Of Heroes and Horocruxes

Of Heroes and Horocruxes: The Gospel According to Harry Potter

     The end is near.  The reign of Voldemort is coming.  None can stand against the power of the dark Lord.  No one has the ability to stand against the power that is within him.  Half-way through the Half Blood Prince, we begin to realize that the Voldemort really is within the grasp of complete power.  But Harry gets Slughorn to reveal the secret.  A magic so dark, a soul splitting, act against nature creation that has sealed the fate of Harry himself.  The horocrux is perhaps the most dark of all magic in the Harry Potter series, taking the very life of Voldemort and preserving it for years, hidden amongst the graves and the artifacts of Hogwarts so as to Protect Voldemort from Death.  As Dumbledore attests, the Horocrux would be worse than death.  Only the untarnished soul can now end the journey.  Now, we begin to understand that Harry’s life is in itself holding Voldemort’s.

     This is exactly what came to mind when I read of the horocruxes for the first time.  At the end of the 6^th book in this series, Harry and Dumbledore have destroyed 2 of the horocruxes, yet they are on a search for the other 5.  I knew from the moment I read the final chapter of the Half-Blood Prince that Harry was a horocrux, that the soul of Voldemort was imprinted on Harry.  I knew that was why he could speak parseltongue.  It made since.  But what didn’t make sense was Snape, the character that had destroyed Dumbledore.  What was going on?

     Snape is someone whom everyone loves and hates.  As the character who is the minor antagonist for most of the books, Snape has a poor reputation.  But Snape’s final story is yet to be told, hidden in a memory Harry finally reveals in the pensieve posthumously.  And when it is revealed, we become privy to the most powerful of all situations.  Snape, the man who has tortured and ridiculed Harry the entire series, is truly the hero.  Not Hermoine, not Ron, not even Dumdledore, but truly Snape is the hero.  Why he?  Because Snape is the one to whom no one credits for any such thing, to one to whom no one gives credit and no one cares about.  As the dark knight’s final line reminds us: he is the hero we deserve, but not the one it needs right now. Snape is the one we deserve, but the need exists for the truth to be revealed only in the final moments. And the truth is Harry must die. Now Snape doesn’t know this until presumably somewhere early to mid part of Harry’s sixth year, long before the secret is finally revealed.  But Snape is a hero. 

     So the heroes of our stories tend to not get credit. Dumbledore realizes the fate of Harry, believes Harry is perhaps somehow tied to Voldemort, and he himself withdraws himself from Harry, refusing to see him at times in an effort to protect the truth.  If the Occlumency would not work, if Harry’s vision could be seen by Voldemort, if the truth was revealed to Voldemort, then all would be lost.  But heroes work silently, quietly in the background, making sure to prepare the way but never thwarting from the mission.  Always making sure that end in the end the good will triumph.

     The horocrux, which is truly Voldemort himself, is the anthithesis of this Hero.  Instead of a pure untainted soul, we have ourselves a purely greedy, power hungry soul whose only intention is to claim power for oneself.  It is a very interesting and yet perhaps somehow expected twist.  Voldemort can not die, of course he can’t.  Something has sustained him this whole time, but now, the horocruxes will begin to be systematically destroyed.  Even the snake is a horocrux, everything that Voldemort has surrounded himself with must die before he should do the same.

     This is sometimes the great challenge of the world.  Have you ever realized that there are heroes around us that don’t get credit, people in the world to which things are often put aside but without whom you wouldn’t be?  Perhaps a parent, perhaps a mentor or a friend to whom you have always needed but rarely ever talk about.  Maybe you are the hero for someone else, knowing the burden you carry.  This is our call.  We are called to be heroes in the world.  Sometimes it through our actions of serving others, sometimes it’s just for being there at the right time, for loving in the midst of an unlovable moment.  That is the kingdom of God.  The kingdom of God is like someone who cares and loves for another but received very little in return.  It is the story of the woman who gives but all her money silenty, quietly, without expectation and gives of herself not bcause she has much, but because she has a sense of care and love. 

     We, as college students, we have much to be the heroes of.  Some of you will save lives later in life, others of you will make beautiful music and create great pieces of art that few will ever pay attention to but will inspire others, even if you don’t get credit.  The places you dwell now that be your heroes den, caring for those who are around you.  You are able to serve others and be more than just the sum of your whole parts because of who you each are.

     And Harry Potter has to realize this.  He has to realize that truly the best way to be a hero himself is to sacrifice himself for his friends.  The story of Harry is going to end, the boy who lived is going to die, to himself, to his archenemy, to his fears.  He will greet death like an old friend.

     Next week, we will conclude this series.  Next week we will finish the story of Harry and Voldemort and the end will be both revealed and the fates be determined.  Destinies and Destinations are the places where life takes us in our final moments.  As we enter into the season of lent, be a hero, not a horocrux.  Don’t be but a partial shell of a person, lost in the intent to be something that lives and reigns forever but instead be a hero that truly stands the test of time.  Change the world.  Don’t try to rule the world.

     Amen.