GIANTCUSHION and Boggart/Dementor

[oz_widgeon]

No: HPFGUIDX 33179

First let me say that I'm owling my 2 knuts to join GIANTCUSHION.  I 
am a big Ginny fan and think her detractors are being far to harsh on 
her.  I don't think she's wooden at all, she's just a young girl, and 
she acts like one.  I don't see what the big deal is with her crying 
and breaking down after being drawn in by dark magic (which we are 
told has happened to many fully qualified wizards) and then being in 
the chamber.  I'm 28 and I'd probably break down now if I'd gone 
through all that.  She is loyal to her family and friends, she's kind, 
and understanding, and she is capable of telling someone off when they 
need it.  What's wrong with that?  Er....nothing.  We just haven't 
gotten to know her as well as some of the other characters yet.  What 
we have seen isn't bad.  I don't think the first train station scene 
was immature at all.  I was 10 when I first went to O'Hare airport in 
Chicago, and my mom nearly tied me to her!  I wanted to go look in all 
the shops and watch all the terribly interesting people, but my mom 
kept hold of the back of my coat for fear of me getting lost!  I must 
admit, I'd probably do the same to my child.  Okay, enough of all 
this-please send me my GIANTCUSHION membership card!  I hope there's a 
virtual button to go along with membership, though with my Neville-is- 
under-a-memory-charm and my Lupin-must-be-touched-by-the-moon 
to-transform badges, I don't know where I'd put it!  :)

Now, I followed the whole thread about why the boggart/dementor 
effects Harry, but the boggart/moon didn't make Lupin transform with 
great interest.  It seems to have died down recently, but I had to 
throw my 2 knuts in (I'm definitely going to be poor if I don't stop 
throwing them around!).  Actually, these are my husband's 2 knuts, so 
I'll toss them without fear.  Over dinner the other night, I posed the 
whole boggart question to my husband, and he had an immediate 
response, that made perfect sense!  (Imagine!)  He said the readon it 
effected Harry, is because he WANTED to hear his parents, so in his 
mind, he WANTED it to act like a real dementor.  We even learn this 
after one of his patronus lessons.  He was sitting on the plinth of an 
old suit of armor finishing his chocolate, and he told himself he had 
to NOT want to hear his parents voices, if he was going to produce a 
proper patronus.  It's kind of like when a patient receives a placibo 
from a doctor.  Even if it's a sugar pill, if they WANT it to work, it 
will.  Harry WANTED the boggart/dementor to be real because it was the 
only time he could hear his parents, so in his mind it WAS real.  The 
Malfoy and co. dementor didn't effect him, because in his mind, he 
KNEW he could fight it off at this point, he was happy and 
could produced a powerful patronus, so it didn't effect him.

Cheers!  
Slon (who's seriously thinking of buying a robe with bigger lapels to 
accomodate all those cool badges)