The Ancient Magic Witch theory, the fight back

[kangasboy]

No: HPFGUIDX 42168

Let me just begin by saying, "Abigail, I love you!". You have stated 
exactly what I believe, but in a way that makes more sense!
Just a few extra little bits:

Abigail:
> We have no idea how old Avada Kedavra is, how commonly it 
is used, and 
> how difficult it is to perform (actually, that last part isn't true, we 
know it is 
> *extremely* difficult to perform.) 

I think it is quite possible that Voldemort himself invented the 
Avada Kedavra Curse. Or at least brought it to the attention of the 
wider wizarding community. "Flash of green light" suggests heir 
of Slytherin, just as red and gold sparks suggests Gryffindor. 
That would explain why Voldemort was so feared, and why there 
isn't a counter-curse. There wasn't enough known about it, and 
you would be hard pressed to find any guinea-pigs to test it on.
 
If this is the case, well, that supports  stance. I think the fact that 
Voldemort didn't want to kill Lily was the reason why her sacrifice 
was more powerful. If Voldemort was going to kill someone 
anyway, or didn't care, then it didn't matter what order they died, 
so the sacrifice wasn't powerful enough.



> But that is already self-interest (or at least interest.)  In much 
the same way 
> that Harry couldn't have retrieved the Philosopher's Stone 
unless he wanted 
> solely to find it, so Lily's sacrifice would have been in vain if she 
had had the 
> slightest suspicion that it would save her son's life.  If she 
believed this then 
> her choice to die was motivated by wanting to save Harry's life, 
whereas in 
> my theory it was simply her decision that she refused to be the 
person who 
> would stand aside and allow her son to die, even if not 
standing aside would 
> make no difference at all.

I am of the belief that if Lily cast a contrived spell, the purity of her 
sacrifice is lessened. I draw attention (again) to Dumbledore's 
speech at the end of PS/SS, about how it was love that prevented 
Quirrell touching him; no mention of magic. I think the 
importance of this is the fact that there are more powerful forces 
than the ritualistic magic being taught and practised in the WW.

Another fact I would like to raise, that doesn't lend support to 
either side, is the fact that Harry has learnt very little of the nature 
of magic since Book 1. . . Other than that love speech of 
Dumbeldore, plus obviously, learning he was a wizard, Harry 
doesn't seem to know much about the origins or nature of 
magic.

> Also, given how few of JKR's ideas are truly original, I don't 
think it's unlikely 
> that she had such a concept in mind when she used the 
phrase "ancient magic", 

Intertextuality is a concept that states that no text or piece of 
literature, especially in the modern day, is purely original. Bad 
intertextuality is plagiarism, but good intertextuality (such as in 
Harry Potter) is done so subtly and in such a manner that it 
enhances the meaning of the text. I think this is obviously the 
case with HP, as aspects of many legends have been joined 
together to form a unique pastiche, that possesses an originality 
in its style and composition, not necessarily its plot, characters 
etc.


And finally, I'd just like to say that the spell performed by 
Voldemort is described by him as "an old piece of Dark Magic". I 
draw attention to *old*; *old*, but not *ancient*. While having very 
similar meanings, they are not the same. And this *old* magic 
fits in much more with Grey Wolf's theory of ancient magic (that 
which is no longer used, for some reason or another). I believe 
this magic to be quite different from the ancient magic alluded to 
by Dumbledore.

Roo, who once again has writtend far more than he should have.