Harry

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 116243


Responding to a very enjoyable essay by Kneasy, with Major Snippage 
applied, I'm afraid.


Kneasy:
For action is Harry's forte.
Whenever there's a new development, generally speaking Harry's first
response is to *do* something. Any advice to the contrary is unwelcome
and usually over-ridden or ignored.
Sadly, although action is what he's good at, fitting the right action
to the circumstances is a bit iffy. Not only does he leap into action,
he usually jumps to conclusions too. Wrong ones. It's a gift, a law of
nature, like toast always falling butter-side down. It all adds to the
entertainment immensely - but detracts from the suspense. You just
*know* he's got hold of the wrong end of the stick and somebody'll
suffer because of it. It's just a question of finding out who.

SSSusan:
Indeed, Harry's modus operandi is ACTION, and not always accompanied 
by much thought.  I find it notable that in PoA, after telling Ron & 
Hermione what he's learned Sirius Black is after him, Hermione warns 
Harry not to go looking for trouble.  How does Harry respond?  "I 
don't go looking for trouble.  Trouble usually finds _me_."  
Well.  Yes & no.  Some trouble "seeks him out," as it were.  Other 
times he goes after it, I'd say.


Kneasy:
And the stakes rise with each book.
Escalation, it's called. Those at risk, then those who die, get closer
to Harry as the series progresses.
Quirrell!Mort cops it in the neck in PS/SS. No big deal - he's a 
baddy.
Argh! Ginny's in trouble in CoS, but it's Tom that's crunched. Phew!
Just another baddy, thank heavens.
Oh no! Sadlymisunderstood!Sirius in PoA is due for a snogging session
with a Dementor! But it's OK, he escapes at the last minute.
GoF, Cedric - a sort of friend, not close, dies - leaving behind a 
girl
Harry quite fancies. It's not all bad news, then.
OoP - Sirius - someone *very* close - dies. *Gulp*

What, or rather who, is next?
Dear, oh dear. Can Ron, Hermione or DD be far behind?
Or will it be multiples next time?

SSSusan:
Definitely DD is a very strong possibility, in my book.  Perhaps an 
older Weasley brother.  Perhaps, as you suggest, multiples.  


Kneasy:
There's one aspect of Harry that would fit very well in our modern
society. Nothing is his fault. He accepts no responsibility for the
consequences of his own actions. Good intentions excuse everything.
<snip>
To a greater or lesser extent he's encouraged in this line of thinking
by DD. No matter what's just gone catastrophically wrong, no matter 
who has just departed precipitately to join the choir celestial, he 
tells Harry that it wasn't his fault. No word of censure passes DD's 
lips; he never even tells him to be careful next time.

SSSusan:
While I would agree that DD might've been wiser to do more warning 
with Harry, I don't agree that Harry accepts no responsibility.  
First off, is there really that much he'd need to accept 
responsibility for in SS/PS or CoS?  Seems to me the outcomes there 
DID justify any risks taken by Harry.  

In PoA, Harry *does* fret that he's let PP escape by not allowing 
Sirius & Lupin to kill him.  He blames himself that Sirius must 
continue to live on the run, since PP got away and can't be forced to 
show that the accepted story about Sirius' guilt is a lie.  Remember 
when Harry bemoaned the fact that he'd made no difference?  That he'd 
let Wormtail escape to run to his master?

In GoF, Harry *does* blame himself for Cedric's death.  Does he not 
also regret, again, that his saving Wormtail's life has led to 
Voldemort's resurrection?

In OotP it is true that Harry outwardly & initially blames Snape for 
Sirius's death, but isn't it clear that inwardly he blames himself?  
If not in the moment of DD's revelations, as the days go by and he 
*does* reflect on things, talk with NHN, etc.?


Kneasy:
Second-guessing Jo is a mugs game. We all do it of course, with
success rates varying between awful and abysmal.
About the only thing we can be fairly sure of is that Harry will
survive until near the end of book 7 at least. And weren't there hints
that in book 6, at long last, Harry will do some thinking? About time,
says I. At long last he might engage his brain long enough to ask all
the blindingly obvious questions that never occurred to him previously
- you remember, the ones you screamed at the book when he was
distracted from an important conversation by a piece of 
inconsequential
trivia. Yes, those.

SSSusan:
Yes, I screamed at the book, too.  Of course, the lack of questioning 
is often explained either with the "RW" explanation that Harry's been 
trained not to ask questions or by the authorial need to 
disguise/hide/befuddle or otherwise annoy us readers.


Kneasy:
I did suggest last year that he'd try to avoid his ordained fate; that
he'd try to abdicate from position of saviour to the WW. Opt out.
Refuse to play along with DD's plan.

SSSusan:
And I still think he will consider this... if only for a brief time

Siriusly Snapey Susan