The Life and Lies of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore by Irvin Khaytman (good fiction books to read txt) 📗

him. “We are in King’s Cross, you say? I think that if you decided not to go back, you would be able to . . . let’s say . . . board a train.”

“And where would it take me?”

“On,” said Dumbledore simply.

Silence again.

“Voldemort’s got the Elder Wand.”

“True. Voldemort has the Elder Wand.”

“But you want me to go back?”

“I think,” said Dumbledore, “that if you choose to return, there is a chance that he may be finished for good. I cannot promise it. But I know this, Harry, that you have less to fear from returning here than he does.”

Harry glanced again at the raw-looking thing that trembled and choked in the shadow beneath the distant chair.

“Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and above all, those who live without love. By returning, you may ensure that fewer souls are maimed, fewer families are torn apart. If that seems to you a worthy goal, then we say good-bye for the present.” (DH722)

Dumbledore is leading the witness here, but he keeps stressing that it is Harry’s choice. Dumbledore presents Harry with objective facts that present a very compelling case for Harry to go back. He talks of “fewer souls maimed” and “fewer families torn apart”—in different words, he is saying exactly what he said three years earlier: “When you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort.” (GF724)

Just as Dumbledore refused to actually tell Snape that it would not tear his soul to perform a mercy killing, he refuses to tell Harry to go back. He just lays the facts before them, and leaves the ultimate choice up to them.

This is a perfect bookend to the Potter series: a choice presented to Lily/Harry, a choice made to protect their loved ones, and the resulting magic leading to Voldemort’s undoing. Dumbledore placed his faith in the power of Lily’s choice before, and now he does the same for Harry’s choice, after spending five years stressing the importance of choices to the boy. Dumbledore’s faith—and his earlier teachings—prove well-founded, as Harry does indeed make the right choice.

So at least that part went as Dumbledore intended . . . unlike most of his plans.

When Plans Go Wrong

Most of the plans I have listed here did go horribly wrong at some point or other, but none more so than the last one. Dumbledore’s Plan D hinged on Harry becoming master of the Hallows. Cloak? Check. Stone? Check. Elder Wand? About that. . .

Harry explains it all to Voldemort, and to us, at the climax of the series.

“The Elder Wand recognized a new master before Dumbledore died, someone who never even laid a hand on it. The new master removed the wand from Dumbledore against his will, never realizing exactly what he had done, or that the world’s most dangerous wand had given him its allegiance. . . .”

[. . .]

“The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy.”

[. . .]

“I [Harry] overpowered Draco weeks ago. I took this wand from him.”

[. . .]

“I am the true master of the Elder Wand.” (DH742-743)

Dumbledore’s elaborate plan for Harry to master the Hallows falls apart moments before Dumbledore actually dies, when Draco Disarms Dumbledore and becomes the master of the Elder Wand. This is the flaw in the plan that lends itself to the chapter’s title. It means that Snape is not the Elder Wand’s master, which means that Harry will not become the wand’s master by defeating Snape. Plan D should be scrapped at this point.50

It’s also worth noting the reason Plan D goes so awry: Dumbledore takes the few valuable seconds he has, and instead defending himself against Draco’s Disarming Spell, uses that time to immobilize Harry for Harry’s own protection. This is a microcosm of everything Dumbledore has done: completely disregard his previously established plans, all to take care of Harry. In the middle of Deathly Hallows, there is a heartbreaking line: “[Harry] closed his eyes at [Hermione’s] touch, and hated himself for wishing that what she said was true: that Dumbledore had really cared.” (DH362) If only Harry knew just how much Dumbledore cared!

So, in fact, the line that foreshadowed Dumbledore’s Machiavellian tendencies at the beginning of Deathly Hallows is misdirection on multiple levels. Elphias Doge wrote in his obituary of Dumbledore that “He died as he lived: working always for the greater good.” (DH20) That is actually untrue in both interpretations of “for the greater good,” the sweet interpretation as the common good, and the sinister interpretation of Machiavellianism. Because when Dumbledore died, he was not working for the greater good: his last act was to protect Harry.

As soon as Dumbledore is killed, someone needs to put the kibosh on Plan D because Draco is the master of the Elder Wand. However, it’s far too late to do anything about it! The book and Snitch were already bequeathed to Hermione and Harry, respectively—Dumbledore’s portrait can’t exactly snatch them back from the Ministry. Since Harry never comes to talk with the portrait or Snape, there is no opportunity to tell him that the Hallows quest is folly. Harry somehow mastering the wand by defeating Draco is almost completely out of the realm of possibility, since they certainly won’t be dueling anytime soon, and it would be silly to attempt facilitating such an event.

So Harry continues pursuing the Hallows (which at least accomplishes one of Dumbledore’s goals—delaying Harry’s death). Even worse, Snape is now a target for Voldemort, and neither he nor Harry receive any actual benefit from that. “Poor Severus” (DH721) indeed!

But luck and happenstance succeed where Dumbledore’s plans failed. Through a series of unforeseen events, Harry ends up a prisoner at Malfoy Manor during the week that Draco is home for the holidays, putting them in a perfect position for a face-off. And in a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, Dumbledore’s last plan gets back on track: “Harry took his chance: He leapt over an armchair and wrested