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, in a way we couldn’t forget:
“Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign … to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.”
PS/SS pg 299/216
In the very next book, Harry meets the young Voldemort, Tom Riddle, and afterwards, Harry is troubled by the similarities between Tom and him, and the fact that the sorting hat wanted to put Harry in Slytherin.
“It only put me in Gryffindor,” said Harry in a defeated voice, “because I asked not to go into Slytherin…” “Exactly,” said Dumbledore, beaming once more. “Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
CoS pg 333/245, emphasis is author’s
So, Harry has the protection of love, and can chose to act for good, to act from love. He had a very good teacher. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when Dumbledore is explaining to Harry why he waited so long to “tell him everything”, Dumbledore says:
“I cared about you too much,” said Dumbledore simply. “I cared more for your happiness than your knowing the truth, more for your peace of mind than my plan, more for your life than the lives that might be lost if the plan failed. In other words, I acted exactly as Voldemort expects we fools who love to act.
OotP pg 838/739
And we know Harry knows how to access the power of love when he needs it. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore told Harry (it was Sirius in the movie):
“You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don’t recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him.”
PoA pg 427/312
But we also know that the ability to chose to act from love is something Tom Riddle cannot do. He can only use people for his own purposes by faking love, as we find out when he tells Harry how he trapped Ginny Weasley in Chamber of Secrets:
“But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. No one’s ever understood me like you, Tom … I’m so glad I’ve got this diary to confide in … It’s like a friend I can carry around in my pocket…” Riddle laughed, a high, cold laugh that didn’t suit him. It made the hairs stand up on the back of Harry’s neck. “If I say it myself, Harry, I’ve always been able to charm the people I needed.”
CoS pg 309/228, emphasis is author’s
A lot of the Harry Potter books have to do with love, and love potions come up in the books several times. In the second book, on Valentine’s Day, Professor Lockhart suggests students could ask Professor Snape to show them how to whip up a love potion (nobody takes his advice). In the beginning of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry discovers a giggly Hermione, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, as Mrs. Weasley is telling them about a love potion she made as a young girl (to catch Arthur?)
But in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, love potions become even more important. In Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes, Fred and George sell love potions that “work for up to twenty-four hours at a time, depending on the weight of the boy in question, and the attractiveness of the girl, but we’re not selling them to our sister!” Later in the book, Ron takes a love potion by accident and shortly thereafter is almost killed.
But most importantly, it is in Professor Slughorn’s class, when we are allowed to eavesdrop a little on their lesson:
“Amortentia doesn’t really create love, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. It is probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this room — oh yes,” he said, nodding gravely at Malfoy and Nott, both of whom were smirking skeptically. “When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love.”
HBP pg 186/177
This is very important information. You can’t magically create what Harry has. If you can’t love, you can’t get it from a potion.
Most ominously, we also learn in Half-Blood Prince that Voldemort, himself, was conceived under this false kind of love. While talking about Voldemort’s mother, Dumbledore tells Harry:
“Personally, I am inclined to think that she used a love potion. I am sure it would have seemed more romantic to her.”
HBP pg 213/202
And that doing so was ultimately her downfall:
“But it is my belief — I am guessing again, but I am sure I am right — that when her husband abandoned her, Merope stopped using magic. I do not think that she wanted to be a witch any longer. Of course, it is also possible that her unrequited love and the attendant despair sapped her of her powers; that can happen.
HBP pg 262/245
Once again, an example of the power of love, and what happens in the absence of real love.
We saw earlier how, in Chamber of Secrets, Tom Riddle himself ridicules the importance of love. In Half-Blood Prince, via the flash-back in Dumbledore’s pensieve, we see Voldemort directly deny its importance:
“I have pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, than they have ever been pushed –” “Of some kinds of magic,” Dumbledore corrected him quietly. “Of some. Of others, you remain…forgive me…woefully ignorant.” For the first time, Voldemort smiled. It was a taut leer, an evil thing, more threatening than a look of rage. “The old argument,” he said softly. “But nothing I have seen in the world has supported your famous pronouncements that love is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore.” “Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places,” suggested Dumbledore.”
HBP pg 443/415
This is all very interesting. It seems that while Dumbledore had Tom Riddle under his care at Hogwarts, he had hopes of showing him the benefits of the power of love. Tom Riddle speaks of Dumbledore’s “famous pronouncements that love is more powerful than my kind of magic”. But we know, unfortunately for the wizarding world, that it never seemed to get through to him.
All of this leads us to the culmination of the “special lessons” that Dumbledore is giving Harry during Half-Blood Prince. After discussing Voldemort’s horcruxes and the task Harry has ahead of him of destroying them and facing Voldemort, Dumbledore tells Harry:
“It will take uncommon skill and power to kill a wizard like Voldemort even without his Horcruxes.” “But I haven’t got uncommon skill and power,” said Harry, before he could stop himself. “Yes, you have,” said Dumbledore firmly. “You have a power that Voldemort has never had. You can –” “I know!” said Harry impatiently. “I can love!” “Yes, Harry, you can love,” said Dumbledore. “Which, given everything that has happened to you, is a great and remarkable thing. You are still too young to understand how unusual you are, Harry.” “So, when the prophecy says that I’ll have ‘power the Dark Lord knows not,’ it just means — love?” asked Harry, feeling a little let down. “Yes — just love,” said Dumbledore. “But Harry, never forget that what the prophecy says is only significant because Voldemort made it so. I told you this at the end of last year. Voldemort singled you out as the person who would be most dangerous to him — and in doing so, he made you the person who would be most dangerous to him!”
HBP pg 509/475
The power The Dark Lord knows not, is Love. Harry is disappointed to hear this. He doesn’t yet understand how powerful he is because of this. And to re-emphasize Harry’s capacity for love (the Force is strong with this one!), Dumbledore reminds Harry:
“Despite your privileged insight into Voldemort’s world (which, incidentally, is a gift any Death Eater would kill to have), you have never been seduced by the Dark Arts, never, even for a second, shown the slightest desire to become one of Voldemort’s followers!” “Of course I haven’t!” said Harry indignantly. “He killed my mum and dad!” “You are protected, in short, by your ability to love!” said Dumbledore loudly. “The only protection that can possibly work against the lure of power like Voldemort’s! In spite of all the temptation you have endured, all the suffering, you remain pure of heart, just as pure as you were at the age of eleven, when you stared into a mirror that reflected your heart’s desire, and it showed you only the way to thwart Lord Voldemort, and not immortality or riches. Harry, have you any idea how few wizards could have seen what you saw in that mirror? Voldemort should have known then what he was dealing with, but he did not!
HBP pg 510/477
Dumbledore has told us, Harry’s greatest weapon against Voldemort is Love. And Harry’s greatest protection against Voldemort’s magical power is also Love!
So, this is what it all comes down to. I think I’m correct in assuming that every Harry Potter fan on the planet assumes that at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, there will be a duel between Harry and Voldemort, the result of which one does not live so that the other can survive (to paraphrase The Prophecy). But what if there is another way for the story to end between Harry and Voldemort? What if there is another way Harry can triumph over Voldemort without dueling him?
What if, after Harry destroys all of Voldemort’s horcruxes, Harry kills Voldemort by walking up to him, throwing his arms around him in a big bear hug and telling Voldemort, “I Love You!”?
Seriously! I know, on first hearing, it sounds really funny. I must admit, I didn’t create the image of Harry doing this, someone told me there is a Harry Potter parody video on the internet that ends with this “joke”. But what if it isn’t a joke?
What would happen to Voldemort if Harry did this, and really meant it?
Remember how Bellatrix told Harry in Order of the Phoenix that he couldn’t do the evil of an unforgivable curse unless he meant it? What if it works the other way, too? What if, Harry can somehow, somewhere, find it in himself to feel Love for Voldemort, and really mean it?
There’s a clue in the books that it might very well be possible for Harry to do just that. In Half-Blood Prince, after we see the sad tale of Tom Riddle’s mother Merope, Harry exclaims:
“She wouldn’t even stay alive for her son?” Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. “Could you possibly be feeling sorry for Voldemort?” “No,” Harry said quickly.
HBP pg 262/246
But we know, if even for a fleeting second, he was. In Chamber of Secrets he admitted how his life and Voldemort’s were similar. I believe Harry does have it in his heart to find some love, even for Voldemort.
But what does this mean for Voldemort? Even before he started making horcruxes, he didn’t love anyone, didn’t have the need to love anyone. Now that he’s irreparably damaged his soul by splitting it into seven pieces, he no longer has the physical ability to understand or accept love. And after his horcruxes have been destroyed, there is no hope for repairing the damage (if there ever was in the first place). Voldemort is unredeemable as a human being.
Love. It is the power the Dark Lord knows not. It is Harry’s greatest power, his greatest protection.
I think, if Harry walked up to Voldemort, give him a big hug and said, “I love you!” and really meant it, it would be more than Voldemort’s twisted and irreparably damaged soul could handle, and Voldemort would simply cease to exist.
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Prophecy by its very nature is a double edged sword. Most prophecies have more than one meaning. Often several possible outcomes. It has occurred to me that there is another possible reading/interpretation of the prophecy. “He will have power the Dark Lord knows not…” Love is not a one way street. Quite apart from Harry’s ability to love, it could also refer to Harry’s ability to command or attract love. People are willing to risk their lives for Harry and even die for him simply because they love him. This might put a slightly different slant on the prophecy.
Love is the wildcard if you like, with unpredictable results.
Great article, pulling together all these threads about love. I think it may be pushing it to have Harry walk up to Voldemort and love him, but somehow it will be Harry’s capacity to love and to be loved that will destroy Voldemort. After all, Luke Skywalker didn’t have to love the Emperor!
I think too that love is important to the end of the HP saga. And I too had the thought that Harry could beat Voldemort by loving him (even before I read the text).
A well stated theory David. But I doubt that Harry will walk up and give Voldemort a big hug any time soon. But LOVE is a strong and recurring theme in the series and most definitely will play a big role in DH.
In SS/PS Voldemort/Quirrell can’t touch Harry without feeling pain which ultamitely destroyed him. This was due to the protection of his mother’s LOVE sacifice.
In GoF Voldemort makes big point to use Harry’s blood in the regenerative potion to help him over come this problem.
Yet in OotP at the battle of the Ministry Voldemort still can not possess Harry for very long due to the great amount of pain he feels. I believe Dumbledore explains this to Harry by saying that it was due to the LOVE which Harry possesses.
Prehaps Dumbledore knows so much about the power of LOVE because this is what he used to defeat Grindelwald in 1945 (I think). We know so little about Dumbledore and yet he looms so large in the final installment.
It would be simply amazing to find out how JK Rowling puts this down on paper, eh? Because, I seriously wonder how Tom would let Harry walk up to him without casting the Avada Kedavra curse on him the moment he sees him. I’m not dissing the article, I think that there is a PROBABILITY that Harry would find love for Tom in his heart.
Hey, I just though of something else. We read about the glint of triumph in Dumbledore’s eyes right? What if it is because Harry’s blood itself contains love (or in a sense), and when Tom uses his blood to regenerate, he actually ‘injects’ some love into himself? As I said, this idea has probably been submitted by someone else. But there’s a possibility.
Great article! I think you have a really good point. But don’t forget that perhaps Snape could be the one who ends the duel and dies in the process. This fits with JK’s statement that two would die in the end. You have a really good point though!
I think it’s an interesting thought, but even if Harry wanted to do this, you can not seriously believe that Lord Voldemort would let Harry walk up to him and give him a hug? He would curse him long before he could reach his body! I think that if Harry does need to love Voldemort to be able to destroy (maybe not even Voldemort as a person, but just his powers), it will be much less a physical outing of love, a more of an emotional one.
The image of hugging Voldemort is perhaps a little far-fetched but the notion of defeating him by showing compassion and understanding feels like a likely part of the final act. The books are littered with examples of Harry’s life or situation mirroring that of Voldemort – Harry can empathise with Riddle at the very least. I suspect, though, that an act of compassion will only be part of the story and that Harry will also need some sort of McGuffin to send the Dark Lord packing for good.
I think that there is another love that can kill Voldemort.
I think that Lucius and Narcissa’s love for Draco can be a
help for Harry to finish Voldemort. If they (Lucius and Narcissa) turned against Voldemort to rescue thier only son from Voldemort’s rage after Draco failure to kill Dumbledore, this will give Harry potter a great help to finish Voldemort for good.
I do think it might be possible. It would create an astonishing twist in the story. By the way, do you think Voldemort had ever been in love? Maybe he did feel sorry that he had no parents and took up up to bullying. I admit, I did laugh when I read the theory, but again, anything is possible. Let’s just enjoy to the fullest on guessing about the theory before the book is released.
I too think the gleam of triumph in Dumbledore’s eyes has some connection with what the article describes, I’m still thinking about what that could be.
About the big hug theory — how about Snape slipping a love potion into Voldemort’s drink with Harry as the intended target. This would tie in with the Sirius/Lupin thing noticed in Prisoner of Azkaban. I haven’t seen that movie, I am just going by the Foreshadowing article on this site. There have been some suggestions they were gay. What if this foreshadows Voldemort obsessively loving Harry, thanks to Snape.
I was howling with laughter when I first read that Harry was supposed to walk up to the most evil, hated sorcerer ever to exsist and give him a bear hug. That was just so.. Potter Puppet Pals. But then when Dave was all, “Seriously!” I knew it wasn’t intended to be funny.
That didn’t stop me from laughing.
Anyway, I think even Harry’s ability to love won’t amount to hugging Voldemort, because it is obscured by Harry’s immense hatred for the Dark Arts.
Voldemort killed Lily, James, and Padfoot. Do you honestly think that Harry will walk up to his parents’ and his godfather’s killer and say “I love you Voldemort!”
I don’t think so. I’m sticking with the duel idea.
I don’t really see much in this theory. I mean, there are plenty of death eaters who love voldemort and mean it. He could be killed by love but not in a way by hugging him.
tim – the point you make about average wizards only knowing a little bit about priori incantatem is spot on. as fawkes is dumbledores phoenix only he would know (apart from ollivander) that he gave two feathers, and therefore would be the only person to know what would happen if both harry’s and voldemort’s wands were forced against each other.
another thing i have thought of is why ollivander dissappeared. i know someone (probably ron) said in HBP that he was probably taken so that he could make wands for the death eaters, but what if voldemort researched the effects of priori incantatem after the what happened in GoF, but couldn;t find out how to stop, so he had ollivander kidnapped hoping that he would know to stop this from happening.
Lisa – i think you have spotted something major with the connection between bellatrix and voldemort, i can’t think how it could effect the plot but i think it definitely will. also well done for noticing that she is the only death eater to be called by their first name by voldemort.
As I have long advocated the Snape was in love with Lilly solution to the riddle I am thrilled to see more clues uneartherd above. I will add these thoughts to the discussion.. On at least three occasions Dumbledore is asked about Snape by Harry. On one he indicates that inadvertently turning the Potters over to Voldemort was
‘the greatest regret of his life’. Harry, never wishing to accept Snape as a ‘good guy’, keeps asking Dumbledore. On at least one occasion Dumbledore has to pause to consider what to tell Harry.. he looked as if he were deciding something. The fact that Snape loved Lilly Evans was not and is not common knowledge and is Snape’s private business. Indeed, Snape’s memory about Lilly in the pensive is ‘Snape’s Worst Memory’ (the chapter title). Dumbledore was considering whether or not Harry had the maturity to understand and accept the fact that Snape loved Harry’s mother. Dumbledore (to further the plot if for no other reason) decides that Harry is not ready to hear this and does not then add to his explination as to why he trusts S. Snape.
So many times our Author gives Harry incomplete information and has him draw half correct, half incorrect conclusions. This helps lead us off track in following the clues. Harry’s summary of Snape’s conversion in HBP is therefor half correct (about the remorse) and half incorrect (about Lilly) because Dumbledore simply never told Harry and Harry could not see it from what he knew from the pensive.
Carl – I think you are on the right track with Fawkes.
I was hoping Mr. Olivander was taken into hiding by the Order. I am sure Voldemort immediately after the graveyard scene wanted information from him about the wand, and as he was close to Dumbledore he would have turned to him for protection. He and Dumbledore, and now Harry, are the only ones who know about Fawkes’ tail feathers.
Fawkes must have been in on Dumbledore’s plans not to have interfered on the astronomy tower. You have to wonder how Dumbledore convinced him when they obviously have such a strong bond. I think it is interesting, too, how Harry seems to have almost as strong a bond with Fawkes as he does with Voldemort. He “feels” strength from his song and “knows” when he has left the grounds. I definitely believe Fawkes will have a major role. Dumbledore’s patronus seems to have been the Phoenix, and it is the Order of the Phoenix – again we just don’t have enough information to tie everything together. I am hoping Fawkes will come to fight for Harry just like Buckbeak.
The Snape / Lily romance. Yes it is likely they had a relationship – but I think we are overlooking the “ancient” powerful magic, just like Dumbledore points out as Voldemort’s fault – the life debt Snape owed James. Dumbledore states that Snape hated being in James’ debt and he felt incredible remorse for being the cause of James’ death. Harry thinks Dumbledore is just being taken in by his own good nature, but this is a magical bond between James and Snape – ancient and powerful magic. According to Dumbledore the ancient magic is the most powerful of all and frequently overlooked by wizards ( and muggles!) Personally, I don’t think we have to look any further than this to find Snape’s motivation to turn from Voldemort to the Order – he was forced to.
To Charlie: Think you’re on to something. What you say makes sense, is a reason Dumbledore trusted Snape so much, and could be a clue that Dumbledore really isn’t dead. Personally I think your right, but you may be off, I mean, he did call her a Mudblood in “Snape’s Worst Memory”. But then again, if you love someone, you try to make contact, even if it means teasing her.
Tom was concieved when his father was under the influence of a love potion, let us say that Tom/Voldemort cant love because there was no real love involved in making him (and lets say that normally there is, thus so we all can love).
with Harry�s blood in him he got the love that is in Harry�s blood, given by his family/mother, thus enabling Tom/Voldemort to be able to love for the first time in his live, would explain the glint in Dumbledore’s eye.
this could be a thing that is important in the final battle/show-off between the two.
also it is stated that Harry has his mothers eyes, which can stand for the concept that he, like his mother, can see the good in someone wile that person cant see it himself. Could have something to do with him showing compassion for Tom, by which he doesn�t deliver the final blow, but shows compassion and spares his live, were Voldemort who can love now sees the loving gesture and thereby sheds his skin and is reborn tom but than one who can love.
that last I did think of because the phoenix has a significant part in the story, the wand of both of them has a tail feather of fakes, things like that.
Raow
Nicely put with some very interesting points, particularly Snape being forced to comply due to a life debt – excellently proposed.
I could go along with it BUT would that apply when the debt was artificially induced i.e. Snape was put in peril by one of the same group who saved him? If it was then he would not be the only unhappy one, I would not find it a satisfactory plot line.
after reading the many posts about whether snape is good, bad or was in love with lily i know believe that he is good and that he did love lily. so, if he loved lily where does his hatred come for harry come from, it cant just be because he is james’s son.
my theory is that, dumbledore, knowing snape is a very powerful wizard, and also someone who loves lily, would be the perfect person to protect harry. he is willing to do this for the memory of lily, but i think his hatred comes from when he told voldemort about the prophecy, which lead to lily’s murder. i think that as harry has lily’s eyes he can see lily and hates himself for his part in her murder. i think that his constant attempts to get are expelled are a cover up so that harry does not find out about his protection of him. this could explain his hatred, he is trying to protect harry while all the time harry is putting himself in danger making snape angry. snape is nearly always the teacher who finds harry soing something he shouldn’t be, which could suggest he is always near him. i think this will probably show itself in DH in a final duel between Harry and Voldemort, after priori incantatem has taken place both harry and voldemort will be tired and snape will finish voldemort. this will also finally prove whether snape is good or bad. i also think that harry was wrong at the end of HBP to believe that his last and greatest protector was gone after dumbledore was “killed” because i now think that harry’s greatest protector was and still is Professor Severus Snape
Where was Slughorn when he was on vacation? Hepziba Smith’s house, possibly?
I’m thinking that you are certainly on to something by saying the reason Snape always catches Harry is simply because he is often close by. I can see Harry finding out the truth about Snape in the very very end…and it may be Voldemort who has found out the truth and fills Harry in. Voldemort will probably make the same mistake of taking the time to have a small chat before he kills Harry, and during that is when he could tell all he has found out about Snape. Voldemort won’t kill Snape as soon as he finds out about Snape’s disloyalty because he will see there is something to be gained by having Harry going after a false enemy.
Lisa, good point about Voldemort saving Bellatrix in the Ministry. Do you think there might be some motive other than love though? I would have thought as a highly skilled witch, she would be very useful to Voldemort. He wouldn’t want to be left without her. Also, if she had been entrusted with some of his secrets, he wouldn’t want the Ministry questioning her again and perhaps this time breaking her. Obviously she is a skilled occlumens because Malfoy manages to keep Snape out of his head and Snape comments that “Aunt Bellatrix” must have been teaching him.
Still, why is Bellatrix so important to Voldemort? It can’t be love on his part since that is the “power the Dark Lord knows not”. It might be his recognition that Bellatrix’s near worship of him makes her extremely valuable.
I think it would come down to a showdown between Harry vs Voldemort and Snape.
Harry will find a way to forgive Snape for what he did to Dumbledore. Snape will fight with Harry and defeat Voldemort…getting himself killed in the process.
What if during Harry’s and Vodlermort’s showdown Snape notices the Priori Incantatem and jumps into it on Voldermort’s side thus getting killed by Voldermort’s AK curse? Forcing Harry’s curse to strike Voldermort killing him.
i think that snape will definately play in a part in a final duel between harry and voldemort, but i think that he will definitely help harry thus showing he is good not evil. he will 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.
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 dead, he might not be happy if harry dies cuz he’s so used to killing people. deathly hallows better be good!
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.
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.
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 death eater like Snape did.
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 kill off all his death eaters or where would he be then. I know she is placed highly within the death eaters, but I don’t think Voldemort has any personal feelings for her.
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 will 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 will. That is why the Imperius Curse is Unforgivable; because it interferes with free will. 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 will take divine grace or Harry’s blood to redeem him. Of course, he might reject that grace and maybe that will be what ultimately destroys him.
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.
Lisa: Forgiveness: Isn’t that the same thing? Doesn’t forgiveness require love, and vice versa?
Not necessarily. You can forgive someone you don’t like for a specific circumstance.
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.
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.
I think Lisa is on the right track. Dumbledore always insisted on calling Voldemort “Tom”. There has to be a reason for that beyond the one that Dumbledore gives about being an old teacher. It has to do with identity and who Voldemort really is under the mask. Like Lisa says, it’s Tom Riddle that Harry can identify with and even Malfoy, terrified for his parents’ safety if he fails.
I’m not sure that an Avada Kedavra curse is what Harry will use to finish Voldemort off. It’s too simple and hardly a power the Dark Lord knows not. He knows it all too well.
That scene where Harry finds Malfoy crying in the bathroom might be an important clue as well. Harry hates Malfoy, but for a moment there he can feel compassion for him, and pity. Not liking as such, or love, but for a moment he can empathise and that seems to drive the hatred out. Same when he realises that Tom Riddle’s mother simply gave up and died, the ultimate abandonment. Dumbledore picks up on that and asks him if he can possibly be feeling sorry for Voldemort and Harry quickly denies it, but I think it is vital and that he does feel pity. And that Dumbledore intended him to. That Harry can feel these things is not just window dressing to make him look like the sort of nice boy you’d like your daughter to bring home – it’s important somehow. He still hates and rejects what Tom Riddle has done and become, and Malfoy as well, but he can feel compassion and pity for the child within perhaps, and empathise with them. So yes, I’d say Lisa has something. Think of Dumbledore saying to Voldemort that the time is past when he could force him to do the right thing by setting his wardrobe on fire, and then: “But I wish I could, Tom. I wish I could.” He knows it is beyond him, but he still wishes that he could save Tom Riddle.
This is a great site…Just some observations but no great conclusions to throw into the pot…
Perhaps Snape hates Harry because if it wasn’t for Harry, Lily would still be alive and Harry’s presence is a constant reminder of Snape’s betrayal of her…in addition to all the other stuff about James tormenting him at school and what Dumbledore says about some feelings running too deep? Also, I think Harry must believe Snape killed Dumbledore in hatred so that he cannot give snape away in the presence of Voldemort. Though I find Harry’s feelings of hatred toward Snape at the end of the HBP disturbing.
When Snape kills Dumbledore, the most important thing must have been for Snape’s cover with Voldemort to be maintained because this is going to be very important to Harry in the end. The most important thing to Dumbledore would have been to make sure that Harry succeeds when he confronts Voldemort. For this, Snape must have to be on the “inside” as it were. His presence will be significant in the final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort.
Linked to this is when Dumbledore says tyrants create their own enemies, this can apply to Snape as well as to Harry.
I also think Malfoy still has a significant role to play. After all, think of Dumbledore when he says that his mercy is what is important now, not Malfoy’s. Dumbledore showed Malfoy mercy when Voldemort would not.
Harry must use love in some way to succeed in the end. Has anyone else noticed that Harry can’t use unforgiveable curses? He tries twice to use the cruciatus curse and can’t. I think it unlikely that someone who is pure of soul, as Dumbledore says Harry is, would be able to use the Avada Kedavra curse. One does not overcome hatred and evil by using hatred and evil.
Also, “greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”….
Joe from England,
I agree absolutely, but for selfish reasons I don’t like the sound of your last line. I very much want Harry to live on.
Elizabeth from Australia,
your insights are brilliant, both here and in other discussions. I sure wish I had you in my Book Club!
One thing about the relationship between Bellatrix and Voldemort we are overlooking. Bella says ‘The Dark Lord has, in the past, entrusted me with his most PRECIOUS…’ Secrets are not ‘precious’… THINGS may be precious. Voldemort may not have wished Bella to again fall into Dumbledore’s hands abandoned. She may know where the Horcruxes are…
I may be a minority here but I believe that Harry will never be able to find love for Voldemort even to kill for the simple reason that voldemort killed Harry’s parents!
Initially I did not feel that Harry would die, but after seeing the new cover I am not sure. Perhaps Harry will go through the veil as will voldy. Once inside the veil the power of love will defeat him. Inside the veil are all of the people Harry has loved an that love him. He will be reuninted with all of the people that love him, including the two more that will die in this book. Dumbledore said that death was just a new journey. Perhaps the happy ending will be not that Harry lives but he dies and is reuninted with all of the family and freinds he loves and that love him. They will help him defeat Voldy. Harry has never survived without the help of others and I suspect this will be no different. The power of love will save him. All of those that love him, that he loves and perhaps loved his mother will play a part. If he dies he will be in a happier place for him. After all he has gone through and all of the people he has lost does he not deserve happiness.
Joe and Rickie: I agree with you on moral standings. I can’t see Harry’s power (love) resulting in killing someone, even Voldemort, and surely not with an Avada Kedavra. Dumbledore is known to have vainquished Grindelwald. Vainquished, not killed. McGonagall (was it her) insists on Dumbledore’s noble attitude. An unforgivable curse is an unforgivable curse, even against someone really evil. See Sirius fighting against Bellatrix. Does he try once to send a green light curse? Never. He fights with his skills. At Hogwarts, nobody will be taught conjuring an unforgivable curse, even to fight in the Order of the Phoenix.
To a certain extend, Harry will give his life to defeat Voldemort. It doesn’t mean he will die, which would be the ultimate sacrifice, but he surely will have to abandon something he cares very much about, like some magical skills or abilities. That’s another way of laying down one’s life for one’s friends.
Dave: I read again your article and it’s just great. I will complete on one point. I can’t consider love as being a real weapon. Love alone wouldn’t defeat Voldemort. Harry isn’t the only one in the world who was dearly loved by his relatives and he isn’t the only loving and noble character. Love alone doesn’t make him the “chosen one”.
According to the prophecy, Harry is clearly the only one that can defeat Voldemort. He’s the only one who could do it because he’s the only one who was marked by Voldemort as his equal. Then, he can do it because he has the power of love. Love makes the difference between “could” and “can”.
The mark Voldemort produced to make Harry his equal (most probably the scar) makes Harry being very special to Voldemort. Voldemort cares about Harry so much that he lost his most devoted Death Eater (Crouch) to get Harry next to him in GoF, to use Harry’s blood and be able to touch him. Voldemort is cold-minded and clever. He doesn’t want anyone else to kill Harry. He pretends to kill Harry himself, but in fact I don’t think his aim is about killing Harry (more precisely, I would say: his aim is probably killing Harry’s soul and keeping Harry’s body intact).
To fulfill his plans, Voldemort must overcome Harry’s protection. That’s where the power of love intervenes. As long as love protects Harry, Voldemort can be trapped in his own net. I think this will happen. For instance, if Voldemort meets Harry at Hogwarts, he can’t disapparate. If he gets in front of dementors, his ability of becoming invisible won’t help him. In that case, he won’t be able to go away, like in OotP. Harry certainly is the only one who can attract Voldemort to Hogwarts, in vulnerable standing.
It’s a good theory about love, and i am determined that it will be love that will make the end of the HP-series, but i think it will end in something like this; Harry leaves Hogwarts and has kids with Ginny, Voldemort will attack Harry and his family, but the youngest kid will survive, go to Hogwarts, learn about Voldy and his Horcruxes and fight him (Voldy with all his Horcruxes destroyed), finish Voldy, who dies for good!
I think “the power that the Dark Lord loves not” is not so much love, esp. romantic or familial love, but friendship. It is said in multiple places that Voldemort has followers, not allies or friends. I think the moral of the story won’t be that we need one hero to defend us from evil, but that we ALL have to stand up for what is right. I think that only when Harry realizes that he CAN’T do it alone, and lets his friends, the DA, even the non-human allies (centaurs, giants, werewolves…there was another post to this effect earlier on) help him, can they all defeat evil, together.
Also, an interesting thought–what if Olivander disappeared to the Order of the Phoenix to make other wands with Fawkes’ feathers? Would that somehow protect the other wielders from Voldemort’s magic?
In the Order of the Phoenix Dumbledore is talking to harry about how the ministries greatest mystery of magic is the power of love. well i think in the last book harry kills by using some “Love Magic” (for lack of a better term) which would be new, and it’d be a far better way to combat evil then any method they currently know. Then harry goes on to being a teacher teaching this “Love Magic” at the school, and it changes the magic world forever.
correct me if i am wrong…i also think i am highly mistaken, but knowing J.K she can pull anything off….
The prophecy states that the child will be born to the parents who defied voldemort thrice and will be born as the seventh month approaches… but by not letting voldemort kill harry (the ultimate sacrifice) lily again defied voldemort, that means now they have defied him four times… then maybe because of this neville is the chosen one and he will be the main person in the end whuo actually kills voldy….harry and neville will not realise till the end of the book…
When Voldemort attempted to kill Harry the first time, Harry was too young to perform magic or maybe rather, focused magic. Therefore Lily’s magic was strong enough to protect Harry, but not herself. It was strong enough to repell Voldemort’s magic and turn it back on himself, leaving him weak for years.
I wonder what would happen if two full wizard/witches in love protected each other (Harry, Ginny) while they were blasted by a death curse?
Arjun from Mumbai,
the prophesy probably includes and accounts for that final defiance hence it remains 3! (though i don’t know what the other two are.. any guesses?)
And also, it simply can’t be neville because Voldemort ‘marked’ and singled out Harry as the one.