Why Dumbledore had to die

[coldsliversofglass]

No: HPFGUIDX 150916

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboyminn at ...> wrote:

>Renata:
>... I really wonder how Harry will get more powerful without
>Dumbledore, Sirius or Hogwarts.

> >Peggy:  
> >I wonder if perhaps it's not so much about Harry getting more 
> >powerful, but rather realizing the power he has. ... he's 
> >learning that he's ... able to take action and make choices
> >for himself.
 
>>>>bboyminn:
>>>>To a limited extent, I do agree that Harry has to realize the 
>>>>power he has rather than somehow increase his power. Yet to some 
>>>>extent, those are the same thing. Untappable power is like no 
>>>>power at all. Ofcourse, I believe that Harry has a substantial 
>>>>reserve of untapped power, and that he will learn to better 
>>>>access it. 

>>>>I also think, though it should be no suprise to anyone, that 
>>>>part of Harry being able to access his own internal power is 
>>>>based in his willingness to tap the resources around him...

>>>>"...Harry, also, in the course of previous six books has amassed 
>>>>more knowledge than he realizes...." [Melissa-Emerson interview; 
>>>>pg 3;LeakyCauldron.org]That seems important. One of the great 
>>>>things about the final book in a series is that it pulls together 
>>>>events and people from the previous books, and their true 
>>>>significance becomes clear. ...the most exciting thing for me is 
>>>>seeing how everything falls into place. How diverse and seeming 
>>>>insignificant characters are sudden revealed in their true 
>>>>purpose.

coldsliversofglass:
I have to say that I don't think it's a matter of "how Harry 
will get more powerful without Dumbledore, Sirius or Hogwarts."  In 
fact, I agree that the potential and the power is already there if 
Harry just realizes it.  

Dumbledore had to die, or else Harry would still be a background 
character.  Now, don't get me wrong, Harry does a lot in the fight 
against Voldemort, but it also seems as if he was a figurehead.  
What he did in the books was flashy and usually reaffirmed belief in 
his powers and ability to defeat Voldemort; however, it didn't really 
make him seem like an individual player or a significant power.  Most 
of the stuff Harry did was orchestrated by Dumbledore.  Dumbledore 
had to go so that Harry could finally take charge of his own life, of 
his future, and could step forward and be a leader in his own right.

As for Sirius, I'm hoping he will reappear (unlikely, perhaps, but my 
hope is there since he was one of my favorite characters).  As far as 
Hogwarts, I always thought it was more the people than the 
building that played such a pivotal role in Harry's development...the 
teachers and the other students were the heart of Hogwarts.

Harry has to tap into his power, but I think it's important to 
point out that a large part of Harry's abilities lies in his finding 
himself in desperate situations...in being unprotected and having 
only himself to rely on.  He has the training, but he needs to the 
confrontations in order to remind him of what he knows, in order to 
prove to him that there is power there, waiting to answer him-that 
there are allies he needs to take advantage of.  The little things, I 
think, the people and the objects we've never noticed are going to 
come back to haunt us.  I really can't wait to find out just how 
things unfold, and how the tension between the characters and the 
sides is resolved.

It's also important to note that, as large a role as Harry's
friends play, in the end it always comes down to Harry himself.  
Harry facing off against Quirrel alone-even if help came later-,Harry 
battling the serpent-even if Fawkes and the hat arrived-, Harry 
escaping from Voldemort and the Death Eaters and taking Cedric back 
to Hogwarts, Harry helping Dumbledore with the fake horcrux and 
watching him be killed. [I don't remember exactly what happened in 
Prisoner of Azkaban...I'll have to go back and reread it again].  
Even if his friends appear before and after the confrontations, 
there's always a moment in which Harry has to rely on himself, and I 
think that's something he's going to acknowledge--that he can rely on 
himself.

coldsliversofglass