I've just been re-reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and I just realised something that Dumbledore says doesn't really add up. Just before Dumbledore and Voldemort have their duel, Dumbledore states, to quote directly from the book:



If the Aurors were on their way then why did they not appear immediately? They could have used floo powder within seconds, or apparated. There are clearly no anti-apparation jinxes on the Ministry of Magic atrium as Voldemort and Dumbledore frequently apparate during their duel. They arrive just after Dumbledore and Voldemort have finished dueling. Why? I'd be interested to know your thoughts.

Theres no real exact answer here, i think it more likely that when dumbledore tells riddle that the aruors are on their way he means that they will know he id here soon, or that dumbledore just sent them a message which they will get shortly and be on the way. Also, he may have been bluffing, even if dumbledore had just sent fudge or the aruors a message the ministry had been trying their hardest not to believe anything dumbledore said for the last year, so fudge probably got the message, wasted time trying to decide if it was legitimate, and then finally decided to go check it out. So its easy to see why they took so long to get there.

But then why is Dumbledore surprised to see Dumbledore there?



That shows that clearly Dumbledore hasn't actually sent Fudge any type of message.
I can only assume that maybe when Dumbledore said that, he meant that they would soon be arriving for the start of work. But then they wouldn't be on their way at all. Perhaps it would be better if he had said 'The Aurors will be arriving soon'. Sounds a lot more reasonable.

Good point. So, as i said was another alternative. He was just bluffing trying to scare voldemort. That seems like a very reasonable thing to do. At this point dumbledore already suspects about the horcruxes so he knows he wont be able to kill voldemort, so maybe he is hoping by saying that the aurors are on the way it will cause voldemort to flee immediately, or maybe he just said it to scare him. Either way, it is very likely that dumbledore was bluffing.

Do you really think so? Does that really sound like something that Dumbledore would do? He seems to keep fairly civil with Voldemort when he's talking to him, speaking calmly and calling him Tom, doesn't seem like he would lie just to unnerve Voldemort - sounds too much like unfair play. That would be a bit of a cheap shot if it was true, and that's not really very characteristic of Dumbledore. And as we see, Voldemort isn't bothered about this in the slightest, and if Dumbledore thought he would be, then Dumbledore would be wrong about Voldemort which he isn't usually - Dumbledore seems to know Voldemort fairly well. And also, we see that Dumbledore is more than a match for Voldemort when they duel, so it seems silly to try and get him to flee when he can match him in a duel. Be interested to hear what you think (:

What I'd always assumed here was that just before Dumbledore left for the Ministry, he told another Order member to contact Fudge and the Aurors, and that it took that person a while to convince Fudge that something was actually going on at the MoM in the middle of the night. Plus, you have to remember they have to wake up, get dressed, etc. So Dumbledore knew the Aurors were coming, but he didn't know when, and since whoever sent the message to Fudge convinently forgot to mention that Dumbledore was at the MoM as well, that would explain Fudge's surprise.

Does that work?

You dont think that sounds like dumbledore? I think that sounds exactly like something dumbledore would do. Its not unfair in anyway, its just a little intimidation. Also, we don't know if it unnerved voldemort or not; he's not going to show that hes a little scared or nervous in front of dumbledore, he was putting up a front. On that same note dumbledore was almost definitely doing the same thing. Yes, he seemed very calm as if he were just playing around, bbut im sure he was extremely focused and on his toes ready for anything that could happen. And as for him thinking he could beat voldemort in a duel, he knows he wont be able to kill voldemort and if he captured him voldemort would almost definitely escape within days.

As for what Sister to the Dark Lord said, i think i agree. Dumbledore probably told an order member (such as kingsley, who works at the ministry) to tip off the aurors that voldy was at the ministry while not mentioning dumbledore was there too.

I suppose so. I had taken all Order members out of the equation because I thought they were all in the Department of Mysteries. But then I suppose some that were in the advance guard like Elphias Doge and Emmeline Vance would have been available to contact the Aurors. Yeah that sounds like a reasonable explanation. Problem solved I guess