Dumbledore's Unspeakable Word

[naamagatus]

I agree with many of what you've written, but would like to use just 
the following paragraph as a starting point for my interpretation.

> Yes, he is rightly accused of having a "hero complex", but it's not 
>born out of a desire to be a hero, but to save those for whom he 
>cares (another possible dictionary definition of the four-letter 
>word).


Harry's "hero complex" imo is the crux of the matter. How is he 
different from the other good people around him? Hermione, Ron, 
Neville, Lupin... etc.? 

The pardigamtic moment for me is in PS - the jump into a black pit. 
Hermione and Ron have the normal reaction - peeping  in, recoiling, 
presumably trying to gauge the depth, their chance of survival. Harry 
jumps in with *no hesitation*. I don't think that JKR simply failed to 
report that Harry had misgivings, fears - the very essence of his 
action is that he didn't. 

This doesn't mean that Harry is super humanly brave, that he doesn't 
know fear. He is petrified in GoF when he has to face a dragon. He is 
described many times as being afraid (of Snape, of Voldemort, of the 
Dementors, of being publicly humiliated, of being expelled...). So why 
isn't he afraid at that moment? I know that I can't imagine myself 
flinging myself into a black hole in the ground (black - meaning you 
don't know how deep it is). But Harry isn't afraid. He is also not 
afraid in CoS when it comes to going down the tunnel after Ginny. He 
is not afraid in PoA to go into the Whomping Willow to save Ron. The 
same in OoP when he believes that Sirius is in danger. 

This is where Harry is different, better, than everybody else - when 
others are in danger he forgets about himself. At those moments, Harry 
is absolutely unconcerned about himself. He doesn't think about his 
chances of survival, about the danger to him. This cannot be reduced 
to an instinctual, implusive reaction - that he sees somebody in 
danger and leaps without thinking. When people need to be rescued, he 
goes into a long, sustained rescue mission, giving him plenty of time 
to realize the danger he put himself in.

For all the other good characters, selflessness is hard to come by. 
Ron I think is a very good example. He often needs to be shoved by 
Harry - he is more hesitant than Harry even when it is his own sister 
that needs to be rescued. 

For Harry, for some reason, selflessness is natural, innate. 

It's hard to imagine that for JKR, a Christian, selflessness isn't the 
bottom line of love. So, yes - Harry's power that Voldemort knows not 
is love. 
 


Naama