FicWad

I have thought of posting on FF.n, and likely will in the near future.
Quite honestly, I haven't had any real problems with FicWad, though I do admit, FF.n would get me a larger audience base.

The Longbottoms: Yeah, so far, I've got Harry two steps ahead of Dumbledore, and about he same for Voldemort. The funny part here is that they both think they're the smartest people on Earth, and at this point they are both convinced that their failures are mere luck. Dumbledore is figuring it out faster than Voldemort, but he'll work it out soon.

Voldemort in canon, was, until book six, Rube Goldberg's idiot cousin. Hie plans were so convoluted and he never considered having a backup plan.

Dumbledore in general: He's definitely not stupid. In fact, he is a borderline genius, and I've tried to keep him as close to his canon persona as possible...all the while having him descend into madness.

Quite honestly, I see Dumbledore as evil as Himmler or Pinochet. What I mean, is that he is willing to sacrifice anybody and everybody around him...including and especially Harry and his friends, simply to keep himself in control of his personal fiefdom, and call it 'the greater good'.

His actions in canon, started out less than benign, but by the end of book one, I saw him as anything but. His reason for leaving Harry with his relatives is so he won't develop a big head...that's what he told Minerva.

But...

Throughout the series, he has kept vital information from Harry that would have at least assisted him in his quest. Specific notes should be end of book one in the hospital wig, when he refused to tell Harry why a psychotic killer was after him, in book two when he refused to tell Harry about the possibility of Voldemort giving him more than a scar, In book three when he refused to tell the truth about Sirius, a truth that he, as either head of or a member of the Wizengamot, knew or should have known, book four when he allowed Harry to participate in a deadly contest on the flimsiest of excuses, in Book five when he refused to even look at harry in order to protect himself from Voldemort, coincidentally sacrificing Harry to Voldemort's depredations and Umbridge's torments,
in book six when he again refused to explain anything to Harry at a time he desperately needed to know and the 'lssons'; were basically psychobabble that seemed to em more intended to get Harry to associate and sympathize wiht Riddle...not destroy him.

Finally in book seven he left them nothing but silly riddles. It was only after Harry had died that he gave him even the barest of information and that was basically crowing about how wonderful and smart he was.

More, in book five, he told Harry that he meant for him to suffer. “Harry, five years ago, when you arrived at Hogwarts, safe and whole as I had planned and intended…well not quite whole. I knew you had suffered. When I placed you on your aunt’s doorstep, I knew I was condemning you to ten dark and difficult years.”

In the time he was in Durzkaban, Dumbledore never once checked up on him, as any decent guardian would. The references in canon, throwing frypans, sanctioned, 'Harry Hunting', beatings both at the hands of his uncle and his cousin, near starvation, certainly malnutrition, chores wholly unsuitable to a child of his age, locking a child into a cupboard under the stairs for days on end, forcing him to sleep in that cupboard when there was a perfectly serviceable bedroom upstairs being used to store junk? Vernon's attempt to kill Harry outside the window of number four. No. Such abusive people should never, ever be allowed to care for children.

I believe Dumbledore knew about the abuse and he either ignored it or facilitated it. When Harry calls him on it, he goes into his 'I am always right and you'll understand it when you grow some brains.'

If it doesn't go the way it should and there's no sweeping it under the rug, he sighs and says 'I'm just an old man, who makes mistakes...forgive me." As you said, he was a master manipulator.

Having grown up abused until I escaped, I am a bit more sensitive to such abuse than most and I easily saw the references to that abuse in the first book. Before she died, my sister called it 'comic abuse', but I saw nothing funny about it at all.

My version of Dumbledore is somewhat less contained, but having so many serious blows land on him in such a short time, would explain that. He knkows that his plans are going down the toilet and there's nothing he can do to stop them. Since he planned for Harry to willingly walk to his death (Canon) everything he has done for the past fifteen years is based on that.

Now, Harry has slipped his lead and Dumbledore is trying desperately to get him back under his direct control.

And I agree with you. Dumbledore loves having his secrets, but never uses them, and never tells his people things that might save lives until it's far too late. His thoughts of 'we cannot sink to their level' and 'oh they must be redeemed' are ludicrous, and in a war time situation, disastrous.

Snape: Putting him in population would result in too many problems. Prisoners really don't like rapists and Snape is definitely a rapist...at the very least. His not dying from the 'accidents' he experiences in a muggle prison, would be far too difficult to explain away, and might even garner him some weird respect from the other prisoners. Plus, there's the chance he might escape or be released.

Don't worry, I have a perfect punishment set up for Snape. He will not die a quick painless death. Not by a long shot. His punishment will be humiliating and painful...and for the rest of his life.

I'll update as soon as I can.

Alorkin