About Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

As I dragged my feet up the escalator to the local Popular bookstore, I was a tad disappointed to find that there was not the slightest hint of a queue forming. But no matter, I hastily paid up and laid my fingers tenderly on the cover of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, vaguely incredulous at this oh-so-surreal experience.

Harry was already busily fighting off Dementors in the first chapter and I sat back, gushing inwardly, “There’s already a climax in chapter 1!” and eager to catch up on what has been denied to me so far. As the reader no doubt speeds through the pages, he learns that Harry isn’t the Harry we are familiar with, the Harry who is resourceful and never loses his cool under extreme pressure, the Harry that us lesser mortals wish to emulate as we deal with our more simplistic pressures of modern living. Alas, our Harry is a mere mortal after all—we read of him feeling angry, frustrated, hurt and even betrayed at being isolated from the rest of the wizarding world at Privet Drive. And that unfortunately sets the tone for the rest of the book. Throughout the book, Harry snaps every so often at Ron and Hermione that he seems this grouchy spoiled brat and not-so-adorable any more.

Harry now sports an Adam’s apple however and fans will be likely to excuse his behaviour by attributing it to the usual angst-filled expression of adolescence trials. In fact, this seems to be a line of reasoning J.K.Rowling may be pushing herself—she has written so many times about Harry feeling his throbbing heart stuck behind his Adam’s apple that this description now seems silly and tired. In addition, Harry has had the most horrible semester at Hogwarts to date. The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge, is a watchdog from the Ministry of Magic and brutally tortures Harry at detention sessions for being a “liar”. After having come into authority, she submits him to a lifelong ban against playing Quidditch. Harry also has to take extra lessons from Professor Snape, the unpopular Potions Master at Professor Dumbledore’s request. Coupled with the stress of taking his Ordinary Wizarding Levels and trying to gain greater insights into a girl’s heart (namely, Cho Chang), Harry has more on his plate to deal with than is fair and readers are bound to feel sympathetic.

So how are Ron and Hermione dealing with this side of Harry? His two sidekicks offer us two drastically different perspectives as to what it means to be a good friend. Hermione impresses readers with her shrewd and astute insights into human nature and has been a calming balm for Harry and for us in general. Apart from setting his doubts to rest about Cho Chang’s intentions, (which is, by the way, a wonderful distraction from the main plot), she persistently tries to make Harry come around when she feels he is getting too rash and reckless for his own good. She has always been able to substantiate herself with good sound arguments and has never hesitated to speak her mind, even when she realizes that it’s all pointless and that Harry and perhaps even Ron won’t appreciate it. Plus she doesn’t give up convincing Harry until the last moment. Lesson 1: A true friend will never deny you his/her truth

On the other hand, Ron may on surface pale in comparison to Hermione’s aggressive reminders and reprimands. We see him balking when Hermione hisses. We see him throwing discreet glances at Harry and telling Hermione to cool it. We are not so sure about how he feels exactly about Harry’s suicidal ventures but we do know that he realizes Harry is resolute and hence, he won’t interfere. We can surely relate as to why Harry regards Ron as his greatest buddy—we all want Ron to be quietly there for us even when the rest of the world thinks that we have gone bonkers. And we welcome such exhibition of unwavering support. Lesson 2: A true friend is willing to give you the space to do whatever you desire.

Book 5 may finally shed some light on me as to why I adore Harry so much. Amidst Hermione’s persistent persuasion and Harry’s stony silence, I reckoned that Hermione being pragmatic and rational and logical is precisely the reason why she isn’t the main lead. Hermione has the uncanny ability to size up a situation and decide upon the best approach to deal with it. I admire her for being able to showcase self-control and restraint at these times. But alas, such noteworthy qualities aren’t what make a lead character. Harry, for instance, has this annoying habit of putting his foot in his mouth and his readers are sometimes (unnecessarily, I feel) aggrieved to learn of his latest misadventure under Umbridge. Also, he hasn’t reached the emotional maturity to not embark on potentially harmful and dangerous ventures yet. But his impulsiveness and recklessness are exactly the qualities that endear him to us. We ache for this tormented character who has routinely faced ridicule and scandal but remains strongly defiant. We appreciate a character who isn’t going to sit back and watch his world crumble around him. Or in the case of Book 5, we root for a character who isn’t afraid of seeking answers that may distort the favourable impression he has of his father. And silently wonder in awe whether we would have the courage to do likewise ourselves.

Which is why I was pretty upset when I found out the identity of the character who perished. (For a long time, I had my money banked on Hagrid). How can J.K.Rowling do this to Harry?!, I exclaimed in indignation. I now beg to differ from people who have hailed the series as escapist pleasure for adults. How can it be so when Harry, who has suffered so much for so long, is now denied the possibility of future euphoria with this character?

I read today, as of 28/6/03, that Harry Potter may not live to adulthood. I hope J.K.Rowling will be kind enough to spare him such a fate. I want to watch him grow up, get married to a wonderful gal (it used to be Cho Chang but I don’t think a relationship between them will materialize now?) and have kids. Such a move will alienate and sadden us readers. Sob