The Mystery and Magic of Harry Potter

by Varsha Sreenivasan

[box]When one thinks of Harry Potter, the acclaimed wizard boy from J.K.Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter’ series, the mind effortlessly conjures the image of a certain bespectacled, serious-looking boy, thanks to the books having been given a visual form through seven brilliant movies. Inspired by the book series and their film versions, Varsha Sreenivasan writes an interesting conversation featuring Harry and a certain ‘Curious Spark’ who is an excited, curious and die-hard fan of Harry Potter. While Curious Spark shoots the questions, the sober and mature Harry opens up; resulting in what you will realize is a philosophical and revealing dialogue.[/box]

No artistic debut probably has met with more collective gasps than J.K Rowling’s book series on Harry Potter and his magical world of witchcraft and wizardry. Masterfully spun into seven motion pictures, Harry has come alive in flesh and blood leaping out of feverish imagination and into plain sight. Eager kids and grown-ups across the world breathlessly await the final movie that will drive the last nail into chief villain Lord Voldemort’s coffin. While they wait, um, let them wait. For the readers of this magazine, there’s a special treat in store… ink and magical quill in hand I mount my Swift-800 broomstick and set out to chart the sudden arrival and rise of this character to the top of our favourites list. And I do this with none other than… hold your breath… Harry himself!!

Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the phenomenon, the miracle boy, the last hope… his qualifiers are several. Breathtaking Harry, fascinating Harry, amazing Harry… if you haven’t got enough of Harry Potter as yet, fasten your broombelts. Here we come…

Caution – We might dive into hitherto uncharted territory.

Question. Hi H-h-h-arry. This is Curious Spark. Hic. Nope, I’m okay. Yep, let’s start. So Harry, the interesting question first. Tell our readers something about yourself that they don’t probably know yet.

Harry: Hi, Curious. I, well… I… don’t know how many of you know this yet… but you know J.K right?

Curious: The author you mean?

Harry: Yes. Author for you. GOD for me. (Modest smile) What I was saying is that you probably know that I might be J.K’s favourite character, but it’s not me she’ll go out for dinner with.

Curious: Nope?

Harry: No. (Shaking his head smiling) It would be Dumbledore.

Curious: And just why would that be?

Harry: Well… Dumbledore’s advice wins over all else I guess.

Curious: What! After penning all those volumes,… dropping you on the scene, popping Voldemort off, J.K still needs advice?!

Harry: Everybody does. (Smiles looking at ease)

Curious mutters at her quill that’s scribbling on its own: “Probably has the Philosopher’s Stone in his pockets right now.”

Curious: Okay, next question. Your association with whom or what is most responsible for your hallowed status amongst muggles? Voldemort, the Order, your friends or the prophecy?

Harry: (Thinking) Maybe Voldemort. He’s got this invincible dark wizard reputation that at several points overrides people’s faith in me, the prophecy or the Order. Maybe the sheer impossibility of escaping him makes everyone want to see it happen. He’s the darkest wizard most of us have ever met.

Curious: You mean you owe your fame to Voldemort?

Harry: Maybe. But Dumbledore doesn’t owe anybody. He is the most brilliant wizard to have walked the earth yet. (Lost in thought)

Curious whispers to her quill, “Superwizard admits Dumbledore is his Hero.”

Curious: So Dumbledore’s your role model?

Harry: (Nodding) Dumbledore’s my teacher, guide, friend and guardian. But those are just words. For an orphan like me, he was the rock a parent would have been. He was all rolled into one. (Suddenly quieter)

Curious: But you were also a favoured student of Dumbledore’s. Is there any special teaching of his that you would like to share with our readers?

Harry: Maybe yes. Dumbledore was very unlike the doting parent one would see nowadays. His interest was more in the kind of person I should become rather than ensuring that I thought well of him. It was okay with him if I did not obey him, if I broke a few school rules here and there, but it was necessary that I had the best interests of everyone in mind. It was necessary that I did not break the rules of my character. I’m sure you know, and this is what I owe him most for, for making the crucial decision to leave me with harsh, uncaring relatives in the initial years of my life. He ensured I pass through fire and emerge a better, more understanding being, than stay surrounded by admirers and turn into a pompous brittle wizard.

Curious is more curious now than ever.

Curious: But we thought you did not approve of your rude relatives!

Harry: That’s what I said. Dumbledore didn’t base his decision on whether or not I approved of them or him. But it is hard to ignore that the tough foundation I got in my formative years has helped me all along in making my hardest decisions. It has helped me realize my priorities and weigh clearly my options. Had Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon or for that matter the great Dumbledore himself been any softer, you might just find Voldemort still walking the earth.

Curious: But what about you? What about your precious childhood lost due to their careless, sometimes ruthless behaviour?

Harry: My great teacher has taught me – others first. I am my last priority. Thankfully, Dumbledore always managed to get me to look ahead and remember who I really was and why I was actually there. Staying focussed kept me from slipping into self-pity.

Curious: You mean emotions are not important? The teacher, the path and the goal is all that matters??

Harry: I beg to differ. Emotions are important. In fact, that’s what makes all the difference between Voldemort and us. He operates on cold-blooded logic, incapable of emotions. We differ. Let me put it this way: emotions are the rudder that help you stay focussed in the right direction. This is where Voldemort lost.

Curious: Voldemort was emotionless long before you both met or had your now famous duel. Your words seem to imply that Voldemort was thus rudderless and had lost long before his actual defeat at your hands?

Harry: (Nodding) Just like Dumbledore does not need a comparison to be a truly invincible wizard; Voldemort was a defeated being even before duelling anybody.

Curious: (Astonished)  Could you please make yourself more clear to our readers?

Harry: Sure. I have learned from my teacher that a person is one’s own friend and one’s own enemy. The most crucial relationship is that which one has with one’s conscience.  If it is based on integrity, faith and understanding of oneself, it becomes a strong bond. If it is based on falsehood, deceit and craving for power, there is a constant duel. Victory and success bind and keep you whole. Defeat and loss make you brittle. Voldemort was a broken being and an already defeated wizard.

Curious: (With a nervous laugh) Wow… that’s some food for thought. Is there anything more from Dumbledore you’d like to share with our readers before we roll up the quill scrolls?

Harry: (With a quick glance at the quill hovering over thick white parchment) Yes, maybe one last bit. But it’s a curiosity.

Curious: (Perked up) And what is that?

Harry: Dumbledore always encouraged questions; but didn’t quite believe in giving the answers. I admit it irked me a great deal and he knew that. (Sheepish grin)

As opposed to parents who provide for everything their kid needs, Dumbledore would rather let me work things out. He gave me the gift of time and his respect for the solutions I might come up with taught me to have faith in myself and to always try without the worry of failure. I am a wholesome wizard thanks to him.

Curious: Do you mean you appreciate your wants being denied?

Harry: I appreciate this person’s ability to stand firm and be able to say, “No, my boy.” Dumbledore was no weakling. And he is my teacher.

Curious: (Looking quieter now) Let me admit something. I was expecting somebody more flamboyant with all that giddy fame. You’re not a very charismatic person!

Harry: (Laughs out loud) Maybe that’s why J.K wouldn’t go out to a wand-lit dinner with me. Maybe, you too should give Dumbledore a try! (Winks)

Curious and Harry share a laugh. The quill scribbles away, “Don’t forget to catch the refreshing monsoon showers and the last part of the series expected to hit screens in July this year. Hope you enjoyed reading. Curious and Harry have decided to drop in for ginger beer at Hogsmeade. While Aberforth keeps them company and until we meet in a month or two, it’s adieu boy-wonder for now. Ciao!”

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