Wormtail's fault - Life-debt - Muggle house - Christ figures

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 37019

Grey Wolf wrote:

>V only needed the help of _ANY_ DE to return. Wormtail was available, but 
>in less than three months, so would have been Crouch Jr. So, in fact, 
>Wormtail only made the return of V a little faster, and in reality not even 
>that, since they had to wait until after the quidditch cup, and by then V 
>had already contacted Crouch Jr.

Crouch Jr. couldn't have been freed from his father's Imperius Curse if 
Voldemort hadn't returned to England, and he could only return to England 
thanks to Wormtail.

No, if Wormtail does bring about something good--and I suspect he will, lest 
Dumbledore be proven wrong about the life-debt--it will have to be weighed 
in the balance with the terrible damage he's done by rescuing Voldemort from 
the oblivion of bodilessness.  (That damage already includes the deaths of 
four people--five, if you count Crouch Jr.)

But this all arose from Dave asking:

>I must say that I really, *really* cannot see
>how JKR is going to make Harry grateful that he saved Wormtail's
>life. Say even if W rescues Harry, or Ron, or someone else from
>V -- But V would never have come back and put whoever in the position
>of needing to be saved in the first place if it hadn't been for W.
>So I really can't see Harry feeling grateful for it under any
>circumstances. Can any of you think of any?

How about a different take altogether?  Harry will be glad he saved Wormtail 
not because Wormtail ever does anything to bring about Voldemort's downfall 
and/or Harry's rescue (though, as stated above, I think he will), but for 
the same reason Harry gave for saving him from Remus's & sirius's wrath:  he 
thinks his father wouldn't have wanted them (him) to be killers.  He stood 
up for mercy of a kind, modeling himself after what he imagines his father 
to have been like, and that decision is crucial to the development of his 
own soul.  Imagine, instead, the development of a Harry who had allowed a 
man who had begged him for mercy to be killed before his eyes.  <shudders>

Finwitch wrote:

>If Dobby was house-elf to the Potter-house that was *exploded* by Evil 
>Voldemort,

To which Catlady responded:

>Except that the house that was exploded was a Muggle house.

? explain?

LTG, 3, wrote:

>Lord Voldemort was regenerated (reborn) because of the BLOOD of his foe
>(amongst other wonderful ingredients).... HARRY! Another nod towards Harry
>being a Christ figure?

Indubitably, IMO.  So is Lily, with her salvific, sacrificial love . . .  
So, what do you think?  Will Harry die and live again?  And what about 
Voldemort--is *he* a Christ figure?  He has the resurrection if not the 
self-sacrifice.

Very appropriate musings for Holy Week.

Amy Z

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  "Very haunted up here, isn't it?" said Ron,
  with the air of one commenting on the weather.
               -HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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