Interlude: The Interview
Exclusive Interview with The-Boy-Who-Lived!
Rita Skeeter
Harry Potter, age 15, is famous in the Wizarding World for many things, defeating He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, being a Parselmouth, and winning the Triwizard Tournament to name just a few. Among reporters, however, he is famous for something else: he has never been interviewed. I admit, even my own attempts during the Tournament relied largely on observation and the testimony of other students, as he was unwilling to speak with me.
Imagine my surprise, then, when while on a sabbatical, I received an owl from none other than The-Boy-Who-Lived himself! After a brief exchange, he agreed to an interview, provided in full below.
Rita: So, Harry, what's prompted this change of heart?
Harry: To be honest, Rita, the only time anyone's ever even tried to interview me was you, during the Tournament.
Rita: No one? Were you aware that Headmaster Dumbledore has declined numerous requests for interviews on your behalf?
Harry: No, but I can't say I'm surprised. I think Dumbledore would prefer I stay away from the media, but after this summer, I think it's clear that such a hands-off approach doesn't work. That's why I contacted you.
Rita: Are you talking about the feedback from the Tournament and your insistence on You-Know-Who's return? Or the recent rumors about your involvement in your muggle relatives' deaths?
Harry: The first, of course. The second is too ridiculous to bother with.
Rita: Very well. May I ask why you're only just now coming forth?
Harry: At first, I didn't say anything because, well, I don't know how it works in the magical world, but in the muggle world, witnesses to a crime are asked not to speak to the media while the investigation is on-going. So all summer I've waited for someone - anyone - to come speak to me. I mean, whatever you believe about [You-Know-Who], Cedric Diggory died, and that should have prompted some sort of investigation, don't you think?
Rita: Certainly. You're saying that no one ever contacted you?
Harry: No one.
Rita: Then allow me to be the first. Will you tell me what happened that night?
Harry: Cedric and I reached the Cup at the same time. He - Cedric, I mean - was an amazing guy. Even though he definitely could have won, he decided that we should take the Cup together and share the victory. But…
Here, I must note that young Mister Potter looked troubled. At last though, he began his tale, green eyes shining with determination.
Harry: But it didn't go that way. The Cup was a Portkey, and it took us to a graveyard somewhere. When we got there, we heard a voice say, "Kill the spare." Then there was a green light. It hit Cedric, and he died. After that, a man who looked uncannily like Peter Pettigew showed up carrying a… thing. It was the same size as a baby, but its skin was all black and burnt looking. It seemed to be alive though.
I was stunned, magically I mean, and when I regained consciousness, I was bound to a tombstone. The Pettigrew look-a-like performed some sort of ritual involving 'bone of the father, flesh of the servant, and blood of the enemy.' For those, he used a bone from one of the graves, his own hand, and my blood. The not-a-baby thing went into the cauldron, and what looked like a tall, white, skeletal man came out. It called itself [You-Know-Who] and, using the Dark Mark on the Pettigrew look-a-like's arm, summoned a bunch of people wearing masks.
Rita: How on earth did you escape?
Harry: The thing calling itself [You-Know-Who] said it wanted to duel to prove my beating him as a baby was just a fluke. Which, I mean, I was a baby, so I really doubt it had anything to do with me at all, but I guess that's rather beside the point now. When I tried to defend myself, our spells connected and formed a golden cage around us. Apparently this was because our wand cores both come from the same phoenix? That's what Dumbledore told me at least. In any event, I used the distraction to grab Ced… To grab Cedric's body and… And the Cup. And luckily it was still a Portkey to the stage at the end of the Tournament.
Here I waited while Mister Potter calmed himself, having been visibly affected by speaking of Mister Diggory's untimely demise.
Rita: I notice you don't actually say that these two men were Pettigrew and You-Know-Who. May I ask why?
Harry: Well, in the magical world, with things like Polyjuice, you can't ever be sure that someone is who they look like, right? So the man may have looked like Pettigrew - I have pictures of him, since he was supposedly friends with my parents - and the thing may have called itself [You-Know-Who], but I don't have any real evidence that they were those people. Given that, I can understand Minister Fudge's reluctance to believe me.
Rita: You made no such prevarications immediately after the events occurred.
Harry: I'd just gone through a traumatic experience and hadn't had time to process things. I haven't even taken my OWLs yet, so I hope you'll allow that I was overwhelmed by the whole ordeal.
Rita: Fair enough. I hate to change the subject, because it seems like there's a lot to be discussed, but we're running out of time and I must know: you said the idea that you'd killed your relatives was ridiculous. May I ask why you say that? I'd expect you to at least want to state your innocence in the matter.
Harry: I guess, but you know, no one's tried to arrest me yet, so doesn't that mean that the people who matter are already aware that I wasn't involved?
Rita: You don't seem nearly as bothered by their deaths as you do Mister Diggory's though.
Harry: I'm not, really. They weren't comfortable with magic, and since my mother was a muggleborn, they knew I was a wizard from the day they found me on their doorstep. It made them really distant. It's sad, but even though Cedric and I were in different years and different Houses, we were far closer than my relatives and I. I guess that's just how things happen with muggle-raised children sometimes.
Rita: Well, we're out of time. Thank you for speaking to me today, Harry. Would you be willing to meet again?
Harry: Of course, Rita. This was a lot less scary than I expected. Thanks for going easy on me.
There you have it. This, of course, brings up all sorts of questions. Why was Harry Potter living with muggles who were uncomfortable with magic? Why hasn't anyone from the Ministry contacted him regarding Cedric Diggory's death? Why is Headmaster Dumbledore keeping young Harry away from the press? You can be sure that this reporter will be investigating these and other questions.