Harry's innate abilities

[abigailnus]

No: HPFGUIDX 45103

Grey Wolf, Michelle and Melody have been discussing the origin of Harry's 
Quidditch skills.  Michelle offered this and entered into a discussion with 
Melody on hereditary talent:

> I'm sure that you can inherit sports abilities, now I'm not that much 
> of a sports fan (I'll get back to that) so lets take singers many 
> offspring of singers have followed in their Dad's/Mum footsteps - 
> both of John Lennons son's have released their on albums and most 
> recently Ozzy Osborne's daughter has released her first single - so 
> if singing can be inherited why not sport abilities?  The only 
> example I can think off in sport is Damien Hill - I believe he 
> followed in his Dad's footsteps - Yes I know that this was formula 1 
> but I bet that many of you sports lovers can provide better examples. 
> I'm sure my fellow Brits will be able to quote several footballers 
> that have followed in their parents footsteps and maybe even a few 
> cricketers, I'm sure that you Americans can name several American 
> Footballers, basketballers (sooo much better than Netball :-)) and 
> base ballers that have also followed in their parents footsteps, and 
> I'm sure that some of you will be able to mention a few golfers, 
> athletes, swimmers etc. But all I can quote is the above Damien Hill.
> And I'm sure that not all children that followed their parents into a 
> sport actually play in the same position that their parents did.

All of these examples have to do with professional atheletes or musicians 
and their children - have we ever seen any evidence that Harry's skill at 
Quidditch extends beyond that of a high school hero?  Certainly Harry's 
brushes with the world of professional Quidditch have not led us to believe 
that he, or anyone around him, is in that league.  Harry's reaction to the 
Irish Chasers and to Krum during the QWC is that this is Quidditch on a level 
that he was never aware of before, and while Krum compliments Harry on 
his flying skills later in GoF, one gets the feeling that this was the case of a 
professional complimenting a talented amateur, not an equal.

The basic skill set for a Seeker seems to be a slight build, good hand-eye 
coordination, good reflexes - and of course superb flying ability.  That last 
one, I would suggest, is what Harry inherited from his father.  The rest may 
very well be a happy accident of genetics.  I do have a problem with the 
idea of Harry the flying savant who can just get on his broom and outfly 
Malfoy, who has presumably been flying for years, but is it possible that the 
drama of the description has blinded us to the fact that Harry's accomplishment 
wasn't that great?  How hard is it, after all, to catch a falling object while 
riding a maneuverable, accelerating flying object?  It's just a question of 
mathematics.  I really doubt that catching Neville's Rememberall is in any way 
comprable to capturing a Snitch, which can move in any direction, in the 
middle of a pitch that has 13 other players whizzing back and forth on it, 
including one of them who is chasing the same Snitch.  If Harry had been 
tossed into that fray after his first flying lesson, I doubt he would have 
succeeded - it took weeks of intense practice to get him to that level.

In fact, what's remarkable, in my opinion, about Harry's first flying experience 
isn't that he succeeds, but that he tries in the first place.  He gets on a 
completely unfamiliar vehicle and flies 50 feet into the air, threatening to 
knock another, more experienced flyer of his broom.  And then he actually 
goes into a steep dive - which he has no idea if he can pull off - just to get his 
friend's possession back.

All this leads me to the conclusion that has already been expressed in this 
thread - that Harry's true assets, the qualities that make him a hero, are 
his courage and perseverence.  Sure, Harry is a powerful wizard, but that 
power is of no use unless he trains himself to use it - which he does, mericlessly.

Abigail