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[Fett d'Facto]

Having read a story where Voldemort sends Nagini to fetch "HAary" to join him and Harry instantly agrees - and promptly AK's the Dursley's (it could be worse, I've read one where Ginny sees Harry follow some Death Eaters into Voldemort's stronghold from the Knight bus and decides to join too... *Sigh*) it set me thinking:

How could Harry believably turn dark?

I've had a few thoughts.

One, when Voldemort makes the offer to join him in first year.
Harry's in a new world, young and nurses a grudge against the Dursleys. I could see Harry accepting if Voldemort had taken the line of all the abuse he'd suffered at the Dursleys' hands and Dumbledore leaving him with them even when Remus would look after him. Though I would see this as more of a possibility than likely - he did kill his parents after all, and the offer is a desperate one. (Presuming, of course, that I've rembered correctly and it is in Philosopher's stone that he is given the offer to join Voldemort.

Two, when the Dursley's imprison him in the summer after his first year.
Harry's just found some friends and he gets locked up with bars, is utterly isolated and thinks that no one is writing to him. If he were rescued by Malfoy, say, I think he would be easily swayed over to Voldemort's side of the equation. And, again, the whole Dumbledore thing.

Three, after Chamber of Secrets.
Harry was victimised because of being able to speak parseltongue, so isn't feeling particulary charitable toward his fellow wizards, the prophet could find out and there be a public hue and cry over evil Potter/ Voldemort re-incarnated/ Voldemort remmnent. (On a side note, if Harry was victimised and did join Voldemort, do you think Ginny would join her knight in filthy school uniform?)

From Prisoner of Azkaban onward I don't see any chance of Harry switching sides at all* and he is, completely and utterly, "Dumbledore's man".

Dark, though, is a possibility. "Dark" meaning ruthless and prepared to use questionable spells. For example, I can't see Harry AKing the Dursleys, but I could see him defending himself with extreem prejudice against people. I could also see him punishing the Dursleys, or possibly imperioing them at worst (if they've done something major. e.g. recieving a massive payment from Dumbledore for housing Harry, and Harry would like his money back). That said, it would need some catalyst rather than having him wake up one morning and decide to kill rather than capture.

Any thoughts? Are the three ideas above believable, or they just as bad as the insane stories out there (thinking them up took some doing, and even I think they're dodgy at best)?

Fett d'Facto
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*Even if he is Riddle's son/ illegitimate son/ illegitimate son with Lilly and Dumbledore did the cover-up of the century/ Dumbledore lied to him about Sirius (I mean, why? )/ the Dursleys treat him as they normally do (though slightly too excessively, it is fanfiction after all)/ <ludicrous idea 22>

GALLEONS AWARDED: 2 -- Interesting discussion topic, backed up with thorough arguments

[avis]

I can't see Harry switching to Voldemort's side at all. He's not paranoid and he isn't a doubter; if he knows Voldemort's done so many horrible things, he wouldn't be quick to change sides. If he and Malfoy had found themselves mutually likeable for any amount of reason--all of which are pretty much moot, seeing as Draco has few friends and has no interest in making any more, in addition to his apparent dislike of Muggles--there would still be that hesitance. Harry is, by default of JK, a Good Guy, and therefore is not easily swayed. I don't think he can believably and voluntarily switch sides.

And if he did, would Ginny follow? She might--she's stubborn and she's got determination. There's a possibility she might, but I think it's more likely that she'll try to talk him out of it, or at least be worried and talk to Hermione about it. Probably not Ron.

Turning dark--I think we've seen glimpses of it. Harry can be a little thick; he doesn't stop to think sometimes, and if a really drastic catalyst is thrown at him, he could easily do some extreme spells. It would have to be against someone who is either threatening him or his friends (or both, I guess). He wouldn't take the first shot unless he needed that advantage in order to survive the battle.
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[Stacy_78]

Harry can't switch over to Voldemort's side. It'd be instant death for him, considering how literally Voldemort takes the prophecy (or what he knows of it), but he could possibly go dark. He'd have to lose everyone he loves before he would, but if he was in enough pain, he'd start dealing with Death Eaters in very dishonorable ways. He did once attempt to do an Unforgivable Curse after Sirius's death, after all.
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[Angel Morte]

I like to make Harry Dark in my fanfics.

Though I don't think he would join Voldemort's side. I think it's more believable when Harry branches out on his own to get his job done. Becoming a third party and going against Voldemort and Dumbledore and setting up a world where he believes things will be better. I can see Ginny and some of the others following him, though they would have to get past they're own prejudices first.
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Sometimes no matter how hard you try you just can't fix people when they break. ---<--@

[Kalia Lor]

I think that maybe if Harry somehow convinced that joining up with Voldemort would save Ginny and is friends from harm he may do it, but from there he'll either be corrupted and actually become dark, or he'll use it as an opportunity to get closer and destroy voldermort once and for all.

Another more believable way of making Harry dark would be if in all the confusion of being a new wizard and all the new information about his history, he becomes friends with Malfoy instead of Ron.

[missmarauder2]

I can see many possibilities of this! In year one and two there is an opportunity for this to happen, sometimes more than one.

In first year, there was Draco's offer of friendship, and then at the end of the year there was Voldemort's offer. In second year there was that summer, he could have somehow escaped or not been rescued by the Weasely's; in which case he would have been so angry he probably would have joined the dark side. Than later that year there is the time when the whole school thought he opened the chamber of secrets. Everyone in the school was afraid of him, and only the future DE's knew that he wasn't the heir of Slytherin, and he could have turned to them because they knew.

In all the other books that have been written so far, there is no chance, especially HBP. But I could see the possibility in him putting himself under a glamour charm and infiltrating the Death Eater ranks to get information on Voldemort and his followers.

Another version of Dark!Harry that I can see happening isn't so much an evil Harry as it is just ruthless in the way he handles life. I can see him going Dark in the sense that he just break off from everything. The Harry we know in the books would never want to kill anyone, but what if somewhere along the course of war, he just stops caring? What if eventually, he just stops feeling guilty about it? This is something I can see happening. I can see him cutting himself off from the entire world and not going evil, but still losing what makes him human, and that is dark. He would continue to fight the war because of obligation, but his heart would not be in it. That is dark. And that is the only dark I can see Harry going.

As for the possibilities in First and Second year, I think these would be great AU stories, but I don't see them happening in the books.
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"we do not inherit life from our parents, we borrow it from our children"

I need a new hard drive for my computer, so I won't be able to reply to many posts as often as I wish. I can only access a computer on Saturdays for one hour.