Harry a Hero? Was: The magic power of love.

[carin_in_oh]

No: HPFGUIDX 80582

> hg replying to Doriane:
...
> There are plenty of wizards (Marchbanks and Bones, for example)in the 
> book who are deeply impressed by the fact that Harry can conjure a 
> corporeal patronus at 15, something he learned at 13.
> 
> Hermione is also impressed by his capabilities. 



I agree that we should take seriously the mounting evidence about what impresses others about Harry. It strikes me that an important (and also an elegant) thing about OotP is that while we are most enmeshed in Harry's p.o.v., and while that p.o.v. is at its most adolescent-self-centered, JKR is also giving us glimpses of how Harry's developing skills and innate talents measure up in the world outside Hogwarts. That's what O.W.L. year is all about, isn't it? 

The attitude of people at Harry's hearing, the vote of confidence from Hermione and the DA-ers, and the reactions of the OWL examiner in DADA are, imho, an important corrective to the suspicion we might otherwise entertain that Harry _only_ got where he is by a combination of mother-love and happenstance, which would be a little too sweet and a little too skimpy, for my tastes, to support the whole weight of the coming showdown. It's crucial at this juncture in the series that we see that Harry is innately powerful AND talented BUT with a lot of room to improve as he develops awareness and self-control. His poorly-controlled power (evident esp. in episodes of wandless magic) and (closely related) his poorly-controlled rage are what make Harry more than just a stick-figure hero.

hg again:

> The most profound--to me anyway--example of courage is in the 
> graveyard scene in GoF when Harry chooses to step out from behind the 
> tombstone, certain that he is going to be killed. But he does it 
> anyway.



This gives me a chance to mention something that's been occupying me as I've been thinking over the implications of the prophecy. I wouldn't be surprised if in the next book it dawns on Harry that, if he's destined for mortal combat with LV, he's not going to die in lesser conflicts in the meantime. I could see that realization prompting him to even more Sirius-like recklessness in his moment-by-moment dealings with the enemy, if not in his long-term strategy. (Does Harry ever strategize? Not yet...)

Carin