[GS Spoilers] Harry's Power Ups

[Serack]

I was thinking about the events of Fool Moon and trying to fit them into the structure of a hypothesis that some of what is being orchestrated behind the scenes is an attempt to forge Harry into a stronger wizard.  So I was wondering what in the events of Fool Moon made him stronger and wasn't quite sure what the answer was...

But that led me to wanting to make another of the Lists I enjoy fashioning, and that I enjoy seeing what other people contribute to.  "Harry's Power Ups"  This will be in chronological order.  I don't want to include things that are just milestones like "defeated enemy X," however, some things that might be considered a milestone might also be indicative of a particular level of growth and thus will be included.  I.E. his first usage of the Sight, which according to Jim, is a pretty big deal (well at least I'm inferring that).

Main categories that a "Power Up" could be put in, although these may not be all inclusive, and there are fuzzy lines:
Raw Power (RP)
Skill (Sk)
Knoledge (K)
Ally Gained (A)
Marker (M)
Marker Loss (ML)
Power Down (PD)

Harry's Power Ups:

• @0: Born (w/ extenuating circumstances)
  • Power over Outsiders RP
  • Atribute where he serves as a catalist for other's strength A'sRP
• @10: Power Manifests and he is adopted by Justin who trains him RP,Sk
• @14: Uses his sight for the first time on a tree spirit RP
• @16: Gains the confidence necessary to beat Justin from Lea
• @16: Harry obtains Bob K,A
• @16-19: Harry recieves training from Eb Sk
• @~20-24: Harry recieves investigative training from Nicholas Christian Sk
• Before SF: Harry begins working with Michael A
• SF Harry demonstrates the ability to "Listen" Sk
• GP: Ate Kravos's power RP
• SK: First "Calls" the Za Lord's Guard A
• SK: Gains favor with Summer Lady and Knight M
• BR: Adopts Mouse A
• BR: Realizes his true association with Thomas A
• BR: Burn trauma stunts Harry's ability to use Fire Magic PD
  • DB: Starts moving things using directly applied Force/Will rather than Wind RP/Sk
  • WK: Crafts his new Shield Bracelet which blocks more than force/physical, particularly fire Sk
• BR: Gains knowledge from his mother in the Thomas Soulgaze K
• DB: Gains resources from Lasciel including usage of Hellfire RP
• DB: Reads the Word of Kemmler K (note, this was a direct consequence of Mavra's manipulation)
• DB: Regains usage of Fire Magic RP
• PG: Passes Summer Lady's Debt to Charity ML
• PG: Gains a "boon" from Summer M
• PG: Demonstrates increased Craftyness by out politic-ing the Merlin Sk
• PG: Gains Molly as apprentice (thus re-examining the fundamentals) A,Sk
  
  • WK Little Ball of Sunshine Sk
  • Changes Uses Better Veils Sk
• WK: Crafts Little Chicago Sk
• WK: Loses Lasciel's resources, including Hell Fire PD
• WK: Strengthens the allegance the Little Folk have with him (has the pixies released in his name) A
• WK: Founds Paranet A
• SmF: Gains Soulfire RP
• SmF: Cashes in Boon from Summer for a doughnut ML
• SmF: Saves Ivy bigtime M x2 (marker with Kincade too)
• TC: Establishes Sanctum with Demonreach RP,A?
• Changes: Gains Winter Knight mantle RP
• Changes: Gains his Mother's Legacy (access to the ways) K
• GS: Gains Wisdom about the consequences of his actions, and the utility of not immediately acting on his rage K

More to come. (and some filling in)

[Mauve Shirt]

Maybe he gained a slightly stronger "alliance" with Marcone? Or just fighting experience and werewolf knowledge. I haven't read FM in a while.

[sociotard]

I happen to think this was a sufficiently powerful toy that it should count.

• PG Harry creates "Little Chicago" (later destroyed)

[Quantus]

He'd been using Force magic for a while, in the form of those rings, since SF. 

Offhand:
WK - Learns of and uses his connection to Outsiders for the first time

FM - Saves Marcone (gains "ally")

GP - Meets/Names Ivy the Archive
GP - Meets Kincaid the Hellhound

DB - Meets NecroBob
DB - Uses Necromancy for the first time

Changes - Meets Vadderrung

SK - Saves the crap out of the new Summer Lady and Knight

[itshim]

It depends what you call a power up.

Is it a power up when Harry changes his rings from 1 ring to 3 per finger?
Similarly is it a power up when his shield can block more than one thing? (this is a thing that he learns by experience as being necessary).
Is it a power up when he learns to do veils as an invocation?

[Orbweaver]

I don't remember precisely when in the series it happened, but Ebenezar's confession to Harry about being the Blackstaff had a very profound effect on the way he thought and felt not only about his grandfather, but about magic in general. It'd fall into the Knowledge category.

[sociotard]

I'd say those can all probably qualify.  It's just a question of demonstrating that Harry gaining or losing the ability to do something.
I'd also say that, since the list is already in a sort of time-line type format, we might put power increases and decreases on the list. Perhaps gain in black and loss in red? So, (going off memory here)

• SK Harry gains a favor from the Summer Court
• SF Harry uses up his favor to get a delicious donut
• BR Harry's left hand is burned, leaving it largely useless.  Harry also loses the ability to channel fire
• DB Harry becomes a warden.  This grants him some authority and greater legitimacy withing the White Council, and effectively ends 'poverty' as a plot point

[Quantus]

I like the power downs idea.  Then we should add:

GP - Harry gains the protection of Love
SmF - Harry looses the protection of Love

[Serack]

I happen to think this was a sufficiently powerful toy that it should count.

• PG Harry creates "Little Chicago" (later destroyed)

Ah yes, when I was making this up in my head, I was thinking of this one and the shield bracelet, but didn't get them in while writing it.  Actually, Little Chicago the object isn't what I consider a "Power Up" but rather the thermatalogical (sp?) skill he forged while making it is.

The shield bracelet is similar, in that before he didn't know how to make one, and now he does (and it's a significant trinket in and of itself)

Is it a power up when he learns to do veils as an invocation?

I actually tried to cover that with the Molly apprenticeship.  As to the rest, see above.

He'd been using Force magic for a while, in the form of those rings, since SF.  

That is a very different spell, in that he is triggering a precharged charm to apply force, whereas in DB he is using raw will power to move something as an evocation.  Something I believe he wouldn't have been doing if it weren't for the burn trauma effectively stunting his Fire usage which beforehand had been his fallback evocation (this right here is one of the keystone ideas behind the "hypothesis" mentioned in the OP).  In SK Maeve uses frost to do something and Billy asks "could you have done that?" to which Harry responds "Yah, but I would have used fire"  Which is odd, because they were referring to the imobilization of Slate, but the point is still made that at that point, Harry was a little one dimentional, and this event (the flipping of the car) personifies a rather dramatic "Power Up" that was precipitated by the fire trauma.

Offhand:
WK - Learns of and uses his connection to Outsiders for the first time

Actually the first time was when he defeated HHWB

FM - Saves Marcone (gains "ally")

GP - Meets/Names Ivy the Archive
GP - Meets Kincaid the Hellhound

DB - Meets NecroBob
DB - Uses Necromancy for the first time

Changes - Meets Vadderrung

SK - Saves the crap out of the new Summer Lady and Knight

For me, there are 2 definitions of an Ally.  

1) Someone who is willing to follow Harry into hell.
2) Someone who owes Harry a marker (Jim's term).

Both, from the perspective of a "Power Up" are also effected by the power level of the "Ally" but one is much more temporary.  Several of these here are more, just events or temporary markers rather than what I would consider a Power Up.  However there are other individuals that obviously did follow Harry into "hell" that arn't on this list, but that's more because there wasn't a particular event that the formatino of the allegance is precipitated down to easily...

Vanderung... I'm not sure how to treat...

Bah, I gota come back and respond to the posts after itshim's after I do some more editing.

[kqurollo]

Serack, i had an idea about this too.  I was thinking of doing a re-read and picking up how Harry's descriptions of using his power change.

For example ( i am at work and don't have the books, so this is just my trying to expalin what i mean)
He may describe in an early book how doing a particular spell takes all his energy and concentration.
In a later book he may say the same or a differnt spell is easy or second nature.

This to me is also part of his power ups.  How things are hard in the begginning and become easier or take less concentration or the spell itself has so much more power in it.

Plus i tend to read fast and not soak in details and it would force me to pay attention.  

[SkinsFanVJ]

Serack, i had an idea about this too.  I was thinking of doing a re-read and picking up how Harry's descriptions of using his power change.

For example ( i am at work and don't have the books, so this is just my trying to expalin what i mean)
He may describe in an early book how doing a particular spell takes all his energy and concentration.
In a later book he may say the same or a differnt spell is easy or second nature.

This to me is also part of his power ups.  How things are hard in the begginning and become easier or take less concentration or the spell itself has so much more power in it.

Plus i tend to read fast and not soak in details and it would force me to pay attention. 

This kinda sounds like there needs to be an "E: Experience" power up.  I know I didnt start out as the Ultimate Slacker.  I powered up with years and years of slacker experience.   

[Serack]

I'd say those can all probably qualify.  It's just a question of demonstrating that Harry gaining or losing the ability to do something.
I'd also say that, since the list is already in a sort of time-line type format, we might put power increases and decreases on the list. Perhaps gain in black and loss in red? So, (going off memory here)

• SK Harry gains a favor from the Summer Court
• SF Harry uses up his favor to get a delicious donut
• BR Harry's left hand is burned, leaving it largely useless.  Harry also loses the ability to channel fire
• DB Harry becomes a warden.  This grants him some authority and greater legitimacy withing the White Council, and effectively ends 'poverty' as a plot point

Hmmmm, I kinda like how this expands things.  I think I will add the power category "Marker M" as part of this too.  And I will just put the red color in the bolded timing header.

[ImpishMortal]

FM - Meets the Alphas and Tera West
SK - Gains Mouse
DM - Is given custodianship of Fidelacchius
WK - Establishes Paranet
SF - Is given custodianship of Amoracchius

[Casterbridge]

GP: Ate Kravos's power RP

Wasn't this only a temporary power up, or does it still count for the purpose of your list?

Also "Word of Kemmler" might be worth considering.

[sociotard]

Losing Lash was, I think, one of Harry's biggest losses as far as power goes.  He got Soulfire almost immediately after, so that made up for losing Hellfire, but nothing made up for having, essentially, a supercomputer living in his head.  "You want to speak ancient Etruscan? A language even the best human scholars only know a little about?  Of course!  I'll even filter it so you won't know they aren't speaking English".

I'm hoping Jim means it when he says her story isn't done.