Harry potter question...?

Question:

Harry potter question...?

you r supposed to see the thestrals only if you've seen death! well, harry was one-year-old when his parents died and i think jkrowling has mentioned in an interview or sth, that harry didn't probably see his parents dying, cause he was asleep. that's why on the 4th year at school he couldn't see the thestrals. ok... but, why didn't he see them when returning from hogwarts to the train statin and then home, at the end of the 4th year, after seeing cedric's death?... cause if you remember, he saw them, on the fifth year, when going to hogwarts.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Copied from JK's site, no one can tell you better than the author.

"I??ve been asked this a lot. Harry didn??t see his parents die. He was in his cot at the time (he was just over a year old) and, as I say in ??Philosopher??s Stone??, all he saw was a flash of green light. He didn??t see Quirrell??s death, either. Harry had passed out before Quirrell died and was only told about it by Dumbledore in the last chapter.

He did, however, witness the murder of Cedric, and it is this that makes him able to see the Thestrals at last. Why couldn??t he see the Thestrals on his trip back to the train station? Well, I didn??t want to start a new mystery, which would not be resolved for a long time, at the very end of the fourth book. I decided, therefore, that until Harry is over the first shock, and really feels what death means (ie, when he fully appreciates that Cedric is gone forever and that he can never come back, which takes time, whatever age you are) he would not be able to see the Thestrals. After two months away from school during which he has dwelled endlessly on his memories of the murder and had nightmares about it, the Thestrals have taken shape and form and he can see them quite clearly."