There's Something Special About Harry...

[cassandraclaire at mail.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 11516

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Kimberly" <moongirlk at y...> wrote:

> 
> I'd say it's worthwhile, but Harry's not doing ordinary things.  
His  circumstances and his actions *are* extraordinary, so that's not 
> really an option. But a story about extraordinary people doing 
ordinary *or*  extraordinary things would both be fine.  I just don't 
think that's  what I'm reading.
> 
> If it were I don't think Dumbledore would emphasize A. That Harry's 
> actions and decisions are *the thing* that makes him who he is, and 
> B. That if one person fails to defeat evil, it just takes someone 
> else "willing to fight what seems like a loosing battle" to 
continue  to thwart it.  I think those things are meant to encourage 
people to  feel that ordinary people *can* do extraordinary things.  
So to turn   around and show the hero to only be capable of being the 
hero because  he has super-powers would be counterproductive.


****

Harry being special/having special powers and Harry being the 
Destined One Meant To Save The World are not necessarily the same 
thing. 

I'd agree that he is  most likely not a special kind of wizard, 
though as for amazing  abilities no other (living) wizard has, JKR 
has *already* given him  some of those: Parseltongue, prophetic 
dreams, the ability to resist the Imperius Curse, etc. (That some of 
these powers result from the transference of some of Voldemort's 
abilites onto Harry does not, IMHO, impact this argument. Powers are 
powers, whatever their origin.) Does the fact that Harry possesses 
the power to resist the Imperius Curse, something much older and more 
experienced wizards (Barty Crouch, Viktor Krum) don't, make me think 
he's special? Yes. Does it make him a superhero? No. Ditto the fact 
that without Harry's Parseltongue ability he never would have made it 
into the Chamber of Secrets to save Ginny. Does that make him 
Spiderman? Not really. Is it a special ability? Yes.  

Even if it did turn out that Harry possesses extraordinary  
powers that are not common to the wizarding population at large 
(outside of the ones he already has), that in no way diminishes his 
essential humanity or contravenes the message that "It is our
choices that make  us what we are, far more than our abilities." 
Although JKR might  choose to endow Harry with powers, he may or may 
not choose to use them at all, and more importantly he must decide 
towards what ends he should employ them.  His character formation, 
not to mention the fate of the wizarding world <g> rests on his own 
individual personal and moral decisions, whether he has abilites 
outside the norm or not. 

There is a middle ground between "Harry is completely normal and 
possesses no special abilities that everyone else in his year at 
Hogwarts does not possess in equal measure" and "Harry is Batman." 
That's where I stand. (Although he would look lovely in the Batman 
suit.)

Cassie