SS Chapter 4

The Keeper of the Keys

Summary:

There is more than just the wind pounding against the door; Hagrid has come to the hut on the rock to find Harry and finally give him his letter. Hagrid also brings Harry a cake, as he had turned 11 only moments into the giant man’s intrusion. The Dursleys do not like that Hagrid begins to talk to Harry about the magical world, but Hagrid is absolutely furious about Harry’s lack of knowledge of his past and of his parents. Finally Harry hears the truth about who he is, what he is, and what really happened to his parents. He learns about witches and wizards, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Albus Dumbledore. Harry was taken aback as he found out that his Aunt and Uncle had known this his whole life, but the Dursleys were hellbent on disparaging the magical world. Uncle Vernon declares that he will not pay for Harry to go to Hogwarts, and insults Dumbledore, leading an angry Hagrid to give Dudley a curly pig’s tail on his backside. Hagrid tells Harry that they will be going to get his school things in the morning, and they slept.

Initial Thoughts:

This is the threshold we’ve been waiting for! Finally we get an explanation to Harry’s strange accidents and Harry finally learns who he is. We finally get to see the famous Hogwarts letter and we hear the story of Harry, his parents, and Voldemort.I think one of the most important parts of all of this is Harry’s disbelief of the whole situations; that he is not a wizard and that Hagrid is mistaken. Oh, and, of course, we meet Hagrid! 

Rubeus Hagrid:

“Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts,” (Rowling, pg 4 SS). Hagrid is the beloved half-giant father figure to Harry that works as the grounds and gamekeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As we find in this chapter, he is the one who rescues the infant Harry from the rubble of his home in Godric’s Hollow, and brings him to the Dursleys on Dumbledor’s orders, because , as we know, Dumbledore would “trust Hagrid with [his] life”. 

Hagrid is an 11.5 ft half giant that was born to a giantess mother who abandoned him and his unnamed father. Hagrid was orphaned in his 2nd year at Hogwarts when his father died unexpectedly. After his father’s death, Hagrid was expelled and had his wand snapped in his third year under false accusations from Tom RIddle (aka Voldemort) that he, Hagrid, had opened the Chamber of Secrets, but more on that in the next book. Fortunately for him, Dumbledore secured Hagrid accommodations in the grounds of Hogwarts where, while he wasn’t able to continue his magical learning, he was trained as a gamekeeper. 

Hagrid lives in a hut in the Hogwarts’ grounds just on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest with his cowardly boarhound, Fang. Hagrid possessed an array of magical creatures including hippogriffs, acromantulas, and blastened skrewts just to name a few, and was knowledgeable on how to care and treat magical creatures. Later in his career at Hogwarts, he becomes the Care of Magical Creatures professor and is able to share his knowledge to the younger generation of witches and wizards. While there is so much more to Hagrid than just these small facts, he will be focussed on in the coming chapters and books.

The Hogwarts Letter:

One of the most coveted Potter artifacts of every Harry Potter fan ever known: The Hogwarts letter. When a witch or wizard is born, their name is added to the Book of Admittance by the Quill of Acceptance, both of which will be better explained in the following section. Every year, the Deputy Headmaster/Headmistress will reference the book and write acceptance letters to each student that comes of schooling age, which is 11 years old. On the parchment  envelope of the letter, the student’s title, first initial, and last name are found on the first line. The second line has a distinguishing note one where exactly the student lives in their home, then the subsequent lines give the students full address.

Enclosed in the envelope, a student will find his/her acceptance letter and a supply and book list for their first year at Hogwarts. These are sealed with purple sealing wax and stamped with the Hogwarts crest. For witches and wizards born to at least one magical parent, Hogwarts letters will be sent via owls, the normal means of postage in the magical world. But for muggleborns, those born to non-magic parents, a representative from the school will come, bearing the letter, and explain to the parents of the upcoming students about the magical world and about how to get the students ready for Hogwarts.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:

“Hogwarts is a school; a school of magic.” Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is the magical school for Great Britain and Ireland.  It is funded by the Ministry of Magic and has been accepting students since around 990 A.D. Founded by the greatest witches and wizards of the age, Hogwarts students were unified as a school but divided by house based on the founders.

The houses of Hogwarts were named in honor of the founders Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Gryffindor house accepts the brave and true, Ravenclaw house accepts the witty and creative, Slytherin house takes those of great cunning and resourcefulness, and Hufflepuff house will take the loyal and hardworking. The houses and founders will be expanded on in chapter 7, The Sorting Hat.

The Hogwarts castle is located in the Scottish highlands, secured upon huge rocks elevate it over the Great Lake (aka Black Lake) and its many towers overlook splendid grounds that harbor manicured lawns, the banks of the Great Lake, vegetable patches, Hagrid’s hut, and much more. The castle is rendered unplottable, meaning that it cannot be found or marked on any map. It is also under many enchantments that will cause Muggles not to snoop around, including the enchantment that causes a Muggle to see smoldering ruins and signs that say that the place is dangerous and unstable.

The castle is full of magic and has an almost sentient quality about it. With a grand staircase that is comprised of over 142 moving staircases, a secret room that appears when some has real need for it, and hidden chambers that are accessed by a founder’s descendant, it is an incredibly adaptive place that is full of secrets that not even the most accomplished wizards are privy to. We will look at the instances of some of these secrets as we encounter them throughout the series!

The Story of October 31, 1981:

This is the first time Harry hears about what really happened the night that Voldemort came and killed his family. A quick summary of the story that Hagrid gives is that Voldemort was a dark wizard who grew in his power and acquired a following of dark wizards. Voldemort traveled to the Potters’ home and murdered James and Lily Potter, and, unsuccessfully, tried to kill the infant Harry. No one knows exactly what caused Voldemort to not be able to kill him, or what happened to him, as he vanished after that incident. All that remained was baby Harry, and a lightning bolt scar. 

The most important part about this depiction of the event that happened in Godric’s Hollow is that, even to this point in the book, the whole situation is a complete mystery to everyone in the magical world, except maybe Dumbledore. For such a powerful wizard, Voldemort should have easily been able to eradicate a baby, as horrible and heinous the crime would have been. At this point, no one but Dumbledore knows the full implications of what happened that night, in terms of the prophecy of the Dark Lord’s demise (which we will cover in book 5). There are still several points of mystery that Dumbledore begins to piece together as the series continues, but for the most part he understands that Harry was intentionally chosen by Voldemort as his unintentional advisory. 

Aside from the plot importance of this scene, it is also an important part of Harry’s understanding of his true identity. He, for as long as he could remember, was orphaned due to a car crash. He was in the miserable care of his aunt and uncle because, due to what he was told, his parents perished in the crash and he survived with nothing more than a scar. The crazy part is that after hearing what had actually happened, Harry was able to remember the cool, high laugh that accompanied the bright flash of green light  that Harry remembered from the whole ordeal. Harry is ultimately speechless and has to muster up the will to expose the Dursleys on their charade of the events that transpired to Harry coming into their home. 

This is just a glimpse into the more complex and incredibly murky story of Harry’s destiny that will be followed throughout the series. This scene in particular will be referenced several more times between now and Prisoner of Azkaban, and by Goblet of Fire we will have a lot more information to start analyzing.

Harry’s Disbelief:

After hearing the truth of who/what he is, the truth about his parents, and learning about Hogwarts, Harry has some doubts. He doesn’t think that he could possibly be a wizard, or that he’d be going to Hogwarts to study magic. Why is this important? It is important because we see that Harry is humble, almost to a fault, when it comes to his abilities at this point in the series. He thinks that all those accidents and strange occurrences were just merely accidents until now. Even when the letter was in his hands, he couldn’t believe it. 

This is a stark contrast to the young Tom Riddle in Dumbledore’s memory in Half Blood Prince. As we will see in that scene, Riddle had no trouble believing he was special. While he was guarded and cautious in the presence of Dumbledore, he knew that he was different and he enjoyed exercising his power on the other children at his orphanage. Due to his acknowledgement of his power, Riddle was able to control and wield his magic before he entered Hogwarts, unlike Harry who had produced his magic in times of anger or fear. 

Wrap It Up:

Chapter 4 is packed with information. Harry has been told the truth of his past and is getting ready to go to Hogwarts. His family is terrified at the  idea that he will be able to learn how to control this magic, especially after Dudley received a pig’s tail from Hagrid. But the best chapter in this book is the next chapter, Diagon Alley. We will look at all the shops, Gringotts Bank, the Leaky Cauldron, and more as we begin to prep Harry for his first term at Hogwarts!