[HPforGrownups] Obviously Petunia? (Was: Retrospective - Snape's Worst Memory)

[An'nai Jiriki]

No: HPFGUIDX 142858



--- justcarol67 <justcarol67 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Goddlefrood wrote:
> As stated elsewhere Petunia is really the only
> candidate for being
> the person who will perform magic in desperate
> circumstances later in
> life when LV or some DEs turn up at 4 Privet Drive
> in book 7 after
> Harry's seventeenth birthday. 

I agree with Petunia doing the magic. It would be just
deserts

> Carol responds:
> Actually, Petunia may be the most popular candidate,
> Muggle though
> we've repeatedly been told she is, but she's not the
> "only" candidate.

Snip

> Mrs. Figg, the Order member who helped Harry after
> the Dementor
> attack, is just as likely to show up this time as
> before (warned by
> her part-Kneazle cats that DEs have appeared at 4
> Privet Drive, or
> perhaps anticipating an attack when the protective
> magic ends).
> 
> Unlike Petunia, Mrs. Figg knows what a spell is and
> how to cast one;
> she's just never succeeded in doing it.
> Nevertheless, there is some
> trace of magic in her--she can talk to cats, and
> she's familiar with
> the WW despite being only a Squib. If a DE were to
> knock Harry's wand
> from his hand, she would at least know which end to
> point and what
> words to say. "Stupefy!" would do. "Expecto
> Patronum" might be better
> if she could somehow summon the Order by conjuring
> her Patronus.
> 

Chris:

While I think the Mrs Figg may do unintentional magic,
she has been socially and psycologically pre-disposed
to the idea that she cannot pick up a want and do
magic.  

In a panic situation, only the primitave reptilian
portion of our brains functions and this is not the
part of the brain that would allow Mrs Figg to use
intentional magic, such as wand magic.  If there is a
situation where she is afraid for her life and Potter,
her protector at the moment, is taken away from the
fight (aka, wand knocked away, him knocked out) the
level of helplessness would increase.  We have already
seen her reactions to dementors where she is somewhat
in control; to run away (OotP) and when questioned on
magic, she unthinkingly says she cannot do magic, and
will not touch Potter's wand.  

As an instructor of self-defence in a martial arts
school, I see all ages, from 4 to 56, deal with stress
and we are unique in that we use real situations to
bring real fear.  Our job is to watch what is the base
reactions of our students when the higher rational
brain is shut off.  For most, it is to panic, because
that is what society has taught (women cower, men
bolster).  We replace that cower/bolster reaction with
something effective, but it takes time (12-18 months).

How does this relate?  Mrs Figg would need to be
practicing in a real fear situation to grab a wand and
cast a spell AND beleive she is doing it correctly in
order for a chance it may work when the need arises. 
That is why Hermione freeze before moving in the
books, her rational functions are shut off for the
moment and she never trained the primative ones to do
anything.

To have Mrs Figg do unintentional magic under heavy
stress is beleivable, but to do intentional magic in
the same type of situation would make the story
unbeleivable.  JKR would be violating basic human
psycology (and I would ask and psycologist or
psyciatrist to give the names and better details of
this).  

But the laws of expectation are at work here as well. 
If a person is expected to do something, then they
will do it, and if they are expected to not be able to
do something, they will not.  Mrs Figg will expect, as
will all people in the books, to never be able to use
magic, just as we in the real world never expect to
use Harry Potter type magic. I can no more cast a
stupify than Mrs Figg because neither beleive it can
be done.

Chris

PS: Try the expectation thing on kids, it really work.
I did it with my step-son and it worked.  The first
time it didn't, I showed disappointment, and never had
him disappoint me again. 

"You irritate me. Kill me now." ~Javert, Les Miserables


	
		
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