OOP: Re: Bad Harry? OotP Spoiler

[Sara_ELL]

No: HPFGUIDX 62917

Jenny from Ravenclaw says-

<snip>
> I'm still not comfortable with Harry attempting an Unforgiveable 
>on Bellatrix, but I understand where it came from.  To me, though, 
>this definitely does not mean Harry will become evil.  If Harry 
>turns to the Dark Side, what is the point of the books?  This 
>series is not like a tv show - say, Buffy - where a character is 
>temporarily swayed to the Dark Side and then somehow finds his/her 
>way back to Good. In HP, if Harry, even for a moment, gives in to 
>evil, he and everyone else working for Good are doomed.  Even 
>though we see that Voldemort can get into Harry's mind and 
>emotions, we also see that he cannot stay there, as Harry is 
>amazingly strong.
<snip>

Me:
The whole mention of the Dark Side business brings up the inevitable 
Star Wars (Empire Strikes Back) analogy again as I guess that a good 
story just can't help getting retold for each new generation. All 
that is you mention (specifically with respect to not subcumbing to 
evil, even transiently) is what he hero goes through in ESB...our 
hero (Harry/Luke) cannot control his anger or emotions, disobeys his 
teachers by not not completeing his training and unprepared is 
baited into a premature confrontation with his enemy, another Dark 
Lord who happens to be the embodiement of all evil. He puts the 
lives of his friends at risk and loses one of them in turn. He 
barely escapes with his life and is even more emotionally scarred as 
a result. He finds out to his horror that he has a telepathic 
communication with this same said Dark Lord and is thus, liable to 
put his friends and "all they have fought for" at risk. Why do I 
mention this?... Clues for the next book -

It will be only when he is able to control his anger, throw away his 
hatred and be at peace with himself (as a fully trained 
Wizard/Jedi/whatever), eschewing the temptation of following the 
easy path that leads to evil and darkness, that he matures and is 
able to attain his potential & fulfill his destiny. 

I'm sure that this has been mentioned a few hundred times before but 
I'm going bonkers just trying to keep up with what the current 
threads are (and personally can't wait for the OOP FAQ page to pop 
up as this board is becoming ridiculously unmanageable).

Sara (whose going to have a nice cup of tea and a lie-down)