mainly HBP musings - the potion in the cave

[kennahijja]

Ah, Christmas is over! Hope you all had a good and not too stressful time! Ours was nice, relaxed and enjoyable, and I spent an hour on the phone to my best friend in the US on the 25th (after 1am, but... shudders at thought of phone bill). Still, it left me lots of time with fanfic in front of the computer, and curled up with HBP in bed. Which means a substantial fic rec post should be forthcoming tonight :).

But while re-reading HBP (and after mulling over Horcrux traps for the recent fic), something occurred to me about the potion Harry and Dumbledore encounter in the Cave in HBP...

In HBP, the Horcrux is at the bottom of the basin, and Dumbledore concludes:

"But how to reach it? This potion cannot be penetrated by hand, Vanished, parted, scooped up, or siphoned away, nor can it be Transfigured, Charmed, or otherwise made to change its nature." Almost absentmindedly, Dumbledore raised his wand again, twirled it once in midair, and then caught the crystal goblet that he had conjured out of nowhere. "I can only conclude that this potion is supposed to be drunk."
"What?" said Harry. "No!"
"Yes, I think so: Only by drinking it can I empty the basin and see what lies in its depths."

And then:

Before Harry could make any further protest, Dumbledore lowered the crystal goblet into the potion. For a split second, Harry hoped that he would not be able to touch the potion with the goblet, but the crystal sank into the surface as nothing else had; when the glass was full to the brim, Dumbledore lifted it to his mouth. "Your good health, Harry."

So... if the potion can be scooped out by goblet, why does Dumbledore *drink* the stuff? Why not empty the goblet on the floor or something? I'm sure this has been discussed by someone before, but I just wonder... Anyone encountered any theories?

Comments

[rfachir.livejournal.com]

It would have been more effective if he had to "rub his nose in it" or kiss it or somehow abase himself before the font, so that all Harry could do was help raise Dumbledore up to take another drink for himself. I like that image, and I especially like that in the end there is no reward for the effort but Death. Especially if RAB is someone Dumbledore knew (or should have known if he payed more attention). Since it's a poison, I'm shelving my Snape/Lily theory for Snape/Regulus. It makes more sense - Blacks are just as beautiful and arrogant as Lily could ever be, and Snape could have tried to save Regulus from the potion the first time, thus making Dumbledore believe he could save the Headmaster this last time.

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Snape/Regulus is a really good one! Very much in the direction of the fic I recced to chthonya above... And yes, it would fit both Snape and Dumbledore perfectly. Though I have to admit I liked the scene where Harry forces Dumbledore to drink - both because Harry's anguish is so very vivid (I did not think he would have it in himself, to be honest) and because it lets us see Dumbledore so weak that it's almost traumatising. Like a very sinister bit of foreshadowing...