearly as pompous normally as he is when surrounded by people who constantly try to belittle him?

* And on that bombshell, it’s time to end the read-through. Thanks to everyone who read and commented on it.

 

Comments

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

how long has Dumbles known that Riddle’s been possessing Ginny? After HBP, I wouldn’t be surprised to know that he’d guessed from the start, but has been sitting on the information to let Harry “try his strength”.

It is pretty suspicious how well-informed he is- he knows straightaway without Harry telling that Ginny was 'enchanted' by Voldy. So...when exactly did he figure that out? You're right, I wouldn't put it past him to let matters unfold as they would, either to prime Harry into becoming a hero or leaving him to become basilisk fodder. If he dies, it just means another horcrux is destroyed, after all. On the plus side, if the boy survives, it's 'coz he expressed loyalty to Dumbles and is more strongly than ever his puppet.

I'm also very cynical about his reasons for never revealing Voldy's roots. As you say, it would demoralize the DE movement to find out their grand and glorious pureblood fanatic leader is a halfblood. Then again, Dumbles likes the power and prestige that comes with opposing him and gathering influence and supporters to challenge him. It validates his need to control and manipulate others. Imagine a world with no Voldy or Grindelwald to foil, Dumbles would probably become the Dark Lord himself.

this Machiavellian schoolteacher is controlling everything behind the scenes.

What's creepy is how quickly people- characters and readers- equate loyalty to Dumbles with being virtuous. Never mind how ridiculous and childish and stupid it is (DH, I'm looking at you), faith in Dumbledore is next to godliness.

Seriously, for all his supposed modesty in not accepting the Minister of Magic post, he seems to have acquired a remarkably large amount of influence. He’s already Headmaster of wizarding Britain’s only school, Supreme Warlock of the Wizengamot, Chief Mugwump and head of the International Confederation of Wizards, which in Muggle terms is like being Education Secretary, Speaker of the House of Commons, Lord Chancellor and Secretary-General of the UN

♥ this whole paragraph. People always talk about how HUMBLE Dumbles is for turning it down, how that choice shows how 'good' he is, how he doesn't have ambition and just wants what's best for everyone. *snorts* No, that's just the one job where you aren't your own man and have to answer to everyone else. Dumbles likes positions of power where you can't be questioned and don't owe anything to anyone. Okay, sure, there are the governors but look how quick they revoked their sentence.

two hundred points? Not only is fighting millennium-old monsters not a recognised extra-curricular activity, making it inappropriate to give them points for it

This bothers me so much. It's not fair on all the other kids- points are for doing well in class and helping out around school and being a good, productive kid in general. It shouldn't be for crazy suicide missions that succeed against all improbability AND which involve holding a teacher at wandpoint and forcing him into the lair of a dangerous deadly monster! They should've lost all their points for that! But what does Dumbles care for reckless endangerment of human life, right?

So does this mean that he knew all along about Gilderoy’s modus operandi? And he still hired him nevertheless? Remind me again, why is it that Dumbledore’s considered the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts has ever had?

IFKR? He hires all these dangerous incompetent or dangerous full stop teachers- and it makes me boil over with anger how everyone in-universe and the readers hate on Percy for not realizing his boss- whom he communicated with mostly by owl, iirc?- was Imperiused (when hello, so many people got Imperiused and nobody could tell!) but Dumbles gets off scot-free with hiring a polyjuiced DE who's supposed to be his friend/ally and doesn't realize anything's amiss.

(On a side note, I read this great fic in which Snape got an award acknowledging him as the best headmaster Hogwarts had for doing an impressive job protecting the students and not losing any while he was headmaster- even under duress, at the darkest time in Hogwarts history, with a DE regime in place. I thought it was by tearsofphoenix but I can't find it now, anyone have any idea whose it was?)

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/It is pretty suspicious how well-informed he is- he knows straightaway without Harry telling that Ginny was 'enchanted' by Voldy./

He's very well-informed, but the problem is that he doesn't do anything with all the knowledge he has. I know that he was supposed to come across as all-knowing and wise, but since he doesn't do anything with his knowledge and wisdom, he just comes across as grossly negligent and indifferent.

/I'm also very cynical about his reasons for never revealing Voldy's roots. As you say, it would demoralize the DE movement to find out their grand and glorious pureblood fanatic leader is a halfblood./

The only ways that Dumbledore wouldn't look as culpable for keeping quiet would be if he had indeed tried to reveal Voldemort's background, but was forced to remain silent (by the Death Eaters, Ministry, Voldemort, etc.) or if he actually didn't know that Voldemort and Tom Riddle were the same person until many years later.

/it makes me boil over with anger how everyone in-universe and the readers hate on Percy for not realizing his boss- whom he communicated with mostly by owl, iirc?- was Imperiused (when hello, so many people got Imperiused and nobody could tell!) but Dumbles gets off scot-free with hiring a polyjuiced DE who's supposed to be his friend/ally and doesn't realize anything's amiss.

Barty Crouch Jr. himself says that it was difficult for the Ministry to ascertain who was under the Imperius Curse and who wasn't. Sirius says that during the first war, it was hard to see who was on which side, so clearly the Imperius Curse is not easy to detect. Besides, wasn't Barty Crouch Sr. ordered to act normal while under the Imperius Curse and it was only when he started to fight it that he started acting noticeably odd?