The Life and Lies of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore Irvin Khaytman (reading books for 4 year olds .TXT) š
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- Author: Irvin Khaytman
Book online Ā«The Life and Lies of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore Irvin Khaytman (reading books for 4 year olds .TXT) šĀ». Author Irvin Khaytman
At this point, something has been killing the unicorns in the Forbidden Forest, and Dumbledore has likely put two and two together and realized itās Voldemort. Dumbledore sees this as a good opportunity to tip Harry off about the Stone and about the fact that Voldemort is after it. He decides that the detention will take place in the Forbidden Forest.
This is the only plausible explanation for that detention. Even by Hogwartsās very lax standards, sending four first years into the Forest at night, when they realistically are no help in finding a dead unicorn, is absurd. Itās certainly not McGonagallās style, and until Dolores Umbridge comes along, the detentions mostly consist of cleaning and other sensible things. The idea for this detention was almost certainly part of Dumbledoreās plan.
One thing that always struck me as odd was that Firenze knew about the Stone. He is the one who helps lead Harry to the conclusion that Voldemort is trying to steal the Sorcererās Stoneāafter explaining what unicorn blood does, he asks Harry, āMr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?ā (SS259) Why would Firenze, a centaur who has nothing to do with anything, know about it? Unless the meaning of āMars is bright tonightā is āThereās a Sorcererās Stone hidden at Hogwarts,ā thereās no way for Firenze to know about it. . . unless Dumbledore tipped him off. After Dumbledore planned Harryās excursion into the Forest, he likely sought out the most approachable centaur and instructed Firenze to watch over Harry and tell him about the Stone and Voldemort at an opportune moment.6
Did Dumbledore plan the meeting in the forest between Harry and Quirrell? Iām leaning towards no, because that would needlessly endanger Harry and the other students. Also, Dumbledore doesnāt really have a way of knowing which nights Quirrell goes to drink the unicorn blood. I think we can give Quirrell enough benefit of the doubt to not drink it on a regular schedule. That run-in was a coincidence, but luckily Firenze was watching over Harry, and no harm was done.
Another subtle clue of Dumbledoreās involvement is that he returns the Invisibility Cloak to Harry that night. Why that night, of all of them? Because Dumbledore counted on Harry now knowing whatās going on and equipped him with the Cloak to go after Quirrell.
Now the only thing for Dumbledore to do is to leave and allow events to unfold. Perhaps Quirrell just happened to choose the last day of Harryās exams to send Dumbledore away, or perhaps Dumbledore waited until the exams were done so as not to interfere with Harryās education. Either way, about a week after the incursion into the Forest, Dumbledore gets an urgent owl from the Ministry and āleaves,ā allowing Quirrell and the Trio to go after the Stone.
Here we get evidence that Dumbledoreās staff is not privy to the plan for the Trio to go through the trapdoor. When Harry reveals he knows about the Stone, āWhatever Professor McGonagall had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't pick them up.ā (SS267) So unless McGonagall is just having a laugh and doing a bit of acting (there is a theory that she carries a stack of books around just so she can keep dropping them for dramatic effect), this means that the staff was not aware that the protections they were creating were custom-made for the Trio. This is very much Dumbledoreās style; he will employ a similar lack of disclosure in Order of the Phoenix, when he assigns tasks to his allies.
Did Dumbledore actually go to London? Perhaps, but if he did, he certainly got back much sooner than he leads us to believe. Hermione tells Harry, āI brought Ron aroundāthat took a whileāand we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hallāhe already knewāhe just said, āHarryās gone after him, hasnāt he?ā and hurtled off to the third floor.ā (SS302)
Dumbledore is all about timing. He wanted to give Harry some time to face off against Quirrell but would then dash in to end things. So he carefully planned it. After the potions puzzle, Harry would go to fight Quirrell, while Ron and Hermione would return. Dumbledore watched them go, waited for Ron and Hermione to emerge, which would be his cue to go after Harryāthat would give Harry enough time.
What Dumbledore hadnāt counted on was Ron getting injured and Hermione having to take time to revive him. He was frantic by the time Ron and Hermione got to him: he knew that they should have emerged sooner. Thatās why Dumbledore āfeared [he] might be too late.ā (SS297) He also must have received quite a shock when he arrived and saw the Sorcererās Stone was no longer in the mirror! That was his first sign that he was dealing with an extraordinary boy.
Upon reflection, Harry was quite rightāDumbledore did orchestrate much of what happened that year at Hogwarts. All the protections surrounding the Stone were meticulously planned by Dumbledore for the Trio. Some parts of the plan went wrongālike Harry getting the Stone out of the mirror and Ron getting injured. And there were quite a few coincidencesāQuirrell trying to steal the Stone just after it was taken, Harry meeting Quirrell in the Forest, and Harry finding out about Nicolas Flamel.
But on the whole, this plan turned out all right. Throughout the year, no one was really the wiser about Dumbledoreās scheming, and Harry now has his first victory over Voldemort. To be sure, this all seems like a lot of effort for Dumbledore. But Dumbledore has the luxury of having time to set up such elaborate plots, because the wizarding world is at peace. Now that itās all resolved,
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