My Observations on 'The Boy Who Lived'

[hero_complexed]

I know that several people talk and play Harry like he's 'emo.' I have never once gotten this impression and have read all the books. I won't deny that there have been times where I thought 'lol, what an emo kid' in response to some of the things that Harry said or thought but as a whole he's pretty upbeat considering all the crap he's been through. It should be noted at this point that I take Harry from the fifth book of the series and will not be using any part of book's six and seven as references as, obviously, they have not happened yet in Harry's life.

I think that one of the most crucial pieces of Harry's character is often either ignored or blatantly disregarded. That vital part of his personality being that Harry Potter is a child. A child that has had this great, fantastic role shoved on him so quickly that he doesn't really know how to react. For ten years he had no idea the wizarding world even existed and on top of that suffered from hideous acts of child abuse. He was under fed, beat on by his cousin, and treated like worst child in the world, not to mention that if he made any kind of mention of something to do with magic or just beyond the normal he would be placing himself in trouble.

And then, after Hagrid finally catches up with the young wizard, Harry learns the truth about what happened to his parents and the truth about his scar. He learns about being famous and that he lived through a curse that destroyed Voldemort's body and destroyed his house. This is actually, most likely where his hero complex starts to form. Upon being reunited with the wizarding world after ten years he meets several admirers and shakes hands with-I believe the book says everyone in the leaky cauldron-except for Professor Quirrel, obviously. But, understandably, Harry is still apprehensive, everything still feels surreal to him and he still knows next to nothing about the world that's been hidden from him for so long. Part of him likely welcomed the idea of being so well known and having people regard him as a hero. He later gets sick of all the staring and mutters and finds it, frankly, annoying when after introducing himself to someone they immediately look up at his scar.

His hero complex builds a little more when he gets his wand and Mr. Olivander tells him the his wand's brother belonged to Lord Voldemort and that great things could be expected of Harry. Something he's not all that sure on considering how little he knows. When he meets Draco Malfoy for the first time neither has any idea of who the other is and Draco goes on to talk about the Hogwarts Houses- he mentions that he'll probably be in Slytherin and that anything is better than Hufflepuff. Harry doesn't know what the heck Draco is talking about and asks Hagrid about the houses. Upon hearing the general description of Hufflepuff to be 'a lot of duffers' Harry miserably thinks that's probably the house he gets put in seeing as he doesn't yet have a whole lot of confidence in himself.

Even after arriving at Hogwarts everything feels surreal to him, like there's been a mistake and he'll have to go back to the Dursley's. And it's only understandable seeing as he came from an abusive household that treated him like he was less than dirt. The idea that he's finally away from all that-that he actually has a decent chance at making friends and that people are nice to him is something that has difficulty sinking in.

Everything that happens to young Mr. Potter throughout his first two years at Hogwarts shapes him into who he becomes in the Wizarding world as well as helps him to realize who he really is. So, by the time his third year rolls around he has a much better grasp on where he stands as a person. He's become a person that's willing to lend a hand to those who need it and willing to lay down his own life should he have too. More on the mundane side of school life he quickly learns he has a knack for defense against the dark arts and that he's not so fond of potions. It's in his third year he starts to learn more about his parents and the Maurderers. After learning the truth-the real truth about his God-father Sirius Black, Black invites Harry to come live with him once his name was cleared and he was a free man. Harry is elated by the offer but unfortunately, things don't go according to plan as the real murderer and traitor, Peter Petigrew escapes and flees back to Voldemort. And Harry is faced with a feeling of unfairness and realizes he must return to the Dursley's.

Year three is also the year he learns and masters the Patronus spell. His patronus takes the form of a stag most likely because Harry has never known his parents and yet everyone continues to comment on how he looks just like his father aside from having his mother's eyes. He continues to hear so many great things about his mom and dad and more than anything in the world he wants to meet them, though he knows this isn't possible. Obviously, this isn't a happy thought but it's not 'emo.' He has every right to wonder about his parents and even feel cheated that he never got to know them. He's obviously very proud of his family as he gets quite angry when people say bad things about either his mother or father. What happens to aunt Marge in book three is an excellent example of this as the woman refuse to stop bad mouthing his parents and finally pushed him over the edge.

When he returns to for his Fourth year at Hogwarts things start to change for him as he's still a growing boy and still a kid. He is initially intrigued by the idea of the Triwizard Tournament but he doesn't want to complete simply because he gets enough attention as it is and really doesn't want anymore. By the time year four rolls around he's mostly interested in being a normal teenager-something he knows won't happen because of who he is and his dark past. But he's developed a reputation for being someone that actively seeks out trouble-which he doesn't really, as he says- "I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me." No one really believes him at first when he says he didn't put his name in the goblet of fire. Because of this he soon finds himself feeling isolated and feeling that the whole school, aside from Hermione has turned against him. Most of his fellow schoolmates are suddenly wearing badges bearing the words 'Potter Stinks.' Even his best friend Ron is angry with him and doesn't believe that Harry didn't put his name in the goblet- which I imagine would feel much like a punch to the stomach.

Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts is not kind to him, as we all know the three tasks push him to his limits and this is the year that Lord Voldemort returns and kills Cedric Diggory- someone Harry was on friendly terms with. Once again, I think people forget that Harry is only a child and at fourteen years old he witnesses the man who killed his parents kill a seven teen year old and forces Harry to Duel with him. Harry manages to escape, however he's not out of danger yet as a man he trusted-Mad Eye Moody turns out to be an impostor and threatens to kill him for the dark lord. That is not something a fourteen year old boy should ever have to deal with and yet Harry does.

Going into the summer Holidays, Harry is sent back to the Dursley's to a summer of being virtually cut off from the wizarding world as Daily Prophet refuses to report anything about Voldemort's return and no one will tell Harry anything because it's too dangerous to say too much. Knowing what Voldemort is capable it's only natural that Harry would want to be kept up to date, know what's going on while he's so far away from the world he belongs in. He's, at that point, a fifteen year old boy going through puberty and honestly, probably a bit of PTSD, not to mention anger is part of the five stages of grief. He's angry and he wants answers. Even after getting attacked by dementors and nearly expelled from Hogwarts his answers still aren't answered to his satisfaction. Once he finally does rejoin his best friends he's told very little. He learns about how the Daily prophet has discredited everything he and Dumbledore have said about the return of Voldemort and make Harry out to be a liar and attention seeker. Something that doesn't really effect Harry until he returns to school and the mutters and stares return full force.

To make matters much worse, suddenly Dumbledore won't talk or look at Harry which must be rather painful for the poor boy as Dumbledore is a mentor in his life and to suddenly feel like he's avoiding Harry, after what he went through the previous year is nowhere near a happy feeling. He is understandably angry. He starts to get normal, angst-y teenage thoughts that no one understands and no one will listen. Harry's case is entirely different, however, as it really is a case of people not getting it and no one listening to him. It's frustrating and causes Harry's temper to bubble to a very uncomfortable level and feels like he's so close to losing his temper practically everyday.

Now, the Hero complex. Harry's hero complex, I believe, has been imposed on him. It started when he was Eleven years old and first learned the truth about his past. People treated him like some kind of hero and Harry was determined not to let them down. It first shows it's self when Malfoy takes the remembral and Harry stands up for him. The reason he does is because no one else does and obviously someone needs to stand up to Malfoy. I think this is generally how his hero complex works- he gets it in his head that no one will act. The reason he took off after the sorcerer's stone was because he thought that someone was going to try and steal it-he was right, of course, but it's later revealed that only one that wanted to find the stone and not use it could get it--which basically means that if Harry had stayed in bed Qurriell and Voldemort wouldn't have gotten the stone anyway.

In the Chamber of secrets, Harry and his friends do investigating on their own and after Harry and Ron discover that Hermione solved the mystery of the thing guilty of paralyzing the various victims they run to the staff room to tell everyone what they've found. However, they receive shocking news and end up having to run off to tell Lockhart (the, at the time, defense against the Dark Arts teacher) who intends to leave. They force him to come with them since he's obviously useless and once again, Harry realizes that if he doesn't do something, no one will.

It's a little different in the third book as Ron is attacked by the black dog and neither Harry nor Hermione think before tearing off after Ron. When Harry faces the dementors he fights them because he knows Sirius is innocent and there is no one there to save him. He saves Felour's little sister in the second task in the Goblet of fire because Gabriel's sister is nowhere to be found and he takes it to heart when he hears that part in the lyrics about losing what the mermaids took forever. Harry has a very strong sense of what's morally right and won't stand by while someone if wrongly punished or left in some form of danger. This is part of why he's a Gryffindor, after all. Even if Harry is putting himself in danger, if feels like there's a chance he can save someone, or in some cases, something, he will try.

In the first four books Harry's hero complex is often times rewarded and so, obviously, Harry doesn't think much on it. Especially since he's not out for the fame or glory. In fifth book the world has suddenly turned against him because no one want to admit the truth about Voldemort's return. Fudge comes to some stupid conclusions and Daily Prophet discredits anything Harry had to say about the night Cedric died and print that he's some attention seeking boy and that his stories are all rubbish. It's a new, and unpleasant feeling for Harry to suddenly be regarded as nuts along with all the added stress of, well, going through puberty.