Harry's lack of curiosity

[meboriqua at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 17749


> 
> It stimulated a few other thoughts.  Harry has had an explanatory 
> story for his parents' absence for 10 years.  Whenever he thought of 
> them, he had the car crash story--that's how he assimilated the 
> difficult fact of having no parents.  Now that story has had to be 
> thrown out, which is traumatic in itself.  On top of that, the story 
> he now has (a) is more painful and frightening, (b) was told to him 
> at the same time that he got a boatload of new stuff to process 
about 
> himself, his family, and his world (i.e. the fact that the wizarding 
> world exists, that he and they are wizards, that the Dursleys have 
> been lying to him about his identity his entire life, etc.), and (c) 
> is STILL incomplete.  
> 
> This last point must be really hard to take.  No wonder learning 
> about Sirius Black's connection to them was such a blow; Harry 
> thought he knew at last what happened to his parents, but then a 
year 
> and a half later, he started to hear the details (literally, via the 
> Dementors); shortly afterwards and by sheer accident, he learned a 
> crucial part of the story that no one had seen fit to tell him.  A 
> part, mind you, that even his worst enemy knew.  Right about now, he 
> must be feeling as if he can't explore what happened to his parents 
> without walking into a minefield.
> 
> I think my own response to the spilled secrets would be to grab 
> Hagrid by the collar--uh, or whatever I could reach--and say "okay, 
I 
> want the whole story now, and don't you dare leave out anything that 
> I'm going to learn from *&#$%@ Draco Malfoy down the line, 
> understand?"  But I can also understand the opposite reaction--to 
not 
> want to ask any questions at all because heaven knows what other 
> nasty secrets are hiding in that story.
> 
> Amy Z

Hello - 

I think it was Carole (?) who stated my thoughts about why Harry 
doesn't ask too many questions about his parents - he is so used to 
not being able to ask anything that it is pretty much habit at this 
point.  There is another reason, I believe, as to why Harry doesn't 
ask about his parents.

Harry is not really one to make waves.  He doesn't enjoy (IMO) being 
famous, and often *thinks* things without saying them out loud.  He 
usually goes out of his way to be polite and to do the right thing and 
to not attract attention.  I think this is related to his pride, which 
really motivates him - to win at Quidditch, to defend his parents' 
honor, to not make up with Ron first...  He may perceive asking about 
his parents as a weakness.  Remember how annoyed he got at Rita 
Skeeter when she asked about what his parents would think about the 
Triwizard Tournament?  And when everyone teased him about crying all 
the time when he thought about his parents, but really he was doing 
anything but?  In fact, I can only remember one time Harry cried.  It 
was in SS at the end when Dumbledore came to visit him in the 
infirmary.  In GoF, he wanted to cry but wouldn't because other people 
were around.  Talk about keeping it in!

Okay, I must go now and talk to my sister who is going for her first 
wedding dress fitting tomorrow.  :-)

--jenny from ravenclaw***************************