The two-way mirror - a cruel useless plot device

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 163677

Maria:
> It's not needed to make him feel regrets or guilt, he already does
> that. It's not needed for any other reason so far. And, if it appears 
> again the Deathly Hallows, she could have introduced the device into 
> the story by other means, like part of the things Harry inherited 
> from Sirius.
 
> So, why did Rowling need to make things even worse for Harry? It's not
> like she needed filler material to make the book longer, if anything
> it could have used a trim here and there. I think it was a bit cruel
> to make Harry realize the mirror was there despite everything else he
> went through.

Jen:  When Harry discovers the mirror and thinks he may be able to talk 
to Sirius again...that was a poignant moment to me, a magical 
representation of how people react when they've lost someone they 
love.  Muggles do the same thing in different ways, like dreaming about 
a loved one and waking up convinced the person is still alive for a 
moment, or catching a glimpse of someone in a crowd and thinking it's 
the lost friend, child or parent even as their brain is telling 
them, 'that's impossible'.  

Harry is doing the magical equivalent, hoping against hope he might 
actually talk to Sirius again and reasoning he couldn't because Sirius 
didn't have the other mirror--that moment was particularly moving, 
Harry thinking the reason he couldn't talk to Sirius was because Sirius 
didn't have the mirror, not because Sirius was dead and they would 
*never* talk again in the same way. 

That entire sequence of Harry dealing with his grief in OOTP was so 
well done to me, so *real*, especially the part about Harry feeling 
hopeful again after he talked to Luna, who was saying something similar 
to Dumbledore in POA: 'You think the dead we loved ever truly leave 
us?'