I had an epiphany today that I thought I’d share here. I know that there are many here who’ll disagree with me, and that’s okay. I was thinking about belief and truth because of a conversation I had the other day.
The thought that I had was this:
The first, and essential belief is that truth exists. If one does not believe in truth then it does not matter if one believes in anything else because nothing “is.”
There, it’s not well put, but it says essentially what I wanted to say.
I finished my organic chemistry final today, and I’m done. Yay for relaxing for a few hours until I have to get cracking for my research projects….
I encountered the music of James Blunt Today, a song called, “You’re Beautiful.” I listened to it. And it made me profoundly sad. It wasn’t a sad song, but it made me very, very, very sad, listening to it. It’s been a very long time since I’ve responded that way to music. I don’t know what happened, but anyhow, I felt like I needed to post about it.
Okay, it is a sad song, an amazingly depressing one to be exact. I just didn’t listen to it carefully enough at first.
I feel like I pulled a muscle in my left eye. Every time I turn my eyes to the right, I get this really intense pain in my left eye. This has been going on for a couple of days now, and it feels like it’s getting worse. Today it actually hurts to move my eye in any direction, though still just my left eye. Grr. I don’t like this. Not one bit. I’ve also had allergies the last couple of days that just won’t quit. Last allergy season, the doctor prescribed for me some Allegra. I’d been using Claritin, but that wasn’t really working. This Allegra worked wonders all year last year, but it doesn’t seem to be doing anything this year. I would love spring if it weren’t for my seasonal allergies. As it is, I’m doing well just to not hate spring for all the sneezing and itching, and nose-blowing I do.
She said that if the Secret Keeper for a Fidelius charm is killed, that makes the secret permanently concealed to everyone who hasn’t already been told about it. No one else can reveal the secret, as the secret was hidden within the soul of the SK. This was very interesting to me, based on other things we know, specifically:
I find it a nice touch that Harry now has guaranteed safety at 12 Grimmauld Place because Dumbledore is dead. That is, assuming (and I think it’s a safe assumption) that Dumbledore did not reveal the secret to Voldemort.
I also find it interesting that it supports my ideas about Snape, at least to me. Snape is now trapped on Voldemort’s side. No one on the good side would trust him now. Whether he wanted to be there or not, he’s there. He is the ONLY person on Voldemort’s side to whom the secret of 12 Grimmauld Place was revealed. I have believed since I read HBP that Snape would be the means of bringing Harry and Voldemort together for their inevitable last battle. I believe he will aid Harry in gaining access to Voldemort on Harry’s terms, and that will be his redemption. Whether you believe he was asked to kill Dumbledore by Dumbledore, or believe he did it out of cowardice, or out of evil, I believe Rowling has made it certain that there is a certain amount of self-loathing on Snape’s part. I believe this is largely connected to the fact that he was once on Voldemort’s side, in earnest. Dumbledore always spoke about Snape presenting evidence that convinced him that Snape had returned. I may be picking at nits here, but I believe in order for him to return, he must have been gone (earnestly working for Voldemort, in this instance). I believe Snape has not forgiven himself for that, and that he will finally be able to do so after tipping the scales for Harry in the end.
I also think that Harry is destined for one of three possible ends in the final book, and I can’t decide which I think is more likely.
Rowling has created a very true-to-form fantasy book in many respects, and has written her characters according to many classic archetypes. In order for this story to continue to follow form, the hero must conquer by sacrifice. The ultimate, and thus most often used, sacrifice for a savior figure (which Harry is), is the willing sacrifice of one’s own life. Harry has benefitted from others making this sacrifice for him more than once (his parents, Dumbledore). It is what has been presented to him as an acceptable measure when all other measures fail, to ensure accomplishment of the goal. Many people don’t like this possibility because we all love Harry. I’m not saying I like it, but I see it as necessary, at least, the willingness to do it on Harry’s part is necessary. This leads me to my next possibility.
For the above reasons, Harry will act in such a way that for all forseeable circumstances will both result in his death, and in Voldemort’s destruction. He will be on the brink of death, and someone will save him. I believe this someone will be Ginny, if this ending is pursued. I believe Ginny is the prime candidate because I believe Rowling has been setting up the Harry-Ginny coupling for quite some time. Harry has always had someone tied to him to give him purpose, at least since he has found out about the wizarding world. The role of purpose-giver has been filled by the memory of his parents, Dumbledore, and finally at the end of HBP, Voldemort. Harry has finally accepted that his purpose is to destroy Voldemort. He has never known life without obvious, and emotionally charged, purpose. He would not survive long after destroying Voldemort if that purpose were not replaced with something else. He needs someone else to live for. Being saved by Ginny would tie him to her, and would give him someone to live for, restore a purpose for him. I don’t believe Rowling hates Harry, and thus I don’t believe she would let him live without giving him something to fill the hole that destroying Voldemort will create. That Harry has never known real family, but has always wanted to, suggests that coupling with Ginny would give him a strong enough purpose (which could also be seen as a Hero’s reward) to continue on with some measure of happiness.
If Rowling chooses to twist the end a bit, she may not put him in a situation of certain death. She may instead write events such that the act of destroying Voldemort also destroys Harry’s ability to use magic. This accomplishes a number of things: 1)It satisfies the requirement for sacrifice, as Harry currently identifies himself as a wizard. He wouldn’t be dieing, he would be sacrificing himself, just as completely, in another way. It would also create the opportunity for Harry to lead a happy life. As the Victorious Child of Prophecy, Harry would never have a normal life in the wizarding world. There are few things he has wanted more than a normal life. It would be incredibly difficult for Harry (see the above on need for purpose) to have a happy life as a wizard after the ultimate fulfilling of the prophecy, because he will still be Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, and would never have any semblance of privacy, unless he can cease to be the prophesied conqueror. Destroying his magical abilities would accomplish this, in my mind, and secure the opportunity for a normal life for Harry. I believe this ending may easily be combined with the Ginny-saves-Harry ending as well, which is really just a variation on the Harry-sacrifices-his-life ending.
There, you have all my new thoughts on the issue. What do others think?
Note: I also just noticed that I missed the latest opening of the locked door. That makes me sad. I caught all the earlier ones.
