Unsolved Mystery Book12 Members only cloaks

[Talby16]

That he did. Was she really the old person he trusted to handle this.

More likely the only person he trusted that had the specific skill set to handle it. Out of the wizards we know Harry really only trusts Eb, Molly, Carlos, Luccio, and maybe LtW and Rashid. Eb and Carlos are combat wizards primarily. Luccio had a power downgrade and contacting LtW/Rashid might be impossible in Harry's current situation.

[Serack]

Mavra trained Bianca in magic to help her get revenge on Harry and she was also responsible for one of the most successful attempts on Harry's life - the flame thrower attack that was designed to get around his shields. If she is Grey Council, then the Grey Council is black. Also, Eb dropped a meteor on Ortega for trying to kill Harry, I don't think he would deliberately let Mavra walk away unscathed for the same offense.

I recently saw someone theorize that Mavra's goons didn't use weapons in the altercation involving the Vampire staking by turkey because the purpose of the altercation wasn't to kill him but to manipulate him into teaming up with Lara.  When I wrote my list of Harry Power Ups long ago, I couldn't help but notice that Mavra's "attempt on Harry's life" didn't just result in the blackmail material that drove the plot of Dead Beat, but is directly responsible for the motivation for some of Harry's most impressive magical development in the series summed up by these bullet points from that post:

• 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

I can't help but wonder if she was working with Lea in that altercation in order to force him to branch out and pursue magical skill beyond his fire standby. 

[Kindler]

I recently saw someone theorize that Mavra's goons didn't use weapons in the altercation involving the Vampire staking by turkey because the purpose of the altercation wasn't to kill him but to manipulate him into teaming up with Lara.  When I wrote my list of Harry Power Ups long ago, I couldn't help but notice that Mavra's "attempt on Harry's life" didn't just result in the blackmail material that drove the plot of Dead Beat, but is directly responsible for the motivation for some of Harry's most impressive magical development in the series summed up by these bullet points from that post:

• 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

I can't help but wonder if she was working with Lea in that altercation in order to force him to branch out and pursue magical skill beyond his fire standby.

Just read that for the first time. Good post

Also, while the effects are there, I think that might be giving Mavra too much credit. She's wily and tough, but I don't think anyone could have adequately predicted events to that degree. I do think she wanted blackmail materials, but I don't think she predicted Kincaid's involvement (or the Bolshevik Muppet Maneuver). I doubt she was coordinating efforts with Lea for the purposes of training Harry.

In my opinion, Mavra pulled a Xanatos Gambit, setting things up so that either A.) Harry was killed, or B.) She'd have evidence with which to pressure Harry to do something for her—whether it was specifically to get her hands on the Word or not remains to be seen. No matter what, she'd come out ahead, and there was virtually no risk to her at all.

[Talby16]

I recently saw someone theorize that Mavra's goons didn't use weapons in the altercation involving the Vampire staking by turkey because the purpose of the altercation wasn't to kill him but to manipulate him into teaming up with Lara.  When I wrote my list of Harry Power Ups long ago, I couldn't help but notice that Mavra's "attempt on Harry's life" didn't just result in the blackmail material that drove the plot of Dead Beat, but is directly responsible for the motivation for some of Harry's most impressive magical development in the series summed up by these bullet points from that post:

• 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

I can't help but wonder if she was working with Lea in that altercation in order to force him to branch out and pursue magical skill beyond his fire standby.

Great summary of his power-ups along the way. I didn't post on it because I didn't want to resurrect a topic from 2011, but I noticed it hasn't been updated to reflect the last two books. Will you revisit this list in the future?