Harry's Betrayer: was: Harry's experiences

[Smythe, Boyd T {FLNA}]

No: HPFGUIDX 116218

Del wrote <much snippage>:
> Building on the recent threads of "this is Harry's story", I'm
> wondering about what new experiences Harry might have to go through.


boyd:

First, I'll show why I agree with Del, then I'll discuss who I think will
die, and who will betray. Then I'll grin evilly and go buy a candy bar to
reward myself.

Paraphrasing, Del suggested that there are four wrenching emotional
experiences that Harry might see in the future in order to continue his
difficult journey. 1) Grief over the death of someone close. 2) Guilt over
causing some catastrophe, such as another death. 3) Betrayal by someone
trusted. 4) Self-doubt.

JKR has already apologized for the fact that there will be more deaths.
Unless she means *only* Harry in book 7 (doubtful), then your #1 (a death)
is a forgone conclusion. And if Harry somehow has a hand in that, you'll
have #2 (guilt) and #4 (self-doubt), as well.

But every book has had a self-contained mystery/plot in it, so HBP probably
will. Poor Jo's going to need all the pages she can get for that and
advancing all of our other theories <g>, so she'll make #3 (betrayal) part
of the same event. How?

* DD will be the death (or lost in some other way). In the end, Harry has to
be alone (or perhaps joined only by Ron/Hermione) to face LV. That's usually
how these things play out, right? Plus, LV himself must realize that he
needs DD out of the way to win a real WW war. Hooray for mayhem! So how will
DD die?
* A friend's betrayal will lead Harry into an LV/DE trap. DD will save Harry
but be killed in the process. There's #2, #3 and (as a result) #4 for you.
Only Snape's (or for the extra-subversive, Peter's) heroics will prevent LV
from killing two birds with one stone. So Harry is saved, but responsible
for a death because he trusted the wrong person. Emotional pains 1-4
complete.

OK, now for the fun. Who is the betrayer? (laughs an evil laugh while
rubbing hands, um, evilly, too)

First, let's eliminate the least likely candidates:
-Sirius: He's dead, so he can't. Perhaps someone could impersonate him (via
the mirror?) and lure Harry to DD's doom, but it ain't the grim godfather.
-Peter: I doubt Harry would follow him anywhere unless there were trickery
involved, and that doesn't encompass betrayal, so ixnay on Wormtail.
-Ron/Hermy/Other Gryffindors: ESE? Them? Very doubtful. Even Kneasy wouldn't
be so subversive (I hope).
-Any Slytherin: Again, not a betrayal.
-McGonagall: I read her as being genuinely good, but feel free to drag her
through the mud if you like.
-Weasley Parents: Oh, please. Arthur nearly died protecting the prophecy,
and Molly is Molly.
-Other secondary characters: not very bangy.

So that leaves the following short list of betrayal candidates, likeliest
(IMO) first:
-Dursleys: Exquisitely bangy! Love that horrid family, and depositing Harry
in LV's hands would seem to them no worse than taking out the trash; fits
their worldview. And what an unexpected start (or end!) to the book it'd be.
But is it betrayal? Can LV find them? Does this negate some agreement with
DD and the WW that they have established, as some suggest? Dunno, but it'd
be fun in a nasty way. And would this mean that it was Petunia who learned
magic late, using it to summon the Dementors and now to contact LV? She
might see LV as a tool for separating the WW from the RW, after all!
-Ginny: OK, H/G shippers, here's your vessel--except that in this nightmare
Ginny remains under the influence of TR somehow and lures a love-struck
Harry into her master's trap. Ouch!
-Luna: H/L shippers beware, because this voyage never makes it to port!
(groan) Perhaps Luna has seen it written in the stars that Harry needs to
die, and she's just answering the call. Or maybe she really is crazy.
-Other love interest: whomever else Harry falls for, watch closely, because
boys his age are not great judges of female character.
-Lupin: Moony's no longer at Hogwarts, we presume, so he'd have to appear
out of nowhere in the story to whisk Harry away on some pretense. So not my
favorite pick. Plus, I'm not an ESE!Lupin fan.
-Dobby/Winky: Seem to love Harry, but how much do we really know about them?
Perhaps Dobby's still in the service of Lucius (now that'd by subversive!).
Or perhaps Winky goes begging to Lucius for a new home, and he makes the
delivery of Harry a condition of hire? Or perhaps the house-elves have an
agenda beyond our ken....
-Snape: Lots of folks think he's ESE--including Harry, so that's no
betrayal. And I think ESE!Snape is wrong. His moral color is clearly as grey
as his underpants, IMO. Plus, he's the one who'll whisk Harry away to
safety, finally demonstrating to Harry his true allegiance.
-Percy: I doubt it, but Harry trusts him despite his git-ness, right?
Perhaps he really is ESE? Bangy only because the other Wesleys would be
broken-hearted.
-Fudge: The truly evil politician--is that redundant? Hmmm. But would Harry
follow him into a trap? Would Fudge risk his job by personally doing
something so obviously evil? And how much of a betrayal is that?

So here's the likeliest scenario in my mind. Harry, fresh from a
particularly gut-wrenching scene in the WW, where the latest vexing mystery
has been solved (but not before something horrible nearly happened to Ron
and/or Hermione), arrives back at Platform 9 3/4 utterly alone and
exhausted. He gets in the car with Petunia and suddenly he realizes that
there are still 52 pages left in the book! He tries to get away, but Petunia
binds him with *her late sister's wand*, then tells him how she hates all
you wizard freaks, and wishes the WW would keep to itself and away from her
and her ickle Duddykins. And that's why she delivers Harry to a place full
of DEs...and LV himself. She leaves as LV preaches fanatically to his DEs
while they leisurely Crucio Harry, drink apple martinis, and discuss the
relative merits of autocracies vs. theocracies. DD arrives and walks into
the path of the Crucio, but as he writhes in pain still manages to say
something inspirational yet unfathomable, such as "Harry, you have your
mother's eyes" or "win one for the Gipper." And, of course, his eyes gleam.
Then Snape appears from nowhere, grabs Harry, and leaves with him just as LV
AKs DD. AFAIK, QED, IMHO. (Um, sorry, got carried away with the acronyms.)

There, now DD is apparently dead and Harry must trust Snape at last. And the
plot has finally moved forward that last step before the conclusion in book
7.

Any takers?

--boyd
wondering whether that scenario is a bold prediction or a poorly-constructed
fanfic