Lily, Voldemort, AK and the atomic bomb analogy

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 144030

Saraquel:
> Hoping someone feels moved enough to respond and perhaps take the 
> idea forward to suggest what might have caused the scar in more 
> detail.

Ceridwen:
Okay, I'll play.  I've already stuck my foot in my mouth today, I 
might as well stick both feet!  ;)

Saraquel:
> It starts with the idea that the Avada Kadavra curse is created by 
> splitting the soul, rather like the splitting of the atom, where a 
> huge amount of energy is released, along with radiation.  The 
> rushing sound which is heard when the spell is cast is the blast 
> wave rolling out from the splitting of the soul.  

Ceridwen:
Interesting.  I like that.  I had imagined that the splitting 
occurred once the victim was properly dead, though.  But, the rushing 
sound being equated with something magically powerful, as when the 
atom splits, is something to think about.  The AKs we've 'heard' 
almost all have that sound.

Saraquel:
> Unlike Rose in 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/143995  I 
don't, 
> at the moment, think that the murderer's split soul actually leaves 
> their bodies, although, I do think that it is an interesting idea, 
> but I do think that the shock wave contains traces of the powers of 
> the caster, in an analogous way to radiation being spread.

Ceridwen:
I don't think the soul leaves the body either, unless it's purposely 
removed.  I do think that *removing* the soul piece makes the soul's 
owner that much less human, until we get to Voldemort, who is, 
physically at least, not very human at all.

Traces of the powers of the caster.  If your idea is correct, then 
that would have to happen.  In fact, whether it's the soul splitting 
at this point, or some other explosion of power (emotions welding to 
the power and intent?), then you'd have to see some sort of collapse 
going on, which would send out *something* of the originator.  Since 
Harry ends up with powers like Voldemort's, then it would stand to 
reason that this rushing wind carries bits of the intrinsic powers of 
the caster.

Saraquel:
> So we have a situation where Lily stands between Harry and 
> Voldemort.  Voldemort casts an Avada Kedavra, when the shockwave 
> hits Lily (or any victim) it literally sweeps the victims soul out 
> of their body, along with their life force/powers – hence the look 
> of surprise, but no physical marks.  So now we possibly have a 
> situation where Lily's soul/powers are swept back out of her body 
> and onto Harry who is directly behind her.  The purpose of her 
> sacrifice was to protect Harry, so Lily's soul and powers cling to 
> Harry as she passes, knowing that Voldemort will continue on to try 
> and kill Harry.

Ceridwen:
So, the rushing sound is, in your idea, the splitting of the caster's 
soul, which then tears as the power pushes outward from the center of 
the explosion, carrying debris along the way.  When it connects with 
an object, like the houses in the old A-bomb testing footage, it 
affects the *soul and powers* of the person that it hits.  The soul 
and powers of the victim them blow back, like the houses in the old 
footage, and if something's behind, of course the blast debris would 
slam into it, and perhaps cling.

The body, of course, would not be affected.  Neither would the 
physical body of whatever is behind, in this case, baby Harry.  Yet, 
there's life in Harry, so Lily's soul and powers, her essence, can 
cling to its counterpart inside her son.

Saraquel:
> Then Voldemort stands in front of Harry and blasts him with an AK 
> too.  But maybe, Lily's soul repels the curse and takes the hit and 
> is blasted out of Harry's body, leaving Harry's soul and body still 
> intact. In this way Lily in fact, sort of dies twice.

Ceridwen:
Like a shield of sorts, then, which, since the components have no 
body of their own, merely cover the body underneath them while 
reflecting LV's own force back at him.  Like the debris of the 
destroyed house plastering against the side of a concrete bunker, 
protecting the concrete from blast marks, burns, or other debris 
coming into contact with it.

Which, to me, leads naturally to the significance of Harry having 
Lily's eyes.  How so?  That he has her eye color?  That maybe they're 
the same shape as well?  Or, because naturally, his face wasn't 
covered by clothes but bare to everything that went on?  If your idea 
is correct, then Lily's soul and powers would have touched his skin 
directly on his face, unlike where it covered his PJs.  Enter through 
the eyes, leave through the scar?  Or, I like this better, enter 
through the scar and leave through the eyes, leaving traces of Lily's 
essence.

Saraquel:
> JKR has said in the Mugglenet/LC interview, that Lily did not do 
> anything special in terms of charms or anything, she simply stood 
in 
> front of Harry.  This theory doesn't need anything special except 
> the fact that she stands directly in front of him, which we know is 
> what happened.
*(snip patronus part)*
> However, this still does not really explain exactly how Harry's 
scar 
> came about and why it is positioned on Harry's forehead, but 
perhaps 
> that is the result of what the soul of Lily did in order to protect 
> Harry.  

Ceridwen:
The situation is supposedly something that had never been done 
before.  Which is why Harry is the only person to ever have survived 
the AK.  I find it hard to believe, with all the WW wars, Goblin 
Rebellions, other Dark Lords, etc., that no mother ever before stood 
in front of her children to protect them from harm.  So, the one 
thing Lily must have done, is prepare for the liklihood that she 
would need to do this, instead of it being a spur of the moment 
thing.  She was mentally prepared, and prepared in her heart, for 
this very moment.  And she meant to protect her child for as long as 
was humanly possible.

So, prepared, and the soul being unavoidably linked to the person, 
the soul is prepared as well to continue protection as long as it 
can.  When it is blasted back out of Lily's body by the shock wave 
from the AK, it connects with Harry, then *penetrates* his skin, 
hence the scar.  Scars come from violent interaction with something.  
Since the later AK had no effect on him, unless as you say, the 
Harry! or Scar!Horcrux theories are correct, then what hit him, other 
than Lily's soul as it was blasted from her body?

And, if the AK meant for Harry is in the main repelled by Lily's soul-
and-powers covering, what LV powers he receives from the shock of the 
second AK enters through the scar, which is already there, while the 
destruction is repelled.  Because the rushing sound comes first, 
IIRC, then the full force of the power follows in its wake, takes up 
a larger amount of space since it contains more raw power, so would 
be prevented from damaging baby Harry.  The entry of the powers 
through the scar, or perhaps just the limited time a soul can survive 
without its body, forces Lily's soul etc. out through the nearest 
exit, his eyes, leaving *traces* of what can honestly remain in him, 
her powers.

I have to say I'm not convinced, and could just as easily be arguing 
against this tomorrow.  I like to play with ideas.  And, you've just 
presented it, so this is my first reaction.

But, it certainly is possible, based on what little we actually 
know.  It would explain the scar, Harry having some of LV's powers, 
and the mention of Harry having Lily's eyes as being somehow 
significant.  It'll be interesting to see other people's takes, and I 
too am open to being convinced either way.

Ceridwen.