The Liberating Power of Harry's Blood

[blaqlives]

Discussion of The Liberating Power of Harry's Blood by Donna G. Ramos, aka The Black Adder.

[demonchild411]

First post! Yay.

Nice ideas Donna, but a little too jumpy for me. It requires a lot of assumption, and I don't like that in an editorial. I don't think the Dark Mark is a tracking device for Voldemort to utilize... if it was how could any of Voldemort's traitors be alive? And remember how Hermione used the coins similar to the Dark Mark? She couldn't TRACK the coins. I would think it would be the same logic.

I do, however, like the thought of blood usage. Definately something is up with Voldemort's and/or Harry's blood. That gleam is at the top of my "UNSOLVED MYSTERIES THAT BUG THE LIVING HELL OUT OF ME" list.

Nice work, but just not for me.

[wannagoballwime]

one word-WOW
i really like reading editorials with a spark of imagination, trying desperately to understand anything which might just happen in book 7 just by going over and over all the books again and again will not acheive much unless one really connects with the symbology and significance of a particular character.
Assumption is a good thing, if done in moderation. The blood offering would definitely bring all that we recognise with HP together, that despite the the blood offering idea being quite dark, it still shows how sacrifice and more importantly love is the greatest redemption for evil.
Using the dark mark as a tracking device....... i'm not so sure, the act of applying the dark mark is more like a faustian bond.The mark is just a physical representation of the bond under which the DE is. Removing the mark maybe possible, but it won't be easy to remove the mark of servitude on a DE's soul.
also, this 'bond' could work in many ways similiar to the one which elves have with their owners, though DE's may not have to coerce themselves to do a task just because of this bond(fear of Voldemort would be enough)

A few questions come into my mind:

Could hermione also have a role to play? (I always thought S.P.E.W was just meant for comic purposes, maybe it has more cynical represntations )

Would those DE's who take an offering of Harry's blood be under his ownership now?

Would the blood of any pure person, or anybody for that matter be suitable for abolishment of this slavery?

P.S We should debate this use of Voldemort of blood whether Unicorn or Dragon or Harry's, it is intriguing.

An interesting theory but one which stretches the point a bit too far for me.

Demonchild411 makes the point that this theory involves a lot of assumptions, some of which are purely speculative, and is lacking in hard facts. Without more evidence I cannot accept this theory as a reasonable possibility for plot development in book 7.

[sarahboo]

yea i agree, too many assumptions, i like the idea of the blood being of importance, that makes sense. coin traking tho, thats not as likely. good editorial tho, well done! sarahx

[Merlin81]

Nice editorial, very thought provoking and imaginative. I don't see the Dark Mark as a tracking device though. Regarding Harry's blood though, I recently seen in some other post somewhere that perhaps it was Harrys blood still on the basilisk fang which destroyed the diary and not the basilisks venom. When I thought about this it made sense. Voldemort can now touch Harry but he made his Horcruxes before he used Harrys blood to be reborn. We seen what Harry touching Quirrel/Voldemort can do, perhaps his blood may have more than one important use.

[supportSPEW]

So I don't know that we have any real canon evidence to support a theory like this - but I would love it. I think it's a great idea.

[aliceandjasper]

Although there is not much evidence to proof your point, the theory is very realistic and might be a possible outcome of book seven.

I really like it

[NeonDisease]

Great thought!

I think that there are so many great theories floating around that JKR can't possibly actually be planning to incorporate them all, so some must be right and some must be wrong, but I'm sure that some of the ones that aren't actually what is going to happen will give her pause for thought. She may even wish she had gone another way or included another idea, instead! Though, of course, Jo's way is the one we're all waiting for.

Harry Potter fans are an insightful bunch!

[ktulu]

You're way off, dude

[luvtheheaven]

Like a lot of people have said, I think this theory is a little too out there. Too many assumptions, not enough proof. But Harry's blood is a good thing to think about - and any new way to think about it is a great thing to look for!
It was a pretty good editorial.

[jomarch]

Although there are many assumptions (which isn't a crime, not since the author warned readers there would be some), I really like the idea of Harry's blood being able to remove the Dark Mark.

I also wanted to mention that the idea of the hero loving his enemies reminds me very much of Ender from Orson Scott Cards books. Ender was only able to fully understand his opponents/enemies in order to defeat them after he loved them.

A very interesting editorial.

[Spritey]

Originally Posted by ktulu

You're way off, dude

Well, colour me shocked that JKR has apparently deigned to join us Although, you know, she's not usually quite so rude.


Anyway, I thought this theory was very interesting. The blood issue, and most theories associated with it, has left me a bit bewildered, tbh. None of the theories I've personally read really have the spark that leads me to believe that they could be true. But this, whilst speculative, brings in a lot of points which make sense to me. And wow, whoever said it, SPEW. It really could link to this.

I'm not entirely sold, but I'd like to think about it some more, definitely.

[Chas]

Thanks for the editorial, Donna. All those assumptions are a problem, but you raise several interesting issues.

I don't know if Harry's blood is liberating as you say in the title, but you certianly seem right that it is powerful. How will it play out?

You said:

It is said that an even higher level of love than loving one’s friends is the ability to also love one’s enemies. Several times in the series, Harry has shown the beginnings of this ability: sympathy for Snape after seeing his youthful memories; for Draco crying in the bathroom and under duress on the Astronomy Tower; and even for the orphaned Tom Riddle...

You left out the most astounding act of sympathy or love of an enemy, Harry's sparing of Peter Pettigrew in PoA (end of Chapter 19).

[rotes_haar]

This editorial certainly jogs the imagination, even if it is too speculative. Maybe that is what the blood will be for.

One thing I would like to add, though. You say that the blood sacrifice at the Cave may have been a sign that Voldemort delved into other blood sacrifices, but I always thought Dumbledore saying it was too "crude" for Voldemort was just foreshadowing that he had indeed not cast that final closing spell (meaning RAB had).

Just bringing that up. Good editorial. Could use more evidence, but an interesting idea.

[demonchild411]

You have to take into account, though, that Harry still hates Pettigrew. Yes he spared him but he still wants revenge. I'm hesitant to think of Harry as going up to the Malfoys and "freeing them with his blood" or whatever. Harry knows the crimes committed by a LOT of these Death Eaters--will he "spare" Bellatrix knowing she tortured Neville's parents to insanity? Doubtful.

[Horcrux_Hunter]

A very good editorial. Lots of imagination behind it. There really isn't much evidence to support the theory about the dark mark but I like the idea. And there is definitely something significant about Harry's blood. Just how that will play a part in book 7 is hard to say.

And on removing the dark mark from Snape - if he is good and he wants it removed, but he is still going to pretend to be on Voldemort's side, how is it going to look if one day the mark is just gone? How would poor Severus explain that?

[Emerald63]

What an insightful and moving editorial! Well done, Black Adder!


Case in point:

In the beliefs of Christianity, the Savior allowed his blood to be shed in order to cleanse the sins of mankind. In the Harry Potter series, what better way to represent a cleansing from sin, helping others to overcome past mistakes, than for Harry to give of his blood in order to remove the Dark Mark of repentant Death Eaters?

What eloquent symbolism. If this isn't already what JKR has in mind, then she's missed out.



The following portion reminded me of both HP and Biblical canon:

The more powerful, defining act, I think, would be for Harry to offer his blood for those repentant Death Eaters who approached him before Voldemort’s fall, when Harry has nothing to be gained for himself by the act. Harry’s ability to make such a selfless and liberating choice could make all the difference in the outcome of the war.

Christ says, "I am the Truth and the Way." And what does Harry write in his own blood, ripped from him by Umbridge's torturous quill? "I will not tell lies." He is telling the truth; he's already eschewing lies. But 'lie vs. truth' is defined by Harry and Umbridge's intent for those words cannot hold.

Thank you, Black Adder, for this wonderful new clue in solving the HP mystery we all love so much.

[saddrummer]

I doubt JKR would write a version of Christ's death as a part of book 7. This one of a few editorials I have recently read thaat try to predict what will happen in book 7, unfortunately none of them has used all the clues/hints she has dropped for us in interviews and otherwise, I recommend you read the Emerson/Mellisa interview and get some evidence before you just make up an idea and have nothing to back it up with...

Nice idea but as I say, you have nothing to back it up with except for one quote saying that Dumbledore's eyes gleamed, not much to go on.

[Emerald63]

Originally Posted by saddrummer

I doubt JKR would write a version of Christ's death as a part of book 7.

Probably not a recognizable version as such. But there are many similar stories of heroic death and resurrection in the mythologies of multiple cultures. There are also many stories of a hero journeying to the Underworld (i.e. going beyond "The Veil" - dying) and returning with new knowledge or abilities that will help defeat evil.

Because JKR is writing as Christian and her "home audience" is primarily Christian, it would be considered crass hubris for her to recreate the main theme of the mythos she and they espouse. But it would not be considered such if she were to borrow similar imagery from another mythos. I have a very firm notion (that I even wrote an unpublished editorial about) that she will do just that, that somehow Harry will at least contact, if not visit, those beyond The Veil and that they will aid him, as his parents did in the graveyard, in his quest to vanquish the Dark Lord.

Please remember, to those of other faiths their sacred stories are just as real and important to them as those of the Bible are to Christians. And beliefs that are not one's own - even those from the Bible - never seem to be as true as one's own. No disrespect is meant by this. This is just what faith in one's beliefs does.