OoP: Defending Hagrid

[D.G.]

No: HPFGUIDX 68703

"Maybe a point in the story is there's somethinngs that are more 
important than just 'staying out of trouble' and danger...  
Friendship is a good purpose...  This Potterverse needs 
characters with big hearts..."

Yes, indeed -- and as Dumbledore informs us at the end of OoP, it's 
Harry's heart that's saved him thus far.

But there's something else going on here, too -- Harry is now 
wrestling with his own heart, knowing that in some ways his 
compassionate desire to rescue people [as Hermione pointed out] has 
contributed to the death of his beloved godfather.  Snape's 
admonition to Harry that to really defend himself against the Dark 
Arts and everything they represent, he must learn, at times, to clear 
himself of emotion --to stop "wearing his heart on his sleeve" [a 
bitterly  ironic statement from a man who will forever wear the Dark 
Mark on his own forearm]-- may have been characteristically arrogant 
and sneering, but it contained a huge kernel of truth.  

The Order and its supporters are now engaged in a battle of such 
utmost importance that all other considerations --even ostensibly 
sacred ones such as the bonds between individuals and friends-- may 
[and in some cases, probably MUST] take second place.  Harry is 
learning, through painful life-lessons, that loyalty to a higher 
cause or a greater good may sometimes mean betrayal of one's 
immediate emotional attachments.  

This Potterverse needs people with big hearts AND strong minds -- and 
one of the most important and difficult tasks facing Harry and his 
compatriots is learning how to meld the contradictory impulses 
represented therein, and to strike the appropriate balance among them.

Apparently that's as difficut for Wizards as it is for Muggles.