Accio Prophecy!

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 83898

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Arya" <dequardo at w...> wrote:
> ...Why did the Death Munchers not "Disarm" Harry to get the Prophecy 
> sphere from him?  Why did they only attempt to Summon it (Accio) 
> which allowed Harry to merely hold on to the ball to counter the 
> Summoning Charm?  
> 
> ...edited...
>
> It appears to me that this is the same thing that the Death Eaters 
> wanted to happen with that prophecy.  Sure, summoning may allow for 
> greater control of the item in question, but still, I don't think 
> we've seen a good counter to the Disarming Charm yet.  Certainly, it 
> would have forced Harry to *let go* of the ball and would have 
> worked much better than Summoning.  So, the question is--why didn't 
> they use it???
> 
> Arya 


bboy_mn:

I have no reason to believe that the 'Protego' Shield Charm would not
have worked just as well against the Disarming Charm as it would
against a Summoning Charm. 

Also, although some wizard seem to have more control over their
Disarming Charms than others, it's still pretty dicey when the object
basically just flies up into the air. The Summoning Charm on the other
hand brings the object directly to the summoner. That's far more
reliable than an attempt at disarming.

When Bellatrix Lestrange tries to stun Harry after he says things
about Voldemort, Malfoy 'deflects' the Stunning Curse. While it's not
stated, one could assume that he used a shield charm, and that if it
worked against a Stunner, it would have been effective against a
Disarming Charm.

If Bellatrix had successfully completed her Summoning Charm, I believe
the force of the charm would have pulled it form Harry's hands.
Remember that Fred and George's broom smashed through a very solid
door when they summoned them. So in terms of removing the prophecy
from Harry's possession, I see no advantage in Disarming over
Summoning. However, by your own admission, the Summoning Charm gives
the summoner a great deal more control.

Lastly, these are dynamic conditions, under conditions of stress like
this a person is not likely to think of the great ideas that come to
them after the fact, when the stress is removed. I can see several
circumstances during the battle in the Dept. of Mysteries where in the
cool light of afterthought, I can think of much better tactics and
spells. Example, after cursing a DE, why didn't they take the DE's
wands and break them? Answer, in the heat of battle they didn't think
about it. The same applies to the DE's recovering the prophecy sphere.
I'm sure their highest priority and therefore point of stress was to
not break it before they got it into Voldemort's hands. Again this
reflects the flaw of working for a brutal dictator, it stifles and
sense of creative thinking and initiative. 

Just a thought.

bboy_mn