Who's the 'agent in place'? *spoilers for latest chapters*

[viridian]

That's sort of spoiler-ish.

Let's just say he keeps the readers on their toes, eh?

[ashez2ashes]

Its Dolores Umbridge. She is the only one ruthless enough to off Harry and starve Sirius to death.

It'd be cool if it was Umbridge so Harry can utterly destroy her this time around. I never hated Voldemort like I did Umbridge.

[unknown187]

Its Dolores Umbridge. She is the only one ruthless enough to off Harry and starve Sirius to death.

It'd be cool if it was Umbridge so Harry can utterly destroy her this time around. I never hated Voldemort like I did Umbridge.

Same, I hated Umbridge SO MUCH MORE than Voldermort shes deceptive power-hungry and a megalomaniac that probably screws whoever the current tyrant...err minister of magic because of some ridiculous(but oh so common in humans)fear of losing power just like the aristocracy of old and will use ANY method to to completely destroy anyone in her way to power (passing laws that allow her ultimate hold over Hogwarts sending Dementors after innocent wizards AND muggles and the "seeding" process after Voldermort gets his cold bony hands on the ministry). At least with Voldermort you KNOW what your getting and hes...slightly cordial and...somewhat merciful with the whole "surrender and I'll spare you" thing...sure the validity of it is questionable but at least he gives the slightest chance.

[Zerrat]

Umbridge was just a two-faced snake (hm, Orochimaru anyone?) who loved all the power she could get. No, it wasn't enough to be ruining DADA, she had to go and make herself the High Inquisitioner of Hogwarts when she realised she wasn't spoiling enough fun or didn't have enough power. And finally, she absolutely JUMPED at the chance to be Headmistress.

Geez. So power hungry, and almost embodies what the Ministry in general stood for. At the time, anyhow.

[viridian]

Personally, I think people hate Umbridge because her evil is for more accessible that Voldemort's.

Most of us will (hopefully) never encounter a psychopath like Tom Riddle. (Though I do agree he came off more like a benign uncle in book 7. Jbern did a much better job.)

However, I think most of us have encountered a petty bureaucrat that was drunk on their own power. That makes her both easier to understand, but also more despicable - because we all know exactly where she's coming from. And when we hear her dialogue, we think back to times when we had to deal with others of her type, and that real-life rage feeds into our by-design dislike of her character.

[Zerrat]

Well, when I read Book 5... hrm. I was about 13 at the time. And being the naive person I am, I can't say I've ever encountered any politicians - at that stage, of course. The 'politician' explanation works for adults, but what about the younger kids who read the books?

That was rhetorical, mind you. Some kids might be mature enough to think of it in those terms, but a lot of them probably hated Umbridge for her cruelty.

[viridian]

Well, when I read Book 5... hrm. I was about 13 at the time. And being the naive person I am, I can't say I've ever encountered any politicians - at that stage, of course. The 'politician' explanation works for adults, but what about the younger kids who read the books?

That was rhetorical, mind you. Some kids might be mature enough to think of it in those terms, but a lot of them probably hated Umbridge for her cruelty.

You don't have to be a politician to be a petty bureaucrat. Schools are full of them.

In fact, one could make an argument that certain personality types gravitate toward education because they revel in the power and authority they can wield over their students. Same goes for principles.

And yes, I say that as someone who spent a couple of years teaching.

[SquirrelyRequiem]

I wonder...if there are any readers that like Umbridge. I mean its obvious some people like Voldemort in some instances. It would be easier to find some justification, no matter how lacking it may be, but could anyone actually support Umbridge?

Spoiler: show

(Personally I hated how she had Moody's eye as a doorknob in DH)

.

[ashez2ashes]

Well if you say you like Voldemort than you get to wear Black, do super powerful specials, wear nifty masks, etc.. So fans who like 'dark' stuff might gravitate toward dark leather sorta Death Eater evil. One of the pros of being evil is that you're supposed get cool outfits, after all. I don't go for it myself, but I can at least understand it.

But who would want to be fat lady fuzzy kitty sweater evil?

I agree about Umbridge being a more accessible evil. You can and probably have met someone like Umbridge. But how often do you come across 'take of the world evil'? It's just so out of the realm of everyday stuff its hard to wrap your mind around.

Back on topic: Has Harry made any plans to deal with Umbridge? I remember him thinking he should get around to it, but can't remember if he ever did. So I suppose the agent could be working for Umbridge instead of Voldemort. A niece or nephew of hers perhaps?

[MrRigger2]

It doesn't even have to be related to Umbridge, they could simply be someone who has the best interests of the Ministry of Magic in mind.

(Please note, I said Ministry of Magic, not Wizarding World.)

MrRigger

[Zerrat]

(Please note, I said Ministry of Magic, not Wizarding World.)

Definately a world of difference there. Even canon shows how petty the Ministry can be (Umbridge, Fudge etc)

[Greybane]

On Umbridge, I can't recall merged Harr ever thinking about her, even after the Dementor incedent. I know he doesn't believe she is an immediate threat, yet he should still be laying some plans to utterly destroy her, shouldn't he? A pre-emptive attack.

But then look at the mess in Iraq...

[viridian]

On Umbridge, I can't recall merged Harr ever thinking about her, even after the Dementor incedent. I know he doesn't believe she is an immediate threat, yet he should still be laying some plans to utterly destroy her, shouldn't he? A pre-emptive attack.

But then look at the mess in Iraq...

Yes, but what was the real threat to Umbridge? What made her so dangerous?

[Zerrat]

Hm, guessing games. I'm going to go with: she was so dangerous because of the Ministry.

[viridian]

Hm, guessing games. I'm going to go with: she was so dangerous because of the Ministry.

And what's Harry doing at the moment?

[Zerrat]

Defang the Ministry, you take away a lot of Umbridge power. Or at least the power Umbridge used to torture Hogwarts with back in the day. :)

[Lochar]

Defang the Ministry, you take away a lot of Umbridge power. Or at least the power Umbridge used to torture Hogwarts with back in the day. :)

wouldn't that be forward in the day, seeing as how it isn't supposed to happen for years yet?

[SquirrelyRequiem]

"73. I will not agree to let the heroes go free if they win a rigged contest, even though my advisors assure me it is impossible for them to win."

The thing about wizard duels is that its more like a fight betwixt scholars. They throw as many books at each other as possible, but in the end they're only books. It's just in this instance, the books usually have razor sharp edges, expel the elements, explode, or are so incredible they obliterate your thought processes.

Besides, everyone knows that there is only one near perfect Evil Overlord around.

[viridian]

Er, he didn't exactly break #5 in canon, if you will remember. Most of them were hidden in fairly obscure places, one of which was, in fact, someone's safety deposit box (or wizarding equivalent thereof).

[viridian]

Er, he didn't exactly break #5 in canon, if you will remember. Most of them were hidden in fairly obscure places, one of which was, in fact, someone's safety deposit box (or wizarding equivalent thereof).

The Locket and Diary fit though, so I added it

They were left with trusted (at the time) followers. He seemed to be spreading them around, rather than putting all his eggs in one basket. (i.e. all his followers would have to betray him simultaneously).

[bibliophile20]

Personally, he should have chosen a keystone in the Pyramids, put one in a satelite and launch it into space. Send another to the moon. The rest keep in secret Swiss Bank Accounts.

And "trust" the dirty muggles? And for the space suggestions, placing pieces of your soul aboard what amounts to a multi-ton shaped explosive charge doesn't seem to be too intelligent to me if one's intention is immortality.

[GrassEater]

The thing he did wrong was placing them in, for him, significant places. By researching Voldermorts life, Harry and Dumbledore was able to find them. If he insted had placed them in random locations, then...

[unknown59]

Until a meteorite hits the satellite, knocking it into a rapidly decaying orbit where the object burns up on re-entry. Not to mention that magic screws with Technology to a large extent, he might not have had any muggle options available to him.

Far more intelligent, in my opinion, would be for Voldemort to hide the objects at the bottom of chasms in the ocean, and in the center of glaciers at the poles. Maybe even bury one in the Sahara. Even if you knew where to look how long would it take to find them in those desolate areas?

[bibliophile20]

Until a meteorite hits the satellite, knocking it into a rapidly decaying orbit where the object burns up on re-entry.

Or, let's say he gets smart and sends it on, say, the Galileo probe (even if it's a few years late and he's Vapormort at the time of the launch; it's a supposition). It's going to go to Jupiter! Forget putting it out of reach in Earth orbit, only a few hundred to a few thousand kilometers, let's send it it over half a billion kilometers away! Bwhahahahaha! It'll be perfectly safe! Afterall, those crazy muggles won't do anything to their precious spacecraft... oh, crap. I don't think that anything could survive that plunge--especially once it reaches the metallic hydrogen layers. Squish? At that point, nothing can survive; and, yes, I know that the venom is one of the most deadly substances on Earth. This isn't Earth; this is the kind of pressure that could make a diamond the size of Earth.

Point I'm trying to make, though, is, Voldemort is inherently a very paranoid bastard; note that he only trusted two of his Cruxes (three if we count the bit with Kreacher and the Locket) with his minions--and one of those was intended as a weapon. Over half of them were still locked away and were thus (reasonably) safe to his mind. However, I doubt that "under the auspices of Muggles" even slightly counts as "safe" to his mind.

[SquirrelyRequiem]

What about placing some of them in varying locations under the Fidelius Charm? With him as the secret keeper, they would have been impossible to find. With himself as the secret keeper, he would then know (at least in his mind) that the secret was in the absolute safest place.