How Tall is Harry?

[Silvertongue]

*snorts*

What is he, Hagrid?

[viralic1]

Nah, Hagrid is tiny compared to Harry.

[kumainpink]

*gigglesnort* That's great...two Hagrids! XD

[Silvertongue]

Two Hagrids and a Grawp!

[Kitty279]

Jul 3, 2012 22:24:07 GMT -5 lucyolsen said:

I think it had more to do with JKR not having a clue about the effects of malnourishment than anything anyone in the book did. According to how little food he was given, he shouldn't have even been able to digest a proper meal, let alone grow tall from them.

It's pretty obvious that JKR didn't have a clue. Just look at the beginning of CoS. He was only given tiny meals, which he shared with Hedwig, and his sides were aching from hunger, if I remember the text correctly. Then he gets to the Burrow, and Molly stuffs him with food. Didn't she give him eight or so sausages? Plus the rest of the meal? He should have been able to eat a tiny bit of that at most - otherwise he'd have ended sick in my opinion.

[physicssquid]

I got the feeling from the many times I've re-read the books, that Harry's magic kept him from suffering any nasty side-effects of not being given enough food, and that Pomfrey slipped him nutrient potions on the sly at every meal and whenever he was in the hospital wing.

[G. Novella]

That always gets to me in anything I'm reading. As an author, if you write anything, be accurate about the medical and psychological implications. Magic cannot defy basic biology of humans unless wizards are aliens. Then speculate on that theory.

[kumainpink]

Well, when we're given no reason in cannon, it's easy to say that magic did it. Not saying it's right, though.

[chikina]

I always imagined him to be about 6'. It's a height when one's not overly tall but not short or average either. In sixth book there were several occasions when characters mentioned how much Harry grown up over the summer. He's as tall as his father at the end of the series so he could become even an inch or so taller. And James was always described as tall even by Voldemort.
I really don't like stories where Harry is as tall as a midget. I can't help it. I'm too influenced by the cannon.

[physicssquid]

Jul 5, 2012 7:56:00 GMT -5 chikina said:

I always imagined him to be about 6'. It's a height when one's not overly tall but not short or average either. In sixth book there were several occasions when characters mentioned how much Harry grown up over the summer. He's as tall as his father at the end of the series so he could become even an inch or so taller. And James was always described as tall even by Voldemort.
I really don't like stories where Harry is as tall as a midget. I can't help it. I'm too influenced by the cannon.

I don't like stories where Harry's a midget either. I like to think of him as tall, especially when book 5 said he was within an inch of his father's height when he went into Snape's worst memory.

[ykickamoocow]

This might have already been mentioned but here is a part of the Malfoy Manor scene in Deathly Hallows

--------------------------------
"They say they've got Potter," said Narcissa's cold voice. "Draco, come here." Harry did not dare look directly at Draco, but saw him obliquely; a figure slightly taller than he was, rising from an armchair, his face a pale and pointed blur beneath white-blond hair.
--------------------------------

So it seems that Draco is a inch or two taller than Harry is.

[physicssquid]

Jul 5, 2012 8:30:04 GMT -5 ykickamoocow said:

This might have already been mentioned but here is a part of the Malfoy Manor scene in Deathly Hallows

--------------------------------
"They say they've got Potter," said Narcissa's cold voice. "Draco, come here." Harry did not dare look directly at Draco, but saw him obliquely; a figure slightly taller than he was, rising from an armchair, his face a pale and pointed blur beneath white-blond hair.
--------------------------------

So it seems that Draco is a inch or two taller than Harry is.

There is the possibility that Draco wore shoes with a slightly higher heel on them, and that Harry was just wearing trainers or similar.

[ykickamoocow]

Jul 5, 2012 8:34:13 GMT -5 physicssquid said:

There is the possibility that Draco wore shoes with a slightly higher heel on them, and that Harry was just wearing trainers or similar.

I doubt that is a issue as JKR would not have thought of the size of their shoes when she wrote that scene. All she would have been thinking is that Draco is slightly taller than Harry.

[physicssquid]

OK, so Draco was slightly taller than Harry in that scene, there's no mention of which one is taller later, and Harry could have had a growth spurt after the Horcrux in his scar was destroyed. Having a piece of Voldemort in his head had to have had some kind of effect, though JK never explained that.

[ykickamoocow]

Jul 5, 2012 8:40:15 GMT -5 physicssquid said:

OK, so Draco was slightly taller than Harry in that scene, there's no mention of which one is taller later, and Harry could have had a growth spurt after the Horcrux in his scar was destroyed. Having a piece of Voldemort in his head had to have had some kind of effect, though JK never explained that.

Most boy are pretty close to being done growing by the time they reach 18. Obviously there are some expections but generally speaking it is rare to get much taller (if at all) once a guy reaches 18 years old.

[kumainpink]

Harry should be smaller because he was constantly given little to no food as a child. I think of him as somewhat short, but not overly so. Mostly because I do think his magic played a part in keeping him safe. And who knows, having a shard of Voldie in him could have also been the only thing keeping him alive. The snake-bastard is afraid of death, after all. Whose to say that his bit of soul wouldn't expend most of itself to keep Harry alive.

Another thing I've always wondered is about Harry's pessimist attitude. I have a strong feeling that Voldemort's presence has something to do with it.

[physicssquid]

Yeah, so do I. I'm sure the Horcrux in Harry's head had some kind of effect on him, other than the extreme pain it put him through during his visions in fourth and fifth year, as well as the emotional outbursts he was having in fifth year.

However, I still like to think of Harry as tall, and having Pomfrey give him nutrient potions to undo the damage being given little to no food had done.

[sherza]

Jul 5, 2012 14:32:56 GMT -5 kumainpink said:

Another thing I've always wondered is about Harry's pessimist attitude. I have a strong feeling that Voldemort's presence has something to do with it.

It sure as heck didn't help, that's for sure, but abuse survivors tend towards pessimism a lot ... especially when, as in Harry's case, no help is in the offing.

Doubly especially when you consider that Harry was pretty much programmed from the word go to believe he was worthless etc. When you hear nothing else but that sort of thing your entire childhood, some part of you ends up believing it, whether you want to or not.

[physicssquid]

Wouldn't having friends like Hermione and the Weasleys, (who do praise him occasionally, when Ron isn't being an insensitive prat and when Hermione's not practically bullying him into doing his homework), have at least made him believe in himself a bit more?
Wouldn't Remus' encouragements during the anti-Dementor lessons have helped?
And what about Sirius' attempts?

[sherza]

Jul 5, 2012 15:21:51 GMT -5 physicssquid said:

Wouldn't having friends like Hermione and the Weasleys, (who do praise him occasionally, when Ron isn't being an insensitive prat and when Hermione's not practically bullying him into doing his homework), have at least made him believe in himself a bit more?
Wouldn't Remus' encouragements during the anti-Dementor lessons have helped?
And what about Sirius' attempts?

Unfortunately, correcting the sort of psychological damage that Harry was subjected to is a VERY long-haul fix.

Yes, the positive reinforcement offered by various people would have helped, but it would take YEARS for such thoughts to be self-sustaining (that is, for Harry to truly begin to believe in himself and lose the pessimism) ... and sometimes, even with positive reinforcement, the damage is such that the person never does truly get fixed.

If all you ever hear is that you're worthless, it takes a long, long time, if ever, for you to truly, deeply believe that you have value. You spend a lot of time going 'yeah, you say I'm ok, but I call BS.', then eventually, it goes to 'Ok, so maybe I am ok *now*. In your eyes. But I for damn sure wasn't before now, and everybody else still thinks I'm shit, so clearly you're delusional' and then to 'ok, so maybe I am ok now, and might have been before, but why in the name of god did I get treated like shit, and how long before it happens again?'

Whether or not the person ever gets to the point of 'I'm ok, end of debate' ... depends on the person, how much damage was done in the first place, and how much therapy/assistance they got in dealing with it.

[kumainpink]

Shezra, you raise a good point. I wasn't trying to imply that the abuse Harry went through wouldn't contribute, because I know that it does. I should have explained myself better.

Okay, know that nasty little voice Harry gets in his head once in a while? I think that "little voice" is Voldemort's soul, and not Harry himself. Though Harry doesn't realize it because it sounds like his own voice. Does that make any sense?

And since Harry had no therapy and nobody really knowing what went on, I highly doubt ever shook off a feeling of worthlessness. Which is something that, in cannon, Ginny should be dragging him to therapy for. (you know, after the end). I know Harry wouldn't go at first, but he really does need to get some sort of help.

[physicssquid]

Maybe Ginny did drag him to therapy, if she knew of such a thing. She would need at least some therapy herself, especially after what happened in her first year.
Maybe Hermione dragged Harry, Ron and Ginny to therapy so they could deal with the things they saw during the war, or maybe the four of them managed to deal with it themselves in the years between the last chapter of book 7 and the crapilogue.

Heck, maybe Harry knew the phrase 'names have power' and refused to let the names the Dursleys called him have power over him, especially after he made friends with Ron and Hermione.

[sherza]

Jul 5, 2012 15:40:16 GMT -5 kumainpink said:

Okay, know that nasty little voice Harry gets in his head once in a while? I think that 'little voice' is Voldemort's soul, and not Harry himself. Does that make any sense?

I kind of got what you were saying, and yes, it does make a lot of sense. I was just saying that the pessimism wasn't *entirely* Voldie. Harry's life gave that 'little voice' a crapton of ammunition to use.

[kumainpink]

Perhaps, but I'm still leery that Harry was able to have a normal life without some kind of therapy. You do raise a good point about Ginny, though.

[heraldofdreams]

I would guess about 5'8-9" at the most. I don't count the films in here because honestly Dan is NOT Harry Potter in my mind, the thing that always makes me growl is why the couldn't at least give him GREEN contacts. *huffs* Anyway, that's one major thing I'll be addressing in your challenge Kuma, along with some possible trouble for Molly, as I absolutely Loathe her. She's right up there with Umbridge in my mind.

[kumainpink]

*bounces around like Dobby after getting a pair of socks* YAY! This is going to be awesome! People here are so awesome!

[physicssquid]

I just can't see Ginny being perfectly happy after being possessed and forced to petrify a load of students at eleven, and her parents clearly didn't get her any help for that.
I can't see any of those four not needing help of some sort after everything they've been through.

[kumainpink]

Me neither. I know they had a long road of healing ahead of them. So many bad and horrific things happened, and it broke my heart to see nobody getting any real help.

[physicssquid]

I can't even see someone like Neville not needing some kind of help, not after having his grandmother say she wished he was more like his parents, and then his uncle Algie's repeated attempts to get him to exhibit accidental magic.

[Dimcairien]

Jul 5, 2012 15:57:43 GMT -5 heraldofdreams said:

I would guess about 5'8-9" at the most. I don't count the films in here because honestly Dan is NOT Harry Potter in my mind, the thing that always makes me growl is why the couldn't at least give him GREEN contacts. *huffs*

They tried doing green contacts back when filming Philosopher's Stone, but he had an allergic reaction to them or something like that. Whatever the reason, he couldn't wear them.