I'm just jumping in here without reading anyone's comments (which is probably a big mistake) but I'm jumping in because I've been thinking about Dumbledore and love over the last day or two - because of hbpspork, I think.
For all his talk of love I don't think DD feels (really feels) it a great deal. It's all a bit theoretical and academic with him. I get the feeling that Lily's sacrifice may have been as much of a surprise to him as it was to LV. HBP spork has just done the chapter where DD first encounters Tom, and everyone is cross about DD's ineptitude. Well, I think the long and short of it may be that he didn't care. Back then (it was 50 odd years earlier) he hadn't discovered love yet. You can see him as a bit of an ivory tower prof, working with Flamel on alchemy etc, can't you? Even now, DD is rather remote. He seems to understand people, and value them, but he's not close to anyone. He's able to get the measure of people and, if not to manipulate them, to manage them. In the interests of good, of course! So, what Lily did demonstrated the power of love to him. Then Harry totally floored him; DD actually felt love. It's not that Harry is powerful, it's that he's unmanageable. He's himself. DD didn't have the measure of him, Harry surprised him. DD was amazed to discover he loved Harry, and the love was beyond his control.
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Date: 2006-06-21 05:05 pm (UTC)For all his talk of love I don't think DD feels (really feels) it a great deal. It's all a bit theoretical and academic with him. I get the feeling that Lily's sacrifice may have been as much of a surprise to him as it was to LV. HBP spork has just done the chapter where DD first encounters Tom, and everyone is cross about DD's ineptitude. Well, I think the long and short of it may be that he didn't care. Back then (it was 50 odd years earlier) he hadn't discovered love yet. You can see him as a bit of an ivory tower prof, working with Flamel on alchemy etc, can't you? Even now, DD is rather remote. He seems to understand people, and value them, but he's not close to anyone. He's able to get the measure of people and, if not to manipulate them, to manage them. In the interests of good, of course! So, what Lily did demonstrated the power of love to him. Then Harry totally floored him; DD actually felt love. It's not that Harry is powerful, it's that he's unmanageable. He's himself. DD didn't have the measure of him, Harry surprised him. DD was amazed to discover he loved Harry, and the love was beyond his control.