[HPforGrownups] They're Not Children Anymore, Are They?

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 69825

On 12 Jul 2003 at 23:44, SnapesSlytherin at aol.com wrote:

> Harry, Ron, and Hermione aren't children anymore.  I mean, in *years* they 
> are, but in life experience they are very much adults.  They have done things 
> that adult wizards couldn't do.  The Trio has fought the most powerful Dark 
> wizard in a hundred years and lived to tell the tale.  Okay, Ron and Hermione have 
> only escaped him personally one time.  But there's adult wizards who didn't 
> get away from LV.  They've fought the Death Eaters - adults who have been 
> studying the Dark Arts for *years*.  On the "Boring Harry" thread, everyone has 
> listed the great things he's done.  I can't consider him a child anymore.  He 
> seems lightyears ahead of all the people my age (seventeen), and Harry is younger 
> than me.  I would *NOT* put him at our maturity level.  *That's* why the "I 
> see no difference" episode doesn't bother me so much: I do not see the Trio as 
> children anymore.  I think it's sad they all lost their childhood.  Harry has 
> never had time to have any fun.  He's either being abused or the Dursleys or 
> he's fighting LV.  It might just be me, and I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, 
> but I don't think they're children anymore.

Well, I think they are children. And the fact that Harry seems more 
mature than people your age doesn't phase me as I think most 17 year 
olds are still children as well (-8.

Yes, they do seem to be unusually mature, and they've had to deal with 
things far beyond what would normally be expected of their years, and 
they've done it well.

But that doesn't mean they're not children.

I had to deal with things far beyond my years as well. And basically I'd 
lost my childhood by the time I was 12. I was lucky though, I managed to 
get it back the following year, because I was lucky enough to wind up in 
an environment where I was once again able to be a child. Until I was 
nearly 16 and I lost it again.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron won't have that option. But if they did, I 
think they would probably take it. Kids who have had to deal with trauma 
and who've managed to escape it, often do.

And that's what makes them still children IMHO - because if they had 
that luxury, that is what they would be. The fact that they are able to 
function with a maturity well beyond their years by necessity doesn't 
change that fact.

I am not saying they should be treated as children. The world they are 
in doesn't allow for that luxury, and they have earned the right to be 
an active part of that world.

But it'd be nice if they had that anywhere.

And up until the end of Goblet of Fire, Hogwarts is still a place where 
they should be allowed to be kids as much as possible. It's a very 
different place in Order of the Phoenix - but in Goblet of Fire, it's 
still a place where they should be allowed to be kids to the extent that 
that is possible.

And teachers should be there to make that possible.

I've been in a warzone. I've dealt with kids who've grown up in such 
environments, some of whom were soldiers at age 12.

They may be mature beyond their years in some ways. But they're also 
still kids.

Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia