James/Harry WAS Harry-Hermione Life Debts/ Insults to Harry's parents

[bluesqueak]

No: HPFGUIDX 44333

I think Yahoomort has swallowed my last attempt to reply to this, so 
here it goes again. Apologies if you get two copies on the list.


--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "doffy99" <doffy99 at y...> wrote:
<Snip>

Jeff wrote: 
> An afterthought, It strikes me odd that James and Harry have this 
> connection. 
> If James had not saved Snape, Sirius and Lupin would have been 
> expelled, possibly imprisoned, for their prank.
> If Harry had not intervened on the part of Pettigrew, again, Sirius 
> and Lupin would have faced Azkaban for the murder of Peter         
> Pettigrew. 
> My feeling is, from his behavior in GOF, that Fudge would never 
> have beleived the story and would have brought both Sirius and 
Lupin 
> up  on charges, thrown them in Azkaban and thrown away the key. 
> Father and son ended up saving, in some way, the same two people 
> and put someone, an enemy in both cases, in their debt. Is it just 
> me?? 
> 
> -Jeff

I think Dumbledore also points out that there's a connection in PoA 
Ch. 22 pp. 311-312 UK Hardback:
"I knew your father very well...He would have saved Pettigrew 
too ...your father is alive in you, Harry..."

Part of Harry's voyage of self-discovery in the first four books has 
been finding out how much like his father he is. He's inherited 
James' skill at Quiddich, his looks, his disregard for rules, his 
arrogance. Admittedly the Dursley's did a darn good job of knocking 
most of the arrogance out of Harry (*not* that doing Harry any good 
was their intention, I'm sure), but there is still a tendency for 
Harry to assume he's right, everyone else must be wrong. If Harry 
Potter wants to visit Hogsmeade, then all the grownups trying to stop 
him must be just being unfair.

The problem is, that James Potter's character is effectively what got 
himself, Lily, and very nearly Harry killed. If James had been less 
certain that his own judgement must be the right one, more willing to 
accept Dumbledore's assessment that James couldn't even trust his 
closest friends, then Harry might still have parents.

So Harry mirroring James is on the one hand good. In many ways James 
Potter was an admirable person. But on the other hand, it's scary. As 
Snape has pointed out on more than one occasion, if Harry turns out 
exactly *like* James, then there is a real danger that Harry will get 
himself killed by making exactly the same sort of mistake *as* James.

Leaving the last word to Dumbledore again:
"...you do look *extraordinarily* like James. Except for your 
eyes ... you have your mother's eyes." [PoA Ch. 22 pp. 311-312 UK 
Hardback ]

Perhaps what will save Harry is that he's Lily's son as well.

Pip!Squeak