The Gray Lady, Harry killing Black

[Krolik]

No: HPFGUIDX 30227


> About Harry's method to kill Black in PoA, I think Harry is so 
enraged 
> that he contemplated hurting Sirius using non-magical means. 
Remember, 
> Harry did punch Sirius a couple of times during that altercation. 
Also 
> remember that Harry was raised in  the Muggle world, so resorting to 
> magic might not be the first thing he thinks about.
> 

I agree. However, after running at Black fists clenched, Harry does 
get a wand, aim it at Black's heart, and stand there wand poised for 
what mst be a couple minutes, struggling over the decision to kill 
Black. If he were planning on stunning him and using non-magical means 
to kill him, he would have done the stunning first, and hesitated 
later. 

I am inclined to think that JKR simply has not thought of Avada 
Kedavra at this point. Putting Harry in the position to kill 
the man he thinks betrayed his parents provides an opportunity 
for dramatic tension a storyteller just could not miss. She 
simply has not thought the details through. However, there are 
indications in PoA that she already has at least a rough outline of 
GoF in front of her (mentioning the Quidditch world cup, for example). 
Could an important part of the plot such as the "unforgivable curses" 
have really been added "at the last moment"? And once she thought of 
them, the inconsistencies with one of the big scenes from the 
previous book would have become obvious to her. It is unlike JKR not 
to even attempt to explain it. Does she perhaps do that somewhere in 
GoF? I don't have a very clear memory of the book, but I am sure there 
are people here who have read GoF at least five times :).