Harry’s Potential versus Ability (long)

[johnbowman19]

No: HPFGUIDX 109669

Okay I am not sure what you all think about Harry, but the big draw 
for me to Harry is the fact that he was not perfect. He was not meant 
to be the savior, He was not like neo (the one) in the matrix, and He 
was not meant to stand alone versus the force of evil. Harry was 
supposed to be just like anyone else. He is just okay in studies, He 
is just okay in looks, and He is just okay in power. What He did have 
is courage and most important of all is He had friends and family. 
The first time He faced Voldemort his Mom helped him survive. It was 
nothing to do with Harry, it was Lily who saved Harry (and the fact 
that Voldemort chose Harry). The second time Harry Faced Voldemort, 
He would have never even had the chance to face him, if not for his 
friends (Ron's chess match, and Hermione's puzzle solution). The only 
reason Harry makes it to the chamber prepared for what is in it, is 
because of Hermione's smarts. If he doesn't know a Basalik is 
present, he would look into the creature's eyes and die immediately. 
The forth time Harry reaches Voldemort is because He receives help 
along the way. Moody helps with the First and second tasks, while R 
and H help him learn for the third. If He had not scored so high on 
the first two tasks, Moody might have had a harder time ensuring that 
Harry reached the cup before the other three contenders. True, He did 
face Voldemort alone, but he was not saved because of His own innate 
power, but because He owns the brother to Voldemort's wand (which He 
would probably never have unless Voldemort marked him as an equal). 
The fifth encounter with Voldemort is only possible because Harry was 
helped by his friends in defending against the death eaters. Also the 
prophecy helped protect him from being killed out right because no 
damage should have come to it. All of this made me think Harry was 
just a courageous and lucky guy. That is until the chapter 
called "The Lost Prophecy" was read.
	Now I must believe Harry is one of the most powerful wizards 
in the world. He is marked as equal to Voldemort (whom DD says knows 
magic better than anyone else in the world).  So if He is equal to 
Voldemort, and the only one Voldemort ever feared is DD, and DD and 
Mc Gonacall says that Voldemort is more powerful the DD, then Harry 
must be more powerful then DD. This is what I do not get. Madam 
Marchbanks said that DD did things with a wand that she had never 
seen before when She examined him for N.E.W.T.'s. So the question 
becomes, Will Harry be able to do things we have never seen before 
like DD? No. The reason is because Harry does not know magic as well 
as DD and Voldemort do. He may have innate power comparable to them, 
but He is not equal to them in a duel (as He states in the MOM). So 
now we are forced to consider will Harry ever be equal to DD or 
Voldemort in a duel? 
	This is the question of potential. Will Harry ever fulfill 
His potential? Or will His potential be squandered like so many of 
ours? I certainly do not work to my full potential, and I think that 
most of you out there, do not either. So now it is a question if 
Harry will work to his full potential by the age of 17? Think of it 
this way. Most of us are in school at 17, and if at 17 you are forced 
to square off against an expert in your chosen carrer field, do you 
think you will be able to beat that expert? I know I wouldn't be able 
to. This is where I think Harry's friends will come in. Harry will 
not be Voldemort's equal at 17, but He will have friends (and 
possibly family) that will help Him to defeat Voldemort. But here is 
where I ask you all what you think. Do you think that Harry could 
beat Voldemort at the age of 17 in a duel? Or is He dependent on his 
friends for help? Is Harry meant to be the savior of the WW, or 
merely the leader? 

John