Dark Mirror, Part 1: Hairy as Lupin...

[Annemehr]

No: HPFGUIDX 164684


Talisman said:
<big snip>
> So then: 1, 2...3... Poof!  Watch as Book 7 Harry transforms into 
> Lupin, before your very eyes.
> 
> I absolutely guarantee that Harry will manifest Lupin's darkest 
> secret, throughout the bulk of Deathly Hallows.  
> 
> You can take that much to the bank, and tell them Talisman sent you.
> 
> The devil, naturally, is in the details.
> 
> I don't expect Harry to actually become a werewolf.  I could be 
wrong 
> about this, Hedwig knows;   Greyback might be skulking in the 
> shrubbery at Privet Drive as we speak.  But, heretofore unused 
> aconite lessons and wombatish whisperings of bite epidemics 
> notwithstanding, I would find it incongruent to have Harry 
literally 
> pop a snout in the final stretch.


Annemehr:
I agree -- no hairy Harry.  But, speaking of Greyback (whose name, I 
am pleased to note, is spelled with an E), we look forward to seeing 
Bill's wedding in the earliest chapters.  I wonder if it's scheduled 
around the time of the full moon?  I wonder if it will help set the 
tone for this new instalment?

But, on to the heart of the matter:


Talisman: 
> Instead, my expectation is that Harry will undergo a Dark 
> Transformation.
<snip>
> 
> The prospects are delightful, and let`s face it the gathering storm 
> is already  in evidence.

<snip evidence, including fact of Harry's LV-infection and DD's 
policy of inflaming Harry's hatred toward LV and Snape>

> Like Lupin, Harry was  "infected" in early childhood.  Of course, 
> instead of werewolf drool, Harry got that big squirt of evil wizard 
> juice.  
> 
> It's still in there you know, and I'll bet it can activate.
> 
> Moreover, it's clear that DD wants Harry to go postal in the final 
> run.


Annemehr:
Whaaaat???  Dumbledore's man through and through, go dark?  Is that 
any way for him to honor his mentor's memory and sacrifice?

I mean, in HBP, Harry's whole heart is thrown into the role of being 
Dumbledore's man.  Just look at how emphatically he asserts it, to 
Scrimgeour and to DD himself!
 
Better yet, look at Harry's actions.
 
We see early on that, despite what his expectations may have been, 
Harry takes his cue from DD as to what his preparation for facing LV 
should entail.  When Harry first told Ron and Hermione he'd be 
having "private lessons" from DD, she immediately surmised he'd be 
learning "really advanced defensive magic, probably" [HBP, p. 99 
US].  But if DD saw fit to focus instead on LV's history, who is 
Harry to argue?  He's just following DD's lead, right?  And he did -- 
he paid attention to the lessons, and asked questions and everything.

Then, in the cave, he followed DD's wishes so far as to feed him 
every drop of that horrible potion.
 
But on the other hand, *did* Harry really follow DD's lead?  And, in 
what ways?

Maybe...can we already see some cracks in DDM!Harry?
 
People have already discussed in this group Harry's half-hearted 
efforts to get Slughorn's true memory until DD got really stern with 
him.  We see that, just as DD had to *insist* that Harry promise to 
follow orders in the cave, he had to *insist* that Harry quit playing 
around and get that memory.  That's one issue.
 
There is also the matter of DADA lessons with Snape, where I think 
Harry's behavior is telling.  After all, *Dumbledore* put Snape into 
that all-important position, and *Dumbledore* continues to tell Harry 
he trusts Snape, and that there is a reason, but "DDM!Harry" never 
seems to take any of this to heart.  It is true that Harry wonders 
what 
this reason could be, but it seems to me it is only in order that he 
can judge this reason for himself.  Meanwhile, Harry never *acts* as 
though he ever considers that DD could be right about Snape.

Contrast this with Harry's response to DD's words regarding LV:

Talisman pointed out:
> As usual none of DD's rationale hangs together.  But when has that 
> bothered Harry?
> 
> DD insists that Harry *must*  try  to kill Voldemort, in 
retribution 
> for James and Lily.
> 
> Of course,  Harry is hardly unique in having lost loved ones to 
> Voldemort.  If vigilante justice is to hold the day, or  if 
vengeance 
> is a compelling substitute for a "real" prophecy, Harry should have 
> to queue up behind a long line of  bereaved friends and family, 
> starting with Myrtle's kin.
> 
> There is also the argument of Harry's special power.  Leaving aside 
> the irony of love and purity as secret murder weapons, we know 
that  
> lots of folks are capable of love.
<snip>

Annemehr:
You are right.  This doesn't make sense.  

Yet, though Harry won't spare a single thought that DD might be right 
about Snape, he swallows this stuff about killing LV, whole.  And 
smacks his lips afterward.

But I notice a common theme in Harry's responses: hatred.  He lets 
DD's words regarding LV inflame him because he already hates LV, but 
he *disregards* DD's words of trust in Snape in order to keep on 
hating Snape.

I certainly note and agree with your point (snipped) that both DD and 
Snape have been cultivating Harry's hatred of Snape since the first 
book.  Still, I say a *real* DDM would take repeated assertions of 
trust in Snape to heart, and at least begin to *wonder.*

Indeed, Talisman, your theory promises to resolve (and how!) 
something that has been bothering me.  What I have been thinking for 
quite some time (and even posted about recently), is that Harry's 
psyche seems to be "stuck."  He is also changed somehow since the old 
days, and I am not sure where to pin the change.  Harry was 
recognisably himself, to me, throughout the first four books.  I 
accepted that he was himself -- albeit a version of himself under 
extreme stress -- in OoP. But...
 
In PS/SS, Harry said:
"He's a funny man, Dumbledore.  I think he sort of wanted to give me 
a chance.  I think he knows more or less everything that goes on 
here, you know.  I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to 
try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help.  I 
don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the Mirror 
worked.  It's almost like he though I had the right to face Voldemort 
if I could..." [PS/SS ch. 17]
 
It just doesn't seem like Harry has built on that.  It actually seems 
like he has lost some of it.  And, I'm not looking for blind, 
unquestioning acceptance of everything DD says, but Harry would get 
farther if he at least realised that everything DD says is
worth *considering.*  Why doesn't he?

Is it because, despite that the mind-conduit aspect of Harry's 
infection by LV has been blocked by Occlumency, the other effects of 
it upon Harry continue to strengthen?

If you are right, then, yes, very much so.
 

Talisman:
>  I recall annemehr asking me, long years ago--in response to my 
> position regarding DD's orchestration of events--what it would do 
to 
> Harry, to discover that DD had purposed it all.  Maybe we'll get 
the 
> chance to find out.... ; )

Annemehr:
Lots of fun!

Harry will be reeling.  The bottom will drop out -- over and over -- 
when he finds out:

Exactly what Dumbledore's Plan is;

The truth about Severus Snape;

I really hope, a little more truth about LV ("Dumbledore raised his 
eyebrows. 'Could you possibly be feeling sorry for Lord Voldemort?'" 
HBP ch. 13).

And the hardest part -- just a little bit more about himself. <eg>

Annemehr
who was afraid of mirrors in dark rooms for longer than she cares to 
admit...