dementor feeding theory

[boblevin2002]

No: HPFGUIDX 41053

During a long walk thinking about this, I kept coming back to Sirius 
in prison, and how he survived.  I suspect that he was able to stop 
that additional voice that we all have in our heads that seems to 
give a running commentary of our life--the little voice that says "I 
really am enjoying this food"  or "I can't stand it when the 
checkbook doesn't balance". I don't think he did a lot of "Woe is me, 
I am unjustly in prison."  It's the Zen moment of brain stoppage as 
one contemplates 'what is the sound of one hand clapping?' Sirius 
became completely focused on justice and duty almost as independent 
entities, not "I have to get out and find wormtail and save Harry."  
That first person thinking was gone.  His thoughts were reduced to 
the minimal.  My sense is that dementors feed on any kind of self-
conscious thought--meaning that the actual events of our lives aren't 
as significant as how we interpret them or even if we interpret them.
A bit of proof of this is how Sirius escaped.  He just left.  He 
turned into a dog and walked out.  I believe he described it saying 
that the dementors sense human consciousness, not animal.  Or perhaps 
they sense our normal screwy kind of consciousness that we like to 
think is so civilized.

This brings us to Harry, the Event and how he interprets it.  As 
others have already pointed out, Harry's life is not like anyone 
else's life--ever.  And so his simple memory consciousness is 
something far different than anything the dementors ever encountered. 
If they can feel curiousity {"Check out those Harry Potter vibes 
fellow dementor dude."}, then Harry is a real phenomenon. Surrounding 
the event is Harry's interpretation, or his struggles in interpreting 
it.  He still hasn't quite come to grips with it, because it is not 
necessarily a sad event, although the episode starts out tragically. 
But it ends with Voldemort's vanishing, and therefore the saving of 
maybe thousands of lives, the lifting of intense misery over an 
entire civilization.  Now, whether he is aware of this or not, Harry 
has no small amount of Joy floating around inside and it seems to 
express itself when he flies.  Who has anything to compare to this?  

Always just below the surface, Harry is stuggling to reconcile these 
instrdibly powerful forces. On the one hand, he deeply deeply regrets 
the event.  Yet, on the other hand, this young man is always risking 
his own life to save others. So he understands the absolute necessity 
of facing and defeating Voldemort, whatever the cost--to himself.  In 
GoF, he stood on his horribly injured leg and faced Voldemort heart 
to heart. As if he was saying "If you want me dead, your going to 
have to past this," patting his chest. Wand to wand, he stared this 
man down.  

And so when the dementors "see" his consciousness, they see the only 
person in history to blow back the killing curse. They sense the 
power of the forces within him that are fighting for cohesion.  And, 
I suspect they aren't too eager to experience the kind of Patronus he 
has the capacity to generate.  In short, I think that their 
attraction to Harry shares the same complexity that lies within Harry 
himself.

Bob