Becoming Harry Potter: Dumbledore’s Man #MNBHP
Aberforth Dumbledore stood blocking the corridor ahead, his wand held ready.
“I’ve had hundreds of kids thundering through my pub, Potter!”
“I know, we’re evacuating,” Harry said, “Voldemort’s —”
“— attacking because they haven’t handed you over, yeah,” said Aberforth, “I’m not deaf, the whole of Hogsmeade heard him. And it never occurred to any of you to keep a few Slytherins hostage? There are kids of Death Eaters you’ve just sent to safety. Wouldn’t it have been a bit smarter to keep ’em here?”
“It wouldn’t stop Voldemort,” said Harry, “and your brother would never have done it.”
DH
Harry is Dumbledore’s man through and through from the very beginning of the series, where he chooses friendship with Ron over Draco, to the end. One of the qualities that makes him Dumbledore’s man is his dedication to the means, not just the ends. Harry, like Dumbledore, knows that crossing the finish line is not what matters. It is how we get there that defines true victory or defeat.
Olympians have achieved great feats only to be stripped of their gold medals because they cheated by using drugs to enhance their performance. They crossed the finish line first, but they used dishonest means to get there. Their character and reputation is tarnished. All they worked for is gone. Wouldn’t they have been better to have honestly competed, given all they got, and not come in first? Dumbledore’s man would say they would. Even our favorite Hunger Games baker would say they would…
I don’t know how to say it exactly. Only…I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?” he asks. I shake my head. How could he die as anyone but himself? “I don’t want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I’m not.”
I bite my lip, feeling inferior. While I’ve been ruminating on the availability of trees, Peeta has been struggling with how to maintain his identity. His purity of self. “Do you mean you won’t kill anyone?” I ask.
“No, when the time comes, I’m sure I’ll kill just like everybody else. I can’t go down without a fight. Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to…to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their Games,” says Peeta. ~ Hunger Games
We are more than just what we accomplish, we are how we reach those accomplishments.
CHALLENGE
Don’t get so focused on crossing the finish line that you forget to run the race as Dumbledore’s man through and through.
Next Week: Becoming Severus Snape: Protector of Lily’s Son
And more!
