"Power the Dark Lord Knows Not" -- Attachment

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 137762

> > Jen: Why did Merope die? I asked this question already today in 
> > another post, but will give it another go here :-). 
 
> Ceridwen:
> I got the impression she was undernourished, and refused to lift a
> wand from the time TRsr. left her to the time she died.  She had
> to pawn a valuable locket and was swindled for it, in order to
> keep alive long enough to have her child.  She probably weakened 
> herself all through the pregnancy, resulting in her death at the
> end.  She wouldn't use magic, not to eat, to find suitable
> accomodations, or to get medical assistance of some form or
> another.

Jen: Thank you, Ceridwen, for a really thoughtful answer. Merope's 
death makes sense to me now, and as I re-read the passage in The 
Secret Riddle, I noticed a quote by Harry: "But she could do magic!" 
said Harry impatiently. "She could have got food and everything for 
herself by magic, couldn't she?" (p. 262, US) That comes right 
before the comments I was worried about on the nature of what magic 
can and can't do regarding death, and it fits with your thoughts. 

Ceridwen: 
> Maybe she didn't think she deserved it, either because she thought 
> her father was right in the end, she was just a nothing, a nearly-
> Squib; or because she felt so much guilt over ruining her own
> life, TRsr.'s life, and their child's life through her attempts at
> magic.  Maybe she was too proud to return to her abusive home,
> would rather die than seek out family help.  

Jen: All of the above, I would imagine. I was being a little 
sarcastic about Merope dying of heartbreak, but Slughorn mentions 
that Amortentia is probably the most 'dangerous and powerful potion 
in the room' because you 'can't underestimate the power of obsessive 
love.' I know Merope didn't take Amortentia herself, but her love 
for Riddle Sr. definitely fell in the category of obsessive. Losing 
him was the beginning of the end, and must have made her feel that 
magic wasn't worth the pain it caused her and everyone around her.

Merope is a very tragic figure in the story. Dumbledore touches on 
how unlike Lily she was, in regards to her courage, and how that 
affected the choices she made. But I definitely found myself 
wondering if that's the entire answer for Merope and baby Tom. How 
do you overcome getting *nothing* in your nature OR your nuture? 
Harry's life was very different from Tom's in that sense, regardless 
of the Durselys. Harry started with something, at least.

Jen:
> > But Dumbledore is the one who taught him about finding the ones 
> > we love inside ourselves when we truly need them. So far Harry 
> > has brought forth his mother's love when Quirrell couldn't touch 
> > him, and his father's love when he casts his Patronus that night 
> > on the lake. I hope to see Dumbledore's love express itself in 
> > some literal way in Book 7.

Ceridwen:
> Now you've got me wondering.  Could anything done to or for Harry 
> in particular, of a sacrificial nature, be added to his extra 
> store, as long as it was done with love for him?  Or, by someone
> loved by him?  <i>Will</i> Dumbledore's meaning for Harry be 
> embodied in some way in book 7, as Lily's sacrifice was throughout
> his life so far, and as James's was when he manifested as Harry's
> Patronus?  Who else's love and sacrifice will show up in greater
> or lesser power? <snip> What exactly is bubbling around in Harry's
> blood now, because of all of this, that will aid him in his quest?

Jen: I'm pretty sure only Lily's sacrifice gives Harry 
the 'lingering protection that flows in {his} veins' (OOTP). JKR 
made it clear in the post-HBP interviews it was Lily's choice to 
step aside which led to the unique situation of Harry surviving the 
AK and having the protection in his blood. 

That doesn't mean Harry can't find magical help from the people he's 
loved along the way! I'd like to think it would come from the adults 
in his life who have died before him, rather than his friends who 
will actually be with him in the end. Like the skin Quirrell can't 
touch from Lily, and the patronus from James, I hope we see 
something manifest itself that represents Sirius, as well as 
Dumbledore. Those are the adults Harry mentioned who have 'stood in 
front of him one by one' and it seems fitting none gave their lives 
in vain. Each one made a huge contribution to who Harry has become 
and what he has to do in the end.

I also wonder about Harry's remarkable skill for summoning help when 
he desperately needs it. Is that skill also rooted in Lily's 
sacrifice, even if it's not part of his blood protection? Maybe that 
one is pure Harry :).

Jen