A reunion that goes to the dogs really 

What a journey it has been, in the third Harry Potter book we learn a lot of backstories that you and I have already discussed. We know who Sirius Black is and that he was criminally lied about by Dumbledore. We know what happened with the fidellius and we have discussed Snape’s attitude towards James, Sirius, and Remus. This is the first year without possessions but with break-ins. Let’s get into it. 

The seriousness of Sirius 
In the summer before Harry’s third year, Harry reaches his limit and runs away from home where he is found right away. This brings into question what exactly Dumbledore means by watching Harry closely. This is one of those years where we do not see a whole lot of Dumbledore. He sort of drifts to the sideline which isn’t odd because Dumbledore is only interested in Harry when it concerns Tom or when he can swoop in for the last second of trouble. Harry spends a glorious summer at Diagon Alley. It’s odd in a way that no adult finds it weird that this freshly 13-year-old can be in a hotel on his own. But that is the wizarding world for us. Or maybe it’s only Harry because Harry is a celebrity, sometimes. As people don’t come up to him anymore. But who knows what Rita Skeeter has been writing for the past two years, Harry doesn’t because he doesn’t get the paper. Why did Dumbledore or any other teacher never tell Harry who betrayed his parents (POA: 11, 223)? What is he supposed to do, buy a book about himself? Read old papers? I mean everyone else knows.  Harry gets no messages telling him to be careful and why at the start of the summer. It tells me who cares about Harry, and it’s a sad state of affairs.

Freedom and responsibilities
Harry is not allowed to go to Hogsmeade because his family does not want to give permission. Harry is thus not allowed to be a ‘normal teenager’ with a ‘normal childhood’ because of the Dursleys and Dumbledore. Who put him there to have a ‘normal childhood’ (POA: 2, 21). He was allowed to save the world at 1 and at 11 and the school at 12. But Hogsmeade is a responsibility that he should not have. 

Hagrid’s job
I’m not trying to be mean but why does Hagrid get a job as a professor? (POA: 1, 15). He has no formal education, he has been educated until his third year (He teaches 3rd year and up). He is not exonerated meaning he still does not have wand rights. It also means that the teacher prepping you for your OWLS didn’t take them, not only for that one class but for all classes (POA: 5, 99). I think that in a subject such as COMC other pieces of magic such as defense, charms, and transfiguration could come in handy. The teacher however will not give these tips as he doesn’t know this magic he uses his body. But a giant body is different from the bodies of 13-year-old children. It’s a very dangerous class and he cannot help them if something goes wrong and we see that in the first class. The animals Hagrid chooses are volatile and where I agree that Draco probably was doing something wrong, this is the first class he has. We can assume it is the first time he sees these animals up close when he is thirteen. I am sorry but this is on Hagrid and thus on Dumbledore because he hired him in the first place. (POA: 5, 98). Children are children and they do stupid things but the teacher is responsible for this (POA: 11, 230). Hagrid shouldn’t have been a teacher at least until he sat his exams. Besides again, he is the sole reason the forbidden forest houses people eating spiders. I mean, surely that man does not deserve to be a teacher and I like him as much as the next person but still.

High alerts
This year Dumbledore tells the whole school that someone has an invisibility cloak. The only child he has any contact with is Harry, wizards are not stupid why are you telling everyone? Harry’s life is actively in danger. It feels a bit slimy to alert others to this especially when the person we are talking about is a celebrity and the cloak a family heirloom. Mind you the only family heirloom Harry has (POA: 5, 98). I mean Dumbledore keeps telling everyone and their mother about this cloak. I keep coming back to this cloak business it is apparently my biggest sticking point. 

Safety hazard 
After two years of possession, we have soul-sucking demons floating around making students ages 11 to 18 effectively experience Azkaban prison for a year. But a wanted ‘criminal’ is still able to break into the school, twice. But then again this is a school where children are actively bullied by their teacher. So much so that one of them has this teacher as his biggest fear, while his family is so bad that they had thrown him out a window. That is not the worst person that we let into this school, it must be the serial killer who sleeps in the bed of a twelve-year-old. Once again what does Dumbledore do? Nothing, he does nothing. 

Time turned
To start the reason Hermione has a time-turner is absolutely stupid. She clearly cannot handle this responsibility as she has shown atrocious behavior this school year. She is not monitored and does not sleep enough, this cannot be healthy. To top it off, she and Harry go on this wild goose chase to change but not change time. While Dumbledore sits on his arse and does nothing, but wait. If it works out he was the mastermind all along and if it doesn’t he has enough deniability to not get in trouble if that isn’t classic Dumbledore I do not know what is (POA: 21, 419)

Snape and his lies
I am truly not going into the fact that Snape actively lies about what happened when he knows good and well what happened (POA: 21, 417). I might one day make a post all about him and the misconceptions I see floating about but I do not understand why the word of a death eater who hasn’t shown he is reformed as he actively hates the person who ended the war as opposed to three teenagers who have as far as the minister knows no skin in the game. No one knows how Harry grew up so for him to lie is really out of the question. If he was magically confounded to say such things they should be investigated. I do not see why his word means more. I would understand if it was another teacher but Snape’s story is so good everyone believes it. 

Break-ins, The whomping willow, and other grievances 
I think that Dumbledore takes great action after the break in although the guard ought to be a teacher (POA: 9, 170). Credit where credit is due, well done Dumbledore. Harry has no insights into his personal finances (POA: 4, 53), this is a crime. You cannot kidnap a baby and their vault key, give it back but never tell him anything about his money. There is no one else, you made that happen then it falls on you. You either make a support system happen or you step up. On to the Womping Willow, why is it still there? Lupin is not there as a student it is already armed as a student. It’s odd for it to still be there after Remus left and after a guy almost lost an eye (POA: 10, 197). The divination teacher is allowed to tell a child once a week he is going to die. The child in question has had three murder attempts placed upon his person. One could argue that Vernon and Dudley also give it a good try (POA:15, 317). It’s sickening that this is allowed. This school cannot catch a break with bad teachers it seems. Dumbledore hired these people, it’s amazing people like him so much in canon. 

This was the shortest post yet, at first, I wanted to add the next book together with this one. But I decided against it for multiple reasons. We are gearing up for another war but we do not know it yet. In the last three years, we have found that Harry misses a lot of key information about himself and his family that he should have known. We saw Dumbledore do a couple of good things, but mainly we saw him do a whole lot of nothing. Maybe that is why people like him so much. He is a sort of observer, a higher power that looks down upon us. Yet he is not, he is a teacher responsible for these children. Something to think about I guess.