← Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast
Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast
IT IS CHRISTMAS... AT HOGWARTS
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MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL (WHO CELEBRATE)!! AND TO ALL.... AN INVISIBILITY CLOAK!! USE IT WELL! In this episode of Critical Magic Theory, Prof. looks at the various Christmas moments throughout the series and analyzes them.
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Welcome to Critical Magic Theory where we deconstruct the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Because loving something doesn't mean you can't be critical of it. I'm Professor Julian Womble and today is Christmas. And I thought it would be nice to do a Christmas episode for you all. And I actually planned enough time to be able to pull this off and actually have it posted on Christmas Day, which if you know me, is an absolute, complete and utter miracle. So I'm very excited to do this because I think that Christmas is such an important part of these books and it's one of the few holidays where something happens every Christmas and it really does move the plot forward more often than not. But also there are just these really interesting kind of throws through lines for Christmas throughout the series. And as I was looking at a post on Instagram that kind of chronicled the different moments of Christmas across the series, I thought to myself, wow, it's really interesting to think about like all that Harry goes through, you know, obviously throughout the entire series, but particularly on these various Christmases for seven years. And then my good friend and someone who was on the podcast with me for the Barty Crouch Jr episode, Professor Charlie Hunt wrote a piece in his substack called there's no Place Like Hogwarts for the Holidays. And if you are on Patreon, I posted a link to it and couldn't recommend it more. But in it, he kind of goes through similarly, but highlights a lot of the ways that we can see the magic of Christmas in, like, in the series for Harry. And I thought, yes. And it's so funny because he sent it to me, and I was like, charlie, this is weird, because I literally am going to record an episode today on Christmas Eve about Christmas in the series. And so I was thinking about kind of what I could bring to bear here, right? Like, there's a lot of things to say. And Charlie does it so eloquently. And the. The post on Instagram did it so well as well. And I thought, what. What. What do I have here? And then I started reading through some of the instances in the moments, and on the Harry Potter.com they have the Christmases ranked from worst to best. And I thought, oh, this is interesting. And so I read through them, and I just thought, what if I go through each of the Christmas moments and we just do a little analysis of those moments? Think about a potential through line as we go through the different books. But before we get into any of that, I don't care if it's Christmas, all right? There is the necessity, the gift. Some are saying to bop along to the theme song. And so that's what we're gonna do. And then we'll get into the nitty gritty. We'll get into the Christmas. We'll get into all the things. But first. Oh, but first. You already knew. You all were waiting. I know you were. You said, we have to have a Christmas bop. And I'm not talking about all I want for Christmas is you, okay? I'm talking about our theme song. Y'. All. So stretch, get yourselves together, okay? And give the gift that is dance to yourself by bopping along to the theme song. Three, two, one. Let's go. We need to talk about Harry Potter. Sam, I hope you did a Christmas jig. Hashtag Mars. Okay? Get into it. All right. I still got it. Never lost it. I'm so excited to do this episode, namely because I realized, like, obviously because of the way that we've set up the podcast, we haven't really talked a lot about Harry, but this episode is really gonna be Harry focused. And it's so funny. I Teach my class. And I never talk about Harry, and he's like the titular character. But anyways, this time we're talking about Harry, and I'm very thrilled to be able to do that, especially through the lens and theme of Christmas and kind of what we can learn or look at and learn about his character through this kind of Christmas lens. So buckle up, because it's gonna be a time, okay? While Harry is introduced to Christmas at Hogwarts as this kind of first moment where he actually gets presents and we see this kind of growth in what these gifts look like, he also often gets the gift of information. And one thing that I've realized as I get older is that, you know, and maybe it's just because I'm nosy, I don't know. But I love learning things, and I think that so does Harry. I think he loves learning things in a different way than Hermione even. I think he enjoys kind of discovering things and particularly things that kind of help him figure out who he is both as a person but also as this new initiate into the wizarding world. And so when we look at Harry Potter and the Philosopher Sorcerer's Stone, this is the first Christmas that Harry gets presents. And he gets one particular present, right? He gets the invisibility cloak. And he learns in this moment, you know, about the fact that it belonged to his father. And he learns like, oh, this is so interesting because, you know, now I can get up to mischief and I can be like my dad. And he didn't even know that that's what his dad was using it for. But in this moment, he learns about a piece of his life that he never would have known, right? And so he gets this gift of knowledge about his dad. And what we also realize, right, is that this cloak is more than just a tool for mischief, but it is something that ties him not only to his father but to a very, very old and ancient wizarding family and to a tale, its roots in kind of medieval wizardry. And it just plays such a big role. And it also provides Harry with this incredible amount of protection throughout his time at Hogwarts. Whether it be because he can't be seen or because it is impervious to spells. He spends a considerable amount of time under that cloak. And with it, it feels like, you know, we spent a lot of time talking about Harry's mother's protection and we don't really get a lot of, you know, James in that narrative. But the cloak, in a lot of ways, is a physical manifestation of James's protection, whether it be protection from teachers, but also protection from people who wish to do Harry harm. And I think that there's something very beautiful about that because to go from knowing so little about your parents, really just knowing lies then to learning that they are magical and so you are as well, to then receiving this gift on Christmas, your first real Christmas, and letting that gift be something that really does serve as a guide for you and something that also grounds your identity and who you are as a person in the wizarding world and you don't even know it. And that's amazing because I think so much of Harry's journey, particularly within the first kind of four books, is him not really knowing a lot about who he is in the magical world other than kind of the boy who lived, but he doesn't know about his actual ties to it. He just knows kind of what he's done for the wizarding world. And this gift, this invisibility cloak, I think is really amazing. And then also in the first book, he gets to see his parents for the first time in the mirror of Erised, and he gets to truly kind of gaze on them and see the similarities. And so it's more than just the kind of gifts that he receives, but he gets so much more than that. He gets a sense of belonging. That first Christmas at Hogwarts, he gets a sense of who he is and there are so many kind of pieces of that puzzle that he never, ever, ever had. And I think that there's something so incredible about that because I think he appreciates it. But then, you know, his appreciation for it grows. And this is really the beginning of his journey of learning about who his parents are and kind of dispelling the myth that was given to him by Petunia. And so I think in this first book, you know, what we see for him in terms of Christmas is really this gorgeous moment for him to feel like he is where he's meant to be. And so much of that, like, idea as an 11 year old feels so important. And we see him kind of build on that as the series progresses. Then in Chamber of Secrets, things go left. Okay, this is the first time that we see Harry with Ron and Hermione and they are up to the hijinks of hijinks, right, because they are trying to figure out who the heir of Slytherin is. And Hermione's like, don't worry about it, y', all, we're about to get some Polyjuice potion. So this, in this situation, right, the information that they're trying to receive is really important because Harry is having doubts about, again, his belonging in the magical world. He's had all of these things about who he is come from the first book and now all of a sudden he's thinking, like, oh, I could be the Heir of Slytherin. I don't even know anything about myself. There's no way for me to know. And so he's going on this quest both because he wants to stop the petrification of people but also because he's trying to figure out who he is, right? He's trying to figure out what is happening to him. Why is it that he can speak to snakes, which is kind of the Sigil of Salazar, Slytherin and all of these things. And so they go about doing this whole thing. They're knocking people out with potions, right? They are embodying Crabbe and Goyle. Hermione is a cat, okay? And in this particular Christmas, I think it's just very funny because he learns also a lot about what he doesn't know, right? We realize in this case that these kids have no idea what other houses are getting up to. They have no idea where this Slytherin common room is. They are just running around, just doing anything and everything and trying to kind of get to the bottom of this particular mystery with absolute nothing to go on because they rely on Hermione for most of the planning at this moment and she is locked up in a bathroom because Cat. And I love this particular Christmas because I think it is something that kind of shows him not only what other houses are up to, what other people within the wizarding world think. It also shows him how magic can go wrong, right? It shows him something that has generally felt pretty innocuous, right? The idea that there's spells that can just be easily repaired or things of that nature. They've not really dabbled in anything dangerous. Obviously, there was a whole thing down in the labyrinth about all those things with Quirrel and Voldemort. But they haven't really dabbled with their own practicing of magic in a dangerous way. And so now he's getting the consequences of their actions through Hermione. And there's something about that information that I think also plays a big part in this because we see Polyjuice Potion come back over and over and over again. And so this again is kind of the first foray into deeper, more dangerous, more advanced forms of magic that we see them using. And, you know, we ultimately learn, right? Hermione spends A considerable amount of time in the hospital wing as a result of this. But I also think Harry realizes, like, oh, right, like it's one thing to be perceived as, like, a bad person or a bad wizard or a bully, which is what I think they saw Malfoy as. But in that conversation with Malfoy, they really do learn a lot about, you know, what it actually means to be someone who is prejudiced. Right. Like what it is to be in the presence of pure blood supremacist. And I think in this moment we also see the differences between the Malfoys and the Weasleys in terms of their politic. And this is a space where Harry learns everybody is not just kind of saying these things just because. Right. Like, Draco believes this and a lot of that is indoctrination because of his parents, but he still has a fundamental belief of pure blood superiority. And I think that this is a moment where Harry realizes, like, wow, okay, this is an actual thing that people do believe. And so the world that I live in, that I use as a means of escape has many dangers that are more than just Voldemort. Right? Like, there are ideological prejudices that exist in the world that are bad, maybe not for me, but are certainly bad for my friends. And I think that's a really important lesson because we see it come up over and over and over again as the series progresses. And so this is another moment where he's getting necessary information to not only kind of lock into who he is but also figure out how to navigate this space while also trying to figure out his relationship to these very people. Right. He's trying to figure out who he is in relation to people like Salazar Slytherin, who, according to legend, is someone who was a big pure blood supremacist. And he's trying to figure out where he fits into that narrative in this moment, on this Christmas. And so kind of we don't necessarily get as much about the gifts as we did in the first book, but what we do get, again, is that through line of him really learning about himself and figuring out his place in this world. And this is a realization that, you know, escapism doesn't always mean that you can escape every bad thing and that every world that you enter into is going to have certain aspects of it that are going to be negative. And I think this is one of the first moments where he gets the idea of that negativity and it is not always connected to the noseless fiend that is Voldemort.
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I don't blame her because Harry gets this Firebolt without any note, which is a theme for him in terms of getting these kind of big gifts from people and we don't know who they're coming from. And again, this kind of trustingness, this trust that he has in the magical world and this belief that, like, nothing bad can befall him, which I think is the byproduct of him being young, but it's also the byproduct of, of him being an outlandishly privileged celebrity in the magical world that then leads him to believe that, like, there's an untouchability. And I also think that this also is the byproduct of simply being a magical person and with the belief that there are things that really won't affect you because you can just fix them with magic. And I think Hermione being Muggle born in this moment makes a big difference here because she's like, no, but there are actually things that are dangerous. And I think for Harry and Ron There are moments where they get into all of these tough scrapes, but they always get out of them. And I think that they take that particular reality for granted in a way that Hermione does not. And so in this moment, on this Christmas, she's like, enough. We're not doing that. You need to go and get this reported and take it to. And it needs to be taken and tested because, like, who gave you this crazily expensive broom? And Harry's like, I don't care. Even though there is an accused psychopathic killer out after him. And again, this is one of these moments where, you know, he is learning a lot about, you know, his friends and who he is and what he actually fundamentally believes. And we see him kind of, in this moment more than any other so far, choose to be upset with Hermione and to not really appreciate the fact that she cares for him. And so this is a very, like, pubescent Christmas for Harry. I think that, you know, he is just very upset. But I think part of the reason why he is upset with what Hermione has done is because we learn from the first book that he doesn't really have much of an identity outside of being, you know, the Boy who Lived, obviously, but at Hogwarts, he's a Quidditch player, he is a jock. And he loses his broom in Prisoner of Azkaban. He feels completely at sea without it. And also, he's struggling with the idea of the effect that these dementors are having on him. And so I think implicitly, he's upset with Hermione because he's like, all I have is brooms and sport and you've taken it away. And I can't. I don't even get to feel the warmth of, you know, having this new broom that everybody wants because you've had it taken away and it could come back ruined. And I'm not excusing him because I think he's being ridiculous, because I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. She's doing this because she cares about you and for your safety. But I also do think that this is another moment where he's grappling with his sense of belonging in this space and to lose his broom, the thing that really tied him to. To the magical world. And not only just because it's like, oh, I belong here because I play this sport, but because I'm good at it. And this is something that I actually have control over because there's something to be said about the fact that he is the Boy who lived. But he didn't do anything. He was just a baby whose mom sacrificed herself for him and whose arch nemesis had split his soul one too many times. Right? He didn't do anything. Right. And so his sense of belonging on the grounds of being the Chosen One or the boy who lived really doesn't necessarily feel as solid for Harry, I think. I think Quidditch is the thing that really solidifies his presence and his belonging in the space because it's something that he can do and it's something that he is good at and he is purposeful about in a way that he wasn't when Voldemort was vanquished. And so then for Hermione to take the broom or have the broom taken away to be checked and stripped down to make sure that there's nothing wrong with it, I think was especially in this particular moment where so many things around him are just kind of crazy because of the dementors and his inability to fight them. His hearing, his parents and the moments right before they are killed. All of these things are happening. And you can imagine just wanting to hold on to the one thing that makes you feel so solid and aware and present in this space. And you lost one and you got another one inexplicably and now it's gone again. And I don't know, I feel like this is a Christmas where we see Harry really having to struggle with again the who am I in this space? And I think the fireball was more than just a broom that he wanted to play with because he's a jock and also serves as a really important reminder that he belongs there because we don't really get to see him exert his sense of belonging in the magical world until Goblet of Fire when he is talking to the Dursleys and he says, you know, when they say, you know, what do they mean when they want you to send a letter back their way? And he's like, our way, we use owls. And that's one of the first moments where we really get a sense that Harry feels, feels like he belongs in the magical world. And I think it's partially because he has a family there. He has Sirius and ultimately, right, it is Sirius who has sent that broom to him. And I think that, you know, what Hermione did is the right thing. But I think this Christmas is one where Harry is trying to really find joy in a really difficult time because there's a person coming after him, trying to kill him. There are these soul sucking creatures that are constantly around him, reminding him of what he's lost. And he gets something that feels very right to him and feels very much like, you know, oh, thank goodness I have this. And then it's snatched away just as soon as he gets it. And I just feel like this particular Christmas in Prisoner of Azkaban is a really. Kind of a big turning point for him because I think that we really do get a sense of how important brooms are to him and what they mean. And I think it's no mistake that in Deathly Hallows, he loses the broom similarly to when he loses Hedwig. Right. Those are the things that really help tie him to this space and remind him that it's real, and then he loses them. And I think for a person who spent a considerable amount of his life without things Harry really does put a lot of meaning behind the things that he does have. Particularly when those things tie him to the magical world which is a place that he loves and wants to be a part of more than anything else. In Goblet of Fire, we get the Yule Ball, which is one of my favorite moments because it's just such a reminder that Ron and Harry are so. Such stupid teenage boys who make stupid teenage boy decisions. And just the foolishness of it all, it feels so real to me. Like your first school dance and, you know, the absurdity that is like having to find a date, the whole nine. I just. I love it. I love it all. This is also a moment where Harry learns about himself in some ways, but really about the people around him. Right? You know, he learns that Hagrid is part giant and he learns about what it means to be a giant. Right up until this point, no one's ever asked any questions about Hagrid. No one's ever thought anything, at least out loud. And now that it's been revealed in this way, and Ron gives voice to his own trepidation, his own concern and a bit of his own prejudice as it pertains to giants. Harry learns something else about the wizarding world. He also learns a little bit about Hagrid. He learns a little bit about Ron in this moment. He also learns about the Dark Mark and Snape and Kakarov and kind of figuring out this thing that's been kind of lurking in the background, right. Of, you know, the potential that Voldemort was returning. Right. It takes us back to the dream that Harry has at the beginning of this book. It takes us back to the prophecy that Charlani gives him at the end of Prisoner of Azkaban. And then really, the big thing, at least for me, is he learns and is able to observe Ron's relationship with Hermione. And we can talk about, you know, the things that we like about it and the things that we don't. And there are lots of things to not. And this particular moment, right, of Ron acting like a complete and utter jerk to Hermione is a strong indication of, like, you know, why many of us are not content with them being together. The Ronmione of it all is not for many of us. But I think it's a fascinating moment and a gift for Harry, right, to kind of see the truth behind the way that Ron and Hermione navigate one another. And we see for the rest of the series, up until the moment where they finally decide that they want to be together. You know, all of this kind of builds on its. And what I love about this moment is not that Harry's like, oh, God, like, I don't want them to get together because, like, I'm gonna be the odd person out. I mean. And he kind of does have those moments later on. But in this initial moment, he says, you know, Ron is wrong. He's not seeing it for what it is. But I don't want to say anything because I don't want to lose my friend. Which is annoying to me, admittedly. But I love how he kind of navigates that internally. So Christmas in this book is one where the tea is being spilled, okay? And Harry is getting it from all around. All the while, he's just trying to avoid dancing with his date because he's like, grr, I don't do that. And I just think that this is a really interesting Christmas because, as we know, you know, Goblet of Fire is really a turning point. And every other Christmas that comes after this is dark and not fun and terrifying in a lot of ways for one reason or another. And so this is our last kind of light Christmas. But it is also a Christmas where we learn a lot about a lot of people and we see Harry kind of using all of this information as time goes on. And so, again, this through line of Christmas gifts being more than just physical things, but information and the way that Harry kind of uses it sometimes to kind of drive home the point that he belongs in the magical world, sometimes to learn about the magical world itself, the prejudices, the ills of it, and then sometimes to learn about the people who are the closest to him, right? And so this gift of information really does shine through in this particular book because, you know, Harry obviously doesn't mean to find out about Hagrid. He doesn't mean to find out about the. The Dark Mark. He doesn't mean to find out all of these things. But it just kind of stumbles into him. And I think it really does help, though, solidify a lot of his understanding of so many aspects of his existence at Hogwarts his existence within the wizarding world and continues on this journey of really figuring out who he is. And I think one thing that I think is true for Harry is that he finds out a lot about himself when he finds out a lot about the people around him. And through that, he kind of develops as a person. And I think that this is a prime example of that particular thing. In Order of the Phoenix, I think we really do get the sense of the turn, right? The turn, the darkness that is kind of settling in now that Voldemort is back. And we also spend a considerable amount of this book really dealing with a Harry who is deeply, deeply, deeply traumatized and struggling to find joy and meaning. You know, he's gone back to Hogwarts and he's back at a place where, you know, we. He doesn't want to be anymore because so many of the aspects of his love for the place have been ruined by Dolores Umbridge. And Christmas is really no different but it has this added terror as he is really grappling with what it means to have this mental and emotional connection to Voldemort. And so Christmas in his fifth year finds him on the heels of having been not necessarily possessed but connected and inside the mind. And he feels like inside the body of Nagini who attacks Mr. Weasley. And so they get to Christmas and he kind of finds a little bit of joy here, right because he's able to see and be with Sirius for Christmas for the first and only time. And he gets to see Sirius experience joy. And I think that that does something to Harry. I think this is also a chapter where he realizes that he isn't being possessed by Voldemort. And that is really important information, right? So this through line continues. Really important information for him about, you know, what this connection actually means. He also is struggling with the fact that, you know, Dumbledore is not being communicative in any capacity and he wants information. And so for the first time, right? Like on this journey of learning something Harry is wanting information and he's not getting it. All these other times, he's either stumbled into the information he's been intentional about getting it and he's gotten it this time. He is intentional about wanting it and he's not getting it and he's really, really, really struggling. And he has this conversation with Phineas Nigellus, which is one of my favorites in the books, because I think Phineas Nigelus is kind of like, dude, you need to calm down. And there's a part of me that agrees with him in this, in this case, right, that the fact that, you know, Harry needs to have the same level of trust that he's put in Dumbledore for the vast majority of his time in the magical world, like, why not? You need to keep that same energy, right? But I also, I get it. And so, and then they go to St. Mungo's to visit Mr. Weasley. And again, as information continues to flow for Harry on Christmas, right, they see Lockhart and this is another one of those moments where they see, you know, what spells like, you know, memory modification and memory charms can do. And I think, again, this is very. It harkens back to the kind of understanding that we see him come to, at least in part in Chamber of Secrets on Christmas, which is, you know, a lot of the spells and potions and things that feel innocuous and kind of like, well, things can be fixed, right? There's a spell for that, there's a potion for that. And then we see Gilderoy Lockhart in the kind of long term care portion of St. Mungo's and you realize there are some things that can't be fixed and there are some things that magic cannot heal and there is damage that can be done by magic that cannot be undone by magic. And I think that for Harry, Ron and Hermione and so many of the students at Hogwarts, this is a really hard loop to close. Like, it's very difficult for them to really understand this particular reality. And I also think that then they see Neville, someone who has been living with the secret of that particular reality, right? Neville's parents were tortured using magic and there is no cure for that. And so in this moment, again, Harry is confronted with a reality that this place that is meant to be a safe haven for him also has ills. And he's also dealing with the reality of Neville's present, right? The fact that Neville is living with parents who are present but not present. And how do you grapple with that? And we spend so much time with Harry and the navigation of what it means to have experienced the loss that he experienced. And we also know that he is very aware in a way that Ron and Hermione are not, of how easily it could have been Neville who had been the chosen One and Harry would not have been. And so the parallels are not lost on Harry and the reality that, you know, while Neville's parents are with him, they are also very much not. And what does that mean for him and how does Harry kind of deal with that? And this adds an extra layer onto our understanding of who Neville is, right? The understanding of why it is that he potentially struggles with so many things. And so Christmas in this book is another one where we see him having to really learn something about himself and also again, the people around him and the world that he lives in. Right. And so this kind of through line of, this kind of overarching understanding of what it means to be a magical person and what magic can afford you, but also the cost of, of it. And I think that as time goes on, this is a really important lesson that Harry has to continually learn because at a certain point, right, he has to be the one to pay that very cost and has to put his faith in the magic. And so that all of these lessons that he's continually learning through these particular moments on Christmas, I think help really kind of guide him to the ultimate decisions that he makes in the final book. Hey, Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a very happy half off holiday because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited. To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means a half day. Yeah. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Save upfront payment.
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- [37:29]
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See mint mobile.com if you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [38:01]
B
If you're an H Vac technician and a call comes in, Grainger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you Know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor there's no need to break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product details you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [38:35]
C
Christmas in Half Blood Prince is another moment where Harry is forced to kind of grapple with the reality that sometimes the information that you have and the things that you believe are not always going to be received well. And I think that, you know, there have been moments throughout his time in the magical world where people have been dubious. But I think this is one of the first ones where no one is on his side. That very few people believe that Malfoy is up to something. That Snape has taken the Unbreakable Vow as a means by which to protect Malfoy. And no one wants to believe this because it stands in the face of Dumbledore. And I think that this is a really kind of big thing for Harry. He's really, really struggling with the reality that, you know, just because I believe it doesn't mean everyone else has to. And this is also a moment where we find out that Harry was 1,000% right. And he kind of sticks to his guns on this and says, like, I don't really care what you all think. I'm going to continue to do what I want. This is also another moment where Christmas feels, I don't know, somewhat normal. Right? So there's no Yule Ball. They're not at St. Mungo's. They're just with Ron and his family. And Hermione isn't there, which I also think is interesting because we see that four years. For the past four years they had been together and she's not there. And I think, though, that this is kind of one of the few moments where we see Harry away from Hogwarts on Christmas doing, like, regular family things and not necessarily kind of skulking around Grimwald Place or going to, you know, St. Mungo's or he's just with the. With the Weasleys for Christmas dinner. And I think that, you know, there's something to be said about that normalcy because it's something that we don't necessarily see Harry experience a lot, particularly on Christmas. And I think what's true for many of his Christmases is that, you know, he is surrounded by people who love him for the first time when he enters Hogwarts and he kind of stays that way all the time. You know, he always is surrounded by these people. No matter what the circumstances are, no matter how, you know, dark the situation is, he's still surrounded by love. And I think that this is something that I don't. I don't want to say that he necessarily takes it for granted, but I think at a certain point it becomes very kind of regular for him in that he's like, yeah, we're going to the Weasleys. This is what we're going to do. It's just what we do. And I. And, okay, I'm so sorry that I'm going to say this. It's maybe a bit of a hot take, but I always feel like sometimes Harry doesn't always approve, appreciate, like, what the Weasleys have done in terms of opening their home to him. And I think maybe it's just like J.K. rowling's inability to believe that men and boys can actually, like, emote and understand emotions enough for Harry to appreciate. Like, this is my family. And we hear Molly Weasley give voice to this. And we know that, you know, in the last book, she gives him a watch. And it's basically like, you're my kid. And I just. I think that there is something about Harry sometimes where, you know, because he lost his parents and really never got to know them, he doesn't. And the family that he does have in the Muggle world are wrecks. And so I feel like he. He recognizes kind of the familial tie itself, but he doesn't necessarily always appreciate it for what it is. That's just my take. That's just my belief, my thought. What is that from Real Housewives? Where she's like, it's. That's my opinion. That's where I'm at. But I think he does often find himself surrounded by love. And I think that there's something so beautiful about that. And this is no different. But listen, it doesn't last long because Rufus Scrymgeour shows up and is basically like, let me be. Let me use you. And Harry's like, absolutely not. You all spent an entire year dragging me through the mud and gaslighting me and literally the entire Wizarding world. I'm not doing that. And this is a moment again where we see Harry kind of stand ten toes down, but also uses information because what is true. And I think one of the more frustrating parts for me is that, like, Harry has such a strong faith in the ministry of magic, even after all of the stuff that happens, he still kind of believes them, and he still believes that they do what is right by the people in the magical world. And it really takes him a long time to say, like, y' all are really on some other stuff. And I'm not. I'm not down with what you're requesting of me. And this is a moment where we do get to see him kind of be like, no, you all are really screwed up, and I'm not gonna participate in that. And, you know, I think it's interesting that it comes on Christmas, because, again, it's like, this is a space and a place and a time of year where Harry often has these kind of revelations. And this is no different. He has a revelation that the ministry actually is not doing much of what he believes they should be doing or what they're being made to believe they are doing. And that they're just trying to put up a facade and not actually do anything meaningful. And, you know, I think Harry, after everything that happened in Order of the Phoenix, is just, like, enough. We don't need any more of that. And so this Christmas is a Christmas where Harry, again, kind of finds out who he is and has to navigate his faith and his faith in the ministry, not like, you know, faith of anything else. I think I like this moment because it is rare that we see Harry stand up to adults who claim to care about him. Right? He stands up to Snape all the time. But Snape, obviously, he and Snape have some enmity that goes far beyond anything that he has with any of these other adults. But he's standing on a principle this time around. And that is a new thing that we see from Harry in this moment. And I really like it because, again, I think it allows us to really kind of see this arc of who he has become. And again, because we get Christmas in every book, they really do allow for us to see his transformation as a character and as a person, because we get to kind of chronicle it, you know, one Christmas to another. And this one, I think, is one where we really do get a sense that Harry is grown and aware of who he is. He's aware of his power, he's aware of his status and his belonging in the magical world. So much so that he's like, I don't actually need people to like me. I don't need the Minister of Magic to like me. I'm not afraid of you, Rufus, because you need me, and I'm not gonna do what you want for me to do. And that is a very, very, very different Harry Potter than the one that we see in any of these other moments on Christmas Day in the other books.
- [45:43]
A
If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why, hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift. And you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [46:13]
B
If you're an H Vac technician and a call comes in, Grainger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [46:43]
A
If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [47:16]
C
Christmas in Deathly Hallows is my favorite Christmas in the series. And I know that that's messed up because I know that there are a lot of like terrible crazy things, namely like Nagini coming out of Bathilda Bagshot's neck. But I think one of my favorite moments, and I know it happens on Christmas Eve technically, but just go with me here, y'. All. Okay? I love the moment where Harry goes to his parents graves. I think, you know, in recording this episode, what's clear to me, right. And one thing that has really stood out to me is the fact that like it's a perfect bookend to his first Christmas where he discovers a mirror of erised and he sees his parents for the first time and he gets to kind of just gaze upon them. And then in Deathly Hallows he's at their graves and he gets to be in the Place where they were. He gets to see his family home, albeit destroyed. Yes, but he gets to be there. He gets to experience, you know, the space. It's that very night that he gets to relive the horrific moment of his parents death through Voldemort's eyes. He gets to be in the neighborhood, he gets to see the home and he gets to, to see all of the support, he gets to see the statue, he gets to see all of these things. And so much of Harry's existence has been without any sort of context for any of his experiences in the magical world, right? Like he heard, vaguely heard his parents last moments in his own kind of subconscious because of the Dementors and he kind of understood Godric's Hollow, but he had never been, he'd never seen the place where they were. He had never really been able to truly experience the place of his birth where he spent the first year of his life. And so, you know, we start the series on Christmas with him looking at his parents, getting his dad's cloak and finally truly understanding and getting to see these people. And we end the series on Christmas, Christmas Eve with him there at their graves. And it's so interesting because you know, he and Hermione are there trying to, you know, find the sword of Gryffindor and get answers to kind of this quest that Dumbledore has set before them. And not made easy in any capacity but in this particular moment, right, everything feels suspended, everything feels like. It feels like he is back in front of that mirror by himself. But it's not what you desire, it's what is. And I don't know, there's something about that bookendedness and the reality of what it meant for him to be 11 years old and then to now be a 17 year old looking at the reality of things, right? And there are things that you can want and there are things that you can desire and then there's the reality of what is. And I think that for many of us, right, like Christmas can be a time of loss and it can be a time of having to grapple with the reality of things that are not necessarily associated with this particular season. And that's like part of growing up. And this moment is a moment for me whenever I read or even when I watch it in the movies. It's a moment where I often feel so full of emotion because I think it is so amazing that he gets to go back home. And even though it's a home that he is not necessarily necessarily happy to be at and this wasn't necessarily his intention, right? Like he was going to, you know, get the sword from Bathilda Bagshot. But he stumbles upon this and it really is the end of his information seeking about who he is. Now there's other information obviously that he doesn't quite know about himself. But in this moment he arrives at Godric's Hollow a fully realized wizard who is the byproduct of his parents sacrifices and who is working to make the world a better place in the same way that they did. And I think that there's something so beautiful about him being the manifestation of their hopes and dreams and the reasons why they sacrificed themselves. And he gets to stand there and mourn them in a way that he wouldn't if they hadn't have made those sacrifices. In the show Wandavision, there's a quote at the very end and they say what is grief if not love persevering? And that's Harry, y'. All, right? Like that is his entire existence is his parents love persevering. And he gets to show up maybe in the books not as himself physically, but he gets to show up and be the manifestation of their love for him, for the wizarding world, for what they believe and to basically say like I'm still in this fight, we the Potters are still in this fight. And that is something that I think is so beautiful, especially when you connect it to Christmas. On Harry's parents tombstone it's written the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. And I think that for me it's so fascinating because like Harry is a manifestation of that very reality, right? He is someone who because of his parents sacrifices was able to defy death not even just that night, but over and over and over and over again. And now he's here and able to kind of stand there as a testament to their sacrifice but also as someone who is going to then later make that same sacrifice to defeat Voldemort. And I don't know, there's something so poetic about that. And I just, I think, you know, this, this grappling of this kind of childhood innocence that is made manifest in the way that he's looking at the mirror of Erised and seeing his parents and this kind of reality of adulthood as he is there with Hermione at their gravesite. It just hits me every single time. And it just feels like such a culmination of Harry's understanding of who he is and the ways that he is like Lily and the ways that he is like James and the fact that he does belong in the wizarding world. This is his home. And to find that particular truth, that solace in the place of your actual birth is just. Ugh. I can't. It's amazing.
- [54:42]
A
If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [55:13]
B
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- [55:51]
A
If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [56:27]
C
Thank you all so much for listening to this bonus episode of Critical Magic Theory. This was so much fun and now that I'm on sabbatical, I can do more bonus episodes of things because I have time. What a novel concept that is. But I hope that everyone has an amazing, incredible Christmas. For those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope that if there is a holiday for you in this time that you have an incredible one. And because we talked about muddling through, I felt like it was appropriate to end with this song. So just bear with me. Someone else told me that I needed to sing more, so I'm just going to give you this as a response to that. Someday soon we all will be together if the fates allow. Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow. So have yourself a Merry Little Christmas have yourself a Merry Little Christmas have yourself a Merry Little Christmas or other corresponding holidays now. And until then, be critical and stay magical, my friends. Bye.
- [58:06]
B
Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24? 7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any anytime and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care. Go to Dutch.com to get vet care that is always there for just $92 a year.