Nagini's attack on Arthur in OotP

[terri-testing.livejournal.com]

We know that Arthur was an Order member, guarding the door to the DoM (and asleep on the job under an invisibility cloak which didn't hide him from a creature that hunted by heat and scent), when Voldemort's snake attacked him.

What did the Ministry think, and the average Prophet reader?


If Fudge had realized Arthur was there on Dumbledore's orders, surely he'd have sacked him?

In fact, why wasn't Arthur sacked anyway? What business had he to be in the Ministry at all in the middle of the night? Much less loitering suspiciously outside the DoM with an invisibility cloak?

And just what kind of security does the Ministry have, that Order members, Voldemort's slaves and pets, and schoolkids, can come and go after hours as they please? I've never worked anywhere that didn't lock up when everyone left.

In fact, aren't the Aurors based in the building? Shouldn't they have a night shift (what, Dark wizards never operate at night, you tell me?), and therefore a night shift on reception to check people in who have business there?

Finally, if Fudge didn't think the snake was Tom's pet, whose did he think it was and how did he think it got in and escaped?

Thoughts?

Comments

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

If he had been serious about hiding the stone, why not keep it in his private rooms? ...

Yeah, but I was wondering if there was an actual admission that Dumbledore set things up as a trap. Actual canon proof rather than our supposition.

Like this:

In any case, we know for certain that Albus suspected Quirrell early in the year, probably before Halloween, because he warned Severus to watch out for Quirrell

I dimly remember that, thanks.

Okay, so it was a deliberate trap for the wraith ... allowing a school full of innocent children to be exposed to the dark lord in the process, tch. But Harry's running the gauntlet was still unplanned, right, according to canon?

Still, I'm surprised to be reminded that it was a deliberate trap for Quirrell. Something that Rowling intended all along, given that warning for Snape ... but she never reminded us of it again. She never 'used' that fact, never had any character note it in trying to prop up the headmaster's reputation as an astute leader. Instead I'm left with the overall impression that Dumbledore was crossing his fingers for most of the series.

[oryx_leucoryx]

But Harry's running the gauntlet was still unplanned, right, according to canon?

Sorta. I don't think Albus *needed* Harry to 'save' the stone. But he seemed to have been dangling the stone in front of Harry to a degree, and encouraged recklessness in general. The dangling was in the form of having the stone removed from Gringotts very dramatically in front of Harry. The encouragement of recklessness was in the form of the gift of the invisibility cloak - and returning the cloak to Harry after he used it for the dragon adventure. Also, there was the matter of the forest detention - Minerva's name was on the letter, but I doubt Albus didn't know about it. Which means he either let or even encouraged a nightly encounter between Harry and -er - someone who was relying on unicorn blood to stay alive.

If Hagrid was reporting to Albus about his conversations with the trio then he also knew that the trio was after Flamel and had run across Fluffy, but we don't know any of this for certain, just that Hagrid tends to blab a lot so it's hard to see him keeping anything from Albus the entire year.

Some say Albus wanted to know what Harry saw in the Mirror of Erised as a personality test (how much is he influenced by the Horcrux?), but returning the cloak after it was used recklessly (rather than confiscating it as normal teachers would do) means Albus wanted more recklessness from Harry.

(And to some readers the fact that Harry ended up believing Albus wanted him to go after the stone and meet Voldemort is enough.)

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Madderbrad, I would add to what Oryx said below - I think, knowing what we know now, that Dumbledore was quite content to put Harry in mortal danger. If the horcrux managed to destroy itself, so much the better. Albus could keep his hands clean. Brrr! I really do despise that character.

But, though it's pretty clear that the maze was a trap for Quirrell, it's also true that she never referred to it again. And yes, the "prophecies don't matter" thing when Bode actually died protecting it is maddening!

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

And yes, the "prophecies don't matter" thing when Bode actually died protecting it is maddening!

Yup. Reading that made me an even more madder Brad.

(sorry, had to say it, I'll go away now ...)