The scar connection: is JKR cheating?

[annemehr]

No: HPFGUIDX 91600

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "nkafkafi" <nkafkafi at y...> wrote:
> The interesting "second Voldemort war" thread from a few days ago 
> made me do some research into the mind connection between Harry and 
> LV, and I discovered a strange inconsistency in its description. 
> 
> In OotP both Snape and DD tell us that the scar marks a connection 
> between the minds of Harry and LV. A logical implication of this 
> connection is that, when Harry receives perceptions from LV's mind, 
> he should see them from LV's point of view. And indeed, this is how 
> Harry's "visions" are described.
<snip>
> 
> If, however, you go back to GoF with this new knowledge about the 
> mind connection, you'll find that Harry's visions from LV's mind are 
> *not* through LV's eyes. There are two such visions in GoF:
> 
> The dream in the beginning of GoF: this is the first time Harry 
> receives more than just pain through the scar connection. It seems 
> that Harry's point of view is located behind LV's chair.
<snip>
> 
> The dream during the divination lesson: Harry dreams that he is 
> riding to LV's hideout on the back of an eagle owl.
<snip>
> 
> This inconsistency between GoF and OotP bothers me because it seems 
> like JKR was cheating us in GoF, so we would not realise too early 
> about the scar connection.
<snip>
> 
> Neri

Annemehr:
Because that dream in the beginning of GoF ended with Harry having
strong pains in his scar, I had always connected the scar with the
dream visions.  The same thing happened after the dream during
Divination class.

I think what JKR is writing here is a progression: the scar connection
has been increasing in strength and effect.  As you say, in the early
books all Harry ever perceives is pain from it.

In GoF the visions begin.  They are from a point of view external to
Voldemort.  Harry is seeing events, hearing conversations as an
outside observer.  Perhaps this is one reason Voldemort remains
unaware of it so far.

In OoP we see the connection strengthening by leaps and bounds.  When
Harry feels a sharp pain in his scar (more than just the prickling),
he begins to find he can connect an emotion that Voldemort is feeling
to the event.  For the first time, Harry is getting *inside*
Voldemort's head.  At the end of a week's detention, when Umbridge
touched Harry's hand and Harry felt the pain in his scar he also felt
a jolt of emotion in his stomach which he was later able to identify
as happiness on Voldemort's part.  At the end of a Quidditch practice
he felt another pain and was able to tell Ron that Voldemort was angry
that something wasn't happening fast enough.

In the same way, the visions Harry has in the fifth book have moved to
*inside* Voldemort's head.  Harry so identifies with this point of
view that it confuses him: "I *was* the snake!"  Later he saw long
white fingers at the end of his arm and the snaky face of Voldemort
when he looked at his reflection in a mirror -- that was the vision
where Rookwood told him exactly who could take the prophecy down off
the shelf.  Eventually we realise that all those dreams of corridors
and locked doors which began at Privet Drive were reflections of
Voldemort's desire.

Additionally, the first time Harry is "inside Voldemort's head" and
has an extremely strong emotional reaction to it, during the attack on
Mr. Weasley, some of Harry's emotion is perceived by Voldemort and he
realises the connection exists (perhaps even before that Voldemort has
felt something but had never identified it?).  Soon Voldemort begins
to use his new knowledge to send Harry the location of the orb in
preparation to luring him into the DoM.

I for one am very curious to see what develops next.

Annemehr