Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today, we’re going to be discussing Hogwarts’ loveable gamekeeper Hagrid.
What do we really know about Rubeus Hagrid?
The towering half-giant seemed to be a simple, content groundskeeper.
But when we look back over the years, Hagrid’s life was filled with tragedy and all sorts
of challenges.
What happened to him?
And how did he overcome everything?
That’s what we’ll answer today…
Parents
Hagrid’s parentage was a pretty poorly kept secret.
To most, it seemed obvious that he was born from a mixed relationship, between a giantess
and a wizard.
Still, Hagrid tried to keep the details a secret, at times, although he never quite
fooled anyone.
His mother was known as Fridwulfa.
Since we don’t have the clearest records, we can’t be sure when she was born, but
Fridwulfa must have been at least a few decades old when she gave birth to Hagrid, in 1928.
Like any other giant, Fridwulfa was well over 20 feet tall, and a force to be reckoned with.
With a natural resistance to most spells and curses, it would have taken over half a dozen
wizards to defeat Hagrid’s mother in a fight.
For that reason, the wizarding world feared giants like Fridwulfa most of all.
Which makes her marriage to Hagrid’s father, all the stranger.
At some point, prior to Hagrid’s birth in 1928, Fridwulfa first met Hagrid’s dad.
The historical records never revealed his full name, so we only know him as “Mr. Hagrid”.
Although giantesses and men had been known to wed each other, it wasn’t a very common
practice.
As you could guess, wizards and witches frowned upon mixed marriages.
And even the giants, who valued size and power above all else, looked-down on their peers
who married weak human wizards.
But Fridwulfa and Mr. Hagrid actually gave their relationship an honest attempt….
And they were happy, for a while.
Mother’s Abandonment
In December of 1928, Fridwulfa and Mr. Hagrid welcomed their son, Rubeus, into the world.
Almost instantly, Fridwulfa’s demeanor changed.
In giant culture, they prided themselves on having the largest, strongest babies.
And after a quick glance at the infant, Rubeus, Fridwulfa realized that she had failed.
As a half-giant, Rubeus was a fraction of the size of other giant babies.
Ashamed by her child’s small stature, Fridwulfa decided to run away, and fled back to her
giant colony.
Before Hogwarts
In the years that followed, young Rubeus Hagrid lived a simple life with his father.
Hagrid doesn’t say much about his old man, but he seemed to be an honest, kind wizard.
Before Hagrid was even old enough to attend primary school, he had already grown six feet
tall.
Often, he would throw his father over his shoulders, and haul him around the house and
yard.
Although Hagrid and his father had a strong relationship, Hagrid’s social life suffered
outside of the home.
As a half-giant, other parents would often warn their children about playing with him.
It wasn’t until Hagrid received his acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry, that the young boy thought he could finally find a close-knit group of friends.
Problems
But Hogwarts wasn’t very different from the real-world, for Hagrid.
His first semester began in 1940, and though it’s not stated anywhere, it’s likely
that he was sorted into House Gryffindor.
At school, he continued to suffer, as his fellow students ridiculed and bullied him.
Often, Rubeus would turn his attention to magical beasts and creatures, in order to
find companionship.
Although, this hobby often landed the half-giant in trouble with Hogwarts faculty.
By his third year at school, Hagrid had grown to nearly 11 feet in height.
But, unfortunately, he continued to struggle socially.
The recent death of his father, who was his closest friend, only made matters worse.
If he were anyone else, he’d use his natural brawn to turn the tide against his bullies.
But Hagrid’s low self-esteem, and non-violent disposition, made him a natural target.
Eventually, Tom Riddle, who was only a few years older than Hagrid at the time, decided
to frame Hagrid for a recent murder at the school.
Riddle was actually the one responsible for the crime, but he managed to convince the
ministry of magic that one of Hagrid’s dangerous pets, an Acromantula named Aragog, was the
culprit.
In the aftermath, Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts, and forbidden from using a wand
again.
But, thanks to Albus Dumbledore’s quick intervention, Hagrid was saved from going
back into the real world, as an orphan.
Dumbledore managed to land Hagrid a role, studying how to become a groundskeeper.
This gesture of kindness might have been enough to keep Hagrid from a life of crime.
With his father gone, the young half-giant had nowhere to turn, and the fate of giants
in the wizarding world was usually a bloody, painful one.
Official Gamekeeper
So, as the years passed, Hagrid grew and grew.
Under Dumbledore’s watchful eye, Rubeus lived a peaceful life.
With each passing semester, the faculty entrusted the young half-giant with more responsibilities,
until, eventually, he was promoted to head groundskeeper, sometime before 1967- succeeding
the previous groundskeeper, Ogg.
Hagrid’s role went by many titles: gamekeeper, groundskeeper, and keeper of keys.
On any given day, Hagrid could be seen securing the Hogwarts grounds from intruders, or chopping
down pine trees to decorate the Great Hall for Christmas dinner.
But the part Hagrid loved the most, was tending to the magical beasts that Hogwarts raised.
First Wizarding War
The years passed faster, and by the 1970’s, Rubeus Hagrid found himself quickly becoming
a senior member of the staff at Hogwarts.
But that wasn’t what he remembered most about those years.
The 1970’s was the start of Lord Voldemort’s first campaign against the ministry, a conflict
known as the First Wizarding War.
For the next ten years, Hagrid faithfully served Albus Dumbledore and the ORder of the
Phoenix, as they fought against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
When the Dark Wizard finally fell, in his failed assassination of Harry Potter, Hagrid
was dispatched to retrieve the infant, and return him to safety.
Acromantula Injury
Between that fateful night, and the next time Hagrid would see Harry Potter, very little
changed in the half-giant’s life.
He continued to work as the gamekeeper at Hogwarts, tending to the aging castle, and
the creatures who lived there.
At one point, while wandering around the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid’s love of the tarantula-like
Acromantula nearly cost him his life.
One of the creatures bit Hagrid, and injected enough venom to overwhelm his enhanced immune
system.
After a short stay in the hospital, Hagrid was back on his feet, and returned to the
Forbidden Forest, to spend time with those creatures once more.
Reconnecting With Harry
In 1991, Hagrid ventured through England to find Harry Potter’s last known location.
At that time, his adoptive parents, the Dursleys, refused to send the boy to Hogwarts.
Hoping to find a secluded home, where not even Albus Dumbledore could find them, Potter
and the Dursleys ended up on a tiny island, appropriately named Hut-on-the-rock.
It wasn’t long before Hagrid tracked Harry down, though, and after a brief shouting match
with Harry's uncle, the half-giant took Potter on his very first adventure in the wizarding
world.
Just like many male role models in Harry’s life, Hagrid quickly became one of the boy’s
most important father-figures.
Especially in Harry’s early years, when he suffered as an outcast, Hagrid was always
around to lend an ear.
Azkaban
But after Harry returned to the wizarding world, so did another force: Lord Voldemort.
And he was desperate to take on true physical form.
At first, he attempted to steal the Philosopher’s stone.
At one point, his accomplice in the pursuit, Professor Quirrel, managed to dupe Hagrid
into revealing how to get around Hogwarts newest security measure, a three-headed dog.
The very next year, Hagrid got in more trouble, when messages appeared on Hogwarts’ wall,
claiming that the Chamber of Secrets was once again opened.
With the original reason for Hagrid’s expulsion fresh on everyone’s mind, the Ministry quickly
determined Hagrid was the villain behind everything…
and sent him to Azkaban to rot away.
After Harry Potter discovered the truth, and destroyed both the Basilisk and the diary
of Tom Riddle, the ministry allowed Hagrid to return.
A professor
As the years between the Battle of Hogwarts grew shorter and shorter, Harry Potter’s
list of mentors and allies grew longer and longer.
Once, Hagrid was perhaps the most important figure in the young wizard’s life, but that
would all change.
Although, not all change was bad, for Hagrid.
By Harry’s third year, Hagrid became a professor, taking on teaching responsibilities for the
“Care of Magical Creatures' '. The title of professor at Hogwarts was quite an impressive
feat.
Compared to Hagrid’s own classmates, who had actually graduated from Hogwarts, the
half-giant actually ended up as one of the most accomplished.
The next year, when the Triwizard tournament concluded, and Voldemort took on a new body,
Hagrid was assigned a particularly tough task by the Order of the Phoenix.
Fearing that the giants might once again align themselves with Voldemort and the dark wizards,
Hagrid went to their secret colonies to bring them to his side.
The mission seemed like it might actually succeed, but on one of the very first nights
at the colony, a giant aligned with dark wizards killed the ruling chieftain, and turned the
tribe away from Hagrid and Dumbledore's alliance.
Hagrid’s time with the giants wasn’t an entire failure, though, as he discovered one
of his few living relatives: a brother named Grawp.
Hagrid returned to Hogwarts, keeping his brother’s existence a secret in the Forbidden Forest.
But his time there was short lived.
When Dolores Umbridge took over Albus Dumbledore’s position, Hagrid was forced out.
His exile didn’t last long, though, as Dumbledore eventually returned.
But the months that followed continued with conflict after conflict.
It all culminated with the Battle of the Astronomy tower, where Severus Snape killed Albus Dumbledore.
Through a torrent of tears, Hagrid carried the old wizard’s body at his funeral, laying
him to rest as the latest victim of Voldemort’s new war.
Hagrid would be placed in a similarly grim scenario the following year, when Harry Potter
fought against Voldemort, and nearly died.
While Harry was in limbo, Hagrid carried the lifeless corpse, just as he had done for Dumbledore.
This time, though, Potter managed to come back to life, and finished the fight against
Voldemort, striking him dead during the Battle of Hogwarts.
In the years that followed, Hagrid continued to work at Hogwarts.
As late as 2019, Hagrid was seen guiding young wizards, as they learned how to perfect their
spells.
By that time, Hagrid was one of the longest serving staff-members of all time, having
spent 80 years at the school of witchcraft and wizardry.
And that’s it for this video!
Did you know much about Hagrid’s life?
His beginnings?
What video do you want next?
Be sure to leave a comment down below.
Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live