Harry's Defining Qualities (Was Re: Book 7 predictions)

[Eustace_Scrubb]

No: HPFGUIDX 98240

vmonte wrote : 
I do, however, believe that Harry's greatest gift is his ability 
to love and his compassion for others.  This gift is probably 
inherited from his mother, and although it has nothing to do with 
magic, it is more powerful than any magic.  

Del replies :
 Even after all that time, even after reading so many posts about it, 
 I still don't see it, I still don't see that Harry has any more love 
 or compassion than any average kid. Harry has a lot of qualities, 
 courage and perseverance for example, but he doesn't strike me as 
 either particularly loving or exceptionnally compassionate. Can 
 someone explain that to me yet again :-) ?
 
Now Eustace_Scrubb:

Well since I tend to agree with Del on this, I started thinking about
what special qualities Harry does have...I don't mean to suggest that
he has "more" of these qualities than anyone else in the world, just
that if you think of Harry Potter, these qualities stand out.  And
then I wondered, which of these qualities are most likely to make a
difference in the final conflict?

One thing that stands out about Harry is persistence--once he makes up
his mind he stubbornly sticks to his course...even when he turns out
to be wrong.  (While allowing LV to bait him with the thought of
Sirius in danger is the most obvious example, let's not forget that he
was dead-certain it was Snape who was after the Stone until he reached
the Mirror.)  This may be both a great strength and a great weakness.

Resourcefulness in desperate situations--he quickly figured out that
his only hope against Quirrel was to sear him with his suddenly-lethal
hands.  He similarly deduced that he could "kill" the memory of Tom
Riddle with the basilisk tooth that had dealt him a deadly wound.  He
conjured a full patronus under extreme pressure--the first time he'd
really got it right.  Weakened and stunned, he was able to make just
the right series of quick decisions in the graveyard to escape
Voldemort and the Death Eaters (and bring back Cedric's body too).  
And when they were cornered by the Death Eaters in the Prophecy Room,
Harry was able to get them all out alive, though not unscarred--partly
through his leadership on the spot, partly through his teaching of
the DA.

I think that this may be what makes Harry special--and it goes well
beyond the Slytherin instinct to save his own skin.  In PS/SS and GOF,
it is mainly his own skin he saves (hmmm, Quirrel was obviously _not_
a Slytherin, eh?).  But in COS he saves Ginny Weasley; in POA, his use
of the Patronus saves them all from the Dementors' kiss by the lake
and results in the escape of Sirius and Buckbeak.  And while he led
his friends into harm's way in OoP, he also helped get them out of it.

Harry uses whatever tools he finds available to fight for what he
believes is right and to survive to the next battle and so far he's
left none of his friends behind.  (He may blame himself for Sirius'
death, but wrongly in  my opinion...and besides, he didn't lead Sirius
to the MoM in the same way he led his five schoolmates.)

One suspects that the stakes--and therefore the desperation--are going
to get higher in each of the last two books.  And Harry now knows more
about his importance to the wizarding world as a whole--he may "want
out" more than once--he'll probably resist his destiny.  But when he's
in a seemingly hopeless situation, he'll come through.

Cheers, 

Eustace_Scrubb