Thestrals, death (was Re: newbie with questions)

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 159538

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "spookedook" <spookedook at ...> wrote:
>
> Carla:
> If I might also venture another explanation.  Harry was a baby when
> his parents died, he has no memory of it.  We also don't know if he
> actually witnessed it.  The confrontation between Lily and LV might
> have been outside of Harry's line of sight.
> 
> The death of Quirrell was the death of an enemy.  Harry didn't suffer
> a loss there.  I think the death that must be witnessed is that of
> someone you care about....a friend or relative.  The death Luna
> witnessed was that of her Mother.  It must be a personal loss in order
> to see the Thestrals.  Cedric was his friend.  He felt a loss.
> 
> 
> Tinktonks:
> 
> Also just to add to a very eloquent answer I'm pretty sure that Harry
> was unconscious by the time Quirrell actually died.
> I dont have the books with me but doesn't Harry ask DD what happened
> to Quirrell (therefore canonically stating that he doesn't see him die)
> 
> Hope that helps

Geoff:
I hate to be repetitive, but I posted this in message 159229 three days ago:

With regard to the Thestrals, if you visit JKR's own website -
www.jkrowling.com - she answers your question in the section
FAQ>About the books. It's well down the list - the third
(SPOILER WARNING).....

To save you looking it up, I decided the best thing to do was to quote 
the good lady's own words::

<quote>
Why could Harry see the Thestrals 'Order of the Phoenix'? Shouldn't he 
have been able to see them much earlier, because he saw his 
parents/Quirrell/Cedric die?

I've been asked this a lot. Harry didn't see his parents die. He was in 
his cot at the time (he was just over a year old) and, as I say in 
`Philosopher's Stone', all he saw was a flash of green light. He didn't 
see Quirrell's death, either. Harry had passed out before Quirrell died 
and was only told about it by Dumbledore in the last chapter.?
?
 He did, however, witness the murder of Cedric, and it is this that 
makes him able to see the Thestrals at last. Why couldn't he see the 
Thestrals on his trip back to the train station? Well, I didn't want to 
start a new mystery, which would not be resolved for a long time, at 
the very end of the fourth book. I decided, therefore, that until Harry 
is over the first shock, and really feels what death means (ie, when he 
fully appreciates that Cedric is gone forever and that he can never come 
back, which takes time, whatever age you are) he would not be able to 
see the Thestrals. After two months away from school during which he 
has dwelled endlessly on his memories of the murder and had 
nightmares about it, the Thestrals have taken shape and form and 
he can see them quite clearly.
</quote>