Harry Potter discussion

Well, as we know in the fifth book/movie, Dumbledore takes on Voldemort, with the Elder Wand, and still ends up, well not killing him. People say Voldemort fears Dumbledore the most, and while I've just discovered one of the possible reasons he didn't win (which I'll name later), wouldn't Voldemort fear him for a reason? I've thought about it just now and come up with the theory that Dumbledore knew to stay true to the prophecy and let Harry take Voldemort on and defeat him.
Theories? Answers?

Edit;
In the movie it seems like Dumbledore is struggling, which is why I brought this up.

First of all the Dumbledore in the movies is not worth mentioning (Gambon pretty much killed Dumbledore as far as I'm concerned).

Dumbledore's intention in the fight was to not kill Voldemort as he said it himself in the conversation.

The reason Dumbledore didn't win was because he figured out that Voldemort made atleast one horcrux and so he knew that he wouldn't be able to kill voldemort so he didn't bother trying to kill him then, he just wanted to get Harry out of harms way.

The prophecy did not say Harry would have to kill Voldemort or vice versa. I believe that it said 'Neither can live while the other survives' meaning that Harry and Voldemort were fair game. It didn't matter who died and who killed either of them as long as only one was alive therefore Dumbledore could have killed Voldemort if it wasn't for the horcruxes.

I agree. (Though I have a higher opinion of Gambon!) Dumbledore suspects multiple Horcruxes at this point, and he's always seen it as the best plan to go after the piece of soul residing in Voldemort's body only after the other Horcruxes have been destroyed. I don't think Dumbledore sees any point in reducing Voldemort to his post-Godric's Hollow state either, knowing that he can and will regenerate. He probably feels that it's best for the Wizarding World to recognize the threat Voldemort presents immediately, and maybe he's even unsure of what will happen to Voldemort's unstable soul if he is hit with the killing curse at this time.

I don't think Dumbledore holds off specifically because of the prophecy, but, assuming he already suspects Harry as a Horcrux at this point, he may be considering the life line Voldemort gives Harry by taking his blood in GoF. I do think Dumbledore believes that, ultimately, Harry will be the one to do the job.

Still, I'm not positive that Dumbledore would have been able to kill Voldemort (ignoring the Horcruxes for a moment), even if he had wanted to hit him with the Avada Kedavra in a duel. Dumbledore is the wiser of the two, and has a deeper knowledge of magic, but Voldemort doesn’t have to stand and fight. I don’t know if Dumbledore could prevent Voldemort from fleeing (so maybe Dumbledore would be considered the winner, but Voldemort wouldn’t be dead).

Ahlaam wrote: "First of all the Dumbledore in the movies is not worth mentioning (Gambon pretty much killed Dumbledore as far as I'm concerned).

Dumbledore's intention in the fight was to not kill Voldemort as h..."

I need to find the book in the jumble of junk that's my room, but is there any trace of struggle on Dumbledore's part in the book? Plus, even if he didn't kill him, he was surely strong enough (with his power along with the Elder Wand) to immobilize him at least?

Pandy wrote: "I agree. (Though I have a higher opinion of Gambon!) Dumbledore suspects multiple Horcruxes at this point, and he's always seen it as the best plan to go after the piece of soul residing in Voldemo..."

I may have interpreted this wrong, but in the 2nd paragraph I took it as; If he 'kills' Voldemort again, not only will it pose another threat to Harry (if he decides to capture Harry again to use his blood) and he could end up killing Harry. But that could also mean he couldn't use the 'blood life-line' to his advantage?

I get both of your points and you've really cleared up a lot, so I thank you but I still do have some questions.

Horcruxiatus wrote:I need to find the book in the jumble of junk that's my room, but is there any trace of struggle on Dumbledore's part in the book? Plus, even if he didn't kill him, he was surely strong enough (with his power along with the Elder Wand) to immobilize him at least?

No, here's a few quotes that shows how calm he is: 1. "It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom," said Dumbledore calmly
2. "We both know that there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom," Dumbledore said calmly, continuing to walk towards Voldemort as though he had not a fear in the world, as though nothing had happened to interrupt his stroll up the hall.
3. (Dumbledore) 'speaking as lightly as though they were discussing the matter over drinks'

However, there was one time where he lost all traces of calmness. It might be this you're alluding to, "For the first time, Dumbledore sounded frightened.".

I don't see Dumbledore struggling in a sense, because it was not he, Voldemort was going after at this point but Harry. Voldemort vanished and Dumbledore who is able to predict 5 steps ahead has probably figured out that Voldemort has found a way to get to Harry and so he was frightened he's not able to reach Harry in time.

Overall, it doesn't like he struggled, if anything it sounds like Voldemort is slightly panicking as he keeps on sending killing curses in quick succession.

I guess he did try to immobilise him but Voldemort did conjure a shield in the nick of time and the second time: ' Water in the pool rose up and covered Voldemort like a cocoon of molten glass. For a few seconds Voldemort was visible only as a dark, rippling, faceless figure, shimmering and indistinct upon the plinth, clearly struggling to throw off the suffocating mass.'

The duel was between two people who had similar levels of power and it lasted round about 30 minutes (I'm guessing here, it didn't sound long) whereas, it took 3 hours for Dumbledore to immobilise Grindelwald therefore based on the previous war, with more time, he might have been able to immobilise him.

Horcruxiatus wrote: "I may have interpreted this wrong, but in the 2nd paragraph I took it as; If he 'kills' Voldemort again, not only will it pose another threat to Harry..."

In my second paragraph I didn't mean to imply that "killing" Voldemort at the Ministry would be a direct threat to Harry, and I wasn't specifically thinking about Voldemort later going after Harry to regenerate with his blood again. I was thinking about how Harry survives in DH. Because Voldemort’s uses Harry’s blood to regenerate, he inadvertently ties Harry to life.

From “King’s Cross” in DH:
“He took your blood believing it would strengthen him. He took into his body a tiny part of the enchantment your mother laid upon you when she died for you. His body keeps her sacrifice alive, and while that enchantment survives, so do you…”

Dumbledore by the end of OotP most likely suspects (read: knows) that Harry is a Horcrux. He knows that the bit of Voldemort’s soul in Harry’s body will eventually have to be destroyed. But Dumbledore also seems to have realized by this point that Harry can survive another killing curse from Voldemort. (Remember the “gleam of triumph” in his eyes when he hears about Voldemort taking Harry’s blood in GoF?) But Harry’s survival depends on Voldemort’s body keeping Lily’s sacrifice alive. My point was that Dumbledore may have been wary, for this reason, of destroying Voldemort’s body and closing the loophole he believed would allow Harry to survive.

Pandy wrote: "Horcruxiatus wrote: "I may have interpreted this wrong, but in the 2nd paragraph I took it as; If he 'kills' Voldemort again, not only will it pose another threat to Harry..."

In my second paragra..."

Well explained. Thanks!

Ahlaam wrote: "Horcruxiatus wrote:I need to find the book in the jumble of junk that's my room, but is there any trace of struggle on Dumbledore's part in the book? Plus, even if he didn't kill him, he was surely..."

But remember, it took him three hours to immobilize him because he was powerful plus he had the Elder Wand. This means that Voldemort would have to be more powerful than Dumbledore had Dumbledore owned a normal wand. Right?