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Harry Potter, Saviour of the Wizarding World, Turns Forty
Greta Dunbroch
The one and only time that I was able to meet Harry Potter, was four years ago at the annual charity gala held in memory of the Battle of Hogwarts, in the lavish halls of the ministry. I had just been promoted to a double column and had been starstruck to walk among the elite of our society. Flashy robes and glinting smiles had danced across the room, yet one man had stood out from the rest. Yes, it was our very own Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. The Chosen One. The Youngest Seeker in a Century. Triwizard Champion, some might even mention.
The man who we revere today as handing us our freedom and peace was so set apart from the frivolous crowds, standing stoic with his wife, Ginny Potter and closest friends, the rounding couple of the golden trio, Rob Weasley and Hermione Grunger-Weasley. I was struck with even more admiration upon seeing him so unafraid! So unfettered by the glamour of the evening! I spoke with him briefly there, though, as we all know, he has never been very favourable of the press.
And now, four years later, the annual gala this year long past, Harry Potter celebrates his fortieth birthday. A feat not only to be enjoyed by Mr Potter himself, but also to be hallowed by the wizarding world at large, that the miracle of a boy surviving past his first birthday has been superseded by the defiance of that boy becoming a man.
Potter, who was recently promoted to Head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, surely needs no introduction. For my less seasoned readers however, I will remind you of this man’s extraordinary life, thus far.
Harry James Potter was born on the 31st of July 1980 to parents Lily and James Potter, both very gifted with magical skill. Tragedy struck the boy’s life at a young age, when Lord Voldemort killed Lily and James and left Harry the only person to have ever survived the avada kedavra curse. Harry went on to live with muggles until his eleventh birthday when he was welcomed into Hogwarts.
What many call a promising student, Harry thrived in Hogwarts, beloved by all. Details of his -apparently many- escapades during his time at the school are quite murky, but it is widely known that he had his fair share of adventures at the school, joined by cohorts Rob Weasley and Hermione Grunger.
At the height of the wizarding war, Harry and his friends, barely of age, went on the run. This time of Mr Potter’s life is also shrouded in mystery and to this day he steadfastly refuses to comment on it. All we know is that he arrived back at Hogwarts in May of 1998 and defeated the Dark Lord, once and for all.
The rest of Mr Potter’s life seems a gift, for all the years of hardship endured as a child. He married his childhood sweetheart Ginny Weasley, had three talented children and rose through the ranks of the Auror office swiftly. Today Mr Potter can look back on a fulfilled life.
Although it was impossible to include comment from the man of the hour himself, many of his relatives were more than happy to elucidate on their relationship with him and offer some insight into who our saviour really is. As a celebration of the man we can all agree is a national treasure, I have gathered these comments and thoughts, signs of undeniable love and appreciation, and published them here, for us all to enjoy.
‘There’s a lot of fuss over my brother-in-law, always has been. To tell the truth he’s a bit of an attention seeker, gets quite crabby when we’re not all talking about him. We tolerate him though,’ George Weasley remarked when I met him in his shop, Weasley’s Wizards Wheezes (that is having a sale on skiving snack boxes this weekend, in honour of Mr Potter). Anyone could surmise that his comment was a thinly veiled attempt to hide his affection for the hero. ‘To me, he’s just the speccy [guy] who’s always hung around my house.’ An honour the rest of us can only imagine.
His two closest friends replied to my request for a birthday message by owl. An excerpt, clearly rife with internal jokes that we can only hope to understand, follows;
“[Harry] has always been getting us into dangerous situations. We honestly probably would have avoided him if we knew what we were getting into all those years ago. We’re stuck with him now though, which is fine… It’s fine.”
Fine it is indeed. The trio have now been known as the trio for almost twenty years, Rob and Hermione themselves also having celebrated their fortieth birthdays this past year. Truly they are the role models of the next generation of wizards, to which each of them has contributed.
I managed to gather a collective comment from the veritable horde of Weasley-Potter children, which undoubtedly made the trek to Hogwarts worth it. Headmistress McGonagall had been surprisingly welcoming as I was fitted into her office with the swathe of children, red hair dominating the scene, punctuated by the bright blue hair of Mr Potter’s godson who is in fact not at Hogwarts, but currently training under his Godfather to be an auror too, following a legacy he has no doubt looked up to his entire life.
‘My godfather likes to pretend he’s above things and what-not, but the rumours are true, he has a colony of pygmy puffs that he trains to do circus tricks- sometimes I’ve even felt side-lined next to them.’ My eyes had bulged at the news. I had thought that story to only be a fluff piece circulated by Witch Weekly. But, alas, it can be confirmed that Harry Potter is an avid animal lover.
‘Uncle Harry is Uncle Harry. He makes lame jokes and snores when he naps on the weekend,’ said Rose Granger-Weasley, ‘Him and my dad just goof off most of the time.’ Lovely.
I had left the children in an especially good mood, a sentiment they seemed to share by the joyful laughter I left behind in the headmistress’ office. The headmistress herself had asked if I would include a message from her in my article too, which I graciously obliged. ‘Well played Potter,’ is clearly an allusion to his days as the Gryffindor quidditch team seeker.
Finally, I managed to approach his famed wife, ex Holyhead Harpies chaser and now, fellow journalist, for comment. ‘What do I have planned for Harry’s birthday? Well, nothing that’s publishable that’s for sure.’
The Chosen one is a lucky man indeed. And what Ginny Potter had whispered in my ear thereafter is certainly not appropriate for the pages of the Daily Prophet.
Close school mates of Potter Romilda Vane and Draco Malfoy were also sent correspondence asking for their well-wishes. Ms Vane sent back a beautifully worded essay on the teenage years of Mr Potter which can be found, in full, on page 12. Mr Malfoy rather vehemently requested we never contact him again.
Keen readers may have also noticed the public plea that we published in last week’s paper inviting members of wizarding society to submit their own birthday messages for the Chosen One, we received such an overwhelming response that we have chosen just one letter from a lottery, which we did ponder for a rather long time, from Roonil Wazlib in Cheltenham;
Happy Birthday Harry, watch your back!
A curious message, but a fair one too. Mr Potter has made many enemies over the years.
We can only hope that on this, his fortieth birthday, he remains unbothered by any dark forces, spending precious time with his family and acknowledging his incalculable contribution to the safety of witches and wizards all over the world.
Happy Birthday, Harry Potter.
‘I wasn’t ready for people to know about the pygmy puffs Ted, you’ve really put me on the spot.’
Teddy raised his arms in surrender, ‘Sorry, Harry, but you know it was just a matter of time.’
Harry laughed and folded the paper, placing it onto the scrubbed kitchen table of the Burrow, a photo of him at least twenty years younger moved on the front page, he thinks from some Ministry event. Ginny must be cropped out, because he rarely looks so happy in front of the camera if she’s not there, whispering nonsense in his ear to distract him.
‘This poor woman. You’ve taken her for quite the trip. Surely she doesn’t believe any of this?’ Harry asked the room at large.
‘Trust me, dad, if you met her, you’d know she’s serious,’ James said from the corner of the kitchen, sitting on a stool borrowed from the living room, ‘I think mum needs to watch out, she has some competition.’
Harry threw a glance to Ginny who had a glint in her eye, leaning against the counter. She was amongst the rest of the whole Weasley-Potter family who had managed to squeeze into the Burrow’s kitchen that morning. Every surface possible was being used as a seat.
The whole family had pushed Harry into the chair at the head of the table when he had arrived, and shoved the article in front of him, clearly thinking they had accomplished the most fantastic birthday surprise in history. Harry had to admit, it had made him laugh.
‘Now this Roonil Wazlib fellow,’ Harry said, looking pointedly at Ron, ‘Do you suppose I should put any stock into his words?’
‘I don’t know mate, but it’s eerie you know, has a creepy feeling to it,’ Ron replied neutrally.
‘Well, Rob, I think I’ll just do what I do best and ignore it, makes life quite hard being weighed down by caution or prophecies,’ Harry said, standing up and stretching. ‘Now, I get to be captain of my quidditch team because it’s my birthday. Gin, you’re my first pick.’
‘What an honour, a place on Harry Potter’s pick up quidditch team.’ Ginny clutched a hand over her chest dramatically, though her face was deadpan.
The rest of the family did not yet start moving but Harry was not to bothered by it. They watched as he stepped out of the kitchen door into the yard. He strode towards the broom shed, and his arrival was announced by a loud bang and a puff of coloured smoke, a yell, then some even more colourful expletives.
‘You really wouldn’t think he was head of the bloody DMLE,’ George muttered under his breath, looking outside, where the only indication as to where Harry Potter stood was a cloud of pink dust and the rather excited squeaks of pygmy puffs running at his feet. Teddy wasted no time in capturing the moment on camera.
Ron leaned over in his chair to shout out of the kitchen door, ‘Looks like you should’ve listened to Roonil! Happy Birthday Harry!’