Harry looking in the Mirror after HBP

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 164229

---  "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at ...> wrote:
> ...
> Jen: 
> ...
> 
> JKR said this in the TLC/Mugglenet interview after HBP: 
> 
> MA: If Harry was to look in the Mirror of Erised at the
> end of book six, what would he see?
> 
> JKR: He would have to see Voldemort finished, dead 
> gone, wouldn't he? Because he knows now that he will 
> have no peace and no rest until this is accomplished.
> 
> Jen again:  
> 
> ...
> 
> ...
> 
> More important than my appreciation of Harry's task is
> Harry understanding the magnitude himself!  I didn't 
> really sense pure resolve and desire in Harry from 
> that one scene at the funeral even though he exhibited
> a greater purpose and seriousness than ever before.  
> ... 
> Draco was the one moving on with a single-minded 
> purpose in HBP, not Harry.  Whatever the value of his
> choices, Draco 'put away childish things' and took on 
> the tasks of an adult.  
> 


bboyminn:

But is Draco really being that 'grown up' in his actions?
While Draco is moving forward with a single-minded 
purpose, it it not because he wants to accomplish the
task of being a grown up. What he wants for himself and
his family not to die.

I see Draco as being very childish, independant of his
apparent single-minded purpose. He strikes me as someone
who thought he could /play/ at being a Death Eater. He
strikes me as someone who thought he could ingratiate
himself to Voldemort and his own Father, and just bask
in the glow of that appreciation.

He thought he could just dip a toe in the DE waters, and
quickly found himself being suck into the quicksand that
is service to Voldemort. No guts or glory, just obedience
or death.

So, Draco is moving with single-minded purpose and he has
set aside childish things, but not because he wants to. 
He if forced to by circumstances that are tearing him up
inside. He doesn't want to die, but failure means death. 
He doesn't want to fail, but the task at hand appears to 
be far beyond his abilities. I think Draco desperately
longs for 'childish things'.

Harry on the other hand, though reluctantly, accepts his
fate. He is not torn the way Draco is. Certainly he wants
things to be different, he wants to be normal, he wants to
be free, but at the same time, he is not afraid to die 
for others. He is not afraid to sacrifice himself for the
greater good. Dumbledore told him he could walk away, but
Harry would never do that. If anyone had told Draco he 
could just quietly walk way, he would have been gone like
a shot. 

Harry has many wants and desires, but no matter how strong
they are, they are all tained by the presence of Voldemort.
He can never carry out his love for Ginny as long as 
Voldemort is around. He can never live a quiet normal life
as long as Voldemort is around. Every where he goes, every
thing he does is corrupted by the existance of Voldemort.
So that regardless of his deepest conscious desire, his 
much much much deeper subconscious desire is for Voldemort
to be gone.

Notice I resisted flat out saying that Harry wants 
Voldemort dead. I don't think he wishes death on anyone,
not even his greatest enemy, but at the same time, I think
he realizes that death is probably the only way out.
Though I'm sure if he could or does find another way, he
would certainly prefer it. 

> Jen:
>
> ...  Maybe Steve/bboy will get his wish after all, a 
> Harry who will arm himself in any number of ways as he
> searches for the Horcruxes and sets *his* sights on the 
> defeat of Voldemort, not only for himself and his own 
> peace, but for all those who cannot defend against 
> Voldemort's power.
> 
> Jen, 

bboyminn:

Keep in mind that from the perspective of a reader, I 
don't think Harry preparing himself will make that much
difference. I suspect there will be a few circumstances
along the way where it will prove beneficial, but in the
big climax, I have no doubt that JKR has a huge plot 
twist in store for us.

But when I put myself in Harry's head, I think it is
irrational for him to do any less. He knows what he is
facing, he knows the odds are overwhelmingly stacked 
against him. He knows there is so much he must know but
does not, that it seems completely irrational for him to
do anything less than everything possible to make himself
ready for the tasks ahead. 

It's the difference between what /I/ think and what I 
think /Harry/ thinks. 

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn