Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
"Boy Who Lived" Dead At 127
John Snoutstone, Reporter, The Daily Prophet
Late last night wizarding Britain suffered a terrible loss. Harry James Potter, aged 127 years old, finally succumbed to death in his sleep.
It is perhaps unnecessary to list his great accomplishments in life as we all know them from stories our older family members have told us or the history books. Potter, also known as "The Boy Who Lived," defeated the dark wizard Voldemort twice. The first time at the tender age of one and the second at 17. He then went on to a remarkable career in the Auror department where he quickly rose through the ranks to become head Auror. He served in the department for over fifty years before retiring with his wife, Ginevra Weasley-Potter, to their home in the countryside. Aside from his work in fighting the evils of our world, Potter is the author of a well-known textbook series for Defense Against the Dark Arts and a well-known lobbyist on the behalf of muugleborns, werewolves, and house elves.
He is survived by his three children, many grandchildren, and the wizarding country he saved so many times. We will remember him well.
Forget the Boy Who Lived, Remember Harry Potter
Willow Lovegood, Columnist, European Weekly
Ever since the death of Harry Potter was announced by his family to days ago I have seen many memorials and well written farewells for the famous wizard not just in England but across Europe. However, something has grated on me about each and every one of them. They are all in tribute to the Boy Who Lived, not Harry Potter.
Though we all known Potter's title as "The Boy Who Lived" and sometimes even use it regularly the man himself despised the name calling it, in an interview from 2035, a "mocking nickname." The title was first given to him by journalist Rita Skeeter in an article published the day after that fateful Halloween when he lost his parents. "This boy who lived," she wrote, "not only survived a killing curse but got rid of He-Who-Shall-Not be named for us!" Skeeter was heavily criticized in her later years for her sensationalism and inability to check facts. This article was an example of both. The events of that October 31st have been studied extensively by Unspeakables and Masters of all sorts of magical crafts. Most have come to the conclusion that the spell's rebound and the subsequent banishment of the dark lord Voldemort were the work of Harry's mother, Lily Potter, and had nothing to do with Harry himself. Lily Potter was a Master at Charms and well versed in other disciplines. While even today no one is quite sure how she accomplished what she did, there is no doubt that she was a witch ahead of her time. When Skeeter wrote and published no one had had the chance to look at the events in any depth aside from the obvious results allowing her to draw her own conclusions and fill in the gaps with whatever she felt like.
Potter's issue with the name stemmed, in part, for the way it singled him out as the only one who lived. While it is true that he was the only survivor of the brutal attack on his home as an infant it is hardly a fact that one wants to be reminded about wherever they go. It also paints a false picture of him as a conquering hero who lived while his enemies did not instead of as the victim he was. In that respect "Boy Who Survived" may have been more appropriate. He also disliked that fact that the name took one moment of his life and defined him by it. "People always remember the Harry Potter who fought Voldemort, the Harry who survived the impossible," he said, speaking to the Quibbler just six months before his death. "It's ridiculous! That part of my life was so long ago. How do they remember it? And haven't they been paying attention to what I've done in the mean time? I'd like my new title to be 'Man Who Wrote Textbooks' please."
Potter is referring to his globally renowned textbooks series "How to Survive What's Trying to Kill You" on the defense against the dark arts. They have been praised for their clear explanations and ability to engage students in the details of a subject that many view as just an opportunity to curse stuff. Alongside his textbooks, Potter has more accomplishments that don't have to do with fighting Dark Wizards. He used his political influence to help push several new laws giving equal rights to muggleborns, werewolves, and even house elves during the Granger Reformation. He founded the Ministry Child Protection Program to rescue magical children from abusive home situations and care for orphans.
Harry Potter was not the Boy Who Lived. He was not the courageous warrior blasting down dark wizards so that he was the only one left standing. Did he accomplish great things during his time with the Aurors and in defeating Voldemort? Yes. He did. I will never deny that. But he was so much more as well. If Potter is looking on from the afterlife I'm certain that he is disappointed that we have remembered one part of him but not all. So when writing memorials to his life don't just remember the Boy Who Lived: remember the Man Who Wrote Textbooks, remember the Man Who Helped Children, remember the Man Who Pushed For Equal Rights. Remember Harry Potter, not just a shadow of him.