I hope that you have a box of tissues or a handkerchief handy because this month's topic is a bit of a tear-jerker! Though, love isn't for everyone -as Lord whatshisname showed us- so perhaps you won't shed a single tear. It's February and as with most everything in print, or even media in general, we're going to talk about love. Not just any love, however, but one with ancient and sacrificial magic.
We first see this pop up back in 1927 with the growing fear and terror surrounding Grindelwald's rallying of the troops. The beloved blood-born Lestrange had a tragic upbringing and acted out on many occasions. She appeared to have considered herself a misfit -an unloved and unwanted one at that. Never shown any positive emotions by her father and the cause of -inadvertent or not- her younger brother's death. Leta wallowed in these negative emotions for a while, until she befriended Newt Scamander. Leta appeared to have grown attached to Newt prior to his expulsion. Later, after they had grown apart from the distance, she befriended his brother Theseus. Their relationship grew stronger and stronger and they ended up engaged. Where would we be today if this young lady had not come to know what real love was? Her sacrifice at Grindelwald's rally in Pére-Lachaise, Paris, France allowed for so many others to be able to be saved. Without her extreme show of love and fierce protection, those who eventually calmed the roaring fires that night may not have been able to do so.
Now we come to the most hyped and quoted form of this Sacrificial Protection. Lily Potter chose to die rather than willingly give up her son, Harry. The Muggleborn witch knew that there was no way she could ever live if she were to simply step aside and allow Lord Voldemort to kill Harry. Our favorite stories wouldn't have existed were it not for this extremely rare and ancient piece of magic. Lord Voldemort claimed that he would let her live if only she would hand over her baby. Who knows whether it was true or not, but the choice technically existed. Maybe he would have shown her mercy at his follower's fearful request, maybe she'd have died anyway.
The last known, or at least well-documented case for this protection, was seen in 1998. Harry Potter was given one hour to come to the Forbidden Forest, alone, and give himself up to Lord Voldemort. While there was never any question as to whether or not he'd do it, Harry did take his time getting there. He used almost the entire hour to prepare himself mentally for what had to be done. Harry knew that he could not show any ounce of fight or weakness. He entered that clearing and faced his imminent death, head-on. As we all know that is what saved his life in the end. His love for his remaining friends and family, as well as all of wizardkind practically, protected himself from Death's cold grasp. He must have nerves of steel. Who else could have done the same?
I may not have cried or shed a single tear while writing this piece, but the emotions were definitely there back in those moments. I'm not a stone after all. Each moment was perfectly poignant and illustrative of the power of love. Would you be willing to make the same sacrifice? I don't know if I could, nor do I want to imagine being involved in any situation that could call for it.
Why don't you ponder that for a bit and I'll see you back here next month, with the latest episode of Magical Musings?