TBAY: Stoned Harry

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 38664

The Beach Blanket party continues into the wee hours, Stoned!Harry 
smiling and nodding at his many guests, adding sherbert to the 
punchbowl, and dozing off only now and then.  Just as the crowd 
begins to thin, a sharp-eyed newcomer arrives.  A clear-headed, 
analytical newcomer who squints suspiciously at the cup Stoned!Harry 
presses into her hands.  She introduces herself as Heidi.  Heidi is 
not distracted by the mini-quiche, the stuffed mushrooms, or the 
loud music.  Instead, she abruptly slams Stoned!Harry up against the 
nearest wall and begins a withering cross-examination.

"If Harry is truly immortal," Heidi demands icily, "why would 
Dumbledore have to have set protective "old magic" over him so that 
when he is in the care of his relatives, he cannot be harmed?"

Stoned!Harry raises his sunglasses and peers quizzically into 
Heidi's eyes, giving her his best "come hither" stare.  She doesn't 
come hither.  Stoned!Harry glances at George and Faith for help.  
They averts their eyes and move off together behind the greenhouses.

"Unhand him!" cries a stranger, pulling Stoned!Harry from Heidi's 
firm grasp.  "You see, Dumbledore needs 'old magic' to keep Harry 
safe even though he is immortal.  Dumbledore is worried about a lot 
more than simply that Voldemort or other Dark Wizards will behead 
Harry.  Stoned!Harry can be neutralized in other ways.  For 
instance, if a Dark Wizard found Harry at the Dursleys, the Dark 
Wizard could bring a dementor to relieve Harry of his soul, for 
instance.  An Immortal-But-Soulfree Harry would still be immortal -- 
just very, very useless.  Dementors, lethifolds, being turned into a 
ferret and concealed as a pet in Moody's trunk -- Dumbledore is 
worried about all of these things!"

Heidi pauses to consider this.  She swirls the punch in the cup and 
licks her lips.  Stoned!Harry's eyes dart to the last bowl of 
pretzels on the table.  He licks his lips.

Heidi turns to the stranger, her hands on her hips.  "Why," she 
asks, "was Dumbledore concerned about Harry dying ("almost lost 
you") at the end of PS/SS with Quirrel/Voldemort?"

The stranger raises an eyebrow, impressed with the intellectual 
horsepower and mastery of canon needed to probe Stoned!Harry in this 
fashion.  She quickly lowers it.

"Well, your question rests on the premise that Dumbledore was 
worried that Harry would die," she responds evenly.  "Dumbledore 
could have been worried about something short of that.  A never-
ending coma, or perhaps that Voldemort had succeeded in sucking 
Harry's power out of him, for example.  There's also the possiblity 
that Dumbledore isn't completely sure that everything has worked 
correctly and Stoned!Harry is really immortal.  These spells are 
complex, you know.  Dumbledore has already seen the Fidelius Charm 
plan backfire.  Besides, we later learn that Dumbledore is the self-
deprecating type, based on his statement that he may have botched 
the Age Line in GoF.  He may have been consumed with self-doubt 
about whether he had succeeded in making Stoned!Harry immortal."

Heidi considers.  She swirls the punch cup and, as Stoned!Harry 
gives her a wan smile, she sips from it.  Her eyes twinkle, then 
glaze over.  Stoned!Harry watches Heidi wander to the punchbowl and 
refill her cup, adding a dollop of sherbert just for good measure.  

When Stoned!Harry turns back to the stranger, she is gone.  Stoned!
Harry shrugs and scoops the last bits of pretzel out of the bowl.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cindy

For an explanation of the acronyms and theories in this post, visit
Hypothetic Alley at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%
20Files/hypotheticalley.\
htm
and Inish Alley at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/database?
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