Possession: Taking it Further

[annemehr]

No: HPFGUIDX 119783


I am posting this message as a reply to Dungrollin's post about
possession, because hers is a very comprehensive overview of what we
know so far:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/116301

I have been thinking about where the idea of possession might be leading.


* * * * *
`Only one power remained to me.  I could possess the bodies of others.'
[GoF ch. 33]
* * * * *

Possession seems to be Voldemort's ultimate weapon.  It's the power he
didn't lose when he became a vapor, and as Harry has experienced, it
is even more reliable than the Imperius Curse.  Harry escaped it once
only because Voldemort broached the idea of Harry's death, which
evoked in Harry the emotion that cast him out.  I don't think we can
rely on this to keep Harry safe from another attempt.  Voldemort need
only use him in ways that avoid mortal peril.  If he strikes quickly
enough, he ought at least to be able to do quite a bit of damage
before provoking such emotion again.  I also doubt that Occlumency
would be an effective defense, should Harry manage to learn it. 
Possession, after all, is no mere search of thought and memory, but an
invasion of the victim's will and of his being.


* * * * *
`You flatter me,' said Dumbledore calmly.  `Voldemort had powers I
will never have.'
`Only because you're too – well - *noble* to use them.'
[PS/SS ch. 1]
* * * * *

So how is Harry to defend himself?  How would Harry practice?  Can
there be some technique to repel possession, which perhaps Dumbledore
can teach him?  That Dumbledore might know such a technique seems
likely enough, because it is hard to imagine that Voldemort has the
power to possess Dumbledore.  If Voldemort could do so he probably
wouldn't fear Dumbledore nearly as much as he does.  Furthermore,
perhaps the power of possession itself is one of those that Dumbledore
has, but is too noble to use.  This suggests scenes of Harry receiving
anti-possession lessons with Dumbledore over the summer, evoking
parallels, perhaps, to the way Occlumency lessons ought to have gone.

There is another possibility.  Harry himself might learn the art of
possession.


* * * * *
`But I don't!' said Harry, in a strangled voice.  `I haven't any
powers he hasn't got, I couldn't fight the way he did tonight, I can't
possess people or – or kill them –`
[OoP ch. 37]
* * * * *

The problem here, of course, is the idea of Harry learning to do such
a thing.  If the Imperius Curse is Unforgivable, surely so is
possessing another.  If Dumbledore may be too noble to use the power,
how noble would it be to teach Harry to do it?

Of course, we need to sort out our priorities.  Many of us have no
qualms at all about Harry killing Voldemort, while others of us,
seeing killing in defense of the innocent as moral, would rather Harry
not be forced to do it.  Some are sure he will use an Unforgivable
again; others can't imagine him practicing them.  Yet, war is war, and
as we recall, Alastor Moody never killed *if he could help it,* as
Sirius tells us in GoF [ch.27].  At this point, we can only guess what
JKR's intentions may be with regard to how proactive Harry might be in
this war.

But perhaps there's a simpler way.


* * * * *
`You can speak Parseltongue, Harry,' said Dumbledore calmly, `because
Lord Voldemort [...] can speak Parseltongue.  Unless I'm much
mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he
gave you that scar.'
[CoS ch. 18]
* * * * *

I think it's very likely that Harry already has the power of
possession, that he's had it since the attack at Godric's Hollow.  I
believe JKR was hinting in the quote above that Parseltongue was not
the only power Harry received from Voldemort that night, and yet we
have never had any clear indication of what others there might be. 
Harry will probably access this power in very special circumstances,
though I can't guess whether Dumbledore will suggest it to him or
Harry will spontaneously find it within himself.

One possible route to Harry realising this power might be that
Voldemort makes another attempt to possess Harry.  With Voldemort
being more careful about how far he pushes Harry, Harry is left
struggling and may manage to turn the tables and assert control.  I
can see it as a battle of wills similar to the Priori Incantatem scene
in the graveyard where Harry succeeded by strength of will in pushing
the light beads back into Voldemort's wand.

I can visualise it happening by another path, though, by looking at
some scenes in OoP.


* * * * *
His body felt smooth, powerful and flexible.  He was gliding between
shining metal bars, across dark, cold stone ...
[OoP ch. 21]

`...I was there, I saw it ... I *did* it ...'
[OoP ch. 21]

`I was the snake,' he said.
[OoP ch. 22]

Left alone in the dark room, Harry turned towards the wall.  A
cracked, age-spotted mirror hung on the wall in the shadows. Harry
moved towards it.  His reflection grew larger and clearer in the
darkness ... a face whiter than a skull ... red eyes with slits for
pupils ...
[OoP ch. 26]
* * * * *

It seems to me that Harry was on the threshold of actually possessing
Voldemort in these visions.  He was *there,* and the only thing
lacking was that he had not asserted his will over the body.  Suppose
in the future that Harry has another such vision.  It seems inevitable
that he will; the scar connection has been steadily growing.  This
time, something is a little different: either Harry's been instructed
by Dumbledore, or the connection is just a little stronger, or Harry
reacts in horror and with more strength of will than he had before to
something terrible that Voldemort is about to do. This time Harry
succeeds in forcing his own will upon Voldemort and changing his actions.


* * * * *
As Hagrid had said, what would come, would come ... and he would have
to meet it when it did.
[GoF ch. 37]
* * * * *

What would this mean in the struggle between Harry and Voldemort? 
What might JKR's plans be?  The answer might depend on when the event
occurs.  If it is to be before the final showdown, it ought to be a
critical contribution to the defense:  stopping a significant death,
shaking the DEs' confidence and perhaps turning some, exposing or
thwarting a plan, or even weakening Voldemort by exposing him to
Harry's higher feelings.  It also may lead to a standoff between the
two, leaving Harry himself immune from being possessed (though he'd
remain vulnerable to Voldemort's possession of others).

On the other hand, perhaps Harry at first merely learns to repel
Voldemort's attempts at possession by resisting with his own will, and
yet never actually possesses Voldemort himself until the final
confrontation.  In that case, how might the scene play out?

Immediately, the arch in the Death Chamber comes to mind:  perhaps
this is the way Harry will force Voldemort through it, as many believe
he might do.  We can speculate about what then would happen to Harry –
would he withdraw at the last minute and live, or go through with
Voldemort and then wake up in his own body, or go through with him and
die?

Another possibility for a final confrontation is that Harry repeats
what he did in OoP by flooding Voldemort with emotions, only this
time, as the one possessed Voldemort is unable to escape.  Harry's
weapons now are the ability to possess Voldemort and the power behind
the locked door, and he vanquishes the Dark Lord.  I must remain vague
as to how this is resolved as I'm not sure what the final effects
would be, or how exactly this would fit in with the prophecy.

Though I don't think we can yet know where the story will take it, the
idea of Harry possessing Voldemort seems almost irresistible.  It
involves one of Voldemort's primary powers, the fact that he passed
powers on to Harry, their connection via the scar, and their
escalating battle of wills.  Unfortunately for Harry, he probably
won't like it much and in fact, as the pain of the scar seems to be
all on his side, so might the pain of possession.  In a final
showdown, it might even be lethal to him as he concentrates all his
strength into vanquishing Voldemort.  In the event that possession of
Voldemort is not the final confrontation after all, it may be
significant enough to precipitate it.  We can only wait and see.

Annemehr


Dungrollin, in all that I've left of her post:
> (Sighs)...  This has taken me much longer than I expected. (Though, 
> admittedly, much of that was spent trying to decide whether to use a 
> question mark or exclamation mark in the subject heading).

Yeah, something like that.