Post by kumainpink on Jun 21, 2012 5:51:09 GMT -5
Then suddenly, there is a reason for all the plotholes - they're the result of a dream, not reality. Here is my idea:
Warning: there will be a mentions of: physical and sexual abuse; substance abuse and many characters will be viewed in a harsher light.
The Harry Potter we read about is not the actual Harry Potter. In reality, Harry is a horribly abused child who lives with his cruel aunt, violent uncle and bullying cousin. The people Harry encounters are dream versions of people he has met, though their circumstances are vastly different. Hogwarts doesn't exist at all, but is the magical version of the boarding school his parents went to.
It all started with that day at the zoo.
In the real world, the snake's escape had nothing to do with Harry and his "accidental magic". In fact, there was no glass to begin with. Instead, Aunt Petunia organized a "reptile party" at the zoo for Dudley, because Dudley loves reptiles. After the party, Dudley tries to sneak the snake on his person, but is caught. Dudley claims that Harry was the one trying to steal the snake, and Harry is wrongfully punished.
The punishment is being badly beaten and thrown into his cupboard. He falls into a coma and never wakes up. It is then that his mind begins to create a vivid dream world, and so the story we know and love is born. The events actually take place over the span of several months, maybe even a year. At some point, children's services get involved and Harry is put in a children's hospital.
In his dream world, Harry meets Hermione, Ron and the whole Hogwarts crew, as well as Voldemort. Here is my assessment of who they really are in the real world:
Tom Riddle: A crime lord who took control of his business by killing the previous crime lord - his father. His syndicate has no name, but his underlings are called Death Eaters. James started selling on his turf, which lead to the Marauders becoming his target.
Voldemort: Not so much a real person as he is a manifestation of Harry's darker emotions as a result of his abuse. He is Harry's hatred, self-loathing, fear and suicidal thoughts. His identity as "Tom" is there because Harry blames Tom for his life with the Dursleys.
Dumbledore: God as a person, given the fact that Dumbledore manipulated the events in Harry's life.
The Order: Actually have no place in the real world. Harry's mind created this group as a way to help Harry defeat Voldemort.
Ron and Hermione: They are actually close friends with Harry. Hermione, while brilliant, is portrayed to be even more so in the dream. Ron's love of food and lack of common sense are also exaggerated. The Troll Incident is the dream version of them defying Dudley's gang.
James and Lily: While not drunk, were in a car crash. Instead of being hit with the Killing Curse, Tom had one of his Death Eaters cut their brakes. By "defying" Tom, the Marauders sold drugs on his turf.
The Marauders and Lily: James and his friends were problem children. They defied authority, mayhem whenever they wished and bullied people they didn't like. James had a crush on the "good girl" of the class, Lily. At first, Lily loathed James and his lifestyle, but after a fight with Severus, she befriended him out of spite. Little did Lily realize that she'd eventually fall for James and take part in his lifestyle.
Petunia and Lily: Rather than being separated by magic, Petunia and Lily were separated by the amount of affection their parents showed. Lily was the perfect younger sister - beautiful, smart and seemingly perfect. Petunia became bitter because their parents didn't show her nearly as much love. Once Lily started hanging out with James and falling into a life of boozing and drinking, Petunia became the "respectable one".
Secretly, Petunia wanted to do the things Lily did, but couldn't because her parents kept an even firmer grip on her. She immersed herself in the rigid lifestyle her parents wanted, and settled for a somewhat wealthy business man - Vernon. In an attempt to ignore her pain, she became a walking doormat for her son and husband.
The Marauders: Sirius and James from wealthy families, and got along early on. They both loathed his stuffy, boring family, and sought a way to be different. Along the way, they picked up two "strays": Remus and Peter. The Marauders were originally a harmless gang of annoying kids. As they got older, James and Sirius became rebellious enough to get involved with things that were no longer safe or legal. It started with a bit of light drinking and escalated into something far worse. They eventually got Lily to join them.
Remus: Instead of being turned into a werewolf, Remus was raped as a child. The man who raped him - Fenrir - gave him HIV. Harry overheard this being discussed when he was younger, and was told the werewolf story instead of the truth. Remus grew to think of himself as tainted and dirty, hence his complete lack of self-worth.
Remus would never be as into drugs and drinking as the others, but did it in order to fit in with them. Eventually, he started distancing himself because he wanted more in life. However, he became a primary teacher for the same school that Harry went to. Harry and Remus formed a strained friendship - strained because Harry feels as though Remus abandoned him.
Peter: An insecure little boy who looked to his friends for protection from bullies. He sought power and wanted a lifestyle beyond what he currently had. So he betrayed James and Lily to Tom. When Sirius confronted Peter, he changed the truth around and somehow managed to stage his own death.
Sirius and James: As explained above, they became part of the lifestyle as a means of rebelling against their families. But as Sirius started to get into trouble, his mother became more and more abusive, until he had no choice but to run away. Shortly after James and Lily died, Sirius found out that Peter betrayed their hiding place to Tom. Enraged, he completely forgot about Harry and confronted Peter.
Peter switched the truth around, faked his death and Sirius got sent to prison because of it. He never broke out of jail. The Sirius that Harry imagines is nothing like the real one - just his dream world's attempt at wish fulfillment.
With all that said, here is my view on what the book events are supposed to represent:
Book One: A retelling of the friendship between Harry, Ron and Hermione, along with how Harry might have found out about the details of his life. In the real world, they figured out more about the past than kids should have been able to, and the conflict is a representation of Harry coming to terms with it.
Book Two: Is Harry dealing with his jealousy over Ron's nicer home life, his feelings of being a "freak" and the fact that most of the kids in his school are cruel to him.
Book Three: Is Harry dealing with events from the the past.
Book Four, Five and Six: Harry slips deeper and deeper into his coma.
Book Seven: Revolves around Harry dying, and his attempt to face his feelings about his childhood before he dies.
Your thoughts, anyone?
Warning: there will be a mentions of: physical and sexual abuse; substance abuse and many characters will be viewed in a harsher light.
The Harry Potter we read about is not the actual Harry Potter. In reality, Harry is a horribly abused child who lives with his cruel aunt, violent uncle and bullying cousin. The people Harry encounters are dream versions of people he has met, though their circumstances are vastly different. Hogwarts doesn't exist at all, but is the magical version of the boarding school his parents went to.
It all started with that day at the zoo.
In the real world, the snake's escape had nothing to do with Harry and his "accidental magic". In fact, there was no glass to begin with. Instead, Aunt Petunia organized a "reptile party" at the zoo for Dudley, because Dudley loves reptiles. After the party, Dudley tries to sneak the snake on his person, but is caught. Dudley claims that Harry was the one trying to steal the snake, and Harry is wrongfully punished.
The punishment is being badly beaten and thrown into his cupboard. He falls into a coma and never wakes up. It is then that his mind begins to create a vivid dream world, and so the story we know and love is born. The events actually take place over the span of several months, maybe even a year. At some point, children's services get involved and Harry is put in a children's hospital.
In his dream world, Harry meets Hermione, Ron and the whole Hogwarts crew, as well as Voldemort. Here is my assessment of who they really are in the real world:
Tom Riddle: A crime lord who took control of his business by killing the previous crime lord - his father. His syndicate has no name, but his underlings are called Death Eaters. James started selling on his turf, which lead to the Marauders becoming his target.
Voldemort: Not so much a real person as he is a manifestation of Harry's darker emotions as a result of his abuse. He is Harry's hatred, self-loathing, fear and suicidal thoughts. His identity as "Tom" is there because Harry blames Tom for his life with the Dursleys.
Dumbledore: God as a person, given the fact that Dumbledore manipulated the events in Harry's life.
The Order: Actually have no place in the real world. Harry's mind created this group as a way to help Harry defeat Voldemort.
Ron and Hermione: They are actually close friends with Harry. Hermione, while brilliant, is portrayed to be even more so in the dream. Ron's love of food and lack of common sense are also exaggerated. The Troll Incident is the dream version of them defying Dudley's gang.
James and Lily: While not drunk, were in a car crash. Instead of being hit with the Killing Curse, Tom had one of his Death Eaters cut their brakes. By "defying" Tom, the Marauders sold drugs on his turf.
The Marauders and Lily: James and his friends were problem children. They defied authority, mayhem whenever they wished and bullied people they didn't like. James had a crush on the "good girl" of the class, Lily. At first, Lily loathed James and his lifestyle, but after a fight with Severus, she befriended him out of spite. Little did Lily realize that she'd eventually fall for James and take part in his lifestyle.
Petunia and Lily: Rather than being separated by magic, Petunia and Lily were separated by the amount of affection their parents showed. Lily was the perfect younger sister - beautiful, smart and seemingly perfect. Petunia became bitter because their parents didn't show her nearly as much love. Once Lily started hanging out with James and falling into a life of boozing and drinking, Petunia became the "respectable one".
Secretly, Petunia wanted to do the things Lily did, but couldn't because her parents kept an even firmer grip on her. She immersed herself in the rigid lifestyle her parents wanted, and settled for a somewhat wealthy business man - Vernon. In an attempt to ignore her pain, she became a walking doormat for her son and husband.
The Marauders: Sirius and James from wealthy families, and got along early on. They both loathed his stuffy, boring family, and sought a way to be different. Along the way, they picked up two "strays": Remus and Peter. The Marauders were originally a harmless gang of annoying kids. As they got older, James and Sirius became rebellious enough to get involved with things that were no longer safe or legal. It started with a bit of light drinking and escalated into something far worse. They eventually got Lily to join them.
Remus: Instead of being turned into a werewolf, Remus was raped as a child. The man who raped him - Fenrir - gave him HIV. Harry overheard this being discussed when he was younger, and was told the werewolf story instead of the truth. Remus grew to think of himself as tainted and dirty, hence his complete lack of self-worth.
Remus would never be as into drugs and drinking as the others, but did it in order to fit in with them. Eventually, he started distancing himself because he wanted more in life. However, he became a primary teacher for the same school that Harry went to. Harry and Remus formed a strained friendship - strained because Harry feels as though Remus abandoned him.
Peter: An insecure little boy who looked to his friends for protection from bullies. He sought power and wanted a lifestyle beyond what he currently had. So he betrayed James and Lily to Tom. When Sirius confronted Peter, he changed the truth around and somehow managed to stage his own death.
Sirius and James: As explained above, they became part of the lifestyle as a means of rebelling against their families. But as Sirius started to get into trouble, his mother became more and more abusive, until he had no choice but to run away. Shortly after James and Lily died, Sirius found out that Peter betrayed their hiding place to Tom. Enraged, he completely forgot about Harry and confronted Peter.
Peter switched the truth around, faked his death and Sirius got sent to prison because of it. He never broke out of jail. The Sirius that Harry imagines is nothing like the real one - just his dream world's attempt at wish fulfillment.
With all that said, here is my view on what the book events are supposed to represent:
Book One: A retelling of the friendship between Harry, Ron and Hermione, along with how Harry might have found out about the details of his life. In the real world, they figured out more about the past than kids should have been able to, and the conflict is a representation of Harry coming to terms with it.
Book Two: Is Harry dealing with his jealousy over Ron's nicer home life, his feelings of being a "freak" and the fact that most of the kids in his school are cruel to him.
Book Three: Is Harry dealing with events from the the past.
Book Four, Five and Six: Harry slips deeper and deeper into his coma.
Book Seven: Revolves around Harry dying, and his attempt to face his feelings about his childhood before he dies.
Your thoughts, anyone?
But yeah, for some reason the idea of Hogwarts being a part of Harry's psyche interests me. 
