Please mark and return wtih comments

[mooseming]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Ashley" <kumayama at ...> wrote:
>

> 
> Lyn again,
> While Voldy was weakened, he was far from ineffectual. I disagree 
with
> an earlier comment by another who asserted Voldy was unable to 
cast a
> cruciatus curse on Harry. 

er I think that was me.

Yes this is one of those (many) messy areas where the evidence is 
conflicting, the following are all taken from DH, CH36.

Voldemort casts a Crucio at Harry and:

`
 yet the pain he expected did not come.'

So Voldy can't hurt Harry, but:

`He was thrown once, twice, three times into the air.'

Oh, so he can, but when Voldy curses Neville:

`In one swift, fluid motion Neville broke free of the Body-Bind 
Curse upon him;'

Right so Neville is safe then! And yet Harry doesn't think so as:

`Harry cast a Shield Charm between Neville and Voldemort before the 
latter could raise his wand.'

In fact it appears to be business as usual:

`He was searching for Voldemort and saw him across the room, firing 
spells from his wand as he backed into the Great Hall, still 
screaming instructions to his followers as he sent curses flying 
left and right; Harry cast more Shield Charms, and Voldemort's would 
be victims,
., darted past him'

Yup, he's on a roll:

`Voldemort was in the centre of the battle, and he was striking and 
smiting all within reach.'

No question then, Voldy is in fine fettle, and firing on all 
cylinders, as here:

`Voldemort was now duelling McGonagall, Slughorn and Kingsley all at 
once, and there was cold hatred in his face as they wove and ducked 
around him, unable to finish him -'

And here:

`He saw McGonagall, Kingsley and Slughorn blasted backwards, 
flailing and writhing through the air, as Voldemort's fury at the 
fall of his last, best lieutenant exploded with the force of a bomb. 
Voldemort raided his wand and directed it at Molly Weasley.'

And here. Harry is clearly worried:

`"Protego" roared Harry, and the Shield Charm expanded in the middle 
of the hall'

Except in the end he says:

"You won't be killing anyone else tonight," said Harry as they 
circled, and stared into each other's eyes, green into red. "You 
won't be able to kill any of them, ever again. Don't you get it? I 
was ready to die to stop you hurting these people - "
"But you did not!"
" - I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother 
did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the 
spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them. You 
can't touch them."

Er, does anyone know what's going on???



<snip>
> 
> I think there is a tendency among many, and a strong point of view
> among a few, to perceive Harry's successes as almost entirely due 
to
> external factors, rather than his own abilities. I read things
> differently, seeing Harry as a more powerful wizard than most 
others,
> but with his magical powers developed from his choices and bravery
> rather than innately bestowed on him or gained from academic
> commitment and talent. Perhaps I assume incorrectly, but I tend to
> believe that was a message JKR intended throughout the series, that
> you may not be born of exceptional wealth  (e.g., the Malfoys) or
> intellect (DD, TR, Hermione), but you can make a powerful mark on 
the
> world by your choices and commitment to good. 
> 
> Lyn
>
As I said in a previous post I believe it is Harry's ability to 
accept external factors beyond his control combined with a good 
heart that make him special. To make choices there have to be 
external factors, Harry's good heart is often overlooked because it 
is a given and therefore not much discussed. As DD says in HBP, 
CH23 "Yes, Harry you can love,...Which, given everything that has 
happened to you, is a great and remakable thing. You are still too 
young to understand how unusual you are, Harry."

Regards
Jo