Mistakes Harry has made that will come back

[groinkick]

Harry makes lots of mistakes but I'm looking for what you think are big critical ones that will return some how in future books.  Here are some of mine.

1.  Handing over the Book of Kemmler to Mavra.  She was blackmailing him, but was protecting a friend from her career getting ruined worth handing over a book like that to a monster?  I don't think so, and I imagine it's going to come up again.

2.  Staking claim to Demon Reach.  This was a really big move, and it seems to have worked out well for him.  That being said, Jim said "He's going to wish he never stepped foot on that Island".  So I imagine it was a bad move.

3.  Splitting up Bob.  Seemed like a good idea, but I think Evil Bob is out there, allied with who knows who.  He had access to horrible knowledge.  Can't imagine that will end well.

4.  Killing the entire Red Court.  Some of that may be becoming apparent already with the Fomor.  I'm wondering if Harry will realize he had another option, and the one he chose was the wrong one.  As a wizard I'm wondering if he could have worked out a spell, and used that source of power for something else, rather than sacrifice Susan and wipe out out the Red's.

Just some off the top of my head.  Can you think of some critical decisions he made that may have appeared right but will return to haunt him later?

[Mira]

1.  Handing over the Book of Kemmler to Mavra.  She was blackmailing him, but was protecting a friend from her career getting ruined worth handing over a book like that to a monster?  I don't think so, and I imagine it's going to come up again.

Already did, the book allowed her to cozy up to Drakul big time and recruit some Wardens into her service.  Further cemented what ever Carlos thinks he suspects Harry is up to, because he holds Harry responsible.  On the other hand, blackmail is never as simple as it appears to be, otherwise it wouldn't be such an effective dirty weapon

2.  Staking claim to Demon Reach.  This was a really big move, and it seems to have worked out well for him.  That being said, Jim said "He's going to wish he never stepped foot on that Island".  So I imagine it was a bad move.

Bet he already wishes that, on one hand he was able to save Thomas's life by imprisoning him there. However if he may never be able to ever let him out again.  It appears up to this point anyway that the only sentences Alfred hands down are life sentences.  I think Harry is going to find that hard to live with. 

3.  Splitting up Bob.  Seemed like a good idea, but I think Evil Bob is out there, allied with who knows who.  He had access to horrible knowledge.  Can't imagine that will end well.

That was a result, not a conscious choice I think..  Harry was more like Pandora, he needed information about a time in Bob's life when he served the ultimate evil wizard.  Bob begged him
not to do it if I remember correctly but couldn't or wouldn't explain why.  Once called up, Evil Bob nearly killed Harry, Evil Bob was suppressed once more, but this time was able to splinter off. Yeah,
bad news, but like in the myth Pandora also released "Hope" when she released all the trouble on  the earth, Good Bob was also returned to serve.

4.  Killing the entire Red Court.  Some of that may be becoming apparent already with the Fomor.  I'm wondering if Harry will realize he had another option, and the one he chose was the wrong one.  As a wizard I'm wondering if he could have worked out a spell, and used that source of power for something else, rather than sacrifice Susan and wipe out out the Red's.

I don't think Harry had any good options in this case because the spell that he reversed that ended in the demise of the Red Court would have ended in his own demise and that of his child and Eb and most likely Thomas.  The only possible one I can think of is if he had found a way to kill the Red King before he killed little Maggie.. It looked like at that point anyway that that wasn't going to happen, even though Harry was backed by some real heavy weights.

Just some off the top of my head.  Can you think of some critical decisions he made that may have appeared right but will return to haunt him later?

His night of unprotected sex with Susan that resulted in the birth of little Maggie.  True, he got a beautiful daughter but see regret number 4, for the consequence of that little act.

[BrainFireBob]

I think giving Bob to Butters.

Bob's metaphysical mass is knowledge driven, giving him broadband allows access to the same kind of power explision the Archive has undergone in the digital age.

And it is married to no human conscience or morality

[Mira]

I think giving Bob to Butters.

Bob's metaphysical mass is knowledge driven, giving him broadband allows access to the same kind of power explision the Archive has undergone in the digital age.

And it is married to no human conscience or morality

I don't think he gave him to Butters so much as Butters inherited him when Harry "died."  It seems like now that Butters is a Holy Knight that he gave Bob back to Harry at some point.  Not sure just when, but Harry tells Molly that he is having Bob go over the castle at the end of Battle Ground.  Sounds like Bob is back with him, or maybe he and Butters have worked out an arrangement to share.  Remember Bob liked the amenities that Butters provided for him, the internet not old prone novels like he got when he lived with Harry.

[LostInTime]

4.  Killing the entire Red Court.  Some of that may be becoming apparent already with the Fomor.  I'm wondering if Harry will realize he had another option, and the one he chose was the wrong one.  As a wizard I'm wondering if he could have worked out a spell, and used that source of power for something else, rather than sacrifice Susan and wipe out out the Red's.

TBF, Harry didn't sacrifice Susan. Susan sacrificed Susan to get revenge on Martin. Once Susan was gone, Harry used the blood of the new ramp to kill the Red Court.

[groinkick]

TBF, Harry didn't sacrifice Susan. Susan sacrificed Susan to get revenge on Martin. Once Susan was gone, Harry used the blood of the new ramp to kill the Red Court.

That's fair.  However Harry didn't really offer any options either.  In the heat of the moment, I completely agreed with what he did.  In hindsight however it appears that may have been the wrong decision.  I think a terrible blow to the Red Court (like Maggie sandbagging Lord Raith) may have been a better solution.  The power vacuum was not filled by allies, but enemies.

[Mira]

That's fair.  However Harry didn't really offer any options either.  In the heat of the moment, I completely agreed with what he did.  In hindsight however it appears that may have been the wrong decision.  I think a terrible blow to the Red Court (like Maggie sandbagging Lord Raith) may have been a better solution.  The power vacuum was not filled by allies, but enemies.

  Yeah, well in that moment in time he had no time for any other solution unless he wanted to sacrifice their child, himself, most likely Thomas, and Eb.. So mistake?  Maybe, but no other alternatives..

But all of that is after the fact... His mistake was leaving that invitation to the party setting around where Susan could steal it.  His mistake was thinking she wouldn't steal it.  Keep Susan from crashing that party and none of that would have happened.. 

[LostInTime]

Honest people assume other people are honest until they are given reason to distrust people in general or specific examples.

[morriswalters]

TBF, Harry didn't sacrifice Susan. Susan sacrificed Susan to get revenge on Martin. Once Susan was gone, Harry used the blood of the new ramp to kill the Red Court.

Susan might have volunteered had Harry asked her.  But he didn't ask.  He created a weapon and then used that weapon.

[Mira]

Susan might have volunteered had Harry asked her.  But he didn't ask.  He created a weapon and then used that weapon.

 He didn't create the weapon, the only person who can take responsibility for how she ended up, is Susan... Down to her original flirtation with Harry in Storm Front.  Yes, eventually she fell in love with him, but her original reasons for pursuing him was inside info for her job and fame to further her career.  Harry warned her and told her why he wasn't going to that party, but in spite of what she had seen of how dangerous the supernatural world was, she stole the invitation.. There are consequences, and she paid the price. 

Unprotected sex, both are the blame for that and must take responsibility.. Result of that little mistake was a child, put in danger by Susan's original mistake, and she paid the price, willingly, once she realized she had been betrayed and used by Martin, she killed him knowing it would turn her, her decision based on the new information she received.   Harry did ask, as she was turning he told her, that the Red King wanted to kill Maggie because she was the youngest, to kill him,Eb, and Thomas too, now she was the youngest, and she could kill all of them... She told him to do it, she could have refused and happily be a Red Court Vamp today, if she had wanted.  But she didn't want that..  No, Harry didn't create her, her own actions did that.

[morriswalters]

Harry cut her throat.  I don't see any text where he said to Susan. Is this what you want? He didn't say here's my plan. Are you all in? He primed her and aimed her at Martin and pulled the trigger on her emotionally.

This is the point where Harry becomes a monster.  He is our monster but none the less a monster. He will do anything to do what it is that he wants to accomplish.  Make any deal, use anyone to save his daughter. And a reasonable person might suggest that Harry meant for it to turn out this way given that he says this in Chapter Two.

I spoke the next words through my teeth. “But I haven’t forgotten. Will never forget it. There will be a reckoning on that account later. Do you understand?”

[Mira]

Harry cut her throat.  I don't see any text where he said to Susan. Is this what you want? He didn't say here's my plan. Are you all in? He primed her and aimed her at Martin and pulled the trigger on her emotionally.

You can call it pulling the trigger on her emotionally, or you can say he showed her the truth.  When she realized that Martin was pulling the double cross and her little girl was going to die because of it, it pissed her off and she proceeded to rip his throat out as most loving mothers would. 

Then Harry explains to her as she is turning why the Red King wanted to kill Maggie, further explained that as the youngest vamp, she could kill all of them with her death.  Susan is conflicted some as she is turning, then she looks at her daughter, she tells Harry she doesn't think she can do it.

Then she says to Harry; page 419 Changes

Susan looked back at me,her eyes streaming with tears.  "Harry, help me,"she whispered.  "Save her please."

At that point, there was only one way to save little Maggie, they both knew it... Yes, she was telling him to cut her throat, it was the only way.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

I think giving Bob to Butters.

Bob's metaphysical mass is knowledge driven, giving him broadband allows access to the same kind of power explision the Archive has undergone in the digital age.

And it is married to no human conscience or morality

Bob becomes the intellectus of porn, and Harry has to live with that.

 “This is Bob my, uh research assistant” said Harry to the buxom young Wizard.

“And intellectus of porn” Bob added, totally killing the moment.

[BrainFireBob]

I don't think he gave him to Butters so much as Butters inherited him when Harry "died."  It seems like now that Butters is a Holy Knight that he gave Bob back to Harry at some point.  Not sure just when, but Harry tells Molly that he is having Bob go over the castle at the end of Battle Ground.  Sounds like Bob is back with him, or maybe he and Butters have worked out an arrangement to share.  Remember Bob liked the amenities that Butters provided for him, the internet not old prone novels like he got when he lived with Harry.

Implication is that Bob has total recall, and knowledge translates directly into power for him- we're not just talking knowing how to throw fireballs lets him throw fireballs, how hard he throws fireballs is increased when he reads a new biology textbook. A year or two with unfettered high-speed 'Net access 24/7 when Butters doesn't need him, and Bob is now rather terrifying if you think about it. The Archive gets that upgrade axiomatically- but Bob's probably downloading as fast as he can.

[TheCuriousFan]

Harry makes lots of mistakes but I'm looking for what you think are big critical ones that will return some how in future books.  Here are some of mine.

1.  Handing over the Book of Kemmler to Mavra.  She was blackmailing him, but was protecting a friend from her career getting ruined worth handing over a book like that to a monster?  I don't think so, and I imagine it's going to come up again.

2.  Staking claim to Demon Reach.  This was a really big move, and it seems to have worked out well for him.  That being said, Jim said "He's going to wish he never stepped foot on that Island".  So I imagine it was a bad move.

3.  Splitting up Bob.  Seemed like a good idea, but I think Evil Bob is out there, allied with who knows who.  He had access to horrible knowledge.  Can't imagine that will end well.

4.  Killing the entire Red Court.  Some of that may be becoming apparent already with the Fomor.  I'm wondering if Harry will realize he had another option, and the one he chose was the wrong one.  As a wizard I'm wondering if he could have worked out a spell, and used that source of power for something else, rather than sacrifice Susan and wipe out out the Red's.

Just some off the top of my head.  Can you think of some critical decisions he made that may have appeared right but will return to haunt him later?

Turning down Ebenezar's help after finding out he's the Blackstaff. Well, assuming that He Who Walks Behind did get summoned back like he said rather than just pretending he was to fuck with Harry.