Dept. of Mysteries, "Love" room.

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 129890

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "eggplant107" 
<eggplant107 at h...> wrote:
> "niekycrins" <n.crins at p...> wrote:
> 
> > why would this room, containing a force that is needed
> > to conquer VM, be closed and apparently protected?
> > Why not "unleash" it on LV while he was in the DOM?

Eggplant: 
> I hope it's more than just love, otherwise the story could get so
> sweet we'd all get diabetes.  Love probably has something to do with
> it but there must be something more than that because Dumbledore 
says
> it is not only more wonderful than death it is more terrible too.

<snip>

Geoff:
No, we won't all get diabetes because it's real, deep love which /is/ 
more wonderful than death.

Back in January 2004, I posted message 89069 which was in a thread 
about the locked room where I said that the room could could contain 
both truth and love; the following is part of what I wrote:

"Turning to Love. The problem with "love" is that, certainly in the 
English language, it is a word which has a wide range of meanings and 
is often used very loosely. It can range from "I love chocolate ice-
cream" (which is really expressing a liking) to "I love you, my
darling" to the altruistic love which can show itself in self-
sacrifice – Lily protecting Harry as an example.

I have on two occasions at least referred to C.S.Lewis' "The Four
Loves" in which he writes on the four Greek words for love – eros,
philos, agape and the one which always slips my memory(!)**; each one
looking at a different facet of love. The deepest love – at least in
my opinion as a Christian – is agape which is, I suppose, best
described as the altruistic, serving, love which is not seeking
anything in return but seeks only the best interest of its recipient."

Jesus said "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down  his 
life for his friends" (John 15:13 New International Version).

That is not solely a Christain prerogative; we see it often in the 
world today. I am not suggesting this either as the only way in which 
Harry can harness the power of the locked room.

**Just for completeness,the missing word was "storge" - this was 
before the word had emerged in a possible title for Book 6.