The night the Potters died

[hp_lexicon]

No: HPFGUIDX 42226

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Jacqueline Hendries <psychchick04 at y...> 
wrote:
> here's a silly, not very in-depth question, but something I've 
always
> wondered - if the house in Godric's Hollow was blown to 
smithereens -
> how did Harry survive *that*? I mean, I can see Lily's sacrifice
> protecting him from AK, but from falling brick? \

I've written about this in the Lexicon, although I can't remember 
which page it's on off the top of my head. Basically, I think 
Harry's surviving the destruction of his parents' house is an 
example of the fact that wizards have some sort of built-in 
protection against mundane accidental injury. They simply can't be 
killed as easily as Muggles. Here's a few examples from the books:

Neville's family thinks he may be a squib. In order to test him, his 
Great Uncle tries to surprise the little fellow by nearly killing 
him! He pushes him off a pier into the ocean, for example. 
Apparently, the magic-ness in him, if there is any, will manifest 
itself in a surprise of that kind. Then he gets dropped from an 
upper story window and he bounces! This built-in protection 
indicates to his family that he's in fact magical.

Various Quidditch players are injured in spectacular ways, 
including, for example, ploughing into the ground at top speed. Krum 
takes a bowling-ball-sized iron ball to the face. In every case, 
they are not permanently injured and certainly not killed.

Neville again, this time in flying class. He falls fifty feet from a 
broomstick. Fifty feet. I don't care if he's falling onto grass, 
this kid should be dead. All that happens is a broken wrist. 

Hagrid's reaction to hearing that the Dursleys told Harry that his 
parents were killed in a car crash is particularly telling. He 
considers it laughable that anyone would think that a car crash 
could have killed them. Obviously, that seems perfectly reasonable 
to us Muggles, but not to Hagrid. 

Notice too that Harry, before he even knew he was a wizard, saved 
himself from being pounded by Dudley and his friends by levitating 
to the top of the school (or was it Apparating!). It seems that 
wizards have the magical equivelent of "airbags," and when danger 
strikes, they instantly and without intention fire off some counter 
or pretection spell. It is also possible that they have a sense we 
Muggles don't recognize which alerts them to danger in advance. 
After all, Harry does seem to be able to sense people that he can't 
see (Snuffles, for example, and Winky and Crouch Jr. in the wood).

Steve
The Lexicon
who wishes he had a wizard ability to pay large car repair bills 
magically