LOVE saves the day in the end + other love threads

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 137305

Cindy said:
> I've thought about it a lot, and while I don't feel Harry is a 
> Christ archetype, there are similarities.  Looking through the lens 
> of the Bible, the greatest love of all is not love for those who 
> love you, not even the love a mother has for a child which is 
> unconditional and powerful. It is love for your enemies.  Now 
> that's just not the absence of revenge towards them, that is deep, 
> positive regard and wanting the best for your enemies.  


SSSusan:
And consider this... perhaps... as potential support for your view:  
How did Harry respond to a couple of his/DD's pensieve adventures?  

First, there was the point where, after learning Merope had died in 
childbirth, Harry asked, "She wouldn't even stay alive for her son?" 
and DD in turn asked Harry, "Could you possibly be feeling sorry for 
Lord Voldemort?"  

Now, I do *not* think DD was scoffing at Harry nor criticizing him; 
rather, I think he was dead on about what Harry was feeling and 
actually appreciative of that gut reaction.  Granted, Harry's 
response to the question was "No," but was that the truth??  Or was 
DD correct, that Harry had been "caught" feeling sympathy -- or even 
empathy -- for a baby who lost his mother?  EVEN a baby whom Harry 
KNEW to be Tom Riddle/Voldemort, a baby who grew up to be his own 
parents' murderer and his own sworn enemy?  An interesting 
possibility, in my book.

The other scene came earlier, when DD & Harry had, via pensieve, 
visited the Gaunts in their home, and Harry had witnessed Marvolo's 
abusive behavior towards Merope.  When they returned from the memory, 
IIRC, Harry's very first question to DD was, "What happened to her?"  
Again, he *knows* who this woman is – he knows she's the mother of 
Lord Voldemort – and yet his first instinct was to ask what happened 
to her, and in a way which I know *I* took as a concerned-for-her-
welfare kind of way.

Is this just curiosity?  Perhaps.  But Harry seems to be able to set 
aside the kind of spiteful/vengeful/hate-filled responses one might 
*expect* from him when viewing memories of Tom Riddle & his family, 
and shows, instead, an inkling of compassion and concern.

I'm not saying this is something *consistent* we see in Harry.  
Heaven knows that when it comes to Draco/Crabbe/Goyle/Slytherins and 
to Snape, he's certainly quite ready to jump to quick conclusions 
about their natures/actions/motives and to be pleased as punch should 
anything nasty or negative befall them.

And yet... when it comes to Tom Riddle, the man he should MOST 
despise and hate and want revenge upon, we see these little glimmers 
of what might be... sympathy? empathy? compassion?   I find that 
interesting and compelling.  Love for his enemy?  I'm not sure.  But 
he certainly seems able to be moved by what he *sees* and *hears* 
about TR's early life.  (He was also moved by *seeing* how his dad 
had treated teenaged Snape.)  Perhaps with TR it's the similarity to 
his own early life, but whatever it is, the fact that he could notice 
it and even be somewhat moved by it -- that he didn't laugh "HAHA!  
Look what happened to that evil family, they got exactly what they 
deserved!"-- given that it's Tom Riddle, seems potentially 
significant to me.

If this seems really a stretch, consider this.  How did Lord 
Voldemort react when faced with James, Lily & Harry at Godric's 
Hollow?  Apparently, according to Voldy himself, he had no difficulty 
at all in AKing them all.  (There was that enigmatic "Stand aside" 
and "She didn't have to die," but we're not sure what was behind 
that.)  There certainly didn't seem to be any self-reflection or 
pausing to compare the similarities in his own life to what he was 
doing to Harry. :-)

Yet when Harry discovers the details about TR's family and how he was 
orphaned, he shows interest... a willingness to compare & contrast 
their situations, maybe... and possibly even a little compassion.  

Potentially very telling, that.

JKR has said:
"But Harry is also innately honorable. He's not a cruel boy." 
[Booklinks, July 1999]

"Harry, Ron and Hermione are innately good people.  [Washington Post, 
Oct. 1999]

Is there "Something About Harry"?  Is that Something compassion or an 
ability to empathize, even with his enemy?

Siriusly Snapey Susan