The Death Chamber

[entropymail]

No: HPFGUIDX 81646

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Richard" <darkmatter30 at y...> wrote:
> > The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of Harry 
> dragging 
> > Voldy through the veil. Because if Harry is willing to sacrifice 
> > himself, he could be returned to the land of the living, as a 
> > 'bodhisattva', so he can finish his 'work' on earth. It would have 
> to be 
> > a purely selfless sacrifice though, and not because he wants to see 
> all 
> > his loved ones again. So I stay steadfast to my DeadLand!Harry 
> theory, 
> > that Harry will make contact with the dead, and yet not die.  That 
> would 
> > make sense of JKR mentioning the possibility of Harry dying at the 
> end, 
> > and yet leave him around for a sequel. Quite apart from all the 
> > religious parallels ;-)
> 
> 
> to which I (Richard) reply:
> 
> Sorry, but I would find it hard to agree LESS.  JKR has repeatedly 
> said that "dead is dead" ... and might as well have added "... and 
> gone forever," given the firmness of her attitude on the subject.  I 
> would be shocked and appalled by such a turn, as it would run counter 
> to so much of what JKR has said, and the general, persistent thread 
> of "life lessons" contained in the Potter series.  If Harry or anyone 
> else dies, they will be well and truly dead, unless they so fear 
> death or love this World that they choose to become ghosts ... and I 
> can't see Harry choosing to become a ghost, either.
> 
> Richard, who thinks JKR should be taken seriously when she 
> says, "Dead is dead."

Yes, surely "dead is dead." But you must admit that there are myriad
examples of JKR's "cheating" a bit on the dead stuff. From the house
ghosts, to the figures dripping from Voldemort's wand in the
graveyard, to the listening/sleeping/gossiping portraits in
Dumbledore's office, the WW is certainly a place where the dead are
never quite completely gone.

And, as a side note: although I wouldn't be particularly happy to see
Harry fall through the veil in a firestorm of curses and kadavras,
only to be reborn by coming back through at a later time (it seems so
"Dallas"/it-was-all-just-a-dream), it would tie up the whole "phoenix"
imagery rather well, don't you think? 

:: Entropy ::