Of which

Yes, and i'd say it scans better without it.

Not only that: it looks/sounds wrong to me.

I wonder why. Before reading the replies above, I thought it is better to have the first "of" there:



Because the author refers to:

the first words which Harry was fully conscious of speaking of
Now the author moves the "of" to the front of "which":


The phrase "speak of" is widely used, e.g.:
1) And the product I speak of is ourselves.
2) But when you speak of suffering, you mean what?
3) I speak of openness because it is the reason I am privileged to stand on this stage today.

As you noted yourself, the original example sentence has two "of"s.

Only one is needed, imho.

Good answer. Thank you.~