- Guys, a little while ago, we posted a big seven part series on the channel called
Dumbledore's Big Plan, all about how Dumbledore is
secretly pulling all the strings on Harry's life, forcing him into all
the various situations that eventually help him
defeat Lord Voldemort. It was a lot of fun to write. The only issue was it took
up seven different videos. So you had to go find the next video, re-watch the intro, there's a bunch of ads and stuff in there, got a little bit long. So we decided that we were going to just stitch 'em all together, make it one big convenient video. We took all the ads out, all the outros, it should be nice, clean, start to finish. Hope you enjoy Dumbledore's Big Plan. (intense music) ♪ Hey brother. ♪ (eerie music) Of course we know that
Dumbledore is always working tirelessly against the dark arts and gathering as much information
about Voldemort as he can. Trying desperately to prevent
him from returning to power or else just destroy him completely. And of all wizards, you'd
probably think, yes, he, Dumbledore is the man for the job. He is widely accepted as the
greatest wizard of the age. He has already defeated the other most notorious wizard
ever, Gellert Grindelwald, and is also the only wizard
Voldemort ever feared or so they say. And yet after Voldemort attacks
Harry and loses his powers and goes into hiding, Dumbledore does nothing to hunt him down and finish him off for good, even though he is certain
Voldemort will return. He has 13 years to act on this and maybe finish Voldemort off for good, but does nothing, why? Well we actually know why and it's because of the
prophecy about Harry Potter. The prophecy was made by Sybill Trelawney to Albus Dumbledore and is
the reason Voldemort went after Harry in the first place. It says, "The one with
the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches. The dark lord will mark him as his equal and one must kill the other
if or neither can live while the other survives." And while that obviously
means a lot for Harry, the curious thing is what
it might mean personally to Dumbledore, because until that point, until he heard the prophecy, he probably considered it
his personal responsibility to be the one to finish off Voldemort. But what this prophesy
means to Dumbledore, is that it won't be him who does it. It means it has to be Harry who does it. Harry is the only one who can do it or at least he knows it's Harry after Voldemort goes after him, because before that, I guess it could have also been Neville. But with that in mind, knowing that Dumbledore's ultimate goal is to defeat Voldemort and
knowing Dumbledore knows that only Harry can finish off Voldemort, Dumbledore finds himself
in a very unique position, how is he going to handle Harry? Because since he's the only
one who knows this information, does that not then also
make him responsible for preparing Harry? Like what a weird position to be in. What should he do? Should he meddle and send Harry down the path he thinks is best suited for defeating Voldemort? Or would meddling send Harry off the path fate has already set for him? Because here's the thing, Harry's victory is not
guaranteed, he can still lose. He's just also the only
one with any chance at all of winning. So if you're Dumbledore, what do? Well obviously we know he does meddle but the question is how much? And the answer is the
subject of this entire theory because the answer is a lot, like more than you can possibly imagine. Every mystery Harry thinks he's solving is being presented to him by Dumbledore. Every significant moment of Harry's life is being carefully
constructed behind the scenes by Dumbledore as part of
Dumbledore's big plan. Let's do this. (intense music) ♪ Hey brother ♪ - Guys, this theory is so vast, we are actually going to
break it down book by book. So today we're just going to be looking at all the things Dumbledore
was doing behind the scenes in the "Philosopher's Stone". And this one in particular is big because so much of
Harry's entire trajectory in the Wizarding world is
set up in the first book. "Philosopher Stone" is full
of Dumbledore's meddling and there is a lot to unpack. But ultimately, I think
Dumbledore had three main goals for Harry in his first year. First, is to control who Harry decides to surround himself with and
perhaps more specifically, to just ensure that Harry
doesn't end up in Slytherin. Second, is to assess Harry's
character as an individual. And third is to test his
skills, bravery and intuition. For Dumbledore, "The Philosopher's
Stone" is largely about determining what kind
of boy he's dealing with and how best to guide him in the future. So first step, control
Harry's friend group and make sure he's not in Slytherin, and this starts right away when
Haggard comes to pick him up and inform him that he's a wizard. Those first two days he spends
with Haggard are crucial. They seriously set up a
lot of where Harry goes for the rest of his time
in the Wizarding world. But one of the really
big moments they have is when Haggard tells Harry which house at Hogwarts is the bad one. - [Ron] There's not a witch
or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. - People get this point confused a lot because Ron says it in the movie, but it is really Haggard
who says it in the books. Which even as Haggard is saying it, it doesn't make a ton of
sense because at that moment, he believes Sirius to
have murdered 13 people and Sirius was in Griffindor
and he knows Sirius because he borrowed his bike. So you called out Hagrid except that you're not
because Dumbledore told you to tell Harry this. And let me just say if
there's nothing wrong with being in Slytherin. (booming noise and J makes hissing noise) But from Dumbledore's point of view, that is the house Voldemort was in and I'm sure he doesn't want
Harry surrounding himself with all of the death eater's kids the moment he gets the Hogwarts. I mean we do know from the Malfoy family that some of the death
eaters actually thought Harry might be a new rallying
point for them to get behind, so you just really wanna
keep them away from Harry. Honestly though, I think
while Dumbledore wanted him to end up in Gryffindor, I don't think he would've
cared if he was in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw either, just as long as he wasn't in Slytherin. And take note of how Dumbledore does this because he uses this trick a lot. He doesn't guide Harry
towards a good choice, he just guides him away from a bad choice. And Hagrid is not the only piece of assurance Dumbledore puts in place to sway Harry away from Slytherin. Let me ask you this, have
you ever thought it was odd that Mrs. Weasley didn't
know the platform number the Hogwarts Express was leaving
from on Harry's first day? "'Now what's the platform number?' said the boy's mother. 'Nine and three quarters.'
Piped up a girl, also redheaded who was holding her hand." Right, so in case you need a refresher, Molly Weasley has seven children, multiple of which have already spent several years at Hogwarts. If not, their entire
seven years at Hogwarts. Not to mention, it is also
the school she herself and her husband attended. And if my math is right and yes, we did pay the math budget for this one, this is her 17th time
arriving at the station for the train to leave. And yes, in case you were wondering, it has always been the same
platform and the same train. There's actually an
entire Pottermore article about just this. Point is there is just no way she does not know the
routine by this point. This theory would suggest that
Mrs. Weasley is saying this out loud specifically so that
Harry will meet the Weasley's before any other Wizarding family, which yes, does mean Dumbledore would have arranged this with her ahead of time. And as we explore this
theory deeper and deeper, you'll see that in Molly
and Arthur, in particular, were integral to his plans in terms of leaking information to Harry or else just watching over him. And if you're wondering how either of them would've gotten involved with Dumbledore when neither of them was in
the first Order of the Phoenix? Well, bear in mind that
Molly had two older brothers, Gideon and Fabian who were both in the first Order of the Phoenix and who both died at the
hands of the death eaters. But either way, the Weasleys
are the perfect family for Dumbledore to surround Harry with. For one, they are all pure bloods, but place no value on
that particular aspect of themselves at all. And it would mean the first peers Harry would come into contact with
would be a prefect, Percy, possibly the two most
popular kids at school, Fred and George, and a boy
in Harry's own year, Ron, all of whom are from a family,
famously, in Griffindor. Not that any of the boys would
be in on this plan at all. It's just a good example
of Dumbledore trusting that surrounding Harry with good people will yield good results. It's one of those classic
Dumbledore guesses that are usually good. But indeed Dumbledore gets what he wants because by the time Harry
gets to the sorting, all he cares about is just
not being in Slytherin. - Not Slytherin, not Slytherin. - Which brings us to the second big thing Dumbledore is trying to accomplish in the "Philosopher Stone" which is judging Harry's character, and fortunately, he has the
exact right tool for the job, the Mirror of Erised. As I'm sure you are aware, the mirror shows whoever
stands in front of it whatever is their heart's deepest desire, and when Harry stands in front of it, he sees his family, an image Dumbledore is extremely
impressed with in fact. In "Half Blood Prince", he tells Harry, "Harry, have you any idea how few wizards could have seen what
you saw in that mirror?" And make no mistake, Dumbledore absolutely
intended Harry to find that mirror specifically so he could see what Harry would see. Consider this, Harry finds
the mirror on Christmas, the day he gets the invisibility cloak, which was sent to him by Dumbledore, and we know that Dumbledore
was literally waiting in the room, invisible himself
in the middle of the night, like not even looking
in the mirror himself, Just like, I guess I'll
just be invisible here. - Back again, Harry? - How do you know this
is again, Dumbledore? How do you know it's again? I think he waits until Christmas
to give Harry the cloak because there will be less students at the school wandering around who might then discover the mirror. Because the mirror cannot
have just been sitting there in the open, findable all year, because it is very much the kind of thing that if people discovered it
and started looking in it, everyone would want to look in it. And if you think well,
is that kind of a leap that he would give him the cloak, assuming he would immediately don it, and roam around the castle
at night and find the mirror? I don't think so. I mean, Dumbledore knew James and this was exactly the
kind of thing he would do, but here's the other dead giveaway is why is the mirror up in the school at all? When it's supposed to be like
down below guarding the stone? In case you have forgotten,
Hagrid retrieved the stone for Dumbledore in July
and it's now December. So why is it taking him so long to put the stone in the mirror and the mirror in the basement? Wherever this is, second
"Chamber of Secrets"? They never explain where they go. What I understand is that's
somewhere on the third floor of the castle, there's just a hole. (Ben laughing) Like a deep one. The reason is because of
course Dumbledore wants Harry to find the mirror so
he can see what he sees, but also because of
Dumbledore's third goal, which is to test Harry's
skill, bravery, and intuition. I'm sure we are not the first to wonder why the obstacles
guarding the stone are so easily defeatable by a first year, when they're supposed to
be keeping out Voldemort. Well, this theory suggests
that the obstacles are the obstacles, specifically because Dumbledore
is testing if Harry Potter can break through them. And this isn't even just us guessing, Harry himself seems to be aware of this. He tells Ron and Hermione,
"He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted
to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try and
instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an
accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he
thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could." But if it's true, he set it up specifically to test Harry, you might be thinking, wow, that is really reckless of Dumbledore. And yeah, you would be right about that, but I don't think it's
quite as bad as it seems because remember Dumbledore
alone has heard the prophecy and knows that either Harry or Voldemort must kill Harry or Voldemort. And I think he's reasonably certain that Voldemort's not gonna be able to kill Harry unless he has a body back, and the means by which he's
trying to get a body back, in this case, is by getting the stone, which Dumbledore also knows is 100% safe. It's 100% safe because of the enchantments Dumbledore himself puts on the mirror, which if you ask me,
renders all of the rest of the obstacles kind of pointless, and by kind of pointless, I mean, they do not need to be there. Dumbledore could have set up
the mirror in Quirrell's office and left him alone with it all year and he still wouldn't get the stone. - But how do I get it? - Why is he even bothering
with the other obstacles? And the answer is to find
out if Harry has, one, the skills to break through the obstacles, two, the intuition to figure out the stone is down there at all, and, three, the courage to face Voldemort. In fact, I dare say the
obstacles themselves were chosen specifically because of Harry, Ron,
and Hermione's skillset. Yes, I know that the other
teachers put the obstacles there, but this theory would suggest that Dumbledore suggested
the specific obstacles. But that is why it
takes Dumbledore so long to finally put the mirror down there, because he spends the
first half of the year observing not just what Harry is good at, but also his friends. But come on, catching
the key on the broom, that's all Harry. The giant chest set, that's all Ron. The potions logic puzzle,
that is all Hermione. Even taking down the troll, (punching sound) they already did that, and if you're thinking, well, sure, he might have thought Harry was safe, but doesn't that endanger
Ron and Hermione? Actually, no it doesn't because of the way the
potion puzzle works, where only one person was ever going to be able to go through and I think he must have
been reasonably confident it would be Harry. But it's not just that the
obstacles are hand tailored for the golden trio's skill sets. It's that Dumbledore is
like laying clues all throughout the year for
Harry to figure this out. Starting on that first day with Hagrid, when he takes him with him to Gringotts to retrieve the stone. That right there, kind of crazy. I mean, the stone is
an immensely powerful, magical object that
Dumbledore thinks Voldemort is about to try to steal and he just lets Harry see
it be taken from the vault. Now to be fair, he doesn't
know that it's super valuable or even what it is, but he's very easily able
to put two and two together once the daily prophet reveals that someone tried to
break into that vault. Then there's Dumbledore's
opening speech where he says, "And finally, I must
tell you that this year, the third floor corridor
on the right hand side is out of bounds to
everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." We've discovered a giant hole. We are also considering
putting a murder plant at the bottom of the hole
in case anyone does fall in, but I have to talk to
Professor Sprout about that. It needs to be soft and
springy, but also deadly, but also easily defeated,
these are children. No, but this particular
warning is interesting because Harry then asks
Percy, "'He's not serious.' He muttered to Percy. 'Must be.' said Percy
frowning at Dumbledore. 'It's odd because he
usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere.'" Yes, it is odd. I mean, if you don't want
the students to go there, lock the door. (door handle clangs) - It's locked. - That's it, we're done for. - Oh move over. - And don't just lock it, but lock it in a way that is
harder to get through than... - Alohomora. (magic whooshing and lock clinking) - And then also don't even
tell them not to go there. Like who needs to be warned
not to go through a door they already can't get through? Even Umbridge is able to
magically seal her door against the likes of Alohomora and that's just so students
don't get into her office, this is guarding the Philosopher
Stone we're talking about. And those aren't the
only clues by Dumbledore, I'll bring up the
invisibility cloak again, which is simply a means
for Harry to get out and around the castle, and don't even get me started on all the times Hagrid let's
slip a whole bunch of clues. - I shouldn't have said that. Shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have told you that. - Not to mention the complete
lack of investigation or action taken after a series of other events that
happened throughout the year. Like how about in Harry's
first Quidditch match ever when his broom starts
trying to buck him off. Hagrid tells us only powerful dark magic can interfere with a broom, and we later find out from Quirrell that he knew Severus Snape
was uttering a counter curse, and we know Snape is loyal to Dumbledore and in "Deathly Hallows"
it's later revealed that Dumbledore actually told Snape to keep an eye on Quirrell. So obviously, Dumbledore knew Quirrell was trying to kill Harry,
but, uh, does nothing. How about the troll being let in? Quirrell later supplies a second troll for the protection of the stone. He's also the one to tell the school that the troll has been let in. - Troll in the dungeon. Troll in the dungeon. Thought you ought to know. - Like, I'm sorry, but if you were a Dumbledore
who actually knows all that information while it's happening, it is super obvious who let the troll in. Fire Quirrell. I'm not kidding, I don't
know why he doesn't. He so easily could and yet,
Quirrell goes unpunished and uninvestigated even
for the rest of the year. Why? Because again, he wants
Harry to figure it out. Just listen to this line from Dumbledore talking to Harry after
everything's gone down. "'Oh, you know about Nicholas.' said Dumbledore sounding quite delighted. 'You did do the thing
properly, didn't you?' Well, Nicholas and I
have had a little chat and agreed it's all for the best.'" Yeah, I think he sounds quite delighted because Harry went above and beyond what even Dumbledore
expected in terms of research and the thing he did properly was the task Dumbledore secretly set out for him. Even Flamel being okay with
the stone being destroyed is kind of odd because the fact is Dumbledore
can protect it effectively. You put that stone back in the mirror, it is completely safe. My bet is that Flamel decided well before the events of this book that he was ready to die
and just allowed Dumbledore to use the stone as bait,
I guess, to test Harry. But there you go, guys, that is part one of Dumbledore's Big Plan. (eerie music) Welcome to part two of
Dumbledore's Big Plan. "Chamber of Secrets"
is a much trickier year for Dumbledore's big plan, because unlike Harry's first year where Dumbledore pretty much
set up the entire thing, he's having to react to a
constantly developing situation in "The Chamber of Secrets". Because as interfering as Dumbledore is and as much danger as he
was willing to put Harry in in the first book, I do not think he is willing to subject the rest of the school to
the Chamber of Secrets, just so Harry can have a crack
at whatever's inside there. For one, Dumbledore was actually around the last time
the chamber was opened where somebody died, Moaning Myrtle. So if he wanted it open, he would actively be risking the life of everybody at the school. And one thing I know about Dumbledore, Harry Potter aside, is
that he is not willing to put the rest of the students at risk. Like if we fast forward
to "Order the Phoenix," Dumbledore allows Umbridge
to reign her terror over the school until the moment she tries to physically harm one of the students. In that case, it is Marietta Edgecombe, Cho Chang's friend who rats
out the DA to Umbridge. This scene happens in Dumbledore's office where he is sitting idly
by as the accusation occurs until Umbridge puts her hands on Marietta. At which point he is on his
feet, wand out, temper flared. He is definitely not okay with
harm coming to his students, unless they're Harry, but hey, what are Phoenix tears even for? Am I right? And while Dumbledore is
typically all knowing about what's happening in the school, this is the first time
he realizes Voldemort is using a horcrux, but he doesn't actually even realize that until the very end of the book. And finally, he seems to
genuinely not know the monster is a Basilisk because if he did, certainly he could have at
least offered up precautions against it, like using
mirrors or you know, probably sending the kids home, that's probably what he should have done. That to me, feels like
a reasonable precaution when instant death might be lurking around literally any corner. But again, he didn't
realize it was a Basilisk, so petrification, pff, whatever. we have mandrakes for that. The real person to be suspicious
of is Professor Sprout. How did she know they were going to need mandrakes that year? Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm. Coincidence, sounds like it. They probably have him
every year, I don't know. That said though, once
the chamber is open, we know that Dumbledore knows
that Voldemort is behind it, even if he doesn't know how. In the hospital wing, after Harry is hit with the rogue bludger, he over hears Dumbledore saying, "'The question is not
who,' said Dumbledore, his eyes on Colin. 'The question is how?'" And if you'll recall from the last video, I think Dumbledore
adopts the same attitude towards Harry investigating the problem as he did in "Philosopher Stone." Again, the line is, "I don't
think it was an accident, he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he
thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could." So again, I don't think the opening of the Chamber of Secrets was part of Dumbledore's big plan at all or even something he could have predicted. But once it was open, I think in the course of
his own investigation, he was happy to let Harry
investigate it as well and even nudge him along if he could. So similar to "Philosopher's Stone," I think Dumbledore had three main goals for Harry to accomplish in year two. One of which really only comes into play after the chamber was open, that one was kind of a happy accident. Well, except for all the petrifications. Maybe a blessing in disguise? No, that doesn't feel right. Anyway, here are his goals for Harry. First is to keep his ego in check. Second is to teach him
the disarming spell, which goes on to be his signature spell and third, and this is
the one that ends up being a silver lining, ooh, yes, silver lining that's it, is to test Harry's loyalty
to Dumbledore himself. So let's start with keeping
Harry's ego in check because this is the most
glaring and obvious one on the list and it pretty
much boils down to one thing, the hiring of Gilderoy Lockhart. - Pretty obvious. - Man, we need shirts
that say pretty obvious. - Pretty obvious. - How do we not have that? - [Ben] We do need shirts. - Can someone... - Pretty. - Does someone wanna design that? - Obvious. - Tweet me. For Dumbledore, keeping
Harry humble and modest is of the utmost importance, because Dumbledore knows
from personal experience that arrogance can lead down
a dark and dangerous road. He tells Harry in "Deathly Hallows", "'It's just a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who
are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who like you have
leadership thrust upon them and take up the mantle because they must and find to their own surprise
that they wear it well.'" In that moment, Dumbledore
is comparing Harry to himself at the same age. Were instead of selflessly
caring for his siblings after the death of their mother, he is plotting world domination and lusting after Grindelwald
with the Deathly Hallows or wait, sorry, flip that, lusting after the Deathly
Hallows with Grindelwald. You know what, it works either way. Which of course ends in the unfortunate and untimely death of his sister. It was like a really, really
bad two months for Dumbledore. But in his wisdom as an old, now dead man, he realizes that he arrived at that state having
graduated at Hogwarts as one of the most brilliant students ever, collecting trophies, being in touch with the
most notable, magical names of the day and being pretty much adored since the moment he
set foot in the school. And as such, it is immensely
important from his perspective that Harry never have a
big head about anything. And heading into his second year, Dumbledore would have a lot
to contend with on this front. For one, Harry had a really
good first year popularity wise. He saved the Philosopher's Stone, he defeated Voldemort, again, he was the youngest
Quidditch player in a century and helped Griffindor win the house cup for the first time in at least six years. Plus he's the son of James Potter, who was a notoriously
popular and arrogant student. And as far as Dumbledore is concerned, this was supposed to be a
pretty regular school year. So it might have been pretty
easy for Harry to slip into a similar role as his
father if it went unchecked. Especially when he starts
the year by flying a car and crashing into a tree
on the school grounds, which I think we could
all agree, pretty awesome. Bew, bew, bew, bew, bew, bew. Dumbledore's solution though,
hire Gilderoy Lockhart, a walking billboard of
what Harry could become, if he lets his ego inflate too much. - Let me introduce you to your new defense against the dark arts teacher, me. - [J] Because honestly, why
else would you hire this guy? - Hardly any of you remember that my favorite color is lilac. - Dumbledore even says
at the end of the book after Lockhart obliterates his own memory, "'Dear me.' said Dumbledore
shaking his head, his long silver mustache quivering, 'Impaled upon your own sword, Gilderoy!'" Meaning he has known the entire time exactly what Lockhart was doing and that he is completely inept. - Peskipiksi Pesternomi. (pixies squeaking and flying around) - But if he knows that from the outset, then isn't it kind of irresponsible to have him teach all of your
students for an entire year? Yes, it is very irresponsible. But of course you have to remember, Dumbledore's main goal
is to defeat Voldemort and teaching Harry this
lesson is much more vital. Like I said, he's not okay
putting his students in danger but he is certainly okay with them sitting through ineptitude. And besides, he doesn't let
Harry go entirely uneducated in defense against the
dark arts that year, which brings me to point number two, teaching him Expelliarmus. Tom Riddle me this, in what world would Severus
Snape agree to be the assistant to Gilderoy Lockhart in a dueling club? You are correct, it would, nope, not, nope, definitely would not, don't not, never happen. I don't know how many negatives
that was, but for clarity, he wouldn't do it unless that is, it was actually a part
of Dumbledore's big plan to ensure that Harry got
at least one decent defense against the dark arts lesson that year. The dueling club meets all of one time and never happens again, but Harry still manages to walk
away with two vital skills. One, proper dueling etiquette, sort of, and two, how to use the disarming spell. - Expelliarmus. (spell whooshing) (Gilderoy yells) - And that is why Dumbledore
makes Snape assist. I mean, he's basically the best duelist in the entire series and so who better to
teach Harry how to disarm? Plus Expelliarmus ties in perfectly with Dumbledore's first
goal to keep Harry modest. It is simultaneously
offensive and defensive, it ends fights early, and prevents the need
for further violence. And sure enough, it becomes
Harry's signature spell and is even the one he uses to eventually finish Voldemort off. But I think what is really important is that it stops the fight early and stops you from doing
even more violence, because Dumbledore is constantly
raving about the power of Harry's whole soul compared to that of Voldemort's tattered one. "'Lord Voldemort's soul, maimed as it is, cannot bear close contact
with a soul like Harry's. Like a tongue on frozen
steel, like flesh in flame-'" It is essential that
Harry's soul remain whole. So it is also very important
that Dumbledore teaches him how to win fights against
possibly deadly opponents without having to ever kill them, which is what we know rips your soul. And we see this practiced
restraint pay off a lot. He doesn't kill Sirius who
ends up being innocent, he doesn't kill Peter Pettigrew, who later spares Harry's own life. He does foolishly use
it against Stan Shunpike and give away the fact
that he is the real Harry in the Battle of Seven Potters, but in fairness, he does save Stan's life. I mean, come on Harry, you had a golden opportunity
here to stun Stan and as he's falling down to earth, just yell back at him, "What you fell over for?" Which brings us to the final
goal of Dumbledore's big plan, ensuring that Harry is truly
loyal to Dumbledore himself. Remember from the last video, that in deciding to medal
in Harry's preparations to face Voldemort, Dumbledore
is also then asserting that he knows how best to defeat Voldemort and that it is in Harry's
best interest to listen to him at any cost, no matter what
other information he may learn. And I think it's fair to
say that at the beginning of "Chamber of Secrets",
this is not yet the case. Harry is not truly
loyal to Dumbledore yet. Certainly he has been told Dumbledore is the greatest wizard alive and is probably grateful
to him for saving his life and definitely respects him, but as of yet, I don't
think he has a reason to be specifically loyal to a Dumbledore, and we see a great
example of this early on when he fails to tell Dumbledore about hearing the voices in the walls. Dumbledore asks, "'Is there
anything you'd like to tell me? Anything at all?' Harry thought of the disembodied
voice he had heard twice and remembered what Ron said, 'Hearing voices, no one else
can hear isn't a good sign, even in the Wizarding world.' 'No' said Harry, 'there
isn't anything, professor.'" And the fact that this exchange mirrors the conversation Dumbledore has with Tom Riddle 50 years earlier must have Dumbledore kind
of shaking in his boots. - Is there something you wish to tell me? - No sir, nothing. - Like here's a young boy
who has already proven he is very important to
the Wizarding community, but has also proven that he's very brave and bold and capable. Harry's lack of trust in
telling Dumbledore the truth could be a very worrisome indicator that he has not yet decided
what path he's going to go down. But Harry's loyalty to
Dumbledore is crucial because again, Dumbledore is the only one who knows the prophecy and is therefore uniquely
qualified to guide him down the correct path
with no ulterior motive. And I think Dumbledore is
wise enough to see points in the future where other
influential wizards may try and sway Harry according
to their own agenda, like Rufus Scrimgeour when
he tries to recruit Harry as a spokesperson for the Ministry, which again, underlies
the importance of humility as a more fame hungry Harry
may have enjoyed the attention of the Minister of Magic. "'Well, it's clear to me that he has done a very good job on you,'
said Scrimgeour his eye cold and hard behind his wire-rim glasses. 'Dumbledore's man through and
through, aren't you, Potter?' 'Yeah, I am,' said Harry. 'Glad
we straightened that out.'" The moment Dumbledore
puts his plan in motion to test Harry's loyalty to him
is when Lucious Malfoy comes to the school to escort Dumbledore away. He says, "'You'll find
that I will only truly have left this school when
none here are loyal to me. You will also find that
help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.' For a second, Harry was
almost sure Dumbledore's eyes flickered towards the corner
where he and Ron stood hidden." This is what I meant earlier
when I said Dumbledore is happy to allow Harry
to also investigate the Chamber of Secrets. First of all, he obviously knows that Harry
and Ron are in the cabin, even though they're underneath
the invisibility cloak, and second, even though
he's leaving the school, he seems to have a pretty
good idea that Harry is on the case and offers
him some potential help if he solves the entire mystery and then needs some assistance. And in the end, we know that Harry does become very loyal and pledge his allegiance to Dumbledore because he's able to summon Fawkes in the Chamber of Secrets. The question though is how does
Dumbledore earn his loyalty? And I think the answer is Hagrid. - You wouldn't be talking
about me now, would you? - Dumbledore, of course,
as we said earlier, knows for sure that Voldemort
opened the chamber last time and that Hagrid was framed, and yet despite pretty compelling
evidence to the contrary, Dumbledore decides to trust
Haggard and keep him on as gamekeeper a move that
must have looked very sketchy to an outsider. Like what do you think Myrtle's parents thought of that decision? But once Harry learns that
Haggard is indeed innocent, it must look to Harry like
this was a true act of loyalty from Dumbledore towards Hagrid. - Hagrid never opened
the Chamber of Secrets. He was innocent. - And that in turn is what
makes Harry loyal to Dumbledore. (eerie music) Welcome to part three of
Dumbledore's Big Plan, "The Prisoner of Azkaban." In "Prisoner" Dumbledore, once again to find himself in
a much more reactionary role. Whatever his original plans
for Harry were that year now have to be adjusted based on the escape of Sirius Black. However, unlike in "Chamber,"
Sirius escapes well before the beginning of the school year. So we can assume that most of
the decisions Dumbledore makes are taking into account the
fact that Sirius is at large and might be trying to kill Harry, and that Harry might
find out what Sirius did to his parents or at least what Dumbledore thinks Sirius did to his parents, and with that in mind, I
think it might be a good idea to review what Dumbledore
knows and doesn't know and what he believes at
the beginning of the book, because it affects the actions he takes. Firstly much like the rest
of the Wizarding world, Dumbledore definitely
believes Sirius is guilty. He also believes that he was
the Potter's secret keeper, that he did turn them in to Voldemort, and did kill Peter Pettigrew
and 12 other muggles. He also has no idea that
James, Sirius, or Peter were Animagus. He tells Harry, "'Last
night Sirius told me all about how they became Animagi,'
said Dumbledore, smiling. 'An extraordinary achievement, not least keeping it quiet from me.'" Without any further ado, let's talk about Dumbledore's Big Plan for "the Prisoner of Azkaban"
and the goals he has outlined for Harry. First and foremost is to protect Harry and just keep him safe from Sirius. Second is to observe Harry's greatest fear and to teach him how to defeat dementors. Which, spoilers, this ends
out working out really well for him because his greatest fear ends up being the dementors, and lastly is the value of someone's soul and their innocence. Okay, so let's start
with keeping Harry safe. Remember Dumbledore is
the only one who is aware of the prophecy and knows
that Harry is the one who has to kill Voldemort. So Sirius coming in and
killing him ahead of time is very bad for the fate
of the Wizarding world. "But J," I hear you saying, "doesn't
the prophecy also say that only Voldemort can kill Harry? That either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live
while the other survives?" Yes, it does say that, and
this is a little bit tricky, but stick with me. This does not mean that
Harry is simply invincible to all non Voldemort related deaths That he is somehow indestructible, except at the hands of
Voldemort, who ironically, he actually is indestructible against, since Voldemort took his
blood in Goblet of Fire. - Astonishing, what a few
drops of your blood will do, eh Harry? - But Voldemort isn't even
aware of the second half of the prophecy where
it says neither can live while the other survives. He is just determined to kill Harry because the first sentence
is the one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches. But because he acts on those words, he does mark Harry as the only
person who can't defeat him and in a weird twist of fate, his own determination to be the one to kill Harry often saves Harry from otherwise certain death. Like when the death
eaters have him surrounded at the Ministry of Magic or when Nagini is squeezing
the life out of him at Godric's Hollow, or Bellatrix and the
Malfoys have him cornered at Malfoy Manor. I mean the list goes on, but Harry escapes a lot of times because Voldemort won't
let anyone else kill him. - [Voldemort] Do nothing!
He mine to finish. - The point is Voldemort
believes in the prophecy, and so no matter what he is
going to try and kill Harry. So no matter what Harry
has to be prepared for it. Which he can't do, if he's
dead, because he can still die, which is why Dumbledore sees
Sirius as such a big problem. From Dumbledore's point of view, Sirius was one of the
most talented wizards to come through Hogwarts. He was a huge supporter
of Voldemort who gave up his best friends, James and Lilly. He is the only person
to break out of Azkaban and is a reckless killer
of innocent people. So step one for Dumbledore
to protect Harry is to take full advantage
of the protection offered at Number Four Privet Drive. Plain and simple, when Harry is here, he is basically untouchable
until the age of 17. But take notice, "Prisoner" is unique in that it is the only book,
except "Philosopher Stone," where Harry is not invited to the Weasley's during the summer. We've talked before about
how Molly and Arthur are Dumbledore's deputies, and I think this lack of an
invitation is at his request. In fact, I dare say, it's
possible he suggested they take the trip to Egypt, so they would have a reasonable excuse to not invite Harry over. Which would honestly make
me feel a little bit better because I don't know about you, but it is always bothered me
that the very poor Weasleys win this big lottery draw at the Ministry and then immediately squander
it on this trip to Egypt. Like (exasperated noise), especially when you
realize that in "Chamber," the reason Ron and Jenny and
Fred and Georgia and Percy, all stay at Hogwarts is
because Arthur and Molly are visiting Bill in Egypt. Like they were just there, and in fact it says that
the siblings elected to not go with them, meaning
they could have gone with them. So I'm just calling total
malarkey on them needing the money to be able to go visit
them with the whole family, but Dumbledore's plan to keep Harry safe and away from Sirius Black
flies right out the window when Harry accidentally inflates his aunt, who flies right out the
window and then Harry flees and runs directly into Sirius Black. Fortunately for Dumbledore though, Harry accidentally summons the night bus, which immediately delivers
him into Ministry protection, or perhaps not so fortunately, I mean, can you imagine if Harry had
just not tripped right there and Sirius had revealed himself to him? (in a gravely voice)
"Harry, don't be afraid. It I, Sirius Black, your godfather. I was framed from murder, but the man who did it is
alive and he's posing as a rat with a family called the Weasleys. Oh, you know them? Your best friend? That is convenient." Seriously, Harry, you fell over for? You could have ended this
book like 300 pages earlier and stop Voldemort from coming back. For that matter, if Sirius hadn't seen Peter's
picture in the newspaper, he never would've escaped for Azkaban and Peter never would've
returned to Voldemort. So like whose idea was
it to go to Egypt anyway? Oh. Anyway, Harry gets
delivered to Diagon Alley where it seems like the
public nature of the area. plus the Ministry itself,
is offering him protection. Not that Dumbledore doesn't have eyes on the ground, as always. Let me ask you this, did you ever think it was
odd that Florean Fortescue kept giving Harry so many free Sundays during his lengthy stay
at the Leaky Caldron? Because that is not how you run a successful ice cream business. It might seem weird except
that it is a great way to keep an eye on Harry, because a guest whose ancestor happened to be a headmaster at Hogwarts, hmm? One Florean Fortescue, meaning his ancestor, Dexter Fortescue, has a portrait in the headmaster's office, and I would just bet money
that he has another one in the ice cream shop, and the Dumbledore was
just getting reports. A trick we know he uses later
on with Phineas Nigellus. Side note, does anyone else think it's odd that there were no dementors
in Diagon Alley that summer. Like Sirius had escaped, they know he is looking for Harry, they know Harry's in Diagon Alley, where the dementors? In any case though, the Weasleys do eventually
arrive in Diagon Alley to escort Harry to the
platform where Mr. Weasley pulls Harry aside to deliver
Dumbledore's next bit of instruction. He tells him specifically
to not go looking for Black. He tells him this, even though Fudge specifically
told him not to, Harry says, "'No, honestly - it's okay. This way you haven't
broken your word to Fudge, and I know what's going on.'" Fudge might have told him
not to tell Harry anything, but I think Dumbledore did. And if you're wondering why, if they both work for Dumbledore, Molly and Arthur were arguing
about this the night before. Well, it won't be the last
time that Molly disagrees with Dumbledore about what's
best for Harry to know. Then of course, once Harry gets to school, Dumbledore tries to protect
Harry by preventing him from going into Hogsmeade. - [McGonagall] No permission form signed, no visiting the village. - Because if you ask me the
permission forms are kind of just a formality and
if Black wasn't out there, I think he would just let Harry
enter Hogsmeade no problem. I mean, in the past two years, he's defeated a basilisk and Voldemort, but hey, walking around a town, whoa, can't do it without
a permission form. Ah, but what about the Marauder's Map, you might be wondering? Is it possible that
Dumbledore intended the twins to give it to him? Well, we did consider
this, but ultimately no. I mean, for one, if a
Dumbledore had the map, he could just use it to track Sirius. And two next year, when Barty Crouch Jr. mentions
the map to Dumbledore, he has no idea what he's talking about. "'The map that had almost
ruined everything.' 'Map?' said Dumbledore quickly. 'What map is this?' 'Potter's map of Hogwarts.
Potter saw me on it.'" Point is even though most
of Dumbledore's attempts to protect Harry are
failing, he is trying. Which brings us to his second goal of learning Harry's greatest fear, teaching him how to fight dementors, and the hiring of Remus John Lupin. There are a myriad of
reasons I think Lupin was the perfect hire for Harry this year, but let's start with
learning his greatest fear. Learning what Harry sees
when he comes face to face with a boggart is sort of
the opposite of finding out what Harry saw in the Mirror of Erised in "Philosopher's Stone," but both pieces of information
really reveal a lot about Harry's character to Dumbledore. - That suggests that what you
fear the most is fear itself. This is very wise. - [J] Although I will say
I'm not sure Lupin was in on that part of the plan because he eventually stops
Harry from seeing the boggart, unless that was also part of his plan so we could have a more isolated
encounter with Harry later. Which is exactly what happens
the first time everyone else gets to go to Hogsmeade and Harry can't, which is something else
Dumbledore made happen. But the big giveaway that
Dumbledore is actually the one behind the boggart lesson comes
from "Crimes of Grindelwald" where you can see Dumbledore
teaching the exact same lesson. And come on, the boggart was found in a
wardrobe in the staff room. Like how random. The really great news
for Dumbledore though, is that Harry's boggart is a dementor, which ties in really well with his goal of teaching Harry how to fight dementors. Now I don't know about you, but I've always thought
the argument Harry uses to convince Lupin to teach him this skill is like paper thin at best. "'But if they come to
another Quidditch match, I need to be able to fight them.'" Yeah, Harry, because it
is your responsibility, as one of the students playing
the game to defend yourself from attacking dark creatures, don't worry about the staff handling that. I mean to be fair, Harry is attacked in like every single year Quidditch, no one ever seems to do anything about it or look into it at all. Either way Harry's argument is we might lose Quidditch matches not I might die, and Lupin who is already
hesitant to teach him is like, "Oh, that's true. We can't have you losing
Quidditch matches." Yeah, no, I'm sorry. This has Dumbledore just
written all over it. Now Dumbledore wanting Harry
to know how to fight dementors might seem really specific, but it's not. I mean, for one, dementors
are really dangerous, and Dumbledore is certain that if, and when Voldemort returns, the dementors will join him immediately. In fact, he even tells Fudge
after Voldemort does return, "'The first and most essential step is to remove Azkeban from the
control of the dementors.'" He states, "'The rest
of us sleep less soundly in our beds, Cornelius,
knowing that you have put Lord Voldemort's
most dangerous supporters in the care of creatures who
will join him the instant he asks them!'" I mean, it is literally
his very first suggestion for how to fight Voldemort
is to not trust dementors, and since he believes one death eater has already broken out, he probably feels like the
return is coming pretty quickly. Which it is. But it is essential that
they do not get to Harry because Harry losing his soul pretty much means Voldemort wins. And it actually wouldn't even
interfere with the prophecy because they wouldn't
actually be killing him, they just be taking his soul. And Lupin is not just the man
who knows all about patronuses but he's also a great candidate
for teaching Harry the value of someone's soul. Remember as of "Chamber of Secrets," Dumbledore would've been suspecting that multiple horcruxes were in play and realized that Voldemort
had made a grave error in ripping his soul into so many pieces, but that advantage could disappear if Harry doesn't learn the value of having a whole complete soul. In "Chamber" Dumbledore hired Lockhart to show Harry how someone who
has all the things most people think they want can be a total buffoon. But in "Prisoner," it's
the exact opposite. It's to show Harry how someone
who is considered vicious and an outcast by the
entire Wizarding community can have a truly pure heart. Lupin, who is poor and unwanted
in most Wizarding spaces, and who believes that
Sirius is actually guilty, is the one to tell Harry
about the dementor's kiss and how it's the fate
that awaits Sirius Black. "'He deserves it,' said, Harry suddenly. 'You think so?' said Lupin lightly. 'Do you really think
anyone deserves that?' 'Yes' said Harry defiantly.
'For... for some things.'" And yet by the end of the book, Harry has done a complete 180. By the end, he is unwilling to let Sirius and Lupin murder Peter, even though at that point,
he has fully accepted that Peter is the one who
actually turned his parents over to Voldemort, and that
he's been hiding as a rat, and living in Harry's dormitory
for the past three years. I mean, think about that
earlier in the book, Harry was very quick to offer
up Sirius to the dementors, but by the end, he is not willing to let someone whose crimes are even worse, suffer a fate that is not as bad, and not even just because
he doesn't think Peter deserves it, but also because he doesn't
want Lupin and Sirius to become murderers. Maintaining their souls
and their innocence is just as important to him, and Dumbledore's method of teaching Harry this lesson throughout
the year is once again, through Hagrid. Of course, Harry had a crash course in protecting someone's
innocence last year when he cleared Hagrid's name
from the Chamber of Secrets. But this year Dumbledore has
Hagrid inform the golden trio every step of the way
about Buckbeak's trial. A trial that certainly a
Dumbledore could have cleared up in like 15 minutes
after breakfast one day, if he'd really wanted to. I mean, people are injured
at this school all the time, and Malfoy is injured by a
beast that comes up during OWL, so it's the kind of creature
that lots of adult wizards already have a lot of information about. Plus Hagrid has a whole
class worth of witnesses who heard him tell Draco not
to insult the hippogriff, which then they all also heard him do. Also also, actually actually
Draco is not even hurt. Like it is such a dumb case, but it is a clear situation
where an innocent party is going to be punished by murder, which then happens to be
a great lesson for Harry to learn the value of innocence. Later when Harry is feeling like he failed because he let Pettigrew
go, Dumbledore tells him, "'Didn't make any difference?'
Said Dumbledore quietly. 'It's made all the difference
in the world, Harry. You helped uncover the truth. You saved an innocent man
from a terrible fate.'" So the real lesson is
this saving innocent lives is more important than
punishing guilty ones, even if that means the
return of Voldemort, an idea that really rings
true when you fast forward to Harry walking to the forest to die for his innocent friends, knowing he has not yet
completely defeated his enemy. (eerie music) Guys, welcome to part four
of Dumbledore's Big Plan where today we're going to be discussing "Goblet of Fire." We pick up after the
highly impactful events of "Prisoner of Azkaban," where Peter Pettigrew has escaped and set out to resurrect Voldemort, and once more Dumbledore
has his own goals for Harry as he heads towards his
inevitable duel with Voldemort, the one for like all the
marbles that is though, not the one in the graveyard , Dumbledore has no idea
that's gonna happen. In fact, I dare say "Goblet"
stands apart in a big way from the first three, in terms of stuff
Dumbledore doesn't plan for. In the last two books, he has had to act in a
somewhat reactionary role where he is responding to
a developing situation. Those being the Chamber
of Secrets being opened and Sirius Black escaping from Azkaban. This time, however, he
is much more in the dark. Like while it is clear, there
is a situation developing, he has no idea who or how it's happening. In fact, Dumbledore is so
not in control this year, we honestly considered
calling this episode, Voldemort's Big Plan, except in that case, you wouldn't really need
us to explain anything 'cause that's just, that's,
that's the whole book, it's just, the whole book
is Voldemort's big plan. The whole thing is spelled out- Bertha Jorkins, Barty Crouch. (slurp noise) We re-light the Goblet of Fire. Harry's a champion? Did you put your name
in the Goblet of Fire? No way! The cup is a portkey. Harry's blood. Avada Kedavra! That's where it goes wrong. But that's not to say Dumbledore
doesn't have any plans in this book because he totally does. This book actually contains
one of the most crucial lines that actually confirms Dumbledore's plan in the entire series. So today I would like to start at the end during the end of year
feast when Dumbledore is giving his speech to the entire school, because he says something that
I feel like really sums up everything he's trying
to teach Harry that year. "'I say to you all, once
again - in the light of Lord Voldemort's return,
we are only as strong as we are united, as
weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift
for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by
showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and
language are nothing at all if our aims are identical
and our hearts are open.'" Friendship, unity, trust, these are the hallmarks of
the goals Dumbledore has for Harry this year. Friendship, unity trust. If you need an acronym, try FUT, it's almost like fun and not at all tough. His first goal is to introduce Harry to the wider Wizarding world and start promoting the idea of unity. Second is to educate Harry
about the unforgivable curses. And third, and this one is
a bit more reactionary is to start showing Harry what the world was like the last time Lord
Voldemort was in power. So let's start with
expanding Harry's horizons and giving him a greater scope of what's at stake should Lord Voldemort return. This is super important for Harry's future because thus far, most of his exposure to the Wizarding world is just Hogwarts, and if we're being real,
mostly just Griffindor house. Where he has indeed blossomed into the brave Griffindor
Dumbledore intended. He's won the house cup
three years in a row, he's received an award for
special services to the school, and he even brought home the
interhouse Quidditch cup. But the issue with Hogwarts
being most of your exposure is that Hogwarts itself is
a pretty divided place. Sure, Dumbledore didn't want him to end up in Slytherin house, but that doesn't mean Dumbledore
actually thinks any lesser of the students in Slytherin house. Well, I mean, let's be honest, there was probably a nicer
way to award the points at the end of the first year. I mean, it's not like the Slytherin
actually did anything wrong. He didn't have to embarrass him in front of the whole school,
but the point is he did. Sorry, that's actually not the point. The point is if Dumbledore had it his way, all four houses would
coexist harmoniously. So approaches this in two ways, right out of the grate, that'll make sense in like one sentence, the Weasleys arrive in
the Dursley's fireplace. Ha, there it is, fireplaces
have grates, you see. Although ironically, they
don't actually even make it out of the grate in this situation, but whatever I stand by that pun. Either way, they are there to pick up Harry
for the Quidditch World Cup. This is a huge deal for
the oh so poor Weasleys who have somehow managed
to not just get tickets to the event, but also tickets for guests, and also they're the best
tickets in the entire stadium in the top box, which for me
is just one old big red flag. The top box? What really? Okay, so we know the
tickets come as a gift from Ludo Bagman, and the explanation is that
he is returning a favor to Arthur because Arthur got his brother out of a weird situation with a lawnmower that was acting unnaturally, and he just smoothed the whole thing over. here's 10 tickets to the top box. I'm sorry, but I just don't think so. I mean 10 tickets to the top box, like that's where the Malfoys sit, and the Malfoys are like
peacock owning rich. I'm just assuming peacock
are like really expensive. No, let me tell you as
someone who personally started their career in event marketing, the tickets the event gives you to give away are rarely good tickets. Certainly they are not front row tickets, unless there is also a huge
marketing campaign accompanying that particular giveaway
that's gonna help you sell lots of other tickets. The idea that Ludo is giving
away 10 of the best tickets in the entire stadium for a
favor he is like twice removed from is just, just laughable. Especially, and this is really
important when you consider that Ludo Bagman is in terrible
debt when he does this. Selling those tickets, rather
than giving them to Arthur, would've been easily the
fastest way out of debt. I mean, when peacock man
and his son Draco get to the top box, they even joke, "'Good lord, Arthur,' he said softly, 'What did you have to set
to get seats in the top box? Surely your house wouldn't
have fetched this much.'" Now, obviously he's
being quite antagonistic in this situation, but I have to think he
is also quite correct. Just fun fact, according to a StubHub, the average cost of
the worst tickets to go to the last Super Bowl was $4,750, with private boxes ranging
all the way up to 60,000. I'm sorry, but I need to know, because this is important, What was the lawnmower doing? The point is Ludo is desperate
for money and is just willing to help Harry cheat for
the entirety of the book, and yet he gives away
essentially a small fortune. It just doesn't sound right. Except we also know that he has
been working with Dumbledore for the past few months, arranging the Tri Wizard Tournament. And if you ask me Dumbledore is the one behind this generosity, because it is vital that Harry go to the Quidditch World Cup, and if he isn't able to
go with the Weasleys, then he doesn't really have
anyone else to go with. That might sound like
a weird and big favor to ask of Ludo Bagman, but at this point, and we'll get into it a
little bit more later, Dumbledore already believes
that Harry is going to have to sacrifice himself. So it is vital that he
understand the scope of Voldemort's terror should
Harry fail to defeat him. And speaking of the Tri Wizard Tournament, that is part two of Dumbledore's
plan to expose Harry to the wider Wizarding world. Because if things had gone to plan and Harry's name hadn't come
out of the Goblet of Fire, then it would've been a great opportunity not just to meet foreign wizards, but also to unite all four houses within Hogwarts behind one champion. And speaking of the Tri Wizard Tournament, that is part two of Dumbledore's
plan to expose Harry to the wider Wizarding world. It's honestly a really
elegant and creative solution where everyone might have
got to have a lot of fun and meet some new interhouse friends and international wizards, except it all goes astray
when Harry's name comes outta the Goblet of Fire and the school ends up
more divided than ever. Whoopsies! Speaking of whoops though,
let's dive into goal number two, which is educating Harry
about the unforgivable curses. So typically you wouldn't
start learning about these until year six, but now
that Pettigrew has escaped, Dumbledore must feel that
Voldemort's return is imminent and that he really needs to get Harry in front of this information now. Now I've always kind of
thought the actual explanation for the reason Barty Crouch Jr. was teaching the students
the unforgivable curses was because he's actually a death eater, and the idea of putting students under the Imperius curse
all day was just sort of a laugh for him. But the more I think about
it and the more I look at Dumbledore's plan as a whole, the more I think Dumbledore
actually did want Moody to teach the students about these curses. I mean, first of all, he is under the impression
that it is the actual Alastor Moody teaching the students, and Barty Crouch Jr. even says, "'Professor Dumbledore's
got to higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say the sooner you
know what you're up against, the better.'" I don't know when in my
mind Moody became a pirate, but he does have a peg leg
and could wear a patch, maybe should. And you might be thinking,
but J surely, he's just lying, and Dumbledore, wouldn't
actually approve of this, but here's the thing, there's like no way
Dumbledore does not know this is being taught, because the whole school is buzzing with what Moody's classes are like, because they're so intense. And it's not like he just
teaches them that once, it's like several, several lessons. Dumbledore definitely
knows this is happening and does nothing to stop it, which could only mean Barty
Crouch Jr. is telling the truth, including the part about
putting the students under the Imperius curse. Yes, it sounds terrible, but terrible is what Dumbledore
is up against in Voldemort. And sure enough, this early training does pay off for Harry who later is actually able
to successfully throw off the Imperius curse when
Voldemort casts it on him. And besides that Barty
Crouch Jr also tells us that it takes real strength of character to throw off the curse, which Dumbledore definitely
knows Harry has based on what he saw in the mirror. So I feel certain Dumbledore
knew Harry could do it, just wanted him to have
a few rounds of practice ahead of time. Plus if Voldemort does return, you can bet tons of
people are suddenly going to be under the Imperius curse, and being able to recognize
it is really important because it encourages restraint. Think Stan Shunpike, for example, during the Battle of the Seven
Potters who Harry spares, because he recognizes the Imperius curse. But that brings me to goal number three, showing Harry what the Wizarding world was like the last time
Voldemort was at large. Like I said earlier, this is not something he would've planned from the beginning, it's
much more reactionary, but since Dumbledore has
been reading the signs the whole book, I think he feels like
it's a good idea to pass this information along to Harry. This happens when Harry
accidentally discovers and enters the Pensieve
in Dumbledore's office and witnesses the trials
of Karkaroff, Bagman, and Barty Crouch Jr. And I say accidentally with air quotes because it is so not an accident. "'I was using the Pensieve
when Mr. Fudge arrived for our meeting and put
it away rather hastily. Undoubtedly, I did not fasten
the cabinet door properly. Naturally, it would've
attracted your attention.'" Yes, yes, naturally it
is totally fine for you to invade my private thoughts and observe sensitive
information about the innocence of living people who you're
seeing on a regular basis. Totally fine. Cool. Awesome. Great. No, but for real Harry, did you see what was going on there? I hope you were paying attention. I could like run into the bathroom and forget to fasten the
handle again, if you need, like, I kind of have to go. Actually I better. (upbeat music) Woo, that's better. Certainly it doesn't seem
like Dumbledore cares that Harry saw this, the only thing that really
catches him off guard is when he learns that
Neville hasn't told Harry about his parents, which is the only thing he
asked him to keep a secret. But the reason I think
Dumbledore wants Harry to see this is not to just
throw shade at the accused, but to show Harry how Voldemort was able to spread such terrible mistrust through the Wizarding community. On Voldemort's side of things, Karkaroff reveals that the
death eaters don't even really have loyalty to each other. They're willing to turn on
each other if it benefits themselves in the long run. I mean, that's not really that
surprising, but there it is. Bagman's trial represents
how an obviously oblivious and innocent person has been
cast under serious doubt and suspicion, which again, kind of echoes back to that
idea with Stan Shunpike, like Harry immediately recognizes this person's not a death eater. I mean, I don't know if he's a good guy, don't let him near your lawn mower, but- And then of course is the
trial with Barty Crouch Jr. which shows us the breaking of families. Which shows how even people who
claim to be on the good side of things are willing to shatter bonds and mistrust even their own children. You really can't
understate how instructive and important these three memories are for Harry going forward. Think for example, how Harry
responds to Lupin when he asks if he can abandon his family to come join Harry and Hermione and Ron. Harry ain't having none of it, but that brings us to the gleam, possibly the most important
line in this whole book, as it relates to Dumbledore's plan. "'For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam
of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes. But next second, Harry was
sure he had imagined it, for when Dumbledore had
returned to his seat behind the desk, he
looked as old and weary as Harry had ever seen him.'" This triumphant gleam of
Dumbledore's comes immediately upon hearing that Voldemort
took some of Harry's blood into himself, and the triumph is
Dumbledore realizing that, for the first time, Harry might actually have a
way to survive the final duel with Voldemort. It's Dumbledore realizing
that Voldemort is now sort of acting as a "love crux," if you will, to Harry and
tethering him to life. "'But if Voldemort used the killing curse and nobody died for me this
time, how can I be alive?' 'I think you know,' said Dumbledore. 'Think back. Remember what he did in
his ignorance, in his greed and his cruelty.' 'He took my blood,' said Harry." It means that as of Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore already knew
Harry was a horcrux, and that he would have to die
in order to defeat Voldemort, that Harry would have
to sacrifice himself. - [Snape] You've kept him
alive so that he can die at the proper moment. You've been raising him
like a pig for slaughter. - And this, this is the
reason why it is tantamount that Harry understand what is at stake. That when the time comes, Harry will need to have to
have the courage to face death, because it's not just about
Harry's personal battle with Voldemort. It's not just about killing
Voldemort or saving Harry. It's about saving the
entire Wizarding world. Harry has to understand the
gravity of the situation so that he can do the other
thing Dumbledore asks everyone to do at his end of year speech. "'If the time should come
when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened
to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he's strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort.'" Until the end of Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore doesn't know
Harry might have a way to survive the final duel. He believes he's going to have to die. Which means he has to count
on Harry in that moment to do not what is easy, but what is right. (eerie music) Guys, welcome to a part five
of Dumbledore's Big Plan, where today we are going to be discussing "the Order of the Phoenix." Well, it took four books to get here, but Voldemort has finally returned, and yet somehow he's not even
the main villain in this book. I mean, what does that say about Umbridge? I think a lot. (dramatically clears throat several times) One of those well be good. Which is not to say the
Voldemort doesn't still have a presence in the book and Harry is still the
one who's gonna have to finish him off, and so Dumbledore is
still doing his darndest to prepare Harry for the inevitable. Unlike the last few books though, this time Dumbledore has the
benefit of knowing exactly what Voldemort is up to:
trying to steal the prophecy. And since not knowing the
contents of the prophecy is what is presently stopping
Voldemort from attacking Harry, Dumbledore's main goal is
to protect the prophecy. And this goal ties into a few of his goals for Harry this year, all of which now have
to be adjusted a little since Voldemort has actually returned. But what's really interesting
about this book is that now that Voldemort is back, you actually get to see some
of Dumbledore's past lessons be put to the test. Oh, Dumbledore in many ways, I think you are your own
worst enemy in this book, a sentiment I think you are
actually quite aware of. "'Do you see Harry? Do you see the flaw in
my brilliant plan now? I had fallen into the trap I had foreseen, that I had told myself I could avoid, that I must avoid.'" Ugh, fall you did
Dumbledore, fall you did. Well, not literally. That's not until the next book. I mean, look, No! (splat noise) Oh no! Too soon? Either way the point is, it's not that your
intentions weren't good. We'll get more into that quote later, but I wanted to bring
it up right at the start because I feel like it
really sets the tone for all of Dumbledore's
goals for Harry this year, which are, first similar to how it was in "Prisoner of Azkaban"
is to keep Harry safe. Second is to demonstrate the
corruption of the Ministry and maybe encourage a little rebellion. And lastly, is to finally
tell Harry the contents of the prophecy and why
Voldemort is after him. Which let's be real, it is about time. - Well, it's a good thing we
saved the philosopher's stone, but why did Voldemort try
and kill me as a baby? - I know philosopher stone, right? I could, I swear, Harry, I swear I had some
Bertie Botts beans here. - Wow, Professor, I can't
believe I killed a basilisk, but why did Voldemort try
and kill me as a baby? - Dude, have you seen this sword? This thing is awesome. How much do you think
we could sell it for? - Wow, can you believe time travels real? And Voldemort's coming back
because Pettigrew escaped, I really like to know
why he tried to kill me. - Hippogriffs are as
hippogriffs do, Harry, and maybe have some chocolate,
it helps with the dementors. - (sobbing) Cedric is dead. Why does he keep trying to kill me? - Oh God, he's crying. Uh, I think I left those
beans back in my office. I'm just gonna... - In other news, what do you guys think
of my new COVID mask. But okay, let's dive into
Dumbledore's first goal, keeping Harry safe. "'People don't like being locked up! You did it to me all last summer.'" A truly wonderful sentiment
that really drives home how much Dumbledore has
fallen into his own trap. Voldemort's return means that Harry is in as much danger as he has ever been in, and since Dumbledore is still
the only one who knows the contents of the prophecy, he needs Harry alive and safe and well. So unlike last summer
where Harry got to go to the Quidditch World Cup, this summer Dumbledore
decides that it's better if Harry is left completely
isolated the entire time. This is because as Dumbledore explains, "'While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot be touched
or harmed by Voldemort.'" So as far as Dumbledore is concerned, keeping Harry at Number Four Privett Drive as long as possible is
the safest possible place Harry could be. Why he doesn't just tell
Harry that this protection is in place is beyond me, but hey, at least in the meantime
he's got Mundungus and Mrs. Fig spying on him without Harry knowing
the whole time, wait. But of course this plan goes
totally astray when Harry and Dudley get attacked
by a pair of dementors, and this is an important distinction, because at this point, the
dementors are still loyal to the Ministry. So while Harry is protected
from Voldemort at Privett Drive, if he's also under
attack from the Ministry, then it's time to move Harry again. But let's face it, the
protection is significantly downgraded at Grimmauld Place, am I right? Yeah. Right. Are you telling me the, the Fidelius charm and
the core elite aurors from the Order of the Phoenix
being around Harry 24/7, having his best interest
at heart is better than Mrs. Fig, because yeah. After arriving at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, Harry learns they are protecting a weapon that everyone is also refusing
to tell him anything about. Which is round two of Harry's protection, because you might just be wondering, why doesn't Dumbledore just
tell Harry about the prophecy? 'Cause like if he'd known, then he wouldn't have been
lured to the Ministry, and he would've just been
like in on everything and Sirius maybe didn't need to die. The answer though is pretty simple. We talked last week about how
Dumbledore already suspected that Harry was a horcrux. So the reason Dumbledore
doesn't tell him is because he's afraid then
Voldemort will be able to access his mind and
gain the information about the prophecy, or at least we know
that's Dumbledore's theory at this point, because after Arthur is
attacked, Molly says, "'You know, Dumbledore almost
seems to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this...'" And said attack actually
seems to confirm this theory to Dumbledore after he consults his little spinning silver instruments. "A serpent's head grew
out of the end of it, opening its mouth wide... 'Naturally, naturally,'
murmured Dumbledore apparently to himself, still observing
the stream of smoke without the slightest sign of surprise. 'But in essence divided?'" This is when Dumbledore decides to implement occlumency lessons for Harry with his least favorite
teacher ever, Snape. Now of course, Dumbledore later claims that
the reason he does this is to prevent Voldemort from luring Harry to the Hall of Prophecy. But I think the real reason
Dumbledore wants Harry to know occlumency is
because he has finally come to accept that it's the only
safe way he will be able to tell Harry the prophecy. Because Dumbledore can't tell Harry until he knows he can repel Voldemort, 'cause otherwise Voldemort
will have access to it. Of course, if it was me,
I might have told Harry, that was the situation like,
hey, if you master this skill, I can actually tell
you what the weapon is. But this is where a
Dumbledore really falters, because Snape sees that
Harry is having dreams about the door, and he's obviously telling
Dumbledore what he's seeing. I mean, if nothing else, occlumency lessons are like
a really sneaky way of spying into Harry's mind, but even just like telling
him not to go there, telling him Voldemort my
try and lure him there. Like why, Dumbledore, why? But the reason is because
of that tragic flaw in Dumbledore's plan. The reason he doesn't want to tell Harry about the prophecy is
because he has grown to care for Harry too much. "'What did I care if numbers
of nameless and faceless people and creatures were slaughtered
in the vague future, if in the here and now you are
alive, and well, and happy?'" Dumbledore is basically
at war with himself. He has to physically keep Harry alive so that he can kill Voldemort, but his determination to
mentally protect Harry from that burden prevents him
from being honest with him, which makes Harry stop
trusting him as much. Which ultimately really
undermines his second goal, which is to demonstrate the
corruption of the Ministry. - The Cruciatus curse
ought to loose your tongue. - That's illegal. - Okay, so according to
educational decree number 22, "In the event of the current
headmaster being unable to provide a candidate
for a teaching post, the Ministry should select
an appropriate person." This, as we all know, is
the reason we are stuck with Umbridge or is it? Could it instead be the case
that Umbridge is actually part of Dumbledore's big plan. (sighs) Yeah, that's the, that's the case. Maybe Dumbledore didn't
specifically have Umbridge in mind, but, but yes, he wanted
them to appoint somebody. Let me ask you you this, does it strike you as at
all odd that Dumbledore, the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret defense against
the dark arts society, can't find a teacher
for the post of defense against the dark arts? I mean, it is literally where
he pulled the last two from. Lupin and Mad Eye are
both members of the Order. I mean, granted Moody
didn't like totally work out and Lupin like could've
killed somebody as a werewolf, but like whatever. But like Dumbledore
knows Voldemort is back. There could not be a
more important subject for his students than defense
against the dark arts, and like even if the members
of the Order of the Phoenix don't want the job like tough cookies, that's part of being in the Order, you just do what Dumbledore says. The next year he literally
has Order members stationed at Hogwarts. Why isn't one stationed as the defense against the
dark arts professor this year? In fact, next year he
does do that, with Snape. Here is my list, my short list, it could be longer, of
potential candidates that Dumbledore underutilized
for this position: Kingsley Shacklebolt,
Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Doge, Emmeline Vance, Sturgis
Podmore, Arthur Weasley, Bill Weasley, Charlie
Weasley, Hestia Jones, Tonks, Fluer Delacour, a wet plant, Dobby, Gilderoy Lockhart again,
the actual Mad Eye Moody, and, this would've been my
actual favorite, wait for it, Molly Weasley. Yes, Molly who doesn't even
appear to go out on missions for the Order of the Phoenix and who I'm sure would've
liked to have been close to her children during
these uncertain times and who, oh yeah, is the
one who actually defeated the second darkest character
in the entire series. - Not my daughter you - - Oh man. You cannot watch that scene
without getting hyped. All Umbridge has them do
is just read the book, which apparently Dumbledore is okay with, so certainly any of
those people is qualified to at least sit there and
watch them read the book. Especially, and maybe even notably, the wet plant. Heck for that matter, why
doesn't Dumbledore himself, just teach the class. I mean, we know he's done
it in the past and again, just literally anyone would've
been better than Umbridge. The reason is because
Dumbledore wants Harry to understand the
corruption of the Ministry and to double down on Harry's
loyalty to Dumbledore. Because we all agree,
Umbridge is the actual worst, but at the end of the day, all she really has control
over is a high school. But her control there does serve
as a very good, small scale example of what it might
be like if Voldemort takes over the Ministry. Umbridge comes across a thing
she can't control, no problem, she just passes another law. Did those laws make things
harder for her? No problem. Her and the inquisitorial
squad are just above the law. Voldemort and the death
eaters are the exact same way, as soon as they have
control over the Ministry, they pass legislation
to round up muggleborns, they taboo Voldemort's
name to spread fear, they put a bounty on Harry's
name to discredit him, and they no longer have
to fear a retribution for the use of deadly spells. And it's important for
Harry to see this firsthand, because, and I know I sound a little bit like a broken record here, but Dumbledore is the only
one who knows the contents of the prophecy, and that Harry has to be
the one to kill Voldemort. Which means he's uniquely
qualified to be the only one to guide Harry without an ulterior motive. Harry has to be able to
trust only Dumbledore and say no to other offers of help because no matter what
they will be self-serving, if not straight up malicious. Plus having Umbridge
there offers Harry a way to practice fighting tyranny. Because having Umbridge
there teaching them absolutely nothing, almost immediately encourages
unity and rebellion from about 75% of the student
body, which if you recall, was the goal Dumbledore failed
to accomplish last year, but something he definitely does not stand in the way of after the DA is formed. Which is also something
he knows is happening the moment it is happening, because unbeknownst to any
of the students, the barman at the Hog's Head is
Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth. And yet Dumbledore does
nothing to stop it. In fact, he totally defends it against
Ministry investigation, totally playing dumb, despite knowing exactly
what they're up to. Now that said, it's hard to say for sure
that Dumbledore wanted Harry to form some sort of secret
society or defense league or something. That would be like a really
wildly specific goal, and after all, all of the students are
suffering under Umbridge, so why would he think Harry
in particular would be the one to do something about it? I mean, it's not like he
tells him to or anything, but here's the thing. He doesn't have to tell Harry, because he knows Harry will
be the one to do something because the Ministry that year is out to discredit three
things, Dumbledore, Harry, and the return of Voldemort. - He's not back. - Voldemort, who at this
point has failed to kill Harry in person on four occasions, and whom Harry saw
return the previous year and murder a classmate. Combine that with Harry's
track record for heroics, like being the one to protect
the philosopher's stone, to find the Chamber of Secrets, to fend off a hundred dementors, and it feels pretty obvious
Dumbledore knew Harry would do something and maybe even wanted him to, and that is why he allowed
Umbridge to be appointed. And the foreshadowing here
is really kind of perfect. I mean, if Umbridge and the inquisitorial squad represent Voldemort and the death eaters, then Harry and the DA represent Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix. Which by the way, Dumbledore
might not have told Harry to form a secret defense league, but he did also have Harry
stay at the headquarters of his own secret defense
league that summer. So I'm just saying, I'm not saying for sure it was inception, but like, (confused noise). But that brings us to the
final bit of Dumbledore's plan for Harry this year, to finally tell him about the prophecy. Dumbledore tells Harry, "'I defy anyone who has
watched you as I have - and I have watched you more closely than you can have imagined - not to want to save you more pain than you had already suffered.'" First of all, there it is right there, Dumbledore just admitting to the plan, always having someone nearby
to keep an eye on Harry and push him in the right
direction when he needed it. And we touched on this
a little bit earlier, but with Voldemort back, Dumbledore is officially out of excuses for not telling Harry why
Voldemort tried to kill him. But I do think he
finally intends to which, as we said earlier, is why he really wants
Harry to learn occlumency. Of course, Harry doesn't, but it ends up working out
okay for Dumbledore in the end, because the prophecy is
smashed, and at that point, there's no way for
Voldemort to collect it, including breaking into Harry's mind, because after he tries to possess him and feels the mortal agony of coming into contact with a pure and whole soul, Dumbledore is confident
Voldemort won't try and attack Harry's mind again. This however also means, from
Voldemort's point of view, that he will never know the prophecy. So not gonna bother try
and collecting it anymore. May as well, revert to the
original, very elegant plan, which is, screw it, kill Harry, and Dumbledore knows
Voldemort has done this math, which is the thing that at long
last finally forces his hand and makes him tell Harry the prophecy. On top of that, the whole world
knows Voldemort is back now, so the time for preparation
is over the time to attack has begun. And you might think that with
Harry knowing the prophecy, all the cards are finally on the table. Dumbledore's big plan is just over, but despite his honesty and despite Dumbledore
telling Harry he was going to tell him everything, he doesn't. He still has at least three
aces left up his sleeve, and boy are they some big ones, but we will cover that next week. For now, that is it. That is part five of
Dumbledore's big plan. (eerie music) Welcome to part six of
Dumbledore's Big Plan, where today we're going to be discussing "The Half Blood Prince." Ah, "The Half Blood Prince" or as it may otherwise be
called, Dumbledore's Big Plan. I mean the days of guiding
Harry through various hoops and teaching him the value
of love and unity and trust and friendship and all that are behind us. Dumbledore has now taught
Harry everything he can about the kind of person Harry needs to be to defeat Voldemort, and he's even armed him
with two whole spells. - Expelliarmus! Expelliarmus! (magic whooshing) Expelliarmus!
Avada Kedavra! Expecto patronum! (magic whooshing) Expecto patronum! (magic whooshing) - Expecto patronum! - All that's left is to tell Harry how to actually kill Voldemort, to teach him about his past, and use that to hunt
down his anchors to life, his horcruxes. Finally, the whole plan is on the table and out in the open. Almost. It's like 97% of the way on
the table and out in the open, but Dumbledore does still have
a few aces up his sleeves. At this point in the game, Dumbledore has to be extremely
careful about which order and when Harry learns the
final bits of information. He can see that victory against
Voldemort is nearly at hand. All the pieces are on the board. He just has to start making his moves at exactly the right moments, because Dumbledore actually
has two goals in mind now. The first is of course,
to defeat Voldemort, which will involve Harry
sacrificing himself. The second is for Harry
to survive that sacrifice. "Half Blood Prince," as it
relates to Dumbledore's plan is that so many of Dumbledore's actions are actually inactions. Which isn't to say he
isn't actively taking steps to prepare Harry for the
final battle with Voldemort. It's just that all of those
actions are really obvious and the subject of most of the book, but even his active steps are different from our other entries in this series, where Dumbledore is just
front and center with Harry, as opposed to being behind the scenes and pulling the strings on Harry's life without him realizing it. Conveniently for us though, the goals we outlined earlier
about defeating Voldemort and Harry surviving death fall neatly into each of these camps. So first, let's start with
what Dumbledore is doing rather than what he isn't doing, which is teaching Harry
about Voldemort's past and what kind of person he is. I'd like to open with a
quote from "The Art of War." "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the
result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself, but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you
will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither
the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." This is the principle that
Dumbledore is acting on in this book, in this
war against Voldemort. And notably is something that
Voldemort is not acting on. Voldemort seems to firmly
fall into that second scenario of knowing yourself, but not knowing your
enemy and sure enough, for every victory he has,
he also suffers a defeat. He finds Quirrell and
the philosopher stone, but ends up getting the stone destroyed. The diary successfully
opens the Chamber of Secrets and attacks a bunch of
muggleborns, but in the end, the basilisk dies and the
horcrux, the diary, is destroyed. Voldemort finally gets his
body back in the graveyard and then promptly loses a
duel to an unqualified wizard, and then after Harry
finally takes his bait and retrieves the prophecy for him, the prophecy gets smashed and the entire Wizarding world
learns that he has returned. - He's back! Again, if you know yourself,
but not your enemy, for every victory gained, you
will also suffer a defeat. This is one of the main
reasons Voldemort is so unsuccessful time and time again. He's so arrogant and the
odd thing is he actually does think he understands Harry. He even says so in "the Deathly Hallows." "'You sound like Lucius. Neither of you understands Potter as I do. He does not need finding.
Potter will come to me. I know his weakness, you
see, his one great flaw. He will hate watching the
others struck down around him, knowing that it is for
him that it happens. He will want to stop it at
any cost. He will come.'" The great irony here is that this is Voldemort's one great flaw. But the point is Voldemort
thinks Harry will come to the forest out of guilt and fear, not out of selflessness, and certainly not as
a means to defeat him. Dumbledore is determined though, that Harry will not fall
victim to the same mistake, which is why he does everything
he can to teach Harry as much about Voldemort's
past and who he is. He shows him Voldemort's
last living relatives, the Gaunts, and the
kind of pure blood mania they believed in. He shows him Voldemort's
abused mother who magically coerces his father into a relationship. His father, who then abandons
his wife and unborn child after realizing they exist. Dumbledore shows Harry the orphanage where Voldemort grew up, where he was alienated from the other kids because of his powers. Not that he really understood
them at that point. How he collected objects
as trophies of his torment of the other children. And at last, he showed him Hogwarts, where Voldemort finally did feel at home, but remained isolated as the
single most talented student in the school. And the purpose of these
lessons on the surface may seem to just educate Harry about
the horcruxes, which they do. But the real lesson is how
Dumbledore has been using this information about Voldemort's past to locate the horcruxes. How Voldemort chose places that
were significant to himself as hiding spots for the horcruxes. In particular, Voldemort's
desire to have a sense of belonging in the Wizarding world, and his absolute affinity for Hogwarts and anything to do with it
end up being crucial bits of information for Harry in his quest. And you can see these lessons really come through a year later in "Deathly Hallows" when Ron says, "'You really understand him.' 'Bits of him, bits... I just
wish I'd understood Dumbledore as much. But we'll see. Come on - Ollivander now.'" Ah, don't you worry,
Harry, we got you covered. We're figuring out all the
Dumbledore bits here in 2020, you're not here yet, but
you're gonna love it. All we do is stay inside
and pretend we don't exist, it's great, it's... hope this joke doesn't age well. Point is, these lessons from Dumbledore are highly instructive in
helping Harry track down, in particular, the cup and the Diadem, because Harry is able to
understand about Voldemort that he would have wanted
a vault in Gringotts and seen it as a real part of belonging in the Wizarding world. And all throughout "Deathly Hallows," Harry is having to contend
with Ron and Hermione, who continuously shoot down his insistence that Voldemort would've
hid a horcrux at Hogwarts. Personally, I like to think
that when they finally figured out Voldemort did hide one at Hogwarts, Harry took a little private moment to do like a little I told you so dance. And once they know a
horcrux is at Hogwarts, Harry is then able to deduce
how Voldemort found it in the first place by
charming the Gray Lady, and he's able to figure
out where Voldemort hid it because he understands
of Voldemort's arrogance and fascination with Hogwarts. Which is to say, he knows
that Voldemort arrogantly believed he was the only one to ever find the Room of Requirement. And what I kind of love about Dumbledore teaching
Harry all of this is the faith it demonstrates in Harry, because at that point,
Dumbledore has already arranged his death with Snape and
he already knows everything Harry knows, if not more, and yet, he himself has not
located all of the horcruxes. He simply understands that this knowledge and knowing your enemy
is extremely valuable, even if he isn't sure how
it'll be useful to Harry yet. On the other hand, though,
there is plenty of information, Dumbledore deems not worthy
for Harry to know yet. Because it all plays into
his second goal for Harry, which is for Harry to survive death. And again, he cannot
know that it is possible for him to survive death, and that is sort of the really
crucially important thing. If you will recall back to
our Goblet of Fire video, we talked about a gleam of
triumph in a Dumbledore's eyes. This gleam happens upon a
learning that a Voldemort has used Harry's blood to regenerate his body. It was the moment
Dumbledore realized Harry might have a way back,
might have a way to survive. Because at that point, Dumbledore already knows
Harry is gonna have to die, but suddenly a window of
opportunity has opened. And I think it's worth
pointing out here that until that moment, Dumbledore kind of was just raising Harry as a pig for slaughter, but as of learning this
crucial piece of information, he has to adjust it because
the game has changed. Harry can survive. So first let's fast forward to
the resolution of this plan, where Harry does in fact survive, and he and Dumbledore have
the following exchange, "'But I should have died
- I didn't defend myself! I meant to let him kill me!' 'And that will, I think have
made all the difference.'" This little exchange helps inform so many of Dumbledore's decisions. Harry has to mean to die. He has to face Voldemort
with intent to die, with no idea that survival is possible because that is what it means to be the true master of death. "'You are the true master of death, because the true master
does not seek to run away from death. He accepts that he must
die and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying.'" So in short, if Harry
believes he can survive, then the sacrifice can't be real, and he won't be able to come back. Now, rest assured, his
death would still count and the horcrux would still be destroyed, Harry just wouldn't be able to survive it. Dumbledore though, who has
come to care for Harry, suspects that survival
is a possible outcome, and so starts leading Harry
down the path towards that goal. Which is why he does not tell
him the following things. First is that Snape loved Lilly, second is the existence
of the Deathly Hallows, and third that Harry himself is a horcrux. Harry comes so, so, so
close to getting the truth about Snape from Dumbledore
just before they leave to go hunt for the locket, and you can tell Dumbledore
really considers telling him. "'Professor, how can you be
sure Snape's on our side?' Dumbledore did not speak for a moment; he looked as though he was
trying to make up his mind about something. At last he said, 'I am sure. I trust
Severus Snape completely.'" This is a really tough
moment for Dumbledore. He certainly believes Harry has a right to know this information as it relates to the death of his parents, and he just learned that Snape is the one who overheard the prophecy, but this is an example
of Dumbledore learning from his mistakes in "Order the Phoenix," where he admitted to
caring for Harry too much. Telling Harry the truth
here might ease his mind, but it won't save his life. Because the real reason
he can't tell Harry here is later revealed during
the prince's tale. Dumbledore's portrait is talking to Snape, telling him to go give
the Sword of Griffindor to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, in the Forest of Dean and
warns him not to be seen, because, "'If Voldemort
should read Harry's mind and see you acting for him-'" Snape then cuts him off. But the point is, if Harry
knows the truth about Snape, then Voldemort could learn
the truth about Snape. Which ultimately might not
have been the worst thing, except the Dumbledore has
already arranged his death with Snape. Which means Snap's ability to act from within Voldemort's
ranks is about to multiply by like 10. Snape being the one who kills
Dumbledore wins him 100% faith and trust from Voldemort, meaning Snape can then
cause that much more mayhem, which he totally does. He protects Order members during the Battle of the Seven Potters. He gives Harry, Ron,
and Hermione the sword, and he's even suggesting
plans to the Order from behind the scenes. But the other real bigger
issue is that Snape is the only other person that knows Harry needs to die at the hands of Voldemort. That Harry must sacrifice himself. And Dumbledore entrusts Snape with the task of eventually
telling Harry this. "'So the boy... the boy must die?' 'And Voldemort himself
must do it, Severus. That is essential.'" Which by the way, if you've ever thought
it was super convenient, the way in which Snape finally, eventually does give
Harry this information that wow, Voldemort had
just used Avada Kedavra and not killed Snape with the Nagini, that would've been the end of it, Harry never would've known. The reason Voldemort
doesn't use Avada Kedavra against Snape is because he believes Snape is the master of the Elder Wand, so he doesn't wanna use the Elder Wand against Snape 'cause he
thinks it's gonna backfire in the exact way it does
against Harry later on. I finally figured that out last week and I've been like dying to tell you guys. Anyway, since Snape
knows this information, it means Harry can't know
that Snape is on their side. Because if Voldemort finds out that Snape is actually a traitor, he will certainly break into his mind and learn this information. Which means Voldemort would know that attacking Harry would
be as much of an attack on himself as it was an attack on Harry. Does that make sense? He would know that Harry walking into the forest was not a defensive move, but an offensive move. And he may order somebody
else to kill Harry, which then again, would stop Harry from
being able to return. As for the Deathly Hallows,
it is certainly a weird one, because at this point, Dumbledore already
would've written his will and intends for Harry to
get the Resurrection Stone and for Hermione to get
the book with the symbol on the tales of the three brothers that will inevitably lead
them to the information about the Deathly Hallows. Plus he already has the Elder Wand and Harry already has the cloak. So like why not just tell him! Well, his reasoning, at least what he tells
Harry in King's Cross is, "'I was scared that if presented outright with the facts about
those tempting objects, you might seize the Hallows as I did, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. If you laid hands on them, I wanted you to possess them safely.'" And the stone in particular
here is the most crucial. It is the final piece of
the puzzle for Dumbledore, the thing he thinks will
help Harry walk into death, but based on the way he conceals it, he obviously only intends
Harry to use it just before he dies, and definitely not earlier to like, I don't know,
bring Dumbledore back. Boy, can you imagine if
Harry had figured this out way sooner and was like, woohoo, Dumbledore. - [Ben] Boy, how do we get salmon? - We are so hungry. (Ben laughs) He needs Harry to know
what the stone does, but also not to tell him ahead of time. So he tells him via the story, but then that also
reveals the other Hallows. And he can't tell Harry
about the Hallows earlier because it might seem like a way that Harry can survive death, and Harry can't think
that he can survive death because then he can't survive death. Got it? And as for not telling
Harry that he's a horcrux ahead of time, well, we've touched on this some already, but it mostly comes down to this quote. "'Harry must not know,
not until the last moment, not until it is necessary, otherwise how could he have the strength to do what must be done?'" Revealing this information
to Harry is tantamount to just telling him the whole plan. Telling him that this whole
time he has just been intending for Harry to die, which I dare say would undermine
quite a bit of the trust he'd built up over the past six years. Of course that's not the full plan, the full plan is for him to survive. But again, he can't tell him this, and I feel like I'm a broken record, because if he tells him
that, then he can't survive. It's a really weird conundrum. But he can't tell him just
the first half either, because if he finds out that Dumbledore been trying to kill him the whole time without realizing that
maybe he could be saved, then he might not carry out
the rest of the plan at all, and then Voldemort wins. Now we can't have that. (Voldemort laughing) but there you go, guys, that is part six of Dumbledore's Big Plan. Personally, I really loved this one, I like the beginning half about
learning about your enemy, because I also feel like it helps explain all the stuff Dumbledore
doesn't tell Harry about himself in "Deathly Hallows." It demonstrates how crucial
and important all of the time they spent together was, like Dumbledore had one focus, and that was teaching
Harry about Voldemort. Learning more about each other that might have made
Harry feel like they were better friends like, oh, we're
both from Godric's Hollow, that's awesome. But it doesn't help to defeat Voldemort. (eerie music) Guys, welcome to part seven
of Dumbledore's Big Plan where today we are going to be discussing "the Deathly Hallows." If you haven't seen parts one through six, I recommend you check that
out before you watch this one, but otherwise let's do this. Guys, this has been an insane journey, but at long last here we are, book seven, "the Deathly Hallows," where
it all finally comes together, and the full extent of
Dumbledore's big plan is realized. The particularly tricky part about "the Deathly Hallows" though, is that well, Dumbledore is dead. So you might be wondering what plans could he possibly even
still have in motion? Like yeah, sure, Harry is out working to destroy the horcruxes, but didn't we discuss
that in the last episode. Yes we did. But last week, what we discussed was Dumbledore's
plan to kill Voldemort and to make sure Harry
survives the encounter. This week, however, we go even deeper to reveal Dumbledore plan, not just to protect
Harry's physical existence, but also his soul. Guys, I still remember
the very first time I read "the Deathly Hallows" and the
unbridled joy and excitement I felt when I finally
got to the final battle. Harry and Voldemort
are circling each other in the Great Hall and
Voldemort has the Elder Wand, but Harry has a few more secrets. And as he was revealing them, just the waves of realization
that were washing over me. (gasps) Draco disarmed Dumbledore. (gasps) Harry took that wand from Draco. Harry is the master of the Elder Wand. Oh my God! Expelliarmus! Bang! Whiz! Kapow! (chair banging against floor) So fun. But the trouble is that now after nearly 20 years of reflection, countless rereads, and
hundreds of YouTube videos, I've come to the conclusion
and the realization that the Elder Wand wasn't
really that important to the final battle. Because by the time the
final battle happens, Harry is basically
invincible against Voldemort. Since Goblet of Fire, when Voldemort used Harry's
blood to regenerate his body, the two have both been acting as each others anchors to life. Lily's sacrificial love is kept alive in Voldemort who anchors Harry, and Harry has a piece of
Voldemort soul inside of him, anchoring Voldemort. Neither can kill the other, but also must always be hunting the other. Voldemort has to kill
Harry because according to the prophecy, Harry is the only one with
the power to defeat him. And Harry must hunt Voldemort
for the exact same reason, he's the only one who can do it. The problem is they
couldn't kill each other, even if they wanted to, and
to complicate matters further, their wands share twin cores, so they can't even fight
each other properly. But by the time we get
to the final battle, the rules have changed. Each of them has a new wand
and all of the horcruxes, including the one inside of
Harry have been destroyed, meaning that Voldemort cannot kill Harry, but that Harry can kill Voldemort. So whoever's the master of the Elder Wand doesn't really matter. Harry has won the fight
before it's even started, and when I first realized this, it was kind of a bummer to me. I mean, it's the climax
of the entire series, and the fight is about who
controls the Elder Wand, like how could it not matter? And so I've been asking myself
like, what was the point? Why go through all that trouble
to ensure that Harry was in fact master of the Elder Wand? What difference did it make? And the answer is that it
made all the difference in the world. Let's back up a few
beats to when Scrimgeour reads the contents of Dumbledore's will to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, because it reveals a lot about
Dumbledore's intended plan. He, of course, bequeathed
the deluminator to Ron, "The Tales of Beedle
the Bard" to Hermione, and the resurrection stone to Harry. And we talked last week
about the importance of the resurrection stone in terms of Harry marching
nobly into defeat, so that he could actually
survive the final encounter. Basically that Dumbledore
understood how much courage it was going to require to walk
into the forest right there and face Voldemort completely wandless, and maybe if you could be escorted by the ones you loved the most, that was just the final bit
of courage Harry would need, but there was also a fourth object left in Dumbledore's will, which
tells the rest of his plan, the Sword of Griffindor. Harry laments in "the Deathly Hallows," "'It was there, it was right
there on the wall of his office during all our talks last year!
If he wanted me to have it, why didn't he just give it to me then?'" Then later on in the story, Harry, Ron, and Hermione conclude that the reason Dumbledore
didn't give Harry the sword was because he
still planned on using it on the locket. "'And Dumbledore didn't
give it to me because he still needed it, he wanted
to use it on the locket-' '-and he must have realized
they wouldn't let you have it if they put it in his will-' ' -so he made a copy-' ' -and put a fake one in the glass case-'" Aha! And that explanation seems
to satisfy the golden trio, but it is not actually an
accurate conclusion to come to. Yes, Dumbledore realized the
Ministry wouldn't actually give it to Harry if he left
it to him in his will, but that's kind of the sticking point. He left it in his will
and the will was written before the events of the
night of Dumbledore's death, which is important because it means that Dumbledore never intended
it to give Harry the sword. Like even if they had successfully
made it back that night and had indeed destroyed the locket, Dumbledore was not just
going to hand it over. He always intended Harry to
receive the sword postmortem. And you might be thinking well, couldn't he have planned
to give it to him in person and then included it in his will, just in case he couldn't do that? Like just to cover all of his bases. But no, he could not have done
that for the same reasons, if he knew that the Ministry
wouldn't give him the sword, then if he gave the sword
to him ahead of time, and then the Ministry found
out he had it after the fact they could go and seize it. I mean, that's assuming
they could find him. No one really ever does, so it
probably would've been fine. But you know, my point is if the plan
was just to give it to him in person, then you wouldn't
include it in the will, 'cause that would just
tip off the Ministry. I will say it is possible
that Dumbledore did intend to at least show Harry
how to use the sword to destroy a horcrux, so that later on when the will was read, Harry at least understood why
he was being given the sword. But that part of the plan
didn't really pan out, and it's not the only part
of the plan that doesn't go as expected before Dumbledore dies. The other thing that didn't go as intended was the passage of the allegiance of the Elder Wand to Snape. "'If you planned your death with Snape, you meant him to end up with
the Elder Wand, didn't you?' 'I admit that was my
intention,' said Dumbledore, 'but it did not work as
I intended, did it?'" So here's what we know
Dumbledore actually planned before he died. First, was for Snape to
kill him and subsequently for Harry and everyone else
to believe Snape killed him, second, was for Snape to be
the master of the Elder Wand, and third, was for Harry to get
the sword after he had died. And these three things tell us everything and reveal Dumbledore's grand
plan to protect Harry's soul. Where do you guys think
it is in your body? I imagine like right here, hm? Probably not like down here, right? - [Ben] Nowhere near the intestines. - Oof. I can only imagine how
frustrating the prophecy must have been for Dumbledore who, even
after he figured out a way for Harry to survive death, again, he was still having to face the fact that the prophecy pretty
much condemned Harry to become a murderer. And as we all know, murder
is the supreme act of evil that rips one's soul. Harry might physically survive, but his soul seemed doomed
to be very badly damaged, and you can see Dumbledore
even took the same kind of precautions with Draco. We learned this when Snape
and Dumbledore are talking about arranging Dumbledore's death. "'If you don't mind
dying,' said Snape roughly, 'why not let Draco do it?' 'The boy's soul is not yet
so damaged,' said Dumbledore. 'I would not have it ripped
apart on my account.'" And we've seen what
having your soul ripped apart looks like after death. This little gross baby thing you see alongside Harry at King's
Cross is what is left of Voldemort's soul. It is totally mangled and
not able to pass on to death. It is stuck in limbo forever. Now to be fair, that's the
result of an eight part soul, which is the most mangled
soul in the history of magic, but I still don't think
Dumbledore wants Harry to have to experience any version of that. So he concocts a way around it. A way for Voldemort to kill himself by falsely believing that he is the master of the Elder Wand. When in actuality it's Harry. And here's how he planned it. First of all, I think it is safe to say
that Dumbledore expected Snape to become headmaster at
Hogwarts after he died, meaning that he would also
end up with unique access to the Sword of Griffindor. "'He believes the school will
soon be in his grasp, yes.' 'And if it does fall into
his grasp,' said Dumbledore, almost, it seemed, as an aside, 'I have your word that you
will do all in your power to protect the students of Hogwarts?' Snape gave a stiff nod." So basically that means Dumbledore
always intended for Snape to be the one to give Harry the sword. And as we said earlier, he also intended for
Snape to become the master of the Elder Wand. Not that Snape was ever
going to use the wand or even be aware that the wand had shifted its allegiance to him, but Dumbledore did want the
wand to shift his allegiance to him because, as he tells
Harry in King's Cross, "'But you expected Voldemort
to go after the wand?' 'I have been sure that he would try, ever since your wand beat Voldemort's in the graveyard of Little Hangleton.'" Which okay, in case you didn't catch it, that is basically Dumbledore
sentencing Snape to death. He intended Snape to
become master of the wand and also was sure that
Voldemort would go after it, but that doesn't really
seem to add up then does it? Because if he knows Voldemort
is gonna go after it and he intends Snape
to be the master of it, then shouldn't he be concerned that Voldemort is indeed
going to become the master of the Elder Wand? Well, you'd think so, but no, because that is where
the Sword of Griffindor comes into play. Now we've established earlier
that Dumbledore intended Snape to give Harry the sword, but
it's not that easy, is it? According to Dumbledore, "' Now, Severus, the sword! Do not forget that it must be taken under conditions of need and valor-'" So what I think his original
plan was, was for his portrait to instruct Snape to duel
Harry, and lose on purpose. Harry was always meant to
think Snape kill Dumbledore and always had a grudge
against him anyway, so I don't think it
would've been very difficult to lure him into a fight. Plus if Snape was wielding the sword, which Harry knew he needed
because of Dumbledore's will, well, that would just anger him further. I mean, how dare Snape wield
the sword of Griffindor, the slime ball. So Harry would valiantly duel
Snape in honor of Dumbledore, disarm him, unknowingly win the allegiance of the Elder Wand, and claim the sword. Then later on Voldemort in his quest for the Elder Wand would
realize he needed to kill Snape, which he would do, falsely believed that he was the master of the Elder Wand, and then in the final match between Harry, it would backfire because
it doesn't want a fire on its true master and
kaboom, Harry wins the day. Voldemort kills himself. Harry's soul is intact and
it really is so perfect. Although there are a few other
loose ends that you'd want to address and just finish off. Because you might be thinking well, if Snape intends to lose
the duel with Harry, then really neither the wand nor the sword should shift its
allegiance to Harry, right? Like if Snap's trying to lose, does that really count as a win for Harry? Would the wand actually transfer to him? And as for the sword, there's not much valor in
defeating someone who's trying to lose, right? Well, first of all, the wand doesn't care. Dumbledore plans his death with Snape and is still confident
that the wand will shift his allegiance to Snape, so as far as the wand is
concerned, dead is dead, disarmed is disarmed. From Dumbledore's perspective, Harry would become the master, even in a planned loss. And as for the sword, it really doesn't matter if
Snape is trying to win or lose, because no matter what,
from Harry's perspective, Snape is a deadly
opponent and facing him is gonna require courage, no matter what. Especially when you
consider Snape is arguably the best duelist, and in the
last book, killed Dumbledore and swiftly defeated Harry
over and over and over. Yeah, I said, Snape was the best duelist, take that Flitwick
fans, that one sentence. I don't care. I don't care. Flitwick was a dueling champion, ah. I'm sorry, Snape was Snape. I always assumed that
line meant Flitwick was in sort of like league with
rules and referees and stuff, not like out in the wild. Snape was Snape, I think
Snape beats Flitwick. Yeah, at me. But that you guys was
Dumbledore's true plan to protect Harry's soul
in "the Deathly Hallows." Of course, it doesn't work out that way because Draco disarms Dumbledore, but fortunately Harry
works it out on his own and this exact scenario plays out, which honestly is kind
of better in my opinion, because it means that Harry
figured it out on his own without Dumbledore's help,
despite all of his planning. But there you go, guys, that is part seven of Dumbledore's Big Plan. I hope you have enjoyed
watching this series as much as we have enjoyed making it. It has been so much fun. Thanks as always for
watching today's video. Please remember to leave a like on it, if you haven't already, and subscribe so you don't
miss any future Harry Potter action from us. If you want more Harry Potter action, we have a huge playlist of
Harry Potter videos right here, but otherwise, Ben, I will see
you in another life, brother.
