Of Sorting and Snape

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 175498


> 
> Jen: I wondered why Dumbledore discouraged Harry's natural empathy to 
> pain and suffering there, one of his greatest strengths according to 
> Dumbledore. My preliminary answer while reading was they couldn't do 
> anything because of their location, somewhere between the physical 
> world and behind the Veil, and a greater presence would have to offer 
> the healing if it was to happen.  Still, why not have Harry walk 
> over and try?  He was repulsed but that never stops him from acting. 

Pippin:
Because it would send the wrong message, IMO.  I hope the world has 
seen enough misguided attempts to force salvation on the souls of 
others. And JKR shows clearly that if you are concerned about
children, making sure they have food, comfort and scope to
develop their talents will do more good than  concern about their 
fate in the afterlife.

I don't mind people finding negative messages in  the book, but
the concern of some seems to be about *other* people reading
negative messages. I could take that more seriously if we were 
actually hearing from them. Is there anyone who has been persuaded
that  they shouldn't help needy children  thanks to reading
King's Cross? 


Jen: 
> Now I'm musing whether DD didn't want to encourage empathy for the 
> live LV at that point, knowing Harry would choose to go back and face 
> him in the flesh and empathy might cost Harry his life.  

Pippin:
Actually it's Harry's empathy for LV that saves him. If
LV had thought about it, I suspect he could have defeated Harry by non-
magical means, the same way Harry defeated the troll back in 
PS/SS -- just levitate a house table (Slytherin by choice <g>) 
and drop it on potty wee Potter's head, for example. 

He still had his Death Eaters and his vast magical skills, he'd have
been master of the Elder Wand for real, and  I'm not sure the spell 
of protection that Harry put on the WW by trying to die  would 
have held past Harry's actual death. 
 
But Harry's little speech is psychological warfare. Harry knows that
Voldemort can't believe what Harry tells him without becoming 
something other than Voldemort.

It wasn't Harry's ownership of the Elder Wand that defeated Voldemort,
it was Voldemort's need to deny the truth of what Harry was saying.

Pippin