Sirius' death and the power of love

[dcyasser]

No: HPFGUIDX 82341

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "susanbones2003" <rdas at f...> 
wrote:
> --- > Ernie quotes:
> > "Let the pain stop, thought Harry ... let him kill us ... end 
it, Dumbledore... death is nothing compared to this ...
> > And I'll see Sirius again ..."
>> 
> Jennifer wrote: 
> <snip>  we see that Harry was willing to embrace death for 
physical relief as well as the relief of being united with Sirius 
again. Yet, later, when he has his talk with Luna, he appears 
significantly taken aback when she mentions seeing dead loved ones 
again.

> Speaking of her mother's death Luna says:
> 
> "And anyway, it's not as though I'll never see Mum again, is it?"
>      "Er-isn't it?" said Harry uncertainly.
>      She shook her head in disbelief. "Oh come on. You heard them 
> just behid the veil, didn't you?"
>      "You mean..."
>      "In the room with the archway. They were just lurking out of 
> sight, that's all. You heard them."
>      They looked at each other, Luna was smiling slightly. Harry 
did not know what to say, or to think. Luna believed so many 
> extraordinary things...yet he had been sure he had heard voices 
> behind the veil too...
> 
> At first reading, it seems as if Harry is not at all sure there is 
an afterlife, a place where he'd be able to see Sirius again. Does 
this contradict his feelings during the possession? The feelings 
that apparently saved him from the Dark Lord? 
<snip>
>

Hi Jennifer and Ernie
I don't think Harry is contradicting himself, just trying to 
understand himself.  His reaction during the possession is visceral; 
what comes to mind is what he *knows* to be true, without thinking 
about it: he'll see Sirius.  By the time of his encounter with Luna, 
he's been through so much brooding and meditating and replaying of 
events and a shattering discovery regarding his future, that he 
doesn't know which way is up, and can't clearly trust his own 
emotions, his instincts, or his reactions. (Does he want to be with 
people, or not with people? Does he want to talk about it, or not 
talk about it?) His reaction to Luna is very cautious because he is 
afraid to trust anything; she is confirming something that he does 
believe, but he is afraid to admit it, or perhaps to commit to it. 

We see him weigh it - "Luna believed so many 
> extraordinary things..." - and then accept it - "yet he had been 
sure he had heard voices behind the veil too..." . 

I think Luna saves this belief for him, she restores that hope to 
him that he'll see Sirius again, and with that she restores the 
notion of Sirius' sacrifice.  That's why his heart feels lighter 
after she talks to him.  Thanks for bringing this up, I've enjoyed 
thinking about it. 

cheers
dc