[HPforGrownups] Extraordinary magic in the climax

[Beata Wai Ieng Ho Deitrick]

No: HPFGUIDX 132764

davenclaw said:
> Has anyone else noticed that the climax/resolutions of the books
> generally seem to involved magic that goes beyond anything else we
> see in the books?

<examples snipped>

> It's pretty neat stuff, but I confess that my initial reaction to
> some of these things was that it was a bit over the top to have a
> hopeless situation end up being resolved using magic that was barely
> hinted at in the books, if at all.  <snip>
> I think I was rolling my eyes particularly at the way the
> Stone ended up in Harry's pocket.  I hate to complain, I love the
> books, but sometimes you want Harry to just win outright by nailing
> LV or a DE with a good hex or two. 

Beata:
I hadn't noticed the magic that Rowling introduces each book to
resolve it, but now that you mention it, it does make sense.  I agree
with you that sometimes I think that Harry should kick a little butt,
but probably this all makes sense.

First of all, the stone fell into Harry's pocket in PS/SS works. 
Harry, at that point in time, doesn't know a lot of magic yet.  So
there really isn't an option as to how he could get the stone
otherwise, and yet the plot still make sense for Voldemort not to be
able to get the stone.  Personally, I thought that the Mirror of
Erised worked very well as a plot device in a couple of ways.  In
addition to its role with the stone, it also being the reader's
understanding of how much Harry longs for his parents.

I do agree that the Fawkes thing from CoS was a little out of the
blue.  Dumbledore did foreshadow it, but Fawkes didn't really serve
much of a purpose other than that.

As for all the rest, I do think that they all had enough significance
to the plot in addition to its function in the end so that it makes
sense.  I'm sure part of the reason that the magic has gotten more and
more "strange" is that as Harry grows up, he is starting to know more
advanced spells.  Also, WWII has just started, so more chaos is bound
to happen.  On a more literary standpoint, the readers have now been
introduced to more and more spells each book, so it does make sense
for there to be an increasing number of spells (and other magical
objects) because in a way, we're learning with Harry.

Beata Deitrick