Harry's Training

[Marie Rados]

No: HPFGUIDX 169461

Hello Jo, hello all,

Here is a newbie's first post on this list. I'll try to be not too long, but still a bit more sopisticated than a one-word "yes, indeed answer".  Still, I don't have everything in mind yet concerning the books. (Unlike others here, I believe.)


Jo:
> Like probably everyone else in this group I have been re-reading the
> books in preparation for book 7.

Well, I don't know about the others, but I definitely AM. I want to be absolutely aware of EVERYTHING when I read the last book, when JKR answers most of the most important questions. I say most of them, because she claims that even after there'll be much room for speculation...

> Something struck me in book 6 which I think I thought about the
> first time but not so strongly.
>
> When Dumbledore and Harry went to the cave to find the Horcrux it
> was more evident than ever just how inexperienced Harry is. When DD
> was working out how to get through Voldemort's barriers he could
> tell where magic was and could also interpret how to get through.
>
> How did Dumbledore learn all of that in the first place? Who showed
> him how to detect residual magic? Or how to detect and work out how
> to get through dark magic? Was it that DD had an effective DADA
> teacher when he was at school?
>
> What do others think about how this will affect Harry's ability to
> be able to defeat Voldemort. Do you think he knows more than he
> realises?

So yes. When I read that book for the first time, but this one more in particular I remember being struck by this, too.  I don't know how it feels to you guys, but education in Hogwarts seems to be a joke compared to what other wizards know about magic.  I especially say it, because at this moment Harry has been through his OWLs. On the other hand the Weasly twins have left school just with their OWLs, and they could run a most successful business with their knowledge acquired so far.  But we should bear in mind that they have been making a lot of experiences.  And so do HHR and ppl from DA, just with another perspective.  So my feeling is the following. Hogwarts is like most Muggle schools:  gives you the basics only, and the rest you'll have to learn for yourself on your own. It is even supported by the fact that a wizard's lifetime is even longer than that of Muggles, and they are only educated for 7 years. There is no wizarding at university level. (There's another good question to know where they learn to read and write etc. There may be some answer on this somewhere, but I did no research so far.)

The problem is that knowing that there will be only 7 books about Harry and he will have to defeat Voldemort before the end of the last book, the last time we see him he will still be rather inexperienced.

The possibilities are the following in my humble opinion:
1. He learns a lot more in the last book.
2. He kind of discovers his "real strength and powers". Because he is a Hero.  And this might be somehow connected to LOVE.
3. He will be able to defeat V. with a lot of help from the others, just as usual.  And this must be somehow connected to LOVE.

Bye,
Marie (from Hungary)