The character I pity the most

[judyserenity]

No: HPFGUIDX 35505

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "charisjulia" <pollux46 at h...> wrote:

Devin wrote:
> > >I think I can safely say that the character I 
> > > really feel sorry for is Frank Bryce. <<< 

And I added:
> > I don't feel so bad for Cedric, because although he died young,  
> > he seemed to have had a happy life up until that point.  
> > I think an unhappy life is worse than an early death.<<

To which Charisjulia replied:
> at least Frank * had* a life. Cedric was robbed of 
> his far too early on. ... Cedric lost 
> Life. And that is everything.<

Well, this is an opinion question, so of course there is no one right 
answer.  But, it does bring up some points about the Potterverse.  
It's clear that the Potterverse has an afterlife, since we see 
ghosts.  So, perhaps Cedric is still "alive" somewhere.  It's true 
that most of the ghosts we see appear unhappy (the Fat Friar is an 
exception), but that may just mean that all the happy spirits are off 
playing Quidditch or something, rather than moping in a bathroom or 
trying to get into the Headless Hunt.  So, I like to think Cedric is 
off somewhere doing something pleasant. 

Even without an afterlife, though, I still think some experiences are 
so awful that one would be better off dead.  I think about this 
whenever the topic of Azkaban comes up.  It seems to me that throwing 
people in Azkaban for life is far crueler than executing them.  
Perhaps Dumbledore agrees, and that is one reason why he's so opposed 
to the dementors?  I was very surprised when Peter was *happy* that 
Harry planned to send him to Azkaban, rather than let Sirius and 
Remus kill him.  If it were me, I'd be saying "Please!  Kill me now!  
Anything other than the dementors!"  Of course, perhaps Peter was 
hoping to escape, which in fact he later did. 

-- Judy