Adopted!Harry & HarrySavesHarry

[Petra Pan]

No: HPFGUIDX 58852

Having finally read through the 
Adopted!Harry/HarrySavesHarry thread 
(hope I found all the posts!), I 
have a quibble with the theory.  
This is not a quibble over logistics 
and 'method.'  No, I find the 
essential premise shaky, which is 
too bad because the dilemmas are 
quite interesting.

Since this is TAS's guess as to what 
JKR will present as Voldemort's 
understanding of immortality and how 
to achieve it, I am unsure whose 
view of godhood is supposed to be at 
work here.

TAS, in part:
> ...as we know, Voldemort's main
> goal is immortality and absolute
> power, and, I propose, he
> discovered a way to attain not
> just "ordinary" immortality and
> absolute power, but something even
> greater: a form of dark godhood;
> not just living without end, but
> becoming a being "without
> beginning and without end" as G-d
> is. And part of the magic that
> would accomplish this godhood
> would require getting rid of his
> beginning  killing his own infant
> self.

See, I consider the condition of 
being "without beginning and without 
end" to be a fairly minor attribute 
of that which we consider divine.  
The divine (what TAS termed godhood 
or G-d) is ever-present and OUTside 
the field of time and is THEREBY 
considered to be "without beginning 
and without end."  To be concerned 
with the elimination of beginnings 
or endings is by definition dealing 
with issues of and relationships to 
time.

As I don't consider such an 
attribute to be an essential part of 
what makes a divinity divine, I 
find the usage of it as part of the 
means to achieve divinity very 
unsatisfactory.  In other words, the 
divine does not achieve divinity 
BECAUSE it satisfied the condition 
of having no beginning and no end...

...the divine simply IS.

The "without beginning and without 
end" part is merely a description of 
the state of being divine; to 
consider it a CONDITION of becoming 
divine (which is how I am reading 
what TAS termed as the magic that 
would accomplish this godhood) and 
thereby achieving immortality 
oversimplify the process through 
which one rise above the mortal 
coil...no matter how one defines 
such a process.

Only with this all-too-literal 
reading of the figurative 
description of divinity, can 
"killing his own infant self" = 
"getting rid of his beginning" and 
thereby put Voldemort on the road to 
immortality.  Y'know, you really 
CAN'T unring a bell...once a mortal 
has begun, there's no truly 
meaningful way to eliminate his/her 
beginning.  Yes, 'it's magic!' but 
ultimately the books' themes must 
explore the human condition...or 
else it's just really fun pulp.

Of course, if I am reading this 
theory incorrectly, I hope TAS would 
enlighten me.  <g>

Having said all that, your scenario 
would be fine with me if this flawed 
understanding of divinity is held by 
Voldemort and is thematically 
explored.  One way to do so might be 
to root Harry's ability to defeat 
Voldemort in the fact that Harry 
comes to understand what Voldemort 
couldn't.  Otherwise, I will 
personally be sorely disappointed.

Petra, late again - sorry!
a
n  :)

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