If we dismiss J(ust) K(idding) Rowling from the analysis, I would say Dumbledore motives are complicated. I truly believe many of his actions stem from sheer pragmatism- as long as things are kept hush-hush (and they usually are with Albus) having for example, a loyal werewolf can be very useful. Especially when you are a politician. And then we have cases like Tom and Hagrid- situations where on the surface level there is nothing to gain but a lot to lose if dices don't roll in your favour. Going with a cynical view: both Tom and Hagrid were useful for Dumbledore. In Hagrid's case, we have seen in OotP how well he can tank spells. In both pre-Hogwart's Tom and 6th year Tom's case, the timeline plays the main role- Tom killed Myrtle in 1943. It wasn't up until 1945 that Albus defeated Grindelwald. If for some reason, Albus couldn't confront Gellert directly, those two people would be useful to have at hand... for the reasons... But I think there is another very important part of Albus' personality I think we often forget: constant
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I am in favor of complicated motives! It's trying to figure out how much (if anything) can't be explained by pragmatism that makes figuring Dumbledore out so hard.
Hm, the guilt idea and all of the "second chances" as Dumbledore projecting his own issues made me wonder about a difference between the kinds of second chances he gives.
Dumbledore seems to like Hagrid and Remus. They are both loyal to Dumbledore, are limited in the scope of their actions, and mostly don't harm people intentionally. (The Marauders generally passed off what they did as jokes, and apparently had no ambitions beyond having fun in the moment.) Even if they had let the habits Dumbledore knew about get out of hand, the damage they could cause would be limited to immediate bystanders. They both seem--by Dumbledore's standards--harmless and well-meaning. These are pleasant reflections, if he sees them as aspects of himself.
And as soon as Dumbledore finds out that Remus isn't quite as loyal or harmless as he thought, the very next day his loyal lieutenant
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The Marauders generally passed off what they did as jokes, and apparently had no ambitions beyond having fun in the moment.I think that is one of Albus's parameters when deciding who deserves a real chance and who is just the pawn in his game. Ever since Dumbledore became Headmaster, we see this negative push back towards ambition- advanced texts available to Tom are no longer in the library in Harry's time, departments are cut down... Heck, the HBP is the epitome of this- Albus has to re-employ Toastmaster leader to mine him for information he might need to defeat his ex-student
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And then we have cases like Tom and Hagrid- situations where on the surface level there is nothing to gain but a lot to lose if dices don't roll in your favour.
Going with a cynical view: both Tom and Hagrid were useful for Dumbledore. In Hagrid's case, we have seen in OotP how well he can tank spells. In both pre-Hogwart's Tom and 6th year Tom's case, the timeline plays the main role- Tom killed Myrtle in 1943. It wasn't up until 1945 that Albus defeated Grindelwald. If for some reason, Albus couldn't confront Gellert directly, those two people would be useful to have at hand... for the reasons...
But I think there is another very important part of Albus' personality I think we often forget: constant ( ... )
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Hm, the guilt idea and all of the "second chances" as Dumbledore projecting his own issues made me wonder about a difference between the kinds of second chances he gives.
Dumbledore seems to like Hagrid and Remus. They are both loyal to Dumbledore, are limited in the scope of their actions, and mostly don't harm people intentionally. (The Marauders generally passed off what they did as jokes, and apparently had no ambitions beyond having fun in the moment.) Even if they had let the habits Dumbledore knew about get out of hand, the damage they could cause would be limited to immediate bystanders. They both seem--by Dumbledore's standards--harmless and well-meaning. These are pleasant reflections, if he sees them as aspects of himself.
And as soon as Dumbledore finds out that Remus isn't quite as loyal or harmless as he thought, the very next day his loyal lieutenant ( ... )
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