GH re-re-revisited

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 115289


Kneasy:
> I haven't yet seen an interpretation that I'd accept
> unreservedly or even with more than moderate enthusiasm (not even
> my own), all of 'em have drawbacks somewhere.
<snip> 
> I don't trust DD to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but 
> the truth. <snip>  He's done some very odd things for an 
> omniscient, world number one wizard.

dungrollin:
> > If DD's right *and* telling the truth, then all is as it seems.  
> > Voldy hears about the boy born at the end of July to those who 
> > thrice defied him, Lily unwittingly saves Harry by dying, 
> > Voldemort tries to AK Harry, curse rebounds and Voldy's gas. DD 
> > guesses why Harry survived, and uses Lily's sacrifice to protect 
> > Harry at the Dursley's, he also guesses at the time that there 
> > may be a connection between Harry and Voldy.
 
 
Kneasy:
> As to the connection - something was going on during the missing
> 24 hours. Harry could have been undergoing an investigation of some
> sort, but that'd be guesswork at the moment. 
 

dungrollin:
> > I think I was wondering if DD was wrong.  If he assumes along 
> > with everyone else that Voldy used an AK, but really it was the 
> > somethingorotherus spell.
> >  
> > My idea (which I may not have made entirely clear) was that it 
> > was Voldy's attempt to incorporate the `power that the Dark Lord 
> > knows not' into himself that made the somethingorotherus spell 
> > backfire, rather than Lily's sacrifice.  That there's something 
> > about Voldy that means not only that he doesn't have this power 
> > and despises it, but also that in trying to fill himself with it 
> > (without reading the label first), he nearly destroyed himself.

 
Kneasy:
> That's a possibility. I have a hankering for a failed possession 
> attempt.It wouldn't show on the wand replay and it gives some sort 
> of explanation for Voldy leaving bits of himself behind. But what 
> do I know?
> 
> But don't forget that the very first line of the Prophecy says that
> Harry has power - sufficient to knock off Voldy, even though at 
> that point it doesn't classify it as 'unknown by Voldy'. He'd still 
> be interested in having a peek, and accessing it if he could, I  
> think. What he wouldn't expect is for some snotty brat in Pampers 
> to bite back. There are times when I despair at the ineptitude of 
> villains, I really do. Why mess around when he could've fed Harry 
> to Nagini? Problem solved.


SSSusan:
Oh, all this is just **delicious**!  I love thinking about what 
might've happened at Godric's Hollow.  I think I'm *most* excited 
about Book 6 for the possibility that JKR is finally going to explain 
some of this--kind of how I sat up straighter & shivered in 
anticipation the moment I turned the page to "Snape's Worst Memory" 
in OotP.  It was THE moment I'd been most looking forward to getting 
to in Book 5.  Likewise, it will be nice to get some answers to GH, 
and I *so* hope they're coming in HBP.  

In the meantime, it's fun to collect all these thoughts on what might 
be.  Was there a witch or wizard in a portrait at Godric's Hollow who 
was able to rush off to Hogwarts before the house was blown up?  Was 
DD in on planning this whole thing, suspecting it was inevitable?  
Did Lily & James also plan it out or were they in the dark?  Was 
Voldy's spell an AK or something else?  If something else, was it a 
possession attempt?  What did he leave of himself in Harry?  Is 
something of Harry in him?  And what's up with DD anyway?  JKR says 
he's the "epitome of goodness", but there are so many *questions*....


dungrollin:
> > My misgiving about the idea is that so much is made of the 
> > sacrificial love aspect of the story.  Though, now I come to 
> > think about it again, has JKR ever said that was a theme of the 
> > books?  I recall others (particularly those defending HP against 
> > religious fundamentalists) making much of it, but all I remember 
> > JKR saying is that death and dealing with death was a big theme 
> > running through  the series.

 
Kneasy:
> Yup. Death is supposed to be a major theme; no mention of love being
> a complementary aspect so far as I know. Many assume so, same as
> many assume that it's a morality tale, despite the fact that what 
> she said was that it isn't, but hopefully it's a story from which 
> morals could be drawn -  which could be a very different thing; you 
> can draw morals from almost any story.


SSSusan:
Kneasy, your comments about morality tale vs. a story from which 
morals can be drawn *are* almost dead-on what JKR has said in an 
interview:

"I did not conceive it as a moral tale, the morality sprang naturally 
out of the story, a subtle but important difference. I think any book 
that sets out to teach or preach is likely to be hard going at times 
(though I can think of a couple of exceptions)." [WBC Chat, 2004]

And, dungrollin, you also are right in what JKR has said about death:

"Death is an extremely important theme throughout all seven books. I 
would say possibly the most important theme."  [A&E Biography]

I'm one of the ones who's talked about the possibility of sacrificial 
love as being the key to the end of the series, but I think you're 
correct that JKR herself has not indicated this.

Siriusly Snapey Susan, giddy with anticipation...and wondering how 
long it will be....