HBP: Assorted threads in one...(LONG)

[jjjjjuliep]

No: HPFGUIDX 133896

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "jmgarciaiii" 
<jmgarciaiii at y...> wrote:

> My take on this was that Harry WAS (not, you will note, "is") a 
> Horcrux. LV needed that bit for his Rebirthing Party, it's what 
> allowed him that rebirth. Perhaps a cleverer mind than mine can 
> explain to me how Harry can kill LV (who, presumably, has some 
> microscopic portion of his own soul in him, now that he has 
> undergone rebirth) by dying. It also seems unlikely to me that 
> Dumbledore couldn't detect that Harry was a Horcrux once he figured 
> out the whole Horcrux thing. I'm pretty much agreeing with Boolean.

I tend to agree with this--this is one of the potential?/probable? 
plot twists in #7:  when will Harry realize he/his scar was a Horcrux?

> Mind you, as I was discussing this offline with another member  
> (I'll let her out herself) we were struck by Hagrid's quote WAY
> BACK at the beginning (Ch. 4, I think) of Book One: "Some say
> [Voldemort] died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough
> human left in him to die." Which led us to speculate along the
> direction of the of what were LV's precautions against mortal
> death...eventually revealed to be the Horcruxes. This has led me 
> to think there may be a lot more to Hagrid than we thought. He may
> be something of a goofball, and he is nowhere near being a
> qualified wizard, but there is an instinct there that seems quite
> powerful. Just a thought.

First, I'll throw off the Invisilibility Cloak and admit to being 
this offline discussion member.  :-)

Second, I think the use of the word "instinct" with respect to Hagrid 
is spot on.  Hagrid has a love for the terrible (in all senses of the 
word) creatures of the WW and I wonder if his communion with them as 
well as his compassion for them, will come to Harry's aid in #7.

> I'm sure that RAB is Regulus A(lphard?) Black.

And JKR all but confirmed that in the interview released today.

> I'm surer than ever that Harry will "die" by crossing the veil, 
> Odysseus-like.

I'm not so sure he will right now.  I think he may have already made 
the journey across the Styx in #6 in the cave (dead in the water, 
don't touch anything, don't eat or drink anything). 

What I do think will be Harry's big assistance to converse with the 
dead in #7, and I've said this to Joe in private email, is the mirror 
that Sirius gave him.  Today the second part of an interview with JKR 
was published at The Leaky Cauldron and it said in part:

---------------
MA: R.A.B.

JKR: Ohhh, good.

[All laugh.]

JKR: No, I'm glad! Yes?

MA: Can we figure out who he is, from what we know so far?

[Note: JKR has adopted slightly evil look here]

JKR: Do you have a theory?

MA: We've come up with Regulus Black.

JKR: Have you now?

MA: Uh-oh.

[Laughter.]

JKR: Well, I think that would be, um, a fine guess.

MA: And perhaps, being Sirius's brother, he had another mirror – 

JKR: [drums fingers on soda can] 

MA: Does he have the other mirror, or Sirius's mirror — 

JKR: I have no comment at all on that mirror. That mirror is not on 
the table. [Laughter from all; Jo's is maniacal.]

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/extras/aa-jointerview2.html
-------------------

However, this isn't to also say that we won't get to learn more about 
the doorway.

I also think that the big thing Harry will learn, whether from his 
dead family/DD or from his colleagues, is how to "see" magic.  A big 
point is made in HBP about magic leaving marks, and as I've just 
started re-reading SS/PS, I was struck by the section where Hagrid 
tells Harry how he got his scar and says something like "Powerful 
magic like that leaves a mark."

> One thing that Harry must do, besides gather Horcruxes like
> daisies, is become a more proficient wizard. He learns quickly
> enough when taught properly, but he is not someone who has
> yet "invented" any magic. We know that Snape (as the HBP) and LV
> both have and it's a cinch to assume Dumbledore has also invented
> spells and enchantments. Harry has not done this yet and, mark my
> words, he's gonna hafta.

Another point where we disagree.  :-)  I could see Harry 
consolidating some spells or augmenting one to defeat Voldemort.  But 
I'm not sure that being an inventor (although I take Joe's point) is 
crucial.

In another message Joe wrote:

> Now, on a completely different front, I am of the opinion that 
> the gum wrappers Alice hands Neville are a HUGE clue as to the
> whereabouts of a horcrux.

This makes a lot of sense.

> However, I kind of thought it was interesting that while it was
> sweet that Fleur said she'd never abandon Bill because of his scars,
> Anthyroserain said: "I can't help but think that we would *never*
> see the reverse, gender-wise." To which I wonder...why is it so
> readily assumed the male is the one fixated on looks? I think the
> reason that was written as was--and eleventy gazillion times more
> interesting--is that this scene provides Fleur with new depth. Prior
> to this it is assumed she is shallow and vapid and only involved
> with Bill because he is handsome and cool.

It probably also foreshadows that she is going to have a key moment 
herself in #7.

So much more to write and so little time to either read the posts or 
to write some reponses.

jujube