There’s one thing for which it’s genuinely impossible for V to have a counter: the realization that killing Harry is not in his interests. Speaking in Parseltongue, bound by the Vow, Harry is uniquely prepared to make that case—assuming it’s true.
Well, that’s the sticking point. Parseltongue and the Vow prove that Harry is honest. They don’t prove that he’s right, and Voldemort can simply choose to dismiss any of Harry’s arguments as insufficient (which isn’t that hard, given that the risk of keeping him alive is the end of the world, and any risk incurred by killing him is probably going to be less bad).
There’s one thing for which it’s genuinely impossible for V to have a counter: the realization that killing Harry is not in his interests. Speaking in Parseltongue, bound by the Vow, Harry is uniquely prepared to make that case—assuming it’s true.
Well, that’s the sticking point. Parseltongue and the Vow prove that Harry is honest. They don’t prove that he’s right, and Voldemort can simply choose to dismiss any of Harry’s arguments as insufficient (which isn’t that hard, given that the risk of keeping him alive is the end of the world, and any risk incurred by killing him is probably going to be less bad).
http://lesswrong.com/r/discussion/lw/lsp/harry_potter_and_the_methods_of_rationality/c22c