Magical Eyes

[ftah3]

No: HPFGUIDX 34260

> Ffi wrote: 
> > I came across an interview with JKR where she hints that there's 
> > significant importance to Harry's eyes - that they have some 
great 
> > power in them.  We are told many times about how bright green his 
> > eyes are, and that he is rarely without his glasses - could the 
> > glasses be stopping his eyes power?  A shield between his eyes 
and 
> > others, and that's why their magical qualities haven't come 
through 
> > yet?  Just a thought whilst at work!

Cassie wrote:
> Hmmm, interesting thought. I've been thinking that maybe it has 
something to 
> do with the fact that he has his mother's bright green eyes. Maybe 
Lily had 
> this 'eye-power' and it's been passed on to her son. ^^ 

Well, I *do* think that it's something that has been passed from Lily 
to Harry, as so many mentions have been made in the book that he has 
his mother's eyes & as JKR has affirmed that those mentions are 
significant.  But what is the nature of the significance, I wonder.

All right.  Some vacillatory theorizing ahead....

I'm thinking this because 'magic eyes' in the books so far aren't 
natural things.  Colin Creevy had a magic eye, i.e. his camera, but 
it wasn't magic until he enhanced the photos it produced with a 
potion.  Mad-Eye Moody's eye was magical, but it was a construct, a 
fake eye crafted and made magic (I assume ~ nothing is said to imply 
that it's magical by nature, and as real fake eyes don't function 
without magic, my assumption is that a magical fake eye wouldn't 
function without magic).

The Pensieve is a magical device which allows the user to 'see' 
memories, but there is no precedent in the books for a bowl being 
inherently magical, thus I assume that the Pensieve also is a 'magic 
eye' because it has been created to be so.

The magic eyes of the stone basilisks guarding the Chamber of Secrets 
also respond to Harry's using a parseltongue command.

However, that brings me around to magical eyes which are, in fact, 
magical by nature ~ the eyes of the basilisk and the phoenix eyes.  
Said eyes paralyze/kill or heal by a natural magic.  So, there is in 
fact a precedent set whereby eyes can have inherent magic to both 
evil and good use.  

Could Harry's eyes have the same sort of *natural* magical 
properties?  I would speculate that he's not of the same ilk as the 
basilisk & phoenix, because if his eyes *did* have some sort of 
inherent magical properties I think we'd have seen some signs by 
now.  Even if the magic was interrupted by his glasses, I think there 
would be some indication that without his glasses magical things 
happen.  

And yet.  Hmm, the way I see it, by virtue of precedent 
Harry's 'magic eyes' could go three ways, which imho would have more 
to do with how they are used as a plot device than with internal 
logic.  

Possibility one:  Harry's eyes have potential, uncommon magical power 
which must be consciously activated.  Why?  

1. Because Harry has a great need to force himself to explore his 
magical potential.  He's a natural at Quidditch, and he managed a 
Patronus, but other than that he's either done no more than his best, 
or even less (i.e. in classes), or he's had magic handed to him (i.e. 
the mother's love magic in his skin, the invisibility cloak, the 
Marauder's Map, how to get through the Tri-wizard challenges).  In 
order to mature and actually *become* great, he needs to make an 
effort to harness his inherent powers.  

2.  Futzing around with magic when they shouldn't is something the 
Trio do, and is what often breaks open a plot.  So for Harry to be 
futzing around with magic and maybe trying to 'enhance' his eyes 
(magical cure for near-sightedness, maybe?) activates their 'power' 
and voila! Cheeseball plot device gets the story rolling!  ;-P

Possibility two:  Harry's eyes are naturally magical, and the power 
will be automatically activated at some point.  Why?

1.  Harry has both a natural (good at Quidditch like his dad) and an 
active magical tie to his father (Patronus took the form of his 
father's animagus), and both were activated by Harry himself.  Harry 
has a natural and magical tie to his mother (same eyes; 
Quirrell/Voldy-roasting skin), but so far these were simply given to 
Harry.  Imho, Harry has grown in his sense of kinship with his father 
by way of having capabilities in his own right which link him to his 
father.  On the other hand, Harry has accomplished little in his own 
right to sort of 'reach out' to the memory of his mother.  She has 
reached out to him (same eyes, magical skin, and the sound of her 
voice forced out of his memory by the Dementors), but he hasn't 
actively done anything to reach back.  If his magical eyes were to 
activate naturally, perhaps in some way related to his mother ~ maybe 
he sees her on the spiritual plane? ~ he would then be forced to make 
use of that magic, justify it by not running from it and by making it 
his own.  If that makes any sense at all.

2.  Also, plot device!  Sudden activation of magical eyes breaks open 
story!  (ahem)  And etcetera.  :-)

Possiblity three:  It's just eye color/shape.  No magic at all.  Just 
genetics.  But that simple fact could be illuminating for Harry (a 
sense of sharing something with mom); could affect another character 
(who is stunned/pleased/discomfited by the similarity); or could be 
something Harry realizes after trying and failing to discover magical 
inherency in his eyes, which teaches him that sometimes family is 
significant without magic, i.e., his family was a real family with 
nonmagical but very special qualities even alongside their 
magicalness.

Hmm.  At this point, I can see that any of the above is as 
justifiable/likely as the other, and I can't even decide which I 
simply like better.  On the other hand, this post has gone to making 
me anticipate OoP even more on the off chance that the whole 'Harry's 
magic eyes' thing could be explicated....

Mahoney