Choices

[sophierom]

No: HPFGUIDX 86504

Kneasy: <snip>
What does almost every so-called epic have that hasn't yet appeared
in HP? 
<snip from Kneasy again>
The Temptation of course.
The offer/realisation that power can be his for the taking. All he
has to do is resist the persistent blandishments of those urging
peace, love and a macrobiotic diet and step to the other side.

Liz: <snip>
I imagine he would still want to get rid of V and
friends, but he would no longer be subscribing to DD's benevolent
philosophy. Oh, it could be a slippery slope!: 

Laura: <snip>
Yeah, Harry may act in some fashion on his anger towards DD, but I
don't see that as being tempted towards the dark side. Harry
doesn't show any interest in power for its own sake at any time
during the books; indeed, he shows a consistent reluctance to plumb
the depths of his powers. He might well have had the ability to
kill Sirius in the Shack (or Bella in the MoM) but he couldn't bring
himself to do it. I'd say this is due to a combination of a strong
moral foundation and some fear of what he might actually be capable
of.
This would differentiate him from Tom Riddle, who many of us
theorize was delighted to find out that he had magical powers and
immediately began exploring their possibilities. Harry sees himself
as a human being first; Tom sees himself as a wizard first. In
becoming LV, Tom leaves behind his humanness and gives himself over
entirely to the power of his wizardry.

Sophierom:

(First, a quick hello ... I'm new. Forgive me if I mess this up a 
bit ... )

Maybe what tempts Harry to the "dark side" is the very humanity that 
we assume makes him stronger than TR. (And I agree with Kneasy here 
that the "dark side" or temptation is power itself, not LV's camp in 
particular.)  

What if his desire to see Sirius again (along with his guilt that he 
was somehow responsible for Sirius's death) makes him willing to work 
with anyone (including some pretty nasty people) to get Sirius back? 
As far as I can see, his feelings of love and grief are the only real 
motivations that could push Harry to do something really destructive 
to the Order. The "good" guys (DD, most prominently) have basically 
told Harry that Sirius is dead, he has to move on, etc.  But if 
someone else out there can convince Harry that there's a way (any 
way) to get Sirius back, Harry just might be willing to listen. Okay, 
very crazy theory here, but what if someone in Azkaban (how about 
Lucius Malfoy?) sends a message (through Draco, perhaps) that he 
knows of a way to get Sirius back.  Harry probably wouldn't be so 
naive as to believe that this information is free ... he'd know 
there'd be a price to pay (for example, letting Malfoy out of 
prison).  But maybe he'd rationalize it: Sirius would have done this 
for me (and Sirius did engage in some questionable behavior to get 
Pettigrew and protect Harry). From this point, it's a "slippery 
slope," as Liz aptly put it.    

I hope the JKR wouldn't make any sort of rebellious or destructive 
binge end in DD's death ... that would only push Harry into another 
spiral because he would have felt as if he'd caused, yet again, the 
death of a father figure in his life. Sadly, I do think DD will die 
before the end of Book 7, but hopefully, Harry's choices won't have 
led directly to DD's death.  

Anyway, even my theories are way off base (very likely :-) ), I think 
that temptation is definitely an issue that Harry will have to 
confront in some fashion.  

Sophierom, who hopes that she hasn't broken any posting ettiqutte 
rules!