Because Voldemort had not been given a new body in which Harry's blood flowed (as would happen later in GoF), Quirinus Quirrel (Voldemort's temporary host in PS) could not touch Harry because of Lily Potter's protection. Does this mean that he would not have been able to use Avada Kedavra on him either? Since Lily's protection would cause any Killing Curse cast on Harry by Voldemort to rebound...
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Inspired by your queston: scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/22511/…– DVK-on-Ahch-ToCommented Aug 24, 2012 at 10:40
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Also, someone please add this to my Meta "Good HP Qs without canon answer" assuming someone doesn't find an answer I'm not aware of :)– DVK-on-Ahch-ToCommented Aug 24, 2012 at 10:40
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2 Answers
I can't think of a canon answer (and no JKR info) BUT, it is plausible that Lily's protection is aimed at Voldemort's soul, independently of the body it is in (since Quirrell indeed couldn't touch Harry).
Also, I don't know if it's accurate to say that Lily's protection would cause the curse to rebound vs. other outcomes.
answered Aug 24, 2012 at 10:46
In all likelihood, Voldemort (or his host) would be able to kill--but not touch--Harry prior to the events of GOF. Otherwise, there would have been no need for the Dursley protection, as Harry would've been immune from Voldemort's attempts on his life.
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Unless the protection was indeed limited to Voldemort(’s soul), in which case a Death Eater might well want to attack and kill him—and would likely succeed if he wasn't protected. Commented Jul 1, 2015 at 9:55
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Agreed. Dumbledore says as much in OOTP when explaining why he extended the sacrifice via the charm. But then why the "gleam of triumph" in GOF when LV puts Harry's blood in himself? To feel triumphant, wouldn't Harry have had to have been previously susceptible to death at the hands of LV? If not, Harry was never truly in danger at one point throughout the series when it came to LV.– CCHPCommented Jul 1, 2015 at 19:21
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He doesn't have the whole picture. He thinks having Harry's blood in his veins means he can personally kill him, which he couldn't before. Which is true, to a certain extent; he can. Except Harry has a bit of Voldemort’s soul in him, so he can't really properly kill him until that's gone, and he doesn't know that at the end of GoF. Up until that moment, Harry indeed wasn't in any real danger by Voldemort’s hand directly. Commented Jul 1, 2015 at 19:26
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Why the "gleam of triumph" from Dumbledore, not LV? In other words, why would Dumbledore feel victorious unless Harry had previously been in real danger...from LV HIMSELF?– CCHPCommented Jul 1, 2015 at 19:51
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Oh, that gleam. I always took that to mean that Dumbledore was briefly pleased with himself for having sussed it out. Commented Jul 1, 2015 at 19:53