Harry's special power, which leads to Dumbledore as the Half Blood Prince

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 104304

Hans wrote:
 >Harry does have a 
> special power and it's not the power which he accidentally 
received from 
> Voldemort. I just can't understand how people can think that if 
Voldemort
> had chosen Neville instead of Harry, the series would be 
called "Neville 
> L...and...". In none of the great liberating things Harry has done 
has he
> made use of magic powers derived from Voldemort! 

Jen: Thanks for reading my post Hans--you've given me much to think 
about. I agree that Harry was meant to be the One and only one the 
Prophecy ever referred to. 

Some believe since it is a common theme in myth for the antagonist 
to use his ego to bring about his own ruin, that Voldemort 
attempting to kill baby Harry was the proverbial self-fulfilling 
Prophecy. This idea suggests that at the point Voldemort attempts to 
kill Harry, and marks him as his equal, that is the point at which 
Harry becomes the One in the Prophecy and not before.
That theory is valid, but I guess emotionally it doesn't ring true 
for me, and what I expect from the series. 

<snipping here of many examples where Harry shows compassion and 
unselfishness with others, because all I can say is I agree, Hans!>

Hans:
> And what I love about Harry is his (true) modesty. In my mind true 
> modesty is not knowing, or not acknowledging, that you've done 
anything 
> special. I'm not talking about modesty where you know what you've 
done is
> great, but you don't rub it in everyone's face. Modesty in my mind 
is not
> worrying about whether you're doing great things. You just do what 
your
> heart tells you - as Harry does.

Jen: I probably bring this up too often, but I love the fact that 
JKR uses the Phoenix song in GOF to show us Harry's true nature. No 
matter what he's going through on the *surface*, the human/ego side 
of his life, underneath he is alwyas 'pure of heart'. The Phoenix 
song does not materialize out of thin air for just anyone, only the 
pure of heart. That whole scene was beautifully written.

Hans:
> I do take issue with one point Jen makes: >>Many times in 
interviews, 
> JKR or others talk about how Harry is every-boy, and that is why 
he's so 
> appealing. He's smart but not brilliant, makes many mistakes, and 
seems
> special only in his ability to fly and aptitude for DADA. ***In 
spite of
> this,*** I tend toward the first explanation, that Harry was 
indeed born
> with an innate power to vanquish the Dark Lord, whether he chooses 
to
> manifest it or not.<<
> 
> "IN SPITE OF THIS"? But Jen, the whole point of the books is that 
> everyone, yes EVERYONE has the "innate power to vanquish the dark 
lord".
> Harry is our example, our inspiration, the one we need to follow. 
All of us
> have Voldemort within us. And all of us have the power to vanquish 
him. 

Jen: I don't understand your point here, even though I read your 
article in the files section. If you believe Harry was born special, 
and was the one and only one who could defeat Voldemort from birth, 
then why do you say here anyone could defeat Voldemort?

Unless you mean this symbolically, that Harry was born with special 
power to defeat Voldemort (evil), and symbolically all of us are 
born to defeat evil in our own unique way? That Harry's unique way 
happens to be a really big deal and most of us will defeat evil in 
smaller ways across a lifetime? This was a little confusing to me.

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts Hans. It's always a pleasure to 
read your posts!