That Night at *Godric's* Hollow...and more

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 138360

Sandy:
> Fawkes's appearance in Chamber was due to Harry's loyalty to
> Dumbledore. How? Does any student who expresses intense loyalty to
> Dumbledore get a visit from Fawkes? Does Fawkes bring the Hat every
> time this happens? Does each visit involve a magical artifact
> appearing out the the Hat? Or were Harry's loyalty, courage and
> need the prerequisites? What sort of magics were in place that
> could result in the unexpected advantages Harry benefitted from in
> the Chamber?

Jen: My guess is Dumbledore requested Fawkes to watch over Harry 
while he was gone from the castle. The fact that the phoenix song 
was in the graveyard made me wonder if Fawkes can become invisible 
just as DD can. You make an interesting point about the sorting hat 
being involved, and also the possibility that a Gryffindor student 
might be able to receive help from the castle itself, from Godric's 
long ago placed magic. Especially if they are spending time in 
Slytherin's chamber! Makes sense Godric Gryffindor attempted to 
counteract Slytherin's dark magic with his own magic after Slytherin 
departed.

Sandy:
> Why were the Potters hiding out in Godric's Hollow? What is the
> source (are the sources) of Hogwarts' long-extant protective
> magics? Part of Harry's help in the Chamber is a result of magics
> obviously connected with Dumbledore: at least Fawkes's appearance
> must be read this way. But it seems the help is from sources even
> greater than Dumbledore. I believe that Godric also left protective
> magics behind, quiescent in the place he gave his name to as well
> as the school he helped found. I think Lily called on those magics,
> probably unconsciously, the night she died, that her courage and 
> her need triggered enchantments still in place since the time of
> the founders. Maybe her love and sacrifice would have been enough
>  to save Harry that night. Maybe not. But the strength of the 
> protection that came away from the wreckage of that house with
>  Harry was pure Griffindor.

Jen: Once we found out for sure there's no Gryffindor heir storyline 
(JKR in TLC/MN interview), I did start to wonder how James and Lily 
came to be living at Godric's Hollow. So you think that was actually 
a DD suggestion, that they move there for their own safety as well 
as the possibilty of accessing some GG magical protections? In that 
same interview, JKR did make it sound like Lily choosing to die was 
the only factor involved in triggering the protection. But she's 
also not going to bring up clues which aren't asked, I don't think!

Sandy:
> I also believe that I know why Harry ended up with something of
> Voldemort inside him. While I do not believe that Harry is a 
> horcrux per se, I believe that the magical violence that night was
> sufficient to send a piece of Voldemort's fractured and tattered
> soul flying into Harry's forehead. It will be another irony, that
> Voldemort's ultimate downfall will actually be partly the result
> of his work in creating the horcruxes. A man with a whole,
> unfractured soul could not have lost a piece of it to have it come
> back and be instrumental in his defeat later. (It has happened at
> least once already, with Harry's ability to speak Parselmouth 
> leading to Diary Revenant Tom Riddle's defeat in CoS.)

Jen: That's a new thought, Harry is not actually a Horcrux, but does 
carry a piece of LV's soul in his scar. The part I'm having the most 
difficult time believing about an accidental or intentional Horcrux 
(or I guess a soul-piece as well) is that Lily's sacrifice 
protection should have blocked that happening. Someone on another 
list pointed out to me that if powers could be transferred after the 
sacrifice, a soul piece could as well. I can see this one going 
either way. JKR has set up a scenario 'never before see in the WW' 
and can therefore have anything happen and it will follow canon.

But the idea that Voldemort created his own dowfall by fracturing 
his soul seems like vintage JKR! He's the master of defeating 
himself, and I think a case can be made that each time he attempts 
to defeat Harry, he is instead strengthening Harry's protections 
against him (not to mention weakening himself with Harry's blood).

Sandy:
> The protection that has kept him safe all these years has a
> linchpin placed there by his mother's love. His own love for others
> strengthens and reinforces it; his hatred and desire for vengeance
> weakens it. In the final confrontation, only his courage and 
> ability to love will frustrate the "ambition" of that part of
> Voldemort he carries to turn him into a tool of the man it sprang
> from.

Jen: Harry continues to believe (esp.under stress) that magical 
power must be needed to defeat Voldemort even though Dumbledore 
keeps insisting his power is love. In HBP, Harry seems to be having 
a difficult time letting go of the idea that dark magic will lead 
him somewhere good or powerful. Snape reminds him of that particular 
pitfall as he races out of Hogwarts, but of course Harry won't 
listen to Snape's advice. If anything, the HBP potion book will be 
the reason Harry starts to reject dark magic as an option, knowing 
it's Snape's. So in a way, Snape will be the reason he doesn't 
partake of that particular weakness anymore <g>.

I can't even picture a final confrontation scene at the moment, but 
your thought I snipped about Harry turning the other cheek to Snape 
could definitely be a transformation point in Book 7. Maybe he will 
even show Snape mercy when Snape is cornered or somehow defenseless, 
much like Harry did with Wormtail and Dumbledore did with Draco. 
Mercy seems to be a critical theme now, doesn't it?

> Whew! So, is there anything of value here?

Jen: Tons! Thanks Sandy. :)