Harry "Winning"/Harry Can't Plan Ahead

[bluesqueak]

No: HPFGUIDX 60312

Aldrea wrote:
<Snip>
> Harry Can't Plan Ahead
> 
> One of the things I noticed about GoF- Harry cannot plan ahead, 
> the boy just can't seem to do it.  For two of the three tasks, 
> Harry knows what he'll be facing.  During the months he has to 
> prepare, he procrastinates his planning and it is only because of 
> Crouch's cunning that Harry is prepared at all.  When it comes to 
> quick-thinking and reacting, Harry is of course excellent at 
> that.  But planning?  Nope, doesn't seem very skilled in that 
> area.  Also, I believe(in the first book?) there's a reference to 
> a chess game between Ron and Harry, at which Harry "loses   
>spectacularly".  Perhaps one of the reasons for this loss is  
> Harry's inability to plan ahead, a must in chess.  It seems Harry 
> is short-sighted in more areas than his eyes. ;)

and Pip!Squeak replies:

It depends what *area* of Harry's life you're talking about. When it 
comes to the money he needs to survive, for example, Harry is quite 
capable of thinking ahead - PoA, where he decides he can't afford to 
buy the Gobstones, or the model of the Galaxy [Ch. 4]. In that case 
he's planning for the next five years of Hogwarts. 

Equally, in Chapter 1 of PoA, Harry is doing his essays a month 
before the end of the school holidays. In similar circumstances, I 
used to leave them to the week before...

Harry does procrastinate badly during Goblet of Fire. It's the very 
common reaction of a 14 year old boy faced with doing things that he 
really doesn't want to do. He has absolutely *no* desire to be in 
the Tournament. "he'd got through the first task, and he wouldn't 
have to face the second one for three months." [GoF p. 318, Ch.21]. 
He knows that whoever has entered his name is probably trying to 
kill him. Why try hard?

The moral of the Tournament, for Harry, is that even though you may 
not want to do something, even though it may be dangerous, you still 
have to give it your best shot. It's the skills learnt in the 
Tournament that save Harry's life when he faces Voldemort.

Especially 'Accio', which summons the Portkey. 'Accio', a spell 
suggested by Crouch-Moody.

And Crouch-Moody doesn't seem at *all* surprised to see Harry back 
at Hogwarts, does he? Honestly, it'd almost make you think that 
Voldemort had a 'Plan B' ...

Pip!Squeak

(see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/40044
 for Voldemort's 'Plan B' in the Graveyard Scene of GoF.
7 days, 4 hours, 10 minutes before I find out if I'm on-target).