Necklace and Wine

[Hermione]

Even into the end of the books, we still can only speculate who sent the wine. We also can't know who they were intended to kill, but can guess.

An obvious would be Malfoy to kill Dumbledore, but let's dig a little deeper. Could he have tried to get off other teachers as well, so there would have been no one to suceed Dumbledore?

Any ideas?

[Weasleyfanforever]

Actually, we do know that it was Draco, from this passage:

'But there were times,' Dumbledore went on, 'weren't there, when you were not sure you would succeed in mending the Cabinet? And you resorted to crude and badly judged measures such as sending me a cursed necklace that was bound to reach the wrong hands ... poisoning mead there was only the slightest chance I might drink ...'
'Yeah, well, you still didn't realise who was behind that stuff, did you?'
sneered Malfoy, as Dumbledore slid a little down the ramparts, the strength in his legs apparently fading, and Harry struggled fruitlessly, mutely, against the enchantment binding him.
'As a matter of fact, I did,' said Dumbledore. 'I was sure it was you.'
'Why didn't you stop me, then?' Malfoy demanded.

Draco admits that it was him that sent them and wants to know why Dumbledore didn't try and stop him...

[kashlie]

Actually, to be a pain, Draco didn't actually say 'yes it was me'. He merely questioned why Dumbledore didn't stop him if he was so sure it was him.
I do think it was him, but it is possible some else was helping as a diversion.

[Snuffles]

I see what you mean, since Draco, as only a teenaged wizard, couldn't have done some complex spells as to poisoning a wine or cursing a necklace. On the other hand, he might have. But yes, it does seem kind of weird. Draco doesn't say directly, "Yeah, it was me." Somebody (possibly snape? his mother? VOLDEMORT?? :eek: ) could have helped him with the cursings, and Draco could have sent those along.

[Piper]

I see what you mean, since Draco, as only a teenaged wizard, couldn't have done some complex spells as to poisoning a wine or cursing a necklace. On the other hand, he might have. But yes, it does seem kind of weird. Draco doesn't say directly, "Yeah, it was me." Somebody (possibly snape? his mother? VOLDEMORT?? ) could have helped him with the cursings, and Draco could have sent those along.

Well I think we can rule out Snape, because he really seemed in the dark about the whole thing, Draco denied it to Snape when Harry was listening outside of the door during Slughorn's Christmas Party. But in the conversation with Dumbledore, Draco is pretty much admitting to being behind it IMO.
And there were plenty of people around that could have helped Draco, his Aunt is like the Queen of dark magic more or less. Someone had to have put the curse on Rosmereta too. Bellatrix was teaching him Occulmency so she comes to mind more than anyone. Either by teaching him how or by doing it herself and sending him the things. It's not very hard to get into Hogsmead.

I think it's a sure bet that the wine was meant for Dumbledore, because Slughorn had intended to give it to him for Christmas and all. I think the locket was a much better idea than the Mead, because who knows when someone will drink a gift bottle? But there was a chance Katie could have gotten to him with the Locket.

[Tonks]

.. im really going to have to start keeping an eye on things people give me - ;)

I was really under the impression the whole time that as a Death Eater, Draco had been taught the Unforgivable Curses, and it was he who had put Rosmerta under the Imperius Curse. In doing so, he could get her to poison the mead before giving it to Slughorn, because knowing Slughorn he probably would have mentioned what the mead was for (Dumbledore's Christmas present apparently) and then Draco could've told Rosmerta to poison it.

I do wonder how Draco would've known this though - if you have someone under the Imperius Curse, I doubt you just magically (haha) know what they know .. I'd think it would be sort of blind, where you can just make them do stuff but you have to figure out what they know all by yourself..

[Lovegood54]

you might not know magically, but u can control them. so malfoy puts rosmerta under the imperious curse and tells her to poison any orders that she knows are going to end up with dumbledore. easy as that.

[nymphadora]

And it's possible to think that even if the mead did not reach Dumbledore, Malfoy probably wouldn't have minded poisoning Slughorn, would he? Malfoy didn't exactly like him... he wasn't invited to the slugclub, was never treated 'specially' in potions. Maybe Malfoy was thinking that if Slughorn got it instead, Snape might get his old position back and Malfoy would get the royal treatment again!
I agree completely with you Lovegood54, it was probably exactly as you said it would be!

[Lily]

I don't think Malfoy would care who got hurt in the process of trying to achieve what he is trying to achieve - otherwise, he wouldn't have let the Death Eaters into the school (though, he did admit that he didn't know that Greyback was going to come).

Nevertheless - I do see a glimmer of good in Malfoy :eek: