Will Harry lose his powers was Re: What's in the locked room?

[Ali]

No: HPFGUIDX 89154


Pippin wrote:-

> >  I speculate that Harry will have to pass through The Veil in 
 order to defeat Voldemort, and that because he did this willingly, 
he will be allowed a choice: either to "go on" as Nick put it, or to 
return at a price. I think he will return, emerging from the 
> locked door, at the cost of his powers.>>>

 
KTG replied:-

<<<If he lost his powers, he would no longer really fit in and he'd 
be "squib-like".  Granted, he'd be the ultimate hero, having given 
up what he valued for the sake of all wizard-kind and the magical 
world in general.

<snip>
 
> Honestly, I think I'd rather see Harry die than lose his powers.  
I can't believe I'm writing those words.  I dread that fact that I 
> deep down think that Harry will die.  But that would be better  
than Harry living without his powers.   How could Harry live without 
his Firebolt?>>>

Ali:-

Like Pippin, I imagine Harry losing his powers to save the WW, and 
like KTG, I totally dread the possibility.

Harry can live without his Firebolt, it's only a material 
possession. He's had to live without it for much of OoP. But, he has 
never had a *life* without his wizarding powers. Prior to going to 
Hogwarts he lived, but didn't really have a life.

The WW gives Harry friends, fun, adventure, sport, success and a 
raison d'etre. To give up his wizarding powers would be giving up 
everything which at this point Harry values about himself, how he 
defines himself, a real self-sacrifice.

And yet, Harry doesn't really fit into the WW. He spents a large 
part of his time being rejected by it, and remains an object of 
curiosity to most people. Perhaps he could learn to live without his 
powers. Perhaps he could live in the Muggle World and fit in. In PoA 
Harry doubts whether his friends would abandon him even if he was 
cast out as a criminal. I doubt whether his friends would abandon 
him even if he lost his powers. Perhaps, Harry will decide that his 
magical gifts are not really so important as the friendships and 
values which he holds dear.

In terms of Harry going beyond the Veil. I also think he will do. 
But, I see it more as a voyage of discovery. Perhaps to understand 
more about the dead, perhaps to seek advise from those he has loved 
and those he wanted to know and love. Perhaps to understand how to 
destroy Voldemort. I think he might return from beyond the Veil 
knowing what the risks are. But, at this stage, I'm not sure if 
Harry would chose to come back to the WW without his powers rather 
than the Afterlife surrounded by his family and Sirius. I can see 
him making that choice to save people he loves, but not (right now) 
for himself alone.

Another possible fate which awaits Harry is the Kiss. The Kiss is 
presented as something which is worse than death. By taking the soul 
away, and leaving someone with no sense of self, it would appear 
that the victim is denied an afterlife. JKR does not spell this out. 
But if the victim continues to exist, but can then die and enjoy the 
afterlife, the Kiss wouldn't seem to be such a terrible trauma. 
Although it would be horrible for those around them, the victims 
wouldn't realise their state, and wouldn't be able to feel 
suffering. Then they would die.

I think JKR must be in a bit of a dilemna. So far, she has used 
secular Christianity to show the closeness of British Wizards to 
British Muggles, but aside from that, religion is not really 
discussed in the Potterverse. But, if Harry does go beyond the Veil, 
and does then experience the Afterlife for us, JKR risks changing 
this. There are religious themes there. The Kiss is the loss of 
one's soul. Dumbledore talks of Death as the "Next Great Adventure". 
But a trip to the Afterlife (which is what I'm assuming lies beyond 
the Veil) will clarify JKR's vision even further. I will be 
interested to see how she does this.

Ali