What Would Dumbledore Do?

---

Travis Prinzi, M.A. Theological Studies, M.S. Teaching and Curriculum, English Author of "Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds" www.thehogshead.org

“No, Draco,” said Dumbledore. “It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now.” (Half-Blood Prince, 592).

It is Dumbledore’s mercy that matters, there on that Astronomy Tower, because both he and Draco know that Voldemort has put Draco into this position because of his anger with Lucius for his Diary-crux and Prophecy blunders. Dumbledore is plain with Malfoy: Voldemort sent Draco on this task expecting Draco to die in the attempt; Snape’s the backup plan, and whether Draco succeeds or fails doesn’t matter. In Voldemort’s mind, both Draco and Dumbledore will be dead in the end, whichever way it plays out.

And this is where Dumbledore’s mercy becomes so very profound and important. Dumbledore, staring at his would-be killer, offers freedom from Voldemort’s wrath and tyranny – not only for Draco, but for the whole family. Dumbledore has to know that the Malfoys are having regrets about their service to Voldemort, as he surely knows about Narcissa’s visit to Snape. Consider, then, the depth of this mercy: it was Lucius who was behind the re-opening of the Chamber of Secrets, putting the Hogwarts students in danger. Dumbledore’s patience very rarely exceeds its limits, but Harry managed to cross that line when he implied that Dumbledore would leave his students in danger earlier that same evening.

But there on the tower, Dumbledore stands ready to forgive Draco, who put students in grave danger by his reckless attempts on Dumbledore’s life, and his father Lucius, whose Diary-crux scheme threatened the lives of all the muggleborns in the school. Mercy is at its greatest when one is willing to overlook the greatest personal injury, the offense that most “hits home,” and offer forgiveness to the offender. This is the case with Dumbledore’s offer to Draco.

This is not simply an isolated act of forgiveness, either. We’re talking about the man who’s about to show the vile Carrows manners. But more importantly, Dumbledore knows the power of mercy and love. He knows what it will do to the Malfoys to offer mercy instead of vengeance, to spare their “only son.”

In other words, Dumbledore had a plan: “Save the Malfoys, Save the world.”

But it’s not the plan of the cold, manipulative Dumbledore that so many have read into the version of Albus we learned about from Rita Skeeter. It’s the Dumbledore who knows that self-sacrificial love is just that powerful.

And he was right. It was, after all, Narcissa who helped Harry maintain his cover when he came back from “King’s Cross,” alive and well at the climax of Deathly Hallows.

Love for friends is easy – perhaps even self-sacrificial love for friends. But who gives up his life for his enemies? It’s what Dumbledore did, and it saved the world.

(Excerpted and adapted from Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds. More commentary on this subject available here: “Dumbledore’s Mercy: Why Draco Couldn’t Pull the Trigger.”