Would Lily have been spared?

[darrin_burnett]

No: HPFGUIDX 42178

Grey wolf wrote:

> 
> The return of metathinking, I see. As the well-known oposer of 
> metathinking as a way to explore the books, I thought I should 
throw in 
> my input. There are two ways out of this FLINT, that I can see.
> 
> 1) Voldemort was not planning to kill Lily: He did, in fact, for 
some 
> reason of his own we have not been told, plan to let Lily live. If 
this 
> was the case, there is no FLINT: V wanted her out of the way, and 
she 
> managed to get in the way.
> 


It's not metathinking to point out that V-mort could have spared 
Lily. And I didn't really use metathinking to explain the FLINT, but 
to point out how it could have happened.

Now, to the FLINT repair. 

Yes, if Lily had gotten out of the way and then jumped into the way 
just as V-Mort was going to AK Harry, catching the blast, then that 
is a solution. 

It also clears up some of the questions of the sacrifice itself. She 
could have lived, but she didn't.

My point remains that V-Mort, had he wanted to move Lily without 
hurting her (permanently), he could have. And if he wanted to because 
she's his daughter, or the love of Snape's life, or the love of 
Wormtail's life, or the Animagus second cousin to Voldemort's pet 
hamster, or WHATEVER the theory is, then he should have been able to.


> 2) Voldemort was planning to kill Lily. He just let her for dessert 
out > of sheer cruelty, or simply because he wasn't sure he had 
enough energy left to AK twice, and he selected Harry (It turns out 
that he did, in fact, have enough, but that's another story).
> 


This is more credible. Or the fact that he simply wanted to take care 
of business first. Or perhaps Dumbledore had other defenses there and 
V-Mort wanted to get out as quickly as possible. 

> Don't be so quick to assign "plot device" FLINT to this situation. 
It's  too early in the books for it to be forced (i.e. I don't think 
that JKR rushed her way through this; it's more likely that she 
planned it VERY 
> carefully, being THE biggest moment in Harry's life so far). The 
> trouble is, we just have too little information (in fact, when 
> the-celluloid-thing-that-must-not-be-named gives more information 
on it 
> than the four books put toghether, you can get an idea of just how 
> little we know about what happened that fateful night).
> 

You don't have to scold me. I said: "IF" Lily was to be spared, there 
is a FLINT problem that has to be solved.

Lily's sacrifice must remain untouched by plot holes. It is the most 
pivotal event in the books. Therefore, unless it is written very 
carefully, Lily-meant-to-be-spared is a gaping plot hole. So, 
engaging in metathinking, I would hope JKR keeps the pivotal event 
intact rather than go for the shock value twist.

Darrin
-- I'm not afraid of the film. I NAME IT!