Wizard's Death Rituals

[kmcbears1]

No: HPFGUIDX 113435

> > > > Angie wrote:
> > >
> > > Harry only found out the truth of his parents' deaths at age 
11.  
> He
> > > couldn't really acknowldge the anniversary (or really, even the 
> fact
> > > of) of their deaths while at the Dursleys. It just seems to me 
> like
> > > he would, at some point, think about them on that day.
> > 
> Feklar wrote:
> > This is exactly the reason I think he doesn't think much about 
his 
> parents
> > or their deaths.  He may not have even know for sure when they 
> died.  Why
> > would he suddenly start thinking about something on a particular 
> day when he
> > never did before?
> > 
> Angie replies:
> I guess I'm thinking about how I would react.  If I didn't know the 
> truth about my parent's deaths for 10 years and then I found out, I 
> just don't see how I would not acknowledge it after that, at some 
> point (not saying each and every Halloween) on the day that they 
died.

kmc adds:
Harry is reacting very normally for a person who lost their parents 
as a baby or small child.  I don't have my books here at work but I 
just recently re-read them.  I only remember Harry being told once 
that his parents died on Halloween in either PS/SS or CoS.  

He thinks about his parents often.  He mourns the loss of parents and 
understands what he has lost.

Since JKR has mentioned that a graveyard will be important in Book 6 
and/or 7, Harry may still make the connection between Halloween and 
his parent's death.

If Harry had been raised by anyone else, he may have been taken to 
his parent's grave on Halloween and so learned to associate this day 
with his parents death.  This did not happen. 

See post 113352 for other reasons why I feel Harry doesn't think 
about Halloween as his parent's deathday.  IMO if you were to ask 
Harry who's deathday was on Halloween, his answer would be Nearly 
Headless Nick and not his parents.
 
-kmc