Expanded epilogue with Rowling

[PTeppic]

Yes, he was capable of the Patronus, but it was after personal tuition. Most of the work he did against Dark Arts was with fairly mild spells, such a disarming, shield and similar charms. However, I guess half the battle is the keeping cool and being able to use simple, effective and fast defensive spells. On that front, yes he's capable (and also of teaching it). But, could he, for example, have attempted the Bubble-Headed charm, or the one used by Krum in the Lake in Goblet? Yes Harry's the hero, but Hermione is perhaps the better magician through greater application of theory; Harry simply has the history of having had to use it first hand (okay, loads of experience). Snape and Voldemort's various summaries are accurate: he's mostly survived his various encounters through luck and help. Only in 5 and 7 do he and his friends have to really fight hard (in 6 they fight but are aided by Felix).

[Marvolo]

Originally Posted by PTeppic

Not a foregone conclusion. Harry may have faced and defeated Voldemort in several scenarios but not using any half-decent magic. He'd have a long way to go even to show he was up to Cedric Diggory's level...

Less is more my friend.

Complicated spells are... complicated and in the heat of action, unless very well versed in the particular magic you're working, you'd likely mistep on the intricate spells. While standby spells like disarming, stunning, the shield charm, and the like are quick, easy, and dependable. Voldemort, after all, sounded like a broken record when he fought. Avada Kadavra! Avada Kadavra! Avada Kadavra!

Only in the fight with Dumbledore did Voldemort show versitality in his magical arsenal.

Harry also has what many lack, the courage to go toe to toe with those dark wizards. Dark wizards use fear just as much as magic. Fear of the unknown, dark spells those wizards may have uncovered.

I think Harry was a fine wizard. He accomplished more in the short span of time we knew him than most wizards ever will and probably more than any other living wizard (at the time) than perhaps Dumbledore, Snape, and Voldemort.

[pyan]

And we're talking nineteen years on, here.
Perhaps Harry has spent seventeen of them improving his skills, and has only been appointed to his present rank for the last two?

[PTeppic]

Presumably he's spent some of the intervening time improving his potions knowledge...

[Majimaune]

Yeah he would have had to work hard on that. Harry would have had to work hard to be an Auror. There is no doubt about that.

[Fake Vencar]

Am i right in saying that Harry still had the Half-Blood Princes potion book; or did he never retrieve it from the Room of Requirement? If he did then surely that would have aided his Potion learnings quite a bit

[Majimaune]

I don't think he ever retrieved it so it was probably burnt in that fire that Goyle made in there.