Bang! You're Dead. (was:Voldemorts animus...)

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 85883

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboy_mn at y...> wrote:
> 
> I have speculated in the past that, in the end, it will not be a show
> of raw force on Harry's part that defeats Voldemort, but an act of
> compassion, of benevolence, mercy, and charity that causes Voldemort
> to crumble in the face of a power he can never understand. 
> 

Oh, dear.
As  an enthusiastic afficianado of gore-splattered mayhem I am under-
whelmed, nay, distressed by the current  outbreak of touchy-feely
new age 'don't let's be nasty to Voldemort.' It seems that although he
and his enthusiastic band of supremacist murderers have slaughtered
uncounted innocents over the years, all his sins will  be wiped out by
the goodness in Harry's heart. Arrrgh!

So Harry is  full of love, is he? OK, where is it and who is it for?
Apart from a brief exposure to what many claim to be love for Sirius 
(and I have my suspicions about how long that would have lasted when 
he realised what a truly pathetic figure Sirius was), when has Harry shown 
love for anyone? He hasn't.

Dumbledore goes whittering on about a power that Voldemort can't
understand. Right. *Dumbledore* says it. Assuming he can be trusted (a 
massive assumption given his past  form),  how does he know? He went 
on about the 'old magic Voldemort doesn't understand' on a previous 
occasion and that turned out to be protective, not a universal power
that brings peace, love, reconciliation and free beer for all. It seems to me
that the only way for  DD to be so sure is if Dumbledore *arranged* for
this power to be there. Not a happy thought if you recall  how Harry has
managed  to screw up  DD's plans in the past.

Why should Voldy  be let off the hook? Can he even be considered to be 
human anymore? Not by my standards. He has become the embodiment
of evil; not just a misguided delinquent who  can be brought back to the 
paths of righteousness by a little tough love, but a soul-searing, truly
deadly construct formed by  Dark Magic. And damn near immmortal.

That 'near immortality' is a clue, I think. He *can* be killed, somehow.
And if he doesn't go down in flames JKRs mail box will be  getting a
very stiff note from yours truly.

Geoff, LotR cheerleader and proslytiser (enjoy the  rugby Geoff? Me
too.) has tried to draw parallels  between the downfall  of Sauron and 
what might happen to Voldy. Hmm. Well, we don't have a McGuffin like
the Ring in the Potterverse; an object that is the materialisation of the
power and personality of the arch-fiend. If it existed I think we would
have heard about it by now. And  if  you  want to look for pointers  in
LotR consider what  happened to Saruman; evil, forgiven, still bad and
then killed. What could be more satisfying?

Given his history, would you believe Voldy if he promised to  behave 
and not to do it again? Really? If you do, I have this treasure map;  it's
yours for a modest sum.

No, Voldy is no longer a person, where it could be argued that he should
be treated as if he were redeemable. He is a concentration, a condensation
of evil, risen from a cauldron of blood, bone and Dark Magic, an elemental
force almost, not Tom Riddle in fancy dress.

I can believe  that this unknown power in Harry might save him (again!)
from Voldemort, just as it did in the Ministry, but I don't believe it can 
change Voldemort in a Scrooge-like conversion accompanied by soaring 
strings and a heavenly choir.

In any worthwhile tale such a being is slated for destruction, and rightly 
so. Despite the protestations of Berit, bboy and others, I want to see evil 
in the manifestation of Voldemort destroyed, an acceptably moral ending 
IMO and not one that would cause Harry to either suffer guilt or to become
tainted himself.

Come on, now! Wave the FEATHERBOAS!

Kneasy