[HPforGrownups] Harry Beats Voldemort: Actual talent or sheer dumb luck

[Audra1976 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 47803

Alright, I'll play devil's advocate with this one...

psychic_serpent at yahoo.com writes:
<< Was it luck for him to refuse to give the stone to Quirrell?  >>

Me:
No, but it was luck for him to survive the confrontation--the same luck that 
saved his life when he was 1.  Quirrelmort probably would have killed him and 
taken the Stone if it wasn't for Lily's sacrifice.

psychic_serpent at yahoo.com:
<<Was it luck for him to have the nerve to go into the Chamber to begin with? 
 Luck for him to be loyal to Dumbledore?>> 

Me:
No, but once again it was luck that he survived.  It was lucky that Fawkes 
came in and pecked the basilisk's eyes out and dropped the sorting hat into 
Harry's hands as Harry was just standing there muttering, "Help me, help me, 
someone, anyone."  Harry didn't intentionally call Fawkes, or summon 
Gryffindor's sword.  And it was very lucky that Tom Riddle, in making his 
little speech, "forgot" that phoenix tears have healing properties.
 
psychic_serpent at yahoo.com:
<<Was it luck for him to conjure the Patronus in PoA?>>

Me:
No, but it was luck that he got to go back in time with the Time Turner and 
get a second chance at it.  Harry *couldn't* conjure the Patronus when it 
really counted the first time around.  The Dementors would have sucked out 
his and Sirius's soul if it wasn't for the Time Turner.
 
psychic_serpent at yahoo.com:
<<Was it luck for him to perform the summoning charm to get the cup and 
escape with Cedric's body?>>  

Me:
Well there was a lot of luck going on in this scene.  It was luck that the 
wands had the reaction they did, and Harry's parents told him what to do.  It 
was also extremely lucky that none of the DE's spells hit Harry as he was 
running away.  What are they, Storm Troopers?

psychic_serpent at yahoo.com:
<<a good wizard can think on his feet and select the right spell for the 
occasion, and he's practiced so that he can perform it competantly.  Harry 
comfortably fulfills this criteria, more so, in fact, than the other 
Champions, who frequently made bad decisions about how to approach the 
tasks.>>

Okay, Harry had a *lot* of help with those tasks.  Hagrid told him what the 
first task was and Sirius and Moody (I think) helped him on the right path to 
figuring out what to do.  Harry sucked at the second task.  He didn't figure 
out for himself how to open the egg for the clue *or* how to accomplish the 
task.  In the third task,  Cedric did just as well as Harry, and Victor might 
have as well if he weren't under a curse.

Audra