It’s interesting that a kind upbringing can have such a large effect, I’m not sure this makes sense—why wouldn’t more of Quirrell’s misanthropy have carried over?
Eh. I never got the sense that Harry was that good in near mode. Consider him not seeing a reason for Ron to exist, his total lack of interest in Hagrid, the incident in Diagon Alley, “birth parents,” and the list goes on and on—but the difference is that while Quirrell is perfectly willing to jump from “I don’t see a reason for Ron to exist” to “I can kill Ron if I feel like it,” Harry has been taught that’s not how the Right People think about things. But does he value Ron, or see a reason for him to exist or be happy? Not really, nowhere near like Hermione does.
Eh. I never got the sense that Harry was that good in near mode. Consider him not seeing a reason for Ron to exist, his total lack of interest in Hagrid, the incident in Diagon Alley, “birth parents,” and the list goes on and on—but the difference is that while Quirrell is perfectly willing to jump from “I don’t see a reason for Ron to exist” to “I can kill Ron if I feel like it,” Harry has been taught that’s not how the Right People think about things. But does he value Ron, or see a reason for him to exist or be happy? Not really, nowhere near like Hermione does.