Love, pining, and magic (was: Women in HBP)

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 133636

anthyroserain wrote:
"But Merope pines too, and Dumbledore states, "Of course, it is also
possible that her unrequited love and the attendant despair sapped her
of her powers; that can happen." But does it ever happen to *men*? The
idea that a woman's desires get in the way of her professional
abilities is an old, decidedly anti-feminist one. Surely JKR doesn't
mean to suggest this, so why are her examples all female?"

Del replies:
Maybe because in Book 7, it will happen to one terribly important
male: Harry himself?

The concept that love is more powerful than any other magic is
recurrent in the books, and particularly in HBP. So I wouldn't be
surprised if Harry discovered in Book 7 that he *needs* to have *more*
love in his life, not less, to defeat LV. He might discover that by
ditching Ginny, he actually cut himself from one of his most powerful
assets: romantic love, and that in order to be at his best, he *must*
experience his love for Ginny, and her love back, *fully*. And in the
meantime, he might have problems practicing any other kind of magic,
because he pines for Ginny.

Random question: what would happen if someone fed LV a Love Potion?

Del