Harry and Love RE:Special treatment of Harry or not WAS

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 146147

Quick_Silver:
> You've wrote several amazing posts. However I disagree with the 
idea 
> that Harry must let go of habits/traits/whatever else so that he 
can 
> be filled with "love power." I'm not saying that he shouldn't let 
go 
> of those trait
because he must definitely should. It just that I 
> feel that "love" is either Harry's must overrated ability or his 
> most misunderstood one. The problem, from my point of view, is that 
> I don't have a handle on what exactly Harry's love ability is 
> supposed to be. 

Ceridwen:
Thanks for the complement!

As far as knowing what this love ability is supposed to be, I don't 
know either.  I've read a lot of speculation, but I don't think 
anyone knows what it is or what it's supposed to do.  I personally 
think he needs to let go of those traits so any form of love that 
might make a difference can be allowed full rein.  Hatred and 
negative obsession have a way of stifling all forms of positive 
love.  In RL, a lot of relationships, of all types, have been 
destroyed by these two things.

Quick_Silver:
> A lot of people say that Harry's love will fill him up with power, 
> deflect AKs, give him the ability to forgive Snape, to find a way 
to 
> have mercy on Voldemort, find a humane (non-AK) way to deal with 
> Voldemort, etc, etc. It's just that that's never the feeling I got 
> from the books. Harry seems to be relatively normal in his 
abilities 
> to love, maintain relationships, etc (although some would say that 
> he's stunted in his ability to love). That, to me, is central about 
> Harry
he basically normal in his ability to love
it's not Harry's 
> unique ability to love, his greater then average ability to love 
but 
> the mere fact that he can that is important. That is what makes 
> Harry different Voldemort
who can't really love
not by the 
> definition JK seems to be working with anyway. So basically I don't 
> work on the assumption that Harry's abilities to love is special 
> compared to Hermione's, Ron's, Neville's, Draco's, etc but that it 
> is special compared to Voldemort's.

Ceridwen:
And, it's special looking back on Harry's upbringing.  He must have a 
greater capacity for forgiveness and love since he has them in a 
normal capacity after all the effects which could have starved him of 
them.  Maybe all he needs is the normal amount, so that's what he 
has.  I'm not suggesting that he will become Teflon!Harry, with AKs 
bouncing off him, or SuperMartyr!Harry who gives his life for someone 
he doesn't care for.  All I'm saying is, if he needs love to flow 
unfettered, he has to remove the obstacles.

Quick_Silver:
> For me Harry's love is more about it giving him the ability to 
> experience love but not only love but also empathy, sympathy, pity, 
> mercy
the feelings and abilities that come from being able to love 
> (I simplified a bit there). Those are things that Voldemort doesn't 
> have and I think that he is poorer because of it. Those are the 
> things that I feel make Harry keep on fighting against Voldemort 
> (sort of like on the Matrix where Agent Smith asks Neo why he get's 
> up to keep fighting).

Ceridwen:
Yeah, the kid's got moxy.  ;)  And, as you say, these abilities 
definitely seperate him from Voldemort, and from Tom Riddle before 
him.  The big question that everyone's trying to figure out is, how 
will this help?  I can definitely see where too much compassion could 
possibly hobble him in his fight.  So maybe that's why he only has 
a 'normal amount' of love.  And, a good dose of righteous hatred for 
the things Voldemort stands for and what he's done wouldn't be amiss, 
either.  But the side hate he has of Snape, for instance, has got to 
go.  His mission is Voldemort.  Not Snape.  His obsessive hatred of 
Snape is detracting from that mission.  It is counterproductive, as 
things stand right now.  He needs a laser focus on Voldemort to the 
exclusion of everything else.

Quick_Silver:
> That's why I feel that Harry's needs to undergo extensive training 
> so that he doesn't have to rely on the Dark Arts to give that extra 
> punch in the middle of a battle. I wouldn't be entirely surprised 
if 
> a large part of the final book was spent on the Horcrux hunt 
because 
> it gives Harry and co. such a good chance to learn
both magic and 
> about themselves. However I view love as being one component of 
> Harry Potter, although it may be a defining component, it is not 
the 
> only component and it does require the support of the other 
> components. For all of Dumbledore talk about love I can't help but 
> notice that he's always an incredibly wizard as well
so apparently 
> love isn't everything.

Ceridwen:
I agree that Harry needs more skills that aren't Dark Arts related.  
He's been unsuccessful every time he's tried to use them.  And I like 
your suggestion that the horcrux hunt will also involve learning 
skills and, I take it, learning more about working with Ron and 
Hermione (your 'learning about themselves').  Inferring from HBP, I'd 
say he needs to think about Voldemort's backstory a bit, too, to 
learn about him and his methods as well.  In fact, I think Dumbledore 
mentioned this in the horcrux cave.  And Ron and Hermione can be a 
big help.

Yes, for all this talk about love, how will Harry 'vanquish the Dark 
Lord'?  I don't rule out killing here, because sometimes it is 
necessary, for the love of the world and people being saved.  And, 
the prophecy says that neither can live while the other survives, 
which may mean death to one or the other.  I still believe that he 
has to get rid of the diffusing elements so he can focus on the task 
at hand.  And if love is any part of that, which supposedly it is, 
then he will need to get rid of any impediment to that love.  IMO.

Ceridwen.