Is Harry a Metamorphmagus?

[Vivamus]

No: HPFGUIDX 116654


> Vivamus:
> > Could it be that the year old child knew enough of how his father
> > looked that he was subconsciously making himself look like his 
> > father?  How about all the comments he gets from people who tell 
> > him he looks *extraordinarily* like James, but with his mother's 
> > eyes?  Maybe that's not just genetics.
> 
> Finwitch:
> Think little Harry saw a LOT of his father when they were hiding... 
> He kept trying to remember his parents (and got only the green light 
> until Hagrid told him the truth).
> 
> Of all those comments - Ollivander says the usual comment of Harry's 
> eyes, but NOT about his father's looks. He talks about their wands, 
> though. I think Ollivander's eyesight is very peculiar.

[snip]

> For some reason I think that trouble in a Muggle-sense gives them a 
> more keen magic-sense. (something I think goes to extremes with 
> Ollivander. I think he's blind to Muggle light, but he can sense 
> magic.). I also think that eyes, being the mirror of the soul, are 
> somewhat magical.

Vivamus: 

Interesting points.  I think you are spot on about the magical quality of
the eyes.  I also think we'll see something related and special about both
Ollivander's and Luna's eyes before we're done.   (I think Luna is a truly
wonderful character, btw, and has revealed depths that will make her
important, not only in the struggle against V, but in Harry's eventual
deliverance from the terrible burden of responsibility he bears.)

> > Vivamus:
> > McGonagall's reading of the map on a muggle street, but especially 
> > her asking DD how he knew it was her, don't quite fit the rest of 
> > the series.
> 
> Finwitch:
> Well, they WERE well away from Hogwarts (where recognising Professor 
> McGonagall in her cat form would not be that surprising.) Also, it IS 
> and evening and Dumbledore was quite aways from her... She was 
> recognised from *afar*, in a place where he'd not expect to see her.
> 
> Of course she asks, if not for any other reason, to know why Vernon 
> stared at her. How did she blow her cover. And it is that what 
> Dumbledore tells her as well with that. "I've never seen a cat sit so 
> stiffly".
> 
> And her response: "You'd be stiff, too..." obviously to keep her 
> dignity on *her* being unrecognisable.

Vivamus:

That *does* make sense, thanks very much.  "NEVER assume that cats or
writers do things by accident!" said the cat.

> > Vivamus:
> > If Harry had the full ability of Tonks, imagine what he could do 
> > with that in fighting V.  It's too much.

> Finwitch:
> Is it? I've read several series of fantasy where the heroes have, in 
> theory at least, the ability to turn into any animal at will. And 
> even so, they still need co-operation etc. to do what must be done.
> 
> And anyway, I'm not saying Harry wouldn't need to learn how to 
> control it. (And actually, as I'm imagining it now, it's not exactly 
> animagi either, but close enough).

Vivamus:

If it's impaired by a steep learning curve or lack of control, then it's
fine.  Without that, it is in danger of being a deus ex machina, which would
(I think, anyway) detract substantially from the existential struggle JKR
has been building up.  

To me, the principle appeal of the HP books is the struggle of moral courage
made by those who are outmatched.  JKR has done an incredible job of keeping
Harry *normal* as he continues to become " as not normal as a boy can be."
He is still believable, and a hero to whom we can relate.   So his struggle
is, vicariously, the reader's struggle, and we hope, along with DD, that
good will triumph through courage and persistence.

As much help as he has gotten to date, Harry has every right to feel angry
and desperate, even now, because he is still hopelessly outclassed by V.  He
wasn't being humble when he was yelling at his friends; he really has won by
luck (or grace) so far.  The final fight between DD and V demonstrated that
Harry is nowhere near powerful enough to fight V yet.  He still needs many
more tools or much more assistance and/or much more growth before he is
ready for that, and maybe being a metamorphmagus is one of those things.  

> Finwitch:
> You know... What if, in order to save someone, Harry throws himself 
> in front of AK, in the end battle. And it is because of that he 
> learns that he can turn into a phoenix (saves his life, because he 
> does that reborn out of ashes- thing).

Vivamus:

What a wonderful idea!  I will have to see if I can find that quote about
none of them becoming animagi.
 
> Finwitch:
> If that ends Book 6:
> Imagine Harry being sent to Dursleys, again, after being restored to 
> his human self by McGonagall or Dumbledore or Hermione. All 7th book, 
> he keeps changing shape every now and then, as he's not able to 
> control it. Yes, at Privet Drive, too. Imagine that.

Vivamus:

I suppose, once he knows it's possible, that all sorts of hysterical
possibilities arise.  

Harry is starving, and his aunt and uncle are deliberately being slow to let
him have any food at dinner.  Harry reaches for the bowl of potatoes, which
just happen to be on the far side of the table.  Without his meaning it to,
his arm extends to five feet long to pick up the bowl.

Furious, Vernon ties Harry's hands behind his back and ties him to his
chair, and dares him to eat his dinner now.   Gleefully, Vernon piles up
some of the best tidbits on Harry's plate, while Dudley whines in
frustration.  Desperate to reach his food, Harry suddenly discovers he can
-- a la Jar-Jar Binks.   

In the silence after he slurps them up, while the Dursleys are still frozen
in shock, he also slurps up the contents of Dudley's plate, which sends all
three Dursleys off screaming.

Finally full, Harry finds that he can slide out of the cords with no
problem. 


In another scene, Harry gets really mad at Dudley and his friends, and
starts towards them, without his wand, to actually fight Dudley.
Unbeknownst to Harry, while he is walking towards Dudley, he is growing
large fangs and a werewolf snout.  Amazing what a bunch of cowards they are,
he thinks, while wiping some drool from his (now normal) chin.  "When did I
start drooling?", he wonders.

The possibilities are endless.

Vivamus, whose cat Snickersqueak is stone deaf and partly blind, but has
luminous eyes that can still see my soul.