Harry's Depression in OoP

[lisdeleo]

No: HPFGUIDX 110840

> Alla wrote :
> He surely did blame himself: 
> "It wasn't your fault, Harry," Mrs.Weasley wispered.
> "I told him to take cup with me," said Harry. - GoF, paperback, p.714

> Del replies :
> Yes he blames himself, but only in the immediate aftermath of the
> events. I don't remember him blaming himself for Cedric's death weeks
> or months after it happened. Harry blames himself right after it
> happened, but IMO that's not at all a sign of depression, that's not
> at all excessive guilt. It's just the normal kind of guilt that many
> innocent people feel when something bad happens and they wonder if
> they could have prevented it. If everything goes right, they sooner or
> later come to realise that what happened was not at all their fault
> and that they needn't dwell on what they could have done differently.
> Even though we are not expressly told that Harry came to that
> conclusion, it seems to me that he did.


Now Lisl:
IMO, Harry *would have* continued feeling guilty about Cedric if he hadn't 
been so distracted by everyone not believing him about Cedric's death in the 
first place. Look - before he returns to Hogwarts in OotP, Cedric's death is 
haunting his dreams, and he has to refuse to allow himself to think about it 
("Don't think about that, Harry told himself sternly for the hundredth time that summer." first american edition, p.8) However, once he arrives at 
Hogwarts and is faced with the disbelief of half the student body, his guilt 
is simply overpowered by his anger and frustration. I predict that in HBP, 
now that the WW knows Harry was telling the truth, Harry may have to deal 
with the guilt over Cedric's death arising again, as he doesn't have anger to distract him....and guilt over Sirius' death won't help either. I'd be surprised if we don't see some major guilt - the worst pitfall of his "saving people thing" is that when he doesn't, he takes it *hard*.