HP Weekly Discussion: Favoritism
Quote from The Gestalt Prince on November 25, 2023, 1:34 pm20. What if Voldemort didn't take Harry's blood for resurrection? How'd it change the plot?
Voldemort could've taken anyone's blood, on condition that blood came from anyone who's enemy. Considering Harry Potter world's vague interpretation of prophecies and others, anyone who'd opposed Voldemort can be classified as his enemy. Voldemort only took Harry's blood because he wanted to bypass Lily's protection which prevented Voldemort from hurting Harry, after taking Harry's blood he was able to touch him and hurt him.
So answering the question if Voldemort took someone else's body, he won't be able to hurt Harry. Harry would end up becoming Voldemort counter. Voldemort can't hurt Harry due to protection, Harry would keep absorbing his power due to brother wand effect, and eventually Harry would be able to kill Voldemort, only him because of their connection otherwise anyone strong or smart wizard can kill Harry.
But there's an issue, Harry being horcrux means Voldemort would keep returning like boogeyman and eventually would indirectly kill Harry. And Harry must eventually sacrifice himself against Voldemort in a kamikaze attack to destroy Voldemort and final horcrux in him. Unfortunately, Harry won't be able to come back because Voldemort didn't take his blood.
This scenario is what I imagine Dumbledore had in his mind before knowing Voldemort took Harry's blood. Voldemort taking Harry's blood made Harry not only vulnerable to Voldemort but also leave a way for Harry to come and that's why Dumbledore liked it.
‘He said my blood would make him stronger than if he’d used someone else’s,’ Harry told Dumbledore. ‘He said the protection my – my mother left in me – he’d have it, too. And he was right – he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face.’
For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore’s eyes. But next second, Harry was sure he had imagined it, for when Dumbledore had returned to his seat behind the desk, he looked as old and weary as Harry had ever seen him.
Quote from The Gestalt Prince on November 25, 2023, 1:34 pm20. What if Voldemort didn't take Harry's blood for resurrection? How'd it change the plot?
A short bit from the conversation between Voldemort and Wormtail in the first chapter of GoF:
'It is merely that if we were to use another witch or wizard – any wizard – the thing could be done so much more quickly! [...]'
‘I could use another wizard,’ said the second voice softly, ‘that is true …’
[...]
'If you follow the plan, Wormtail, the Ministry need never know that anyone else has disappeared.'
Since others have already commented on the former part, I'll talk about the latter. Which, though probably referring to Moody, suggests that Voldemort intended to keep his return a secret even if he managed to kill Harry. (I even read a theory recently that his plan was to return or have someone else return to Hogwarts disguised as Harry Potter, thus making it appear as though nothing had happened while simultaneously being in a perfect position to spy on Dumbledore. Which is why the Cup was a two-way portkey.)
Had Voldemort not used Harry as the 'enemy', he probably would have remained unnoticed longer and gathered even more support before he made his return known. I don't really understand why he decided to summon Snape in the first place, considering he thought Snape had "left him for ever", but maybe that too would've changed and then Dumbledore really would have no way of knowing what's happening. There are infinite possibilities of how the story might unfold from here.
21. Do you think Dumbledore favored Marauders?
Quote from The Gestalt Prince on January 2, 2024, 1:31 am21. Do you think Dumbledore favored Marauders?
Well, if we sum it all up, not really. Some arguments can be made for Lupin who I think was favoured but there's no conclusive evidence that they were exclusively favoured as seen in some of the Snape fics.
- Marauders becoming animagus, having map and Invisibility cloak was unknown by Dumbledore. At most Dumbledore suspected use of Invisibility clock by Marauders to sneak into the kitchen but it was confirmed by him when first war when James presented cloak to Dumbledore. So Dumbledore didn't exactly favour Marauders for something he himself didn't knew.
- Some point can be made for Dumbledore favouring Sirius Black who got away with a murder attempt on Snape, but it was less about protecting Sirius and more about protecting Lupin.
- Lupin was mostly the one favoured by Dumbledore. He got to attend Hogwarts as student thanks to Dumbledore despite being a werewolf and also got employed as DADA Professor despite his condition.
- Sirius got away with his "Prank" but Dumbledore himself saw it as murder attempt. He didn't try to save Sirius or suspect his innocence after Potter incident 1981, till he was told truth by Harry. Then, he helped Sirius escape through Harry but didn't try to clear his name. In OoTP, as Harry pointed out, Sirius was kept inside Grimmauld Place despite his unwillingness to stay there. So, Sirius wasn't a beneficiary of Dumbledore's favour.
- James Potter could've been one of the favoured. He was made Head Boy by Dumbledore despite not being a Perfect. Dumbledore possibly saw him in a positive light for saving Snape during the "Prank". Dumbledore also scolded Snape for not considering James in his request to save Lily. Dumbledore always spoke highly of James Potter and felt remorse for not returning cloak to him before his death.
- I don't think Peter was one of the favoured and was more of tag-along, allowed to join order alongside rest of the Marauders. Only possible favour could've been not considering Peter as traitor but it was more of Peter's cunning and Dumbledore's bad impression of Sirius over any possible favour.
In conclusion, Dumbledore somewhat favoured Marauders particularly Lupin and Potter.
