Something Important About Harry (Condensed Thread)

Elanor Wed Jun 22, 2011 1:51 am

This topic serves as an archive of a thread from the Harry Potter Lexicon Forum as hosted on World Crossing which ceased operation on April 15, 2011. Elanor

S.E. Jones - Mar 17, 2004 2:38 pm
Edited by Kip Carter Jan 12, 2006 11:45 pm
There must be something important about Harry!!!!

Liz Mann - Dec 16, 2002 11:17 am
I know that's kinda obvious. But the thing is, I was just reading PoA again and I though of something. When Fudge doesn't punish him for blowing up Aunt Marge, Harry thinks, surely the Minister of Magic himself doesn't usually get involved in cases of underage wizardry. An even better question is, surely the Minister himself doesn't usually get involved in looking for missing celebraties. In the Muggle world, celebraties don't get treated any differently by authority than normal people. Why should Fudge himself look for Harry? Another thing is, why wasn't Harry expelled? Harry and we assumed it was because he was so relieved to see him alive and well. But that shouldn't make a difference in the law. And when Harry asks Fudge about the punishment, Fudge says, "Circumstances change, Harry... we have to take into account... in the present climate..." What was he going on about? Simply that Sirius has escaped and might harm Harry or is there more to it than that?

My theory is that there is something about Harry that is very important. I still think Harry alone has the key to defeating Voldemort and only he can do it. Fudge must know this. Later in The Three Broomsticks, Madam Rosmerta asks Fudge if he thinks Sirius will set out to rejoin Voldemort and Fudge says that that is probably his eventual plan (after killing Harry). I think maybe Fudge was so keen to find Harry and keep him safe because he thought that Sirius would return to Voldemort, help him to rise again and that then Harry would be their only chance. If they lose him... oh the horror!

Any thoughts?

Elanor Wed Jun 22, 2011 1:51 am

Urg the Unclean - Dec 16, 2002 6:52 pm (#2 of 65)
Then why the change of heart by Fudge at end of GoF? Sirius hadn't been recaptured, would still be trying to get back to Voldemort & yet the old fool will not accept Voldemort is back.
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Sly Girl - Dec 16, 2002 7:10 pm (#3 of 65)
Fudge seems to be a slightly different character in GoF as opposed to the other books... as for Harry being important... umm.. I thought that was obvious? I always took Fudge's decision not to punish him as a reflection of, well.. Harry did go through an awful lot. The wizarding world does owe him a lot as well. And while there may be celebrities in the wizarding world, I think most would agree Harry is indeed in a class by himself. Therefore I think they overlook some things... besides it was just Aunt Marge. Served her right. If it had been me, I'd have Ak'd her long time ago.
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Seeker - Dec 17, 2002 3:06 am (#4 of 65)
Fudge may had a change of heart in the GoF mainly because Cedric Diggory died. He is very protective of the Ministry of Magic and its reputation.
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Dumbledore II - Dec 17, 2002 4:25 am (#5 of 65)
I think Fudge changed his mind simply because he didn't want to believe that Voldemort's back. It was easier to say that Harry isn't sane than except the truth. As for being protective of the reputation for the MoM, well I think he's far more protective when it comes to his own reputation.
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Archies night gown - Dec 17, 2002 8:33 am (#6 of 65)
Some thoughts to Fudges "change of heart"... Fudge could be in denial of Voldemorts return because he fears him. Why? Because he may have once been in league with the Death Eaters and since becoming Minister of Magic has "left the fold forever"(GoF). He now fears his own fate and blames Harry for this (Harrys blood being part of the spell that brought Voldemort’s return). In PA he was protective of Harry so as to prevent the one thing he feared. That Sirius was seeking out Harry to help aid in Voldemeort’s return. Just a theory.
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Nine - Dec 17, 2002 4:11 pm (#8 of 65)
Anyone in the wizarding world who lived through VW1 would be in terror and probably in denial of Voldemort coming back. Fudge is just unusual because he's the Minster of Magic and if he makes a mistake, he's blown his whole career. And he probably doesn't want to be as strict as Crouch, Sr. was for no reason, especially considering that that's how Fudge got this job in the first place. I don't think Fudge is likely to have been a Death Eater. He's just not the type.
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Istari Jones - Dec 17, 2002 5:21 pm (#9 of 65)
You know, someone mentioned somewhere on one of the other threads that Petunia may develop latent magical powers in on of the future books. They also mentioned that perhaps it wasn't Harry that caused Aunt Marge to blow up, but Petunia. True, Harry did lose his temper and exploded Marge's wine glass in a scene before Marge expanded, but that passage also described how angry Harry was getting before the glass exploded. Not so with the next passage where Marge blows up.

I think this is why Harry didn't get in trouble (he didn't do it) and some foreshadowing was given for Petunia's later role.

I also don't think Petunia hated Lily. I think she was just filled with an all-consuming jealousy because Lily had such magical powers, AND she married someone like James (rich, talented, affluent, etc.)
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Cameron B - Dec 17, 2002 5:48 pm (#10 of 65)
The reason he did not punish harry is the backlash if Harry was punished than it would be in the newspaper which would lead to many people being upset at the Ministry because they are grateful to Harry for being Voldemort’s downfall.... THINK OF ALL THE HOWLERS!
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dudley - Dec 18, 2002 4:58 am (#12 of 65)
About the blowing up thing, Harry didnt use his wand, therefore it was a mistake rather than an incident of "underage wizardry".
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C Jones - Dec 20, 2002 3:29 pm (#16 of 65)
About Harry not getting in trouble for blowing up Aunt Marge, I think the ministry of magic views intentional and unintentional magic among underage wizards very differently. Hagrid expected that Harry had made unexplainable things happen before Hogwarts, and because he's not a completely trained wizard yet, things are bound to happen while he is still in school. Plus, it was fixable. My question is why didn't the Ministry perform a memory charm on Vernon and Petunia? Fudge told Harry that they were mad but he'd be allowed back if he didn't come back for Christmas or Easter break, (which he didn't do anyways) but why not just erase that from their memories? I'm sure they could have done without remembering their sister being blown up!! And thoughts?
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W J - Dec 20, 2002 6:34 pm (#17 of 65)
They already know all about Hogwarts and wizards and everything before Marge blew up. Petunia apparently never had a memory charm put on her and remembers Lily's magic at home, etc., so muggle family members seem to be allowed to know about the magical world.

I am sure that Marge had a memory charm put on her because she did not know about magic and is not allowed to know. The Ministry does not need Marge's cooperation for anything, but it needs the Dursleys to continue to house Harry and cooperate with the magical world. They probably want to be honest with the Dursleys as long as they cooperate and don't tell other muggles about the wizarding world. 'Just a possibility....
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CP - Jan 26, 2003 1:16 am (#18 of 65)
Voldemort is THE villain, more that anything ever. Harry, in a supernatural way, defeated him. Though he is no doubt very important at the end, Fudge is only concerned about his reputation. Harry is very popular. It would not look good to be hard on Harry.
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Istari Jones - Jan 26, 2003 3:31 am (#19 of 65)
Also, Harry had run away from the Dursley's. Fudge was probably so relieved at Harry being found safely they "forget" about the Marge incident.
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azi - Jan 26, 2003 3:46 am (#20 of 65)
How about the fact that Harry Potter is famous? Harry can get away with almost anything because if he got shoved in Azkaban people would probably protest and cause havoc (like when the Ministry took baskets away for hoops). Fudge is like that with famous and powerful/rich people. Lucius Malfoy is another example.
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Gyriffindor Captain - Jan 26, 2003 10:55 am (#21 of 65)
I sort of thought that the reason Harry wasn't expelled in PoA was because Fudge figured the safest place for him was at Hogwarts with all those wizards because there was a killer on the loose that wanted Harry dead as far as they knew.
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Penny L. - Jan 26, 2003 11:10 am (#22 of 65)
I always figured that the reason that Harry wasn't expelled, was simply because they don't really expel people for accidents. I went to a prep school, and I got suspended every other week, and was always on the verge of being expelled, but never was, simply because they know that sudents make mistakes... expellsion at Hogwarts always seemed a little drastic to me anyway... its like they go from detention to expulsion, with nothing in the middle.

As for not doing memory charms on the Dursleys... its not like they are going to tell anyone at all about the fact that their nephew is a "freak" remember they have absolutly no desire to appear out of the ordinary .
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schoff - Jan 27, 2003 3:44 am (#23 of 65)
I honestly don't think Harry could be expelled, no matter what trouble he got into. Aside from his popularity, I think it would be an instant death sentence. Think about it, no Dumbledore (and Hogwarts) to protect him. There is *no way* the Dursley's would let him stay home during the school year (especially with Dudley gone) so he'd be spending 10 months of his year at an unprotected public Muggle school, with no relatives around (assuming this is one of his protections).

I can't see Voldemort giving up on Harry just because he's no longer at Hogwarts. I think there's more to it than that. Harry is what is important, not his abilities to do magic.
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shepherdess - Feb 11, 2003 12:11 pm (#54 of 65)
Regarding how the wizarding world feels about Harry because of what they owe him (the downfall of Voldemort), do you think public opinion will change when they find out he was also responsible (to some degree) for Voldemort coming back?
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Sly Girl - Feb 11, 2003 8:20 pm (#55 of 65)
I don't see how, because Harry is just a boy and he was taken by force and cut and bled against his will. I can see it if perhaps Harry had jumped at the chance to be the blood donor, but.. I don't know- I think most wizards- those will common sense (okay that might be pushing it) realize that Voldemort was due to come back eventually and that Harry and the spell reversal incident only delayed it for awhile. Remember in GOF when the wizards go after who set the Dark Mark? They know Harry didn't do it and don't persue it. Besides, what are the chances the wizarding public are really going to know the true details of what happened in that graveyard?
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Madam Poppy - Feb 12, 2003 12:31 am (#56 of 65)
The "wizarding public" may learn alot, depending on how much Rita Skeeter heard while sitting in the hospital window. She promised to behave for just a year and we know how often reporters tend to honor their word. Hermione better keep her in the jar a little bit longer.
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Sly Girl - Feb 12, 2003 8:48 am (#57 of 65)
Well, true.. but I did say the "true" details- not the messed up reporting of our dear beloved Rita.. Surprised

) besides, didn't Hermione tell her to keep sailing straight or she'd blab about the whole unregistered Animagus thing? Hermione basically has something over Ms. Skeeter... hmm interesting.
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Hermione Potter - Feb 12, 2003 9:53 am (#58 of 65)
Remember that Harry is somewhat responsible for Voldemorts return in that he prevented Black and Lupin killing Wormtail.

Not fair, but public opinion rarely is.
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NoVeil4Me - Feb 12, 2003 10:29 am (#59 of 65)
I don't think Harry bears ANY responsibility in Voldemort's return. If Wormtail was not around, I sincerely doubt Voldy would have had too much trouble finding another scumbag to help him out. Wormtail was a conveniance, not a crucial factor. Implying Harry is even indirectly responsible because he prevented Wormtails death is like saying the guy who opened the door for the drunk at the bar is indirectly responsible for the family the drunk killed on his way home. (Bad analogy but I can't think of a better one at the moment)
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Hermione Potter - Feb 12, 2003 10:49 am (#60 of 65)
That is true. But in the end of PoA he blamed himself for the consequences if Trelawneys prediction was correct. Dumbledore refuted this, but that does not mean that others might not agree with Harry.

On the other hand, very few people know what happened.
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NoVeil4Me - Feb 12, 2003 1:41 pm (#61 of 65)
Just because Harry takes the blame for something doesn't mean the blame is accurate. I felt responsible when my son got cancer...that doesn't mean I actually was responsible. People are irrational and even when they KNOW something is not their fault, they will take the blame for it...like with me and my son.

Sure, there will be those who think Harry is responsible, there are those who will hold Harry responsible for Cedric's death too...doesn't mean they are correct in their assumptions Smile

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Nine - Feb 12, 2003 6:02 pm (#62 of 65)
Hermione the blackmailer. She's been spending WAY too much time around Ron, Harry, and probably Sirius (who also sees that rules are meant to be broken most of the time). No one's going to know that Harry saved Pettigrew until Sirius is cleared. Harry isn't going to talk about the events of that night to anyone not in the know while there's a chance that it could harm Sirius to do so.
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Hermione Potter - Feb 13, 2003 7:52 am (#63 of 65)
I agree, Harry is not responsible. But that does not mean that he may not have trouble because people (perhaps even himself) think he is responsible.

But Nine is right. No one knows, and it will probably stay that way.
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sylverwraith - Feb 22, 2003 1:48 pm (#64 of 65)
I think Harry is special and that Fudge lets him off not only to keep him safe but also so he can continue at school. Maybe he has something special to do and he needs to be a trained wizard to do it?
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anbigin - Apr 26, 2003 6:26 am (#65 of 65)
I have just one more comment to add to the discussion about the public balming Harry for Voldie's comeback: If you think about it, the magical public has been consistantly illogical when it comes to Harry. That is thinking about Voldie's fist downfall when Harry was just a little baby, they gave him all the credit despite not knowing all the facts. In the right light it was actually Harry's mother who "depowered" Voldie, sure it was inadvertent but the public still saw surface appearances and credited a one year old boy. So whats to stop the magical public from now blaming Harry, who is now a 14 year boy, for bringing back Voldie because this time he's older and (if he once brought down the most powerful dude around) much more directly powerful to boot.