Beyond Hogwarts


Search Beyond Hogwarts:

Reference Desk:
Beyond Hogwarts FAQ
Wizard to Muggle Currency Converter
Harry Potter Spelling Reference


The power The Dark Lord knows not

by David Haber

It all comes down to this. The big difference between Voldemort and Harry. The only difference that's really important. It couldn't be more important to the climax of the Harry Potter Septology Mystery. And the reason we know it's important is because J.K. Rowling went out of her way to tell us about it, right out, in plain language, not couched in a riddle, in the very first Harry Potter book.

> Read the full article

Pages:  <<  <  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ...  >  >>

Reader Comments: (Page 11)

i think that snape definately play in a part in a final duel between harry and voldemort, but i think that he definitely help harry thus showing he is good not evil. he do this out of his love for lily, which i believe is the reason Dumbledore trusted him, because even if he could fool voldemort i believe nobody would be able to fool the great Albus Dumbledore.

Posted by carl from birmingham, england on March 28, 2007 2:39 PM

that was one hell of an article. but imagining harry walking up to voldemort and giving him a hug is just too much, beyond our comprehension. i would love to see it happen though. that kind of ending would be disappointing because we are all waiting fro the big duel between good and evil, ie. harry and voldemort. harry can love voldemort but we want to see harry stand up to voldemort and kick his butt. voldemort would probably feel no emotion with harry , he might not be happy if harry s cuz he's so used to ing people. ly hallows better be good!

Posted by deekells from stow, ohio on March 29, 2007 8:01 PM

Someone mentioned that Snape hating James isn't enough for Snape to hate Harry. I think it is.

Imagine you loved someone, someone who showed you kindness when everyone else was against you. And then this person was "snatched" up by the person you hate the most, the person that made your life miserable day in and day out. Then their child is the spitting image of the person you hate, both in looks and personality...I think it would take a saint not to feel pangs of hatred towards the child.

Snape has to see day in and day out the person he hated the most and the person he loved the most (in theory) rolled into one. No wonder he treats Harry with such revulsion. A constant reminder of the humiliation he faced at the hands of James and the love he lost in Lily (again, theoretical).

Also remember, Dumbledore acknowledged sadly to Harry in OOP when they were discussing why Snape discontinued Harry�s Occlumency lessons that some wounds run too deep. Snape�s feelings towards James and Lily, no matter what they are, are powerful enough for Dumbledore to make note of it, and powerful enough for Dumbledore not to push Snape to continue with the lessons, even though they were crucial to Harry.

Of course, maybe the whole Snape-hate-Harry thing is just part of his double agent act. I think it goes deeper than that though.

Posted by Meredith from Sydney, Australia on March 29, 2007 8:54 PM

Elizabeth, I agree that Voldemort does see Bellatrix as an extremely powerful witch and that he sees her as very useful because of her devotion. My theory is based on a presumption that I failed to explain. If, by using Harry's blood to regenerate, Voldemort now has the power to love. Love does not have to be as extreme as my previous example. We are told that Voldemort never had a friend, but Bellatrix could fill that role. His actions show that he thinks she is worth saving, this could be a sign of concern. It could also be as simple as him still needing to use her in the future. I just thought it was odd that throughout the series we see Harry trying to save his friends, and suddenly Voldemort shows Harry-like behavior to save a friend/servant/follower (whatever he sees Bellatrix as). In the process he reveals himself to the wizarding world, which he did not want to do just yet.

At this point, anything could happen.

Posted by Lisa from North Carolina on March 29, 2007 10:40 PM

Meredith - i agree with what you say about snape hating James because he snatched lily, but i don't agree with you saying that james made Snape's life miserable. as Lupin told harry in the chapter 'Careers Advice' in OotP "Snape was a special case. he never lost an opportunity to curse James so you couldn't really expect James to take that lying down, could you?"
this is exactly like the situation with Harry and Malfoy, which also has an identical outcome, with Harry being good and probably becoming a member of the order like James did and Malfoy becoming a eater like Snape did.

Posted by carl from birmingham, england on March 30, 2007 03:21 AM

Do you think that Voldemort's motivation was just to finish off Harry since he was alone and barely holding his own? Bella just happened to be there. Voldemort needs some agents in the field, and even though he places no value on individuals, he could not indiscriminately off all his eaters or where would he be then. I know she is placed highly within the eaters, but I don't think Voldemort has any personal feelings for her.

Posted by Patty from Quincy,Massachusetts on March 30, 2007 06:10 AM

Meredith, your reading of the Snape/Harry relationship is exactly the same as mine, point for point. And add to that Harry is a living breathing reminder that he betrayed someone he loved to Voldemort. That's got to hurt.

Lisa, I think you are on the right track. Something about using Harry's blood to regenerate is going to trip Voldemort up. I'm just not sure it be that Voldemort can now love. Something Dumbledore once said to Harry about the important thing being your choices, not your abilities, and a very similar remark to Fudge about what you are born not being important but what you grow to be. Dumbledore is insisting on free . That is why the Imperius Curse is Unforgivable; because it interferes with free . And that is why I can't see Dumbledore ever having anything to do with an Unbreakable Vow. To get back to the point, I think Dumbledore believes that Tom Riddle has made certain types of choices all his life, and as those choices SEEM to get him what he wants he continues to make them. But he always has the power to make the other choice, and it wouldn't depend on Harry's blood.
Then again, you could be right, and Harry's blood does provide that window of opportunity for Voldemort. Actually that fits quite well with my belief that Voldemort is a psychopath. I use that term in the clinical sense, because he shows pretty well all of the identifying behaviour traits right back to childhood according to what Rowling shows us in HBP. In that case it take divine grace or Harry's blood to redeem him. Of course, he might reject that grace and maybe that be what ultimately destroys him.

Posted by Elizabeth from Australia on March 30, 2007 07:09 AM

This is a very impressive theory, but I'd like to make an alternate suggestion. I don't think that Harry felt sympathy for Voldemort. He felt sympathy for Tom. Also, maybe Harry doesn't have to actually love Voldemort. Maybe he just has to forgive him.

Posted by Lisa on March 30, 2007 10:56 AM

Lisa: Forgiveness: Isn't that the same thing? Doesn't forgiveness require love, and vice versa?

Posted by Dave Haber from Los Angeles, CA on March 30, 2007 11:01 AM

Not necessarily. You can forgive someone you don't like for a specific circumstance.

Posted by Lisa on March 30, 2007 11:05 AM

You can "say" you forgive someone you hate, but if you're not at peace with your feelings for someone, can you truly forgive them? This is what we're talking about, Harry coming to grips with his feelings for Voldy, and letting his love guide him instead of his hate.

Posted by Dave Haber from Los Angeles, CA on March 30, 2007 11:27 AM

I think Harry's going to hit Voldemort with an Avada Kedavra and WHAMO! No more Voldy.
I don't think it has anything to do with Harry loving him, which I find completely impossible.

Posted by Ashley from Missouri on March 30, 2007 6:31 PM

Pages:  <<  <  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ...  >  >>



Featured Discussions | The Septology | Harry's World | Harry Potter Movies | Dumbeldore Is Not Dead | FAQ


BeyondHogwarts.com is not affiliated with or approved by
Scholastic Books, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros., or J.K. Rowling
Original Content Copyright © 2006-2010 David Haber, All Rights Reserved