[HPforGrownups] Re: Cruciatus and Imperius (Some TBAY), Dark Magic Power Boosts

[Amanda Geist]

No: HPFGUIDX 40536

Abigail said

> A truly evil thought occurred to me while reading this post

Dear, dear. We're corrupting you. *snicker*

> That's never made any sense to me.  I know that Harry is both modest and
> friends with Hermione, which could make anyone undervalue their magical
> abilities, but he must have noticed by now that he's no magical slouch.

This made perfect sense to me. I was a very, very good student, the kind who
made As without any real effort, I did calligraphy and illumination, I wrote
poetry (some of it was decent, I hope), I was friends with the teachers, I
could carry on intelligent conversation, etc., etc. And I would have been
the first one to tell you--no, to *insist*--there was nothing special about
me. It's called poor self-image, and I still suffer from it, and I find
nothing at all unusual in the fact that Harry has not yet internalized a
recognition of his skills.

Also, bear in mind that the existence of these skills is fairly recent--only
a few years. I can't blame him if he isn't quite ready, down there where the
self-image percolates and bubbles, to rely too heavily on things that he is
still just learning about. And he doesn't have much else to rely on. What
the intellect knows about oneself, and what the heart believes about
oneself, are two different animals; they bear no relation to one another and
often have never met.

> I like the thought that Harry's magical strenght derives from evil, and
that it will
> have to be returned in order for good to triumph.

This thought doesn't gel with the rest of the series, to me (at least, not
so far). JKR is nothing if not a master of showing grey. Snape is the most
obvious example, but very few things in JKR's world are absolutes; it is one
of the aspects of these books that appeals to me most. She is managing to
present a complex and confusing world to young readers in a way that they
can accept it. Thus, such a conclusion--taking Harry from a "grey" state
back to a black and white--seems unlikely. If Harry lives, and if part of
him stems from Voldemort, I don't see the struggle being to divorce or
eradicate it, so much as to understand, assimilate, and accept it. To
paraphrase Dumbledore--it will be his choice (how he handles the truth),
rather than a focus on what he is made of (the parts of good and evil).

If that made sense.

--Amanda

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one nation *under God*