Lily?

[Devika]

No: HPFGUIDX 131773

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, heather the buzzard 
<tankgirl73 at s...> wrote:
> I just read this quote from JKR, which I hadn't personally read 
before:
> 
> Now, the - the important thing about Harry's mother - the really, 
really 
> significant thing - you're going to find out in two - in two parts. 
> You'll find out a lot more about her in book five, or you'll find 
out 
> something very significant about her in book five, and you'll find 
out 
> something incredibly important about her in book seven.
> 
> I presume that this quote is the origin of the question "What is 
Lily's 
> Big Secret?" 
> 
> But, it left me wondering -- what "very significant" thing did we 
learn 
> about her in book 5?  The only thing I really recall was that DD 
spelled 
> out in more detail the 'old magic' her sacrifice left in Harry.  
But 
> that's not really telling us anything *about her*.  Other things, 
like 
> that she belonged to the Order and had 'thrice defied' LV, also 
apply to 
> James, and to others as well in fact.  And they're not really all 
that 
> *surprising* things heh.
> 
> Am I forgetting something, or did JKR change tack along the way?
> 
> heather the buzzard


I actually read that quote recently too, and I wondered the same 
thing.  The only thing I can come up with that makes sense (to me, 
anyway) is that we found out more about the protection that she left 
for Harry when she sacrificed herself for him.  I agree that this 
doesn't really tell us much about Lily herself.  However, it seems 
like the most significant thing involving Lily that we've discovered 
in terms of the overall plot of the series.  I think that in book 7 
we'll learn more about the nature of the "ancient magic" and exactly 
what it means to Harry and Voldemort.  Since I think we already know 
that the act of sacrificing her own life was what provided Lily's 
protection for Harry, I hope we find out that there's more to it than 
that.  I have a feeling that the "incredibly important" thing we'll 
find out will have more to do with Lily's sacrifice than about her as 
a person, although I'm hoping JKR will tell us more about that too. 


--Devika, who has been a list member for 4 years, has spent the past 
2 lurking, and is now eagerly awaiting HBP so that some of our 
speculations can be put to rest once and for all :)