CHAPDISC: DH5, Fallen Warrior

[afn01288]

No: HPFGUIDX 178571

> Sherry:
><snip> But well, I really disagree on this one.
>
> Harry has just suffered an extremely dangerous and traumatic
event.  He is
> not rational at this time, or he'd be beyond human.  He has been
chased by
> deatheaters, and then Voldemort himself, nearly been killed, seen
Hedwig
> die, thought Hagrid had died, is barely a month away from the
murder of
> Dumbledore ... how on earth could he be expected to realize
instantly that
> the woman was not Bellatrix?  I totally understood his reaction,
with all
> he'd been through.  And Bellatrix is the one who murdered Sirius.
I thought
> his reaction made perfect sense.  <SNIP>


I tend to agree  for all the reasons you cite, Sherry.  Danger is
expected (and found) at every turn for quite some time.

Also, with regard to Mike's point, Harry might have been expected to
know the connections and be less surprised at Andromeda Tonks.
However, for the reader, the surprise reaction of hostility helped
remind *us* of those connections.  For readers a little fuzzy on who
is whom at this point, this sort of forces consideration of who she
is and how the characters are related.

I thought Harry's reaction added some true depth.  With the family
relations we've lerned about mainly since OotP, family ties versus
loyalties to either side in the LV issue are complicated.  Harry's
faux pas underlines the difficulty of easily sorting anyone into the
good guys or bad guys group.  Harry's surprise at Andromeda's
resemblence to Bellatrix shows the realistic "knee jerk" reactions we
sometimes have, and unfortunately how we do not always get the chance
to make proper apologies and reconciliation.

afn