They did spend a few hours going through several shops in Diagon Ally, then at least an hour, probably two just explaining everything that happened to Mr. Lovegood during their lunch. Then add in the rest of the conversation. I'd say it's at least three o'clock.
Understatement, really. Though a lot of them could be solved (I feel) by taking Dumbledore out of the major character list. Just have him in the background.
I like this, I like this a lot.
Harry was a teenager (or almost so) when Albus figured out that the horcruxes were even a part of the equation. Up until that point, he had no thought that Harry's scare had anything more than a bit of magic residue from being cursed by Voldemort.
Of course, he seemingly didn't get it looked at by any healers, which might've turned up something, but that would fall under negligence, not a 'set up a martyr' bit.
You have a very narrow (and pessimistic) view of things, don't you? As an example:
There are always ways to see HP characters' canon actions in light of how JKR intended for them to be taken.
Please cool it with canon Harry Potter bashing. Yes, it has plot holes galore; everyone knows this. This isn't the place for it.
If Dumbledore didn't know about the alleged Scarcrux until after Second Year, that simply makes Harry's time spent at the Dursley's prior to that even more unforgivable, since Dumbledore - by his own words - knew that Harry was not being well cared for there and would not be. It would have been relatively trivial for Dumbledore to ensure that the Dursleys cared for Harry properly, and Harry grew up aware of the magical world and his place in it*. Or ensured that Sirius got interrogated and a trial, which would have cleared his name, and allowed Sirius to be Harry's guardian and caretaker as James and Lily intended. Or with one of the other families James and Lily had come to an agreement with in the event of their death to take care of Harry if necessary.
*if nothing else, Dumbledore could have acquired a Time Turner for, say, Mcgonagall to spend every other Saturday with Harry.
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Except saying Dumbledore is trying to fight Fate or the Prophecy and losing, to justify things does not actually justify the actions Dumbledore took*, merely some of the apparent lack of action.
Furthermore, that is going and adding things that are not canon as written in the books. It's an interesting basis for a fanfic, but it's not canon.
*again, going back to dropping Harry on the Dursley doorstep overnight with just a letter, before Sirius caught up to Pettigrew or the Longbottoms were attacked - that was entirely unnecessary and easily avoidable ... unless Dumbledore wanted Harry in a bad position and easily manipulated by him, or straight up didn't care about Harry.
Likewise, preventing Snape from convincing Fudge that Sirius Black had Confounded Harry, Hermione, and Ron, and that Sirius Black's claims should be looked into, and he be given a trial, or at the very least he should be properly interrogated by Amelia Bones and the DMLE to find out how he escaped to prevent others from utilizing the same method, before being summarily Kissed, and/or talking to Amelia Bones about the lack of trial after Sirius flew off on Buckbeak, before Fudge turned against Dumbledore over Voldemort's return ... that should all have been an easy and straightforward step.
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How does keeping Harry in the dark and feeding him bullshit improve his ability to overcome Voldemort? It doesn't, it just leaves him even further behind, and vulnerable to all the Death Eaters between Harry and Voldemort.
The "lessons" Dumbledore gave Harry about Riddle in Sixth Year could have been covered in far less time - the only memory Dumbledore didn't already have was Slughorn's, and I refuse to believe that Dumbledore actually needed Harry to get the truth out of Slughorn - which would leave Harry with time to train, prepare, or brainstorm about where Riddle might have stashed his various Horcruxes.
Besides, if Dumbledore were truly that concerned about the Scarcrux link, he'd have had Harry taught Occlumency as soon as he learned about it, and by someone other than Snape ... say, someone who can actually teach. I am absolutely certain that the real Mad-Eye Moody knows Occlumency, for example. Barty Junior had to have known Occlumency.
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To view the canon as written in the books actions as JKR supposedly intended them requires going beyond the scope of canon and inserting some kind of reason to explain the discrepancies.
And that's perfectly good grounds for fanfics to use.
But you have to remember that doing so is venturing into the realm of fanfiction, fanon, or personal headcanon to justify the discrepancies between canon as written and the supposedly competent benevolent Dumbledore JKR intended. Evil Dumbledore is an easy and straightforward explanation of canon, as is Mentally Unfit Dumbledore ... but while both are canon-compatible, neither is actually canon as written.
