My kids are dressing up, courtesy of my ultracool wife, as
Harry and Hermione for Halloween. While talking about Harry Potter, my son said
"And Harry kills Voldemort."
I couldn't let it pass. It was just too important.
“No. Harry did not kill Voldemort. Absolutely not.”
“How did Voldemort die then?”
“Voldemort killed himself. He fired a killing curse at
Harry, and Harry sent a disarming spell at Voldemort. The killing curse bounced
off the disarming spell and hit Voldemort. It was such an evil and ugly spell
that it killed Voldemort.”
There are so many important lessons here. Let’s take them
one by one.
1. Harry was torn about the fact that, according to the
prophecy, he would either be a victim, or a murderer. Despite Voldemort’s innumerable atrocities,
to both Harry personally and to the world at large, Harry had no desire to
actually kill him. Yes, he wanted to
end Voldemort’s reign of terror, but not by killing him. Even at the last
moment, in the Great Hall, as they circled each other, Harry gave Voldemort a
way to redeem himself. He wanted
peace and healing, not revenge. This is such a key central theme in the books –
choice.
“…there will be a time when we must choose between what is
easy and what is right.” – J.K. Rowling, Goblet of Fire
And though it was easy for Harry to choose anger and
vengeance, he chose love and forgiveness. He chose what was right - not
necessarily in an absolute moral sense – but what was right for him. Harry remained true to his own
character. This is what I tried to impart to my son. No matter how difficult,
how desperate the situation may be, there is always a way to remain true to
your own nature and ideals.
2. Many of us feel powerless in our day to day life. We are
told what to do, what to eat, how to live. Cutting across the grain commonly
leads to discord or strife with our peers. It’s easy to “go with the
flow.” In Order of the Phoenix, a prophecy was revealed which, in
its essence, pits Harry’s life against that of Voldemort. Harry felt himself
being pulled, inexorably, into a death match.. But along the way, Dumbledore
helped Harry reassess his interpretation of the situation.
The Prophecy had not real control over Harry. He was free to
turn away from the Prophecy, to run, hide, or find his future elsewhere. In the
end, he entered the final battle purely by choice. The message I wanted my son
to understand was that nobody and nothing controls him. In the end, what he
does is his own choice. Whether to enter the arena, or walk away, will be
entirely up to him. It’s a subtle, but substantial, shift in perspective that
changes everything. When you take responsibility for your own actions, and
refuse to lay them at the feet of the government, your parents, or a prophecy,
you are free.
3. When Harry was a mere 15 months old, Voldemort attempted
to kill him with a killing curse. Protected by the love of his mother, the
curse rebounded onto Voldemort and ripped him apart. When we arrive at that
final fight, we have much the same situation. Harry, as had his mother, made
the supreme sacrifice to protect his friends. Harry took the time to explain
this to Voldemort, and went so far as to ask him “You don’t learn from your
mistakes, Riddle do you?” (Tom Marvolo Riddle is Voldemort’s birth name). And
indeed Voldemort does not. He fires exactly the same curse at exactly the same
person who is protected by exactly the same charm – love. The lesson is quite clear – if you do the
same things you always do, you’ll get the same results you always get.
Knowledge, even supreme magical knowledge, is worthless without wisdom.
4. There is something poetic about the fact that it was the
very curse that Voldemort used to take so many lives that ultimately took his.
The great Zig Ziglar said “If you go out looking for friends, you’re going to
find they are very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them
everywhere.” I wanted my son to understand that what you put out into the world
is what you will get back. Put out anger, hatred, and evil, and they will
rebound onto you. But deliver friendship, happiness, positivity and love and
those things will brighten your days at the darkest of times.
I think the Harry Potter series will always be dear to me.
But as I read them again, now through the eyes of my children, there is a magic
in them I’ve never appreciated before.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. (Not literally. I’m not a
Legilimens).