Harry the child soldier (was : Am I the only one)

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 95939

Sienna wrote :
> What I personally object to is the concept of Harry as a soldier 
> who does what he's told with no questions asked and minimum 
> input.  I don't think that is fair or right.  Harry ultimately 
> will need to become a warrior.  (Sorry if this sounds a little 
> dramatic <grin>).

Del :
Once again, I have to use my good ol' answer : we don't know that. 
If many posters are right and the power Harry will have to use in 
the end is Love, then Harry becoming a warrior is the worst scenario 
possible. Maybe he needs to become exactly the opposite of a 
warrior, maybe he needs to learn to let go of all his will to fight. 
And maybe this is why DD is holding back information from him : 
because DD doesn't want Harry to develop any more hate and anger 
towards LV.

Sienna :
> In order to defeat his nemesis, he will need to master both 
> himself and his destiny.  This means, that he is ultimately the 
> one in charge of his destiny and that the apron strings were cut 
> for him, whether he wanted them to be or not.

Del :
I don't believe too much in the concept of mastering one's destiny. 
No matter how much self-control you have, your destiny is still 
submitted to tons of circumstances you can't master. Harry, for 
example, is only still alive because many people died for him, or at 
least risked their lives for him. If it had been only up to himself, 
he'd have been dead a dozen times already. And I believe that 
even "in the end", he won't be able to destroy LV on his own, he 
will need other people's help.

Sienna :
> Harry has never had the luxury of being 'just a child'.

Del :
I think you're exaggerating a bit here :-) Harry has had plenty of 
opportunities of being just a child. Before he learned of the 
Prophecy, he had no reason to believe he was special. In fact, he 
was repeatedly amazed that other people thought him special. He knew 
he had done special things, but he didn't think he was special 
himself, nor that he was expected to do something so very special in 
the end.

Sienna :
> He's fifteen and he's faced Voldemort four times already.  

Del :
Let me see :
1. As a baby : prior Prophecy, Harry doesn't have any reason to 
believe LV was after him. For all he knew, he was after his parents.
2. End of PS/SS : I'm not sure who was most surprised to face the 
other, of Harry and LV. No plan on LV's part anyway.
3. End of GoF : definitely planned, that one :-) But the way Harry 
sees it, LV only went after him so that he could get his revenge for 
1st time. Harry still doesn't know that he's anything special.
4. End of OoP : as far as Harry knows, LV is just annoyed at Harry 
for escaping from the Graveyard. In fact, he doesn't believe it when 
he's told that LV is specifically after him, he doesn't believe it 
when Hermione tries to tell him that LV is setting up a trap to get 
him.
So yes Harry knows he's managed special things, but he doesn't know 
he himself is special. He sees himself as a quite normal kid with 
good nerves who got lucky.

Sienna :
> Molly's motivations are admirable but misplaced.  Give him love 
> and affection, yes.  But don't try and hold back the tide of the 
> boy's destiny because it will come to him (and the wizarding 
> world) whether he wills it or not (and whether Molly accepts it or 
> not).  

Del :
Molly isn't trying to hold Harry's destiny back forever. She's just 
trying to delay it and to give Harry more time to prepare and 
develop and arm himself before it comes.
And if Harry's ultimate weapon is Love, then Molly might be the only 
one doing the right thing : love the boy, so he can love the most 
unlovable of all creatures, LV.

Sienna :
> In this sense, I agree with Sherrie (and of course Sirius ;)): he 
> needs all the information and help he can get in order to complete 
> his mission and get out of it alive.

Del :
But what does Harry do most of the time when he does get 
information ? He gets angry or depressed, he jumps to conclusions, 
he reacts rashly, etc... He's simply not ready to process more 
complex information. Not to mention that he sometimes simply refuses 
to accept information he's given, simply because it doesn't fit with 
his view of the world (he's still unable to accept Snape, even 
though DD has repeateadly stated his trust in Snape, and even though 
it appears that Snape was right about Harry's father all along). So 
imagine how he could react to some sensitive pieces of information. 
He's simply too childish still, which is normal. But it's just as 
normal that DD and others don't want to tell him much. I wouldn't.

Del