Shared thoughts

[Barry Arrowsmith]

No: HPFGUIDX 108664

To begin at the beginning.....

"Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive..."

Erm....no. That's no good; PS/SS is most definitely not the beginning - 
although the beginning of the end it may well be.

We're all aware that JKR is verging on the obsessive when it comes to 
back-story; that there are uncounted reams of notes detailing the past 
lives of characters and the evolution of various concepts (130 pages on 
The Knights  of Walpurgis, the original DEs, IIRC). So it's not 
stretching too far to reach the conclusion that the main themes in the 
books are continuations of ideas developed in the unseen history of the 
Potterverse.

All the really interesting stuff, the things that *really* matter, 
happen before the books start. We are an audience that has been 
admitted to the theatre halfway through Act II;  we've missed the 
Prologue, Act I and the first couple of scenes of the
Second Act. And we haven't been given a programme on the way in that 
would provide a neat synopsis of the story so far.
We're reduced to whispering among ourselves -  "Who's he?" -  "What's 
that supposed to mean?" - "Why did he  do that?"

To make life  even more difficult for ourselves we often concentrate 
more on trying to predict the end rather than worrying  about what 
we've missed - a big mistake IMO. Because it's starting to look as if 
the end will only make sense if we understand the ineluctable chain of 
events that led to the Harry Potter we all examine so assiduously.

JKR has famously commented that no-one has yet cracked the puzzle - the 
"what's it all about", the kernel in the nut, though she admits that a 
couple of fans have come close. She has even more famously said that 
she'd be annoyed if anyone did come up with the answer - "because it's 
too late  to  change things now." Seemingly there is a built-in 
inevitability; the plot can't be changed and still make sense, the past 
of the books determines the future and there is no quick fix available 
if she needed to re-write the ending. She  couldn't, for example, 
change the death of Voldy to the redemption of Voldy, or replace the 
death of Harry with a happy-ever-after resolution.
Not doesn't want to - can't. It wouldn't  work.
That's my  take on it, anyway.

Now I don't have the bare-faced brass to claim success where all have 
failed before me, but it might be a useful exercise to attempt to 
highlight what are probably the key links in the chain and if possible 
offer some sort of rationale for their importance. To a certain extent 
Jo helps us -  oh yes! - it's  the things she doesn't tell us, the gaps 
in the history that scream out  for explanation or exposition and yet 
even after 5 books are still shrouded in silence that catch our 
attention.  There's only one reason for this resounding silence that I  
can think of - they would tell us too much. Elucidation will only occur 
when there is absolutely no alternative -  and don't  expect a slew of 
clues pointing to the key elements either; though to play fair with the 
customers there have to be some.

Those members who browse with any regularity through the inane 
whitterings of Kneasy may have noticed that recently I've made a few 
speculations about Harry, his scar and what's inside his head. These 
ideas can be considered an extension of other speculations made a few 
months ago. Certain well-meaning individuals have prodded me with 
off-site comments ("I think this is important, don't you?" - Lyn J. 
Mangiameli) and questions ("Why don't you take that further?" - 
Carolyn; and "That's interesting - but what are you getting at?" - 
SSSusan) that have raised me from my usual stupor and  set me to the 
keyboard. They must share the blame for inflicting the following 
speculations on an innocent public.

Right: we start with Salazar Slytherin.
"..a twisted old loony" according to Ron, though  he  couldn't always 
have been so. The Famous Four started as friends and all was sweetness 
and light until discord  split them apart. What changed Sally; what 
made him leave and where did he go; why did he build the infamous 
Chamber of Secrets and why does  Slytherin House have such a dodgy 
reputation?

We're told that he prized cunning and ambition and his symbol is a 
snake.  In mythology the snake is not normally symbolic of evil, rather 
it represents wisdom, eternity, subtlety. It was only later that it 
became associated with temptation and the devil. But what  a 
combination of symbology! Fair makes the toes tingle applying that lot 
to Salazar.

It's a useful convenience to consider evil as a force, as an entity in 
and of itself that has existed since the beginning of time. It's also a 
  truism that the overly-ambitious and single-minded are prone to 
consort with evil to achieve their ends. However you want to look at 
it, it seems that ole Sally caught a hefty dose. It'd be because of 
something magical of course, and the only things that I can think of 
that would obsess that much are power and immortality. (Now who in the 
books seems to crave those? Riiiight! Got it in one.)

I think he partially succeeded; the spirit could survive, but the flesh 
was corruptible. And the Chamber was built to house the essence of 
Salazar - his power and his personality. To be re-incarnated it needed 
a willing body - the heir. An heir need not be a descendant - just a 
legatee designated as such by the testator - and in this case anyone 
who could find and enter the Chamber qualified. They would 
automatically 'inherit'  and become heir to what was in there,  though 
an existing predeliction to Salazar's attitudes would be an advantage - 
and this would possibly be more evident in a direct descendant.

All this could be considered as Prologue.

Act I. The Chamber of Secrets.

Tom Marvolo Riddle enters stage right.
The  timing of this is intriguing. Grindelwald is defeated and the 
Chamber is opened by Tom. Is this a coincidence or is it cause and 
effect? Could there be an ages long battle between good and evil and as 
the champion of one falls another is groomed to take his place? Such a 
continuity is seductively neat and tidy, you must  admit.

But no matter; what happened to Tom is critically important to the 
story IMO. A mean-spirited, spiteful, vengeful teenager accesses the 
Chamber, starts calling himself Lord Voldemort and starts planning a 
reign of terror. Unfortunately we've never been given the lowdown on 
what happened when he entered that Chamber, but it's possible to make 
an educated guess, given a vivid imagination and a theory or two.

He is the heir - but heir to what?
To Salazar Slytherin of course.
And just what does that mean?
A hell of a lot more than a damp hidey-hole and a ginormous 
death-dealing spider-frightener by my reckoning. He becomes heir to  
what remains of Sally himself. The spirit/personality/power of the 
original is at his disposal - sort of; Salazar would probably  put it 
the other way about - Tom is at his disposal, for he  has the power to 
enter minds and possess them.
("Give me an "A", George.")
"That old Black Magic has me in it's spell,
That old Black Magic that you weave so well"

He has a body again and Tom is the junior partner in an 
(in)corporation. Tom's happy to go along with this - he can work off 
his spite against Muggles  and Mudbloods, something that the original 
Tom Riddle didn't have the power or capability to do.  Though the 
sequence could differ slightly - Salazar allows Tom to play with his 
slithery friend as a demonstration of the sort of thing he has on offer 
if Tom willingly signs on the dotted line. 'Willingly' is important; 
this raises it to magical contract status - "You get my body, I get 
your power. Oh, and we name the new company Voldemort."

And what's the first priority for the happy  couple after Tom leaves 
Hogwarts? Resuming the search for immortality - for the body this time. 
And they get close, but not quite close enough.
Still, it hardly seems to matter as they cavort around the  countryside 
dealing death and destruction, the Voldy construct is invincible - even 
that old fool Dumbledore and his laughable Order is slowly but surely 
sliding down the pan. Everything  is going swimmingly until - there's 
this Prophecy that's overheard, and it seems to foretell of the birth 
of someone who can/will vanquish the Dark Lord.
"Oh really? Right; we'll soon see about that!"

Act II, scene I;  Godric's Hollow.

For whatever reason Voldy decides that young Harry Potter is at the top 
of his list for removal from this mortal plane.  It all seemed  to be 
going to plan -  subvert/frighten one(?) of their friends; slip in the 
garden gate one dark night, catching them unawares; burst in, wand 
blazing - but it all goes wrong - for the first time *ever* he's 
defeated.

Lots of theories why, I'll mention 3 -  well, 3 and a non-runner.

The one that seems most commonly accepted is that Lily or DD (or both) 
arranged a protective spell to take effect immediately  upon the death 
or sacrifice of Lily. Simple and straightforward, though it does raise 
some questions, most if not all of which  have been discussed at length 
on site.

A much more interesting theory has been detailed by jodel_from_aol. 
This is incorporated in his 'Changeling' essay (link below) that is 
well worth reading. He theorises that "Take me, kill me instead.." 
constitutes a binding magical contract when Voldy does just that. And 
that by the implied terms Voldy is then considered in breach of 
contract if he attempts to kill Harry *after* he has killed Lily. 
Presumably the penalty  for such an act would be proportionate to the 
attempted breach, i.e. death.
The spell rebounds on the caster.

Both of these theories have a weak spot which the third theory tries to 
  address.
Adherents to this one read a different significance into the words 
"Take me, kill me instead.." Could Salazar be up to one of his 
possession tricks? Is there something in Harry, potential power or 
whatever, that Voldy would rather have for his own? And did he try and 
take it by entering Harry? Because we know there has somehow been been 
a transfer of powers (and perhaps more) from Voldy to Harry. Quite 
frankly I for one don't see how a repelled AK could do that.

And the non-runner? That Vapour!Mort made a partially successful 
attempt to take over Harry after it's own body had been destroyed. Very 
unlikely since the protection was in place by then.

It's a difficult one, this. (Mind you, so is the next.) None of the 
theories are a snug fit. Most unsatisfactory, must do better in the 
speculation game.

Anyway, we 'know' the outcome. Voldy loses his body (see below for 
possible repercussions) and a disembodied entity  drifts off into  the 
sunrise, wailing and gnashing its non-existent dentures. Harry 
meanwhile is left amongst the rubble sporting a brand new scar and a 
few extra pieces of software in his operating system. Trojan, virus or 
upgrade?

Act II, scene 2; The 24 hours.

There  has been an inordinate amount of theorising about this blank 
spot in the timeline - and all to no avail. We have zero information 
about what transpired in the 24 hours after the GH episode. Something 
must have - we have the most momentous event in the history of the 
modern WW; the owls are fluttering about with the news by daybreak -  
and where's DD? And Harry - what  happened with him during this long, 
long day?  Hagrid turns up with Harry later that night -  at a 
pre-arranged time. Why? How? What on earth was going on? If we knew 
it'd give us some strong pointers to the whys and wherefores of the 
main plot IMO. Want to bet that this is part of the 15 chapters that 
JKR  excised because it gave the game away? No, didn't think you would.

OK -  we're up  to date; this is where we came in.

Some fans are  a bit sniffy about the role  of 'possession' in HP. 
Don't  see why; it's written into 4 of the 5 books - it's one of 
Voldy's chief tools, weapons, attributes, what have you. It adds a 
comforting sense of continuity to the story - and those of us who base 
theories on it do so because it can be used to provide a possible 
answer to some very important questions:

1. What *is* Voldemort, how did he get that way and what  could this 
mean for the future?

I've given my ideas about what  and  how -- he's a composite of
a Salazar mental entity incorporated (willingly) into Tom Riddle and it 
happened in the Chamber.

And what next? DD tries to split Tom from Sally - this is possible  
because Tom is no longer bound by the original contract - his body is 
no more, the terms are now invalid. He could now be persuaded to 
repudiate Salazar. His spirit, perhaps taking Sally with it, could pass 
through the Veil. That's where most spirits reside, don't you think?

SSSusan recently reminded us that JKR had said that the books were 
about death. It crops up  in the text a few times too:
"Death, the next great adventure."
"There are worse things than death, Tom"
The Death Chamber.

While striving for immortality Voldy is effectively dead many times 
over - and DD reckons it's time for him to go.

2.  What *is* Harry, how did  he get that way and what could this mean 
for  the future?

Harry too is a composite; he has some of the Voldy construct in his 
mind - but, and it's a very important but - he didn't accept it 
willingly; it was imposed. When he eventually comes to terms with the 
situation he'll have a choice -  accept or reject. Anybody think he'll 
accept? No; but it'd be an interesting finale if he did.
How this intrusion will be eliminated, or even if it *can* be 
eliminated, is up for grabs. We'll probably have a better idea after we 
read book 6.

I apologise for the length of this piece, it sort of grew on me. It was 
supposed to be a shortish overview of my take on possession, but I got  
caught up by the natural progression into the continuity of themes 
concept.

A few interesting links.
The first two are posts from Spring '03, a few weeks before I joined. 
Not that they would have made me stop and think even if I'd seen them; 
I was much too brash, too fascinated by the minutiae of HP to consider 
original  causes - and anyway the new book was due out soon.

The first is the origin of the 'Adopted!Harry' thread by ashandhp

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/57649

The second is an offshoot of that - jodel_from_aol and his 'Changeling' 
post

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/57993

The third, mentioned last week by Bex and  thrust  under my nose by 
Carolyn is jodel_from_aol's much expanded rewrite of 'Changeling' on 
redhen


http://www.redhen-publications.com/Changeling.html



All 3 are well worth reading

Kneasy


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