Harry Potter's Invitation to the World
by Vickie Ewell
Chapter 48 – The Kids Look for Nicolas Flamel (HP Chapter 12)
Ron vowed to get even with Draco one of these days. That was a typical, mechanical response to pain, but Harry told us that he actually hated both Draco and Snape. Kids often use the word “hate” to describe uncomfortable or painful feelings that certain individuals consistently invoke in them. They also tend to use the word when someone isn’t allowing them to have their way.
Hate may actually be a strong dislike or a projection that isn’t really true, but it may in fact be hate. However, the label is always an attempt to avoid addressing certain feelings and attitudes that are surfacing within the self.
Harry felt what he called hate. Draco and Snape both create these feelings within him. Draco’s behavior reminded Harry of Dudley, and Snape’s facial expressions and behavior probably reminded Harry of Vernon. So the emotional memory Harry was feeling actually had to do with family relationships. In a previous chapter, Harry was only willing to tell Ron that life with the Dursleys was awful. Here, Harry inferred that he actually hated the Dursleys, but he has projected those feelings onto Draco and Snape.
Hagrid attempted to divert the boys’ thoughts to something more pleasant and suggested they go look at the way the Great Hall was being decorated. That was where the Christmas tree belonged. In total, 12 Christmas trees stood around the room. Some of the trees had sparkling icicles and some had hundreds of candles inferring that astrological forces influence us in different ways and patterns. However, if Hagrid was one of those trees, then perhaps Masters of Compassion come in two different varieties.
Professor Flitwick immediately went to work decorating the new tree that Hagrid had placed in a corner of the room. Golden bubbles came out of the end of his wand, which he trailed over the branches in a path. These bubbles remind us of the Path of Liberation, but they also remind us of how a golden aura surrounds those who possess a divine consciousness.
Hermione reminded the boys they should be in the library. They had been trying to figure out whom Nicolas Flamel was. Hagrid was shocked. “I’ve told yeh – drop it.” In Hagrid’s perspective, it was none of the kids’ business what his three-headed dog was guarding.
Harry told Hagrid he could save them a lot of trouble by just telling them about Flamel, even a small hint, because they hadn’t been able to find out anything about him. But Hagrid refused. Ron assured Hagrid they had no intention of stopping their search. After which, the kids headed off toward the library.
The kids had been looking for Nicolas Flamel because they assumed he would enable them to discover what Snape was trying to steal. They were looking at the situation backward from the way Hagrid was. That’s pretty much what we do too. The problem for the kids was they didn’t know in which section of the library to look. Without knowing what Flamel did or was interested in, they didn’t have a clue as to where to start.
This resembled many of us who come to realize there is a Path, but we don’t know what we are supposed to do to enter that gate.
The kids had looked through several books that dealt with famous wizards, great names in wizardry, magical discoveries, and recent developments, but it could take them a lifetime to go through every possibility. That reminded me of how we travel from spiritual tradition to spiritual tradition searching for the truth that resonates within us. Each of the kids were using their own method of discovery: Hermione had a list of subjects and titles she was searching for, Ron was taking books off the shelves haphazardly, and Harry was using his intuition to wander over into the Restricted Section.
The Restricted Section required the kids to have a note from a teacher before they could look at one of the books. Harry knew they wouldn’t be able to get one. Restricted books contain information on powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts. These books were generally read by older students studying advanced topics within Defense Against the Dark Arts.
This was similar to the notion that to prepare spiritually, we must know our enemy. A note meant they had a legitimate reason to be looking for one of the books. This protected the students from harm, but it also served to eliminate temptation that they might not be able to handle. Powerful magic in the hands of someone with no control could be deadly.
The librarian, Madam Pince, wanted to know what Harry was looking for. The kids didn’t want to ask Madam Pince about Nicolas Flamel, because they didn’t want Snape to find out. When Harry couldn’t tell her, she chased him away.
The library attempt was a complete bust. Hermione and Ron hadn’t been successful either. So Hermione asked the boys to keep trying over the Christmas holidays. The inference here was that maybe the boys could come up with a plan to get into the Restricted Section after most of the kids had gone home. What they needed was a way to get into that section without anyone seeing them.
Once the holidays got underway, Ron and Harry didn’t even think about Nicolas Flamel. The common room was nearly empty, so they spent most of their time sitting in the armchairs by the fire toasting anything they could attach to their toasting forks. The boys also sat around thinking about ways they could get Draco expelled, and Ron started teaching Harry how to play wizard’s chess. Wizard’s chess was played exactly like Muggle chess, except that the players were alive.
When Harry went to bed on Christmas Eve, he was excited for Christmas Day because it meant food and more fun