A new hypothesis concerning the DADA Curse

[sunnyskywalker]

You'd think by now I would have learned not to believe anything Dumbledore says uncritically. Let's take another look at the passage where he confirms the curse's existence:

"Oh, he definitely wanted the Defense Against the Dark Arts job," said Dumbledore. "The aftermath of our little meeting proved that. You see, we have never been able to keep a

Comments

[chantaldormand]

Hmmm, in my experience well-educated people tend to lie by omission, using confusing language (the infamous "his proper name") or bad statistics. The quote you used here is classic Dumbledore. For example in CoS he says that only true Gryffindor could pull out Godric's sword out of the Hat, but take a step back and you realise that only very reckless (aka Gryffindorish) teenager would pull the stunt Harry did in CoS. So, in other words, the Hat wouldn't give the sword to a normal student, because they wouldn't need it.
He didn't lie per se, but both the reader and Harry would react in a different way if he was straightforward.

I can accept this as an explanation for the curse. Especially considering other teachers he hired.
Heck, in his mind kids learning next to nothing about DADA might be a good thing. After all, to effectively protect yourself from darkness, you must gaze into the abyss so you understand it. And look where it led Tom and many other students? No, no, that won't do it.

[sunnyskywalker]

Or like the time he mentions how James saved Sev's life, but not the circumstances, which leads Harry to believe his father rushed into a dangerous situation totally unconnected with him or his friends solely because rescuing people is the right thing to do. (Dumbledore could argue that he has good strategic reasons for this carefully-edited version, but it's still, you know, inaccurate.) Which he mentions in the same conversation where he says truth should be treated with caution. So... yeah.

We know he has the Horcrux books removed from the library and tells readers in his Beadle commentary that the Deathly Hallows are a fantasy (which he knows perfectly well isn't true--he's carrying one around daily). So there's precedent for Dumbledore suppressing knowledge of evil or just dangerous magic. It wouldn't be out of character for him to have misgivings about too-thorough DADA instruction.

Lupin's hiring

[nx74defiant]

Do any one think Dumbledore was honest with Lupin and warned him about the curse? Did DD tell Lupin it would only be for one school year. Or did he let poor Lupin think this was the opportunity of a lifetime to have job security?

Re: Lupin's hiring

[chantaldormand]

It's very hard to gauge just how much Dumbledore told Remus.
On the one hand, Remus is very indebted with Albus: starting with letting him attend Hogwarts, to hiring him.
On the other hand, it seems that not only Remus wasn't a member of OotP during the first war, but also distanced himself from his Order friends during that war.
Add to the stack that he was James' friend (potential link for Harry) and our inability to tell just how much Albus knew about Secret Keeper drama and we get very ugly picture.
In all honesty, I think that Albus hinted that certain teachers *coughcoughLockhartcoughcough* made horrible life choices and ended their career in rather dramatic fashion, but I doubt he was very straightforward about the full extent of the problem. After all, as Albus would tell you truth is a dangerous thing and letting your chess pieces to know about your plans, might work against you.

Er... on that subject

[terri_testing]

I am just thinking aloud here...

If Dumbledore had been the original author of "the curse on the DADA position," then he'd have been in a better position than most to turn it on and off, or even just up and down.

And, um, if the real point of the curse (originally) was to dissuade TOM from applying ever again for the position, or from trying to get his agents into Hogwarts, then we'd expect the curse to get worse when Tom had strong reason to want an agent there.

Like, you know, when Prophecy-Boy was attending.

I'm just saying.

Re: Er... on that subject

[sunnyskywalker]

It's disturbing how much it would explain. I do try to look for reasons everything isn't Dumbledore's fault, but he keeps refusing to cooperate.

You can at least argue that in this case that there weren't any clearly good courses of action, so maybe this isn't as clearly a terrible choice as some of his others, if you're so inclined. But you have to wonder what he'd have done if Voldemort started trying to get other positions instead.

You know, now that I think about it, the fact that Voldemort didn't try that is interesting. Why not kill a redshirt professor like Sinistra in late August and Imperius someone at the Ministry into Imperiusing the Minister to appoint him/his agent? If Voldemort cast the curse, he could continue by cursing any position he/his agents didn't get, making life very difficult for Dumbledore if he doesn't play ball. If Dumbledore cast it, Voldemort could go after each faculty position in turn and either succeed or fail but, again, make life increasingly difficult for Dumbledore and enjoy the bind Dumbledore

Re: Er... on that subject

[oryx_leucoryx]

If Tom knew or had reason to expect the curse to hit his appointees regardless of position that might explain why he sent the 2 most expendable DEs to teach.

Re: Er... on that subject

[oryx_leucoryx]

Hi Terri, so good to see you around!

As for Dumbles messing with the strength of the curse: We have long thought that prior to Quirrell teachers left under mild circumstances - no deaths, no drama (because it took several years into Harry's schooling for rumors of a curse to start). The ones who were most harmed were Quirrell and Crouch Jr - one possessed by Tom and one serving him loyally. So perhaps the curse was designed to target Tom and his loyalists specifically. Also, let's not forget swythyv's idea that the curse was a modification of a protection (originating with Salazar Slytherin, IIRC) that was tied to the DADA office + room of the DADA teacher, preventing anyone who lived and taught there surviving harming students.