[HPforGrownups] Re: Harry's innate abilities/ sweaters and Christmas gifts/ Power of selflessness

[Richelle Votaw]

No: HPFGUIDX 45084

Marina writes:

> To produce a Patronus, he has to go through debilitating practice
> session with the boggart, sessions that bring him great emotional
> pain and actually cause him to lose consciousness at one point.  He
> grits his teeth and carries on, even when Lupin is concerned enough
> to suggest they should stop.  He spends loads of time with Hermione

Well, keep in mind there was a tiny bit of Harry holding back during those
lessons.  Ibn PoA on page 243 (Scholastic edition, paperback) Harry thinks
"Terrible though it was to hear his parents' last moments replayed inside
his head, these were the only times Harry had ever heard their voices since
he was a very small child.  But he'd never be able to produce a proper
Patronus if he half wanted to hear his parents again."  And later on page
246 "Harry felt angry with himself, guilty about his secret desire to hear
his parents' voices again."

So as long as Harry secrety wished to hear his parents' voices he wasn't
able to properly produce the Patronus.  However, the very instant his life
was in danger, or he thought it was, and he really *needed* to produce it,
he did.  Also, as long as he was with Lupin during the lessons he was really
in no danger.  If things got too bad, Lupin would step in.

Veronica writes:

> So, in order to make all the laundry easier to sort, maybe she uses a
> color-coding system. The twins' sweaters are blue (the letters
> distinguish Fred's from George's). Ron's are maroon. We don't know
> what color Percey's is (at least not in that scene), maybe his is
> green. Anyway, my point is that there might be more to it than we
> know.

While that's possible, it still doesn't explain why Percy would have a P on
his sweater and Ron not have an R.  I had a teacher friend read the section
today, and she immediately came to the same conclusion--it was Ron's sweater
George was talking about with no letter.  She then became quite upset that
he wasn't treated fairly.

However, in the same chapter, we have Harry and Ron waking up to find their
presents.  It specifically says that Ron's pile is much bigger than Harry's.
Harry had five presents: The sweater and fudge from Mrs. Weasley, the carved
flute from Hagrid, a box of Chocolate frogs from Hermione, 50 pence from the
Dursleys (if you can call that a present), and the invisibility cloak.  Of
Ron's we only know of the sweater and the Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans
from Hermione.  But he must've had quite a few more for his stack to be much
bigger than Harry's.  So who were they from?  Miscellaneous aunts and
uncles, perhaps?

bugaloo37 writes:

> In a previous post, I talked about how Harry had one way or another
> prevented or at least, hampered, Voldemort's quest for immortality.
> In that previous post, I pointed out each of the ways Harry did
> this.  Just now, I got to thinking:  what is it that drives Harry?
> what keeps him going?  IMO, it is his selflessness.

Good point.  Also, his innate goodness.  For example, in GoF.  While he has
just jumped up with everyone else and hexed Malfoy and co., a point is made
as he leaves that Harry "stepped over* them.  As we know, others made it a
point to step *on* them.  When others are totally defenseless, Harry is not
about to take advantage of them.  Same thing happened in CoS, in the duel
with Malfoy.  He felt "it would be unsporting to bewitch Malfoy while he was
on the floor."  A mistake, of course, but it was a nice thought.

Richelle

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"May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out."
---- Lady Galadriel, The Fellowship of the Ring
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