Why Dumbledore had to die

[kiricat4001]

No: HPFGUIDX 150931

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboyminn at ...> wrote:
massive snippage
> I have frequently fantasized a final scene in which Harry's friends
> willingly step forward and place themselves between Harry and
> Voldemort. Each gladly willing to die so that their friend Harry 
can
> live and fight on much like Lily gladly and willingly dies to save 
her
> son. That is power; that is power that Voldemort never can and 
never
> will understand. 

Marianne:

I don't recall if anyone else has posted anything similar to this.  
I find this thought vaguely disturbing and I don't really know why. 
Maybe it's the idea that, if other people are so willing to leap 
between danger and Harry, that it keeps removing the burden of 
defeating Voldemort from Harry.  OTOH, I can readily see Harry's 
allies dashing forward to take the shot aimed at Harry with the idea 
that this will help Harry move on.  Can anyone not believe that Ron 
would throw himself in front of an AK aimed at Harry, just so that 
Harry would survive and fight on against evil?

The willingness to sacrifice oneself so that the Hero can continue 
on his journey, whether out of love for the Hero or a willingness to 
sacrifice oneself for the greater good, certainly seems to be 
something that Voldemort would not understand.  And this could make 
for a powerful tool...
 
Steve:
> Yes, Voldemort can send his Death Eaters to their death, but they 
do
> not die as a glad and willing choice. They do not die out of true
> loyalty and true love. Their choice is to die at the hands of the
> enemy with a fighting chance, or to be cut down by Voldemort. Much
> like Peter sacrificing his hand, they do so, but they are not 
willing
> or eager, they simply see no other choice, so they comply. 

Marianne:

Unless their name is Bellatrix, in which case they would do anything 
to themselves or anyone around them to make Voldy happy.

Steve: 
> Harry on the otherhand would prefer to send his friends away to 
keep
> them safe while taking on the full burden himself. That makes Harry
> and his friends very and significantly different than Voldemort and
> his DE's. For Harry, I think that is part of his untapped power. 
> 
> As a final rambling note, I recall JKR saying something to the 
effect
> that -
> 
> "...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. JKR's statement
> above implies that there are things from each book that have
> importance beyond their individual stories. It's going to be 
amazing
> to see JKR pull all the characters and events into perspective. 


Marianne:

Well, I hope so.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she will be 
able to pull it off without it looking too contrived or 
manipulative. I want to see the process of Harry putting it all 
together.  I don't want to see him suddenly leap out from a dark, 
musty room in 12 GP with a coherent battle plan or a map to all the 
remaining Horcruxes in hand.  I want to see a struggle where Harry 
applies all he has learned and all he <knows> within his heart and 
mind.  I want to see him have a (believable) moment where it all 
comes together - part knowledge(book smarts), part instinct(innate 
talent), part hunch(trusting in himself) - in some sort of 
revelation that seems so right, that ties everything together so 
firmly, that we all want to jump on the same roller coaster and ride 
it out to the finish.

Steve: 
> I think it will be equally amazing to see all the seemingly
> insignificant events from the pervious books jell in Harry's mind 
and
> become a coherent plan for dealing with Voldemort. The clues must
> certainly be there, if we only knew how to interpret them. 
> 
> Of course, in the last book, I am looking forward to how Harry will
> defeat Voldemort, but 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. 

Marianne:
And my firm wish is that Harry will defeat Voldemort, but with a 
lingering sense of unfinished business.  I believe that evil will 
never be defeated on this green earth, people being what they are. 
There is always a doorway for the next budding tyrant to walk 
through.  So, yes, I want to see Voldemort defeated, but I also want 
to see an acknowledgement that he is not the be all and end all of 
evil, and that, though he may go down in flames, there is always 
someone else lurking in the wings to take up the mantle of violent 
hatred. The battle against evil is never-ending. After all, if all 
the bad stuff disappeared on earth, why would we need heaven?

Marianne