Bathroom Scene - A Different Perspective

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 165158

> Alla:
> 
> If there was a time interval, a second, a half-second in between 
> Draco saying it and Harry responding with Sectusemptra, then sure I 
> can see the argument that it was uncomplete one.
> 
> But Harry shuts Draco up right in the middle of him saying the 
> curse, so I am disagreeing with **Harry thought it was a true 
> Crucio**, yes. I am saying that it  **was** true Crucio and Harry 
> did not let him finish.

Pippin:
But we've been shown that it takes more than pointing your
wand and saying the word to make it a true Crucio, so I am not
sure how we can do more than speculate about whether the 
true curse would have been performed if it had been completed.

> Mike:
> <HUGE SNIP>
> > Harry's mindset has always been transparent, not just for the 
> readers  but also for the other characters in the story, imo.

Pippin:
Not always. The reader doesn't know that Ron hasn't really
been given Felix potion.

But in this case, Harry deeply regrets what he did. He doesn't claim
that he's being punished unfairly, only that it's burdensome
that he has to miss Quidditch and being with Ginny. He
says more than once that if he'd known what the spell did, he
wouldn't have used it. He doesn't say, even after Ginny suggests
it, that it was the right spell since he was under attack.

I think he understands that if Dark Magic is acceptable in 
self-defense, then the whole concept founders. There are no
spells that draw their power from the forces of evil, there
are only powerful spells and those too weak to use them. 

I can understand people not wanting to think that their hero's
instincts led him to an evil choice. But the whole thrust of 
HBP, IMO, is that Harry's  instincts aren't enough any more. 
Harry has to learn to think before he acts, 
or he'll face disaster. Isn't that the real world lesson of the 
non-verbal spell? 

Pippin