Murderer? and Grimmauld Place

[annemehr]

No: HPFGUIDX 70296

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Tiggersong <tiggersong at y...> 
wrote:
> Annemehr says:
> 
> "I am /not/ going to be murdered," Harry said out
> loud.
> "That's the spirit, dear," said his mirror sleepily.
> 
> But, you're no murderer, Harry... 
> 
> 
> Now Me [Stasia = Tiggersong]:
> 
> He doesn't need to be a murderer.  He just needs to be
> an exterminator.  I know that it's hard, at 15, to
> imagine "killing in cold blood", but by the time I was
> 17, I could understand the need to kill
> something/someone who was a threat to the Greater
> Good.  
> 
> I don't know that I would have been *happy* about
> doing it, but I like to believe that I would have
> stepped up to the plate and done what needed to be
> done.  


Annemehr:
I put that stuff under my signature because it just reflects my 
personal feelings.  The first part is a PoA quote I liked, which I 
like to see as foreshadowing!  Anyway, do you know what this debate 
reminds me of?  It's just like asking "If you could go back in time 
and kill Hitler before he started WWII and exterminating people, 
would you do it?"  Time travelling aside, there is always a great 
debate about whether that's murder or not, even though you 
personally *know* what Hitler is going to do.  Well, Harry *knows* 
well enough what Voldemort is going to do, even if he doesn't know 
the details.  On the other hand, society is *never* to punish 
someone for what they are supposedly *going to do*, which makes it 
murder in Harry's eyes.

Stasia: 
> I don't understand why it was such a shock to Harry
> that he'll have to kill Lord Thingy (Gosh I love that
> moniker...)


Annemehr:
Even after he wouldn't kill Sirius and wouldn't let Sirius and Lupin 
kill Pettigrew in PoA?  I guess Harry does not believe in the death 
penalty.  If anybody needed killing, Voldemort does; yet it 
horrifies Harry to think of doing it.  Maybe JKR will explore his 
feelings a little more.  My first thought when I read the prophecy 
was that the two of them would be in a duel and Harry would kill 
Voldemort in self-defence -- definitely *not* murder.  But, canon 
says the prophecy caused Harry to despair.  I think he believes it 
would destroy who he is.

There were debates on this list before OoP came out about whether 
Harry would end up killing Voldemort, or whether Voldemort's final 
defeat would come about some other way (I came down on this side).  
Funny, nobody seemed to think Voldemort was going to win!  :D

 
 
> Stasia
> 
> PS:  This is my first post.  I'm very happy to be
> here, but completely overwhelmed by the 18 gazillion
> digests I'm getting per day.  Phew!
> 
> Stasia

 
Ha!  I think it will slow down (in a month or so?), but meanwhile 
I'm keeping up by staying up till about 2:30 am most nights.  O_o

Annemehr
who would like the characters who can't bring themselves to 
say "Voldemort" to all start calling him "Lord Thingy" instead!