Harry's powers/Possession

[Jen Reese]

Anne:
> I've been ruminating on this exchange on the lists over the
> weekend. I think this is the clue to what makes Harry so special,
> even though he is clearly not the most talented wizard out there,
> nor arguably any more loving than many others.  I think we can 
> take it literally that LV gave Harry the tools to vanquish him.

Jen: I'm quite fond of the idea Voldemort would indirectly vanquish 
himself. Particularly after HBP, the story is in place for 
Voldemort's obsessions to cause his ruin. His obsession with Harry 
is especially intractable because he refuses to do the obvious and 
allow someone else to kill him. 

Anne: 
> A Possession battle between LV and Harry would echo the Priori
> Incantatem battle in GoF as a battle of wills (the dominant will
> symbolised in GoF by the direction of movement of the beads of
> light), and the "love factor" which gives Harry the advantage was
> symbolised by the phoenix song in GoF.

Jen: The Gleam could factor in here too, as a weakening agent for 
Voldemort. In fact, doh!--is that why LV lost the battle in the 
graveyard? He seemed to be weakening from his fear, generated by the 
phoenix song (FBAWTFT), but also because he had Harry's blood 
flowing in him?

Then you add in Neri's idea that the Power is yet another protection 
in place for Harry, rather than a weapon to defeat Voldemort. That 
power already saved him from possession, and provided the means for 
LV to employ Occlumency against him. What else will it save him from?

Anne:
> A possible resolution might even echo what LV tried to do in OoP. 
> "Kill me now, Dumbledore."  Suppose Harry, gaining possession of
> LV, said such a thing to Snape (or whoever)?  Your guess as to
> whether Harry would have time to vacate LV while the jet of green
> light travelled their way.  

Jen: So the self-sacrifice, or willingness to sacrifice could fit in 
here. Gosh, wouldn't Snape love to be the one to kill Harry and 
Voldemort ;). 

Anne: 
> (Not that this has much bearing on the theory, but I believe Jo
> slipped the subject of possession into HBP.  I think that's exactly
> the talent little Tommy Riddle was honing when he lured those 
> orphans into the cave.)

Jen: I wondered why JKR didn't spell out Riddle's heinous crime, 
because we hear about his other deeds. If she's saving it for the 
big ending, though, makes sense. Could possession be one of the 
curses on the Horcrux objects, therefore answering why Dumbledore 
found it so excruciating to destroy them? 

Omigosh!! The *potion*. That's how Voldemort would keep someone 
alive long enough to find out how they penetrated his defenses! 
Dumbledore may have been possessed in the cave. The excruciating 
pain, the "I don't want to....I don't want to....Let me go!"

And finally, "KILL ME" just as Harry felt when Voldemort possessed 
him in the DOM: "Let him kill us...End it, Dumbledore...."

Was Dumbledore fighting possession the entire time, was that what 
weakened him and caused him to slip down the ramparts? Did Snape 
understand what was happening to him, that the potion made him too 
weak to fight the possession, and he was going to become a another 
Voldemort pawn?

Anne:
> A drawback to my theory is that, if DD really hoped Occlumency
> could prevent LV possessing Harry, then it's something Harry will
> have to overcome in LV in order to possess him.  It may happen
> that LV will be the one to try to possess Harry again and Harry
> will merely turn the tables, or it may be just a matter of wills. 

Jen: This turns the tables on your thought above, but maybe part of 
LV's plan for killing Dumbledore was to make it possible to attempt 
posssessing Harry again, only this time with someone present who 
*would* 'kill the boy'? LV could be doing something to strengthen 
himself in order to possess Harry long enough to have a henchman 
cast the AK. But of course, if he does *that* there's something he's 
overlooking again, as he always does (like Peter being the chosen 
henchman perhaps <g>).  Or as you said, the battle of wills may 
ensue this time, Harry will be stronger than he was in OOTP, after a 
year with LV invading his mind.

Anne:
>Another drawback, forwhat it's worth, is that I had imagined that
> Harry's defeat of LVwould also echo Lily's partial defeat of him
> when he murdered her, an I don't see how this does that -- unless
> it's to be the fact that Harry and Lily both love.  Is that too
> tenuous?  Or complete rubbish?

Jen: I love symmetry! I picture another failed AK, only this time 
there are no Horcruxes saving him. He's made Harry somehow 
impossible to kill with all the weapons he handed him, and 
Voldemort's own AK destroys him in the end. 

Anne:
> (If Nagini is really a Horcrux, it may help explain how LV could
> possess her without causing her pain or damaging her.)

Jen: Hmm, more evidence Harry is *not* a Horcrux, since he felt 
excruciating pain at the DOM? This is a good one to keep in my back 
pocket for when the Harrycrux debate starts again on TOL, hehehe 
(full credit to you, of course). Thanks, Anne.

Jen, enjoying this discussion immensely and hoping Anne won't mind 
she changed the thread title a little bit.