Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be
discussing one of the greatest men-or rather-half-giants’, in the Harry Potter series. I am of course
talking about Rubeus Hagrid- Hogwarts gamekeeper, lover of all magical creatures, and the man
that maybe cared about Harry more than anyone.
Rubeus Hagrid was born in the year 1928 to father Mr. Hagrid, and a giantess by the name
of Fridwulfa. Hagrid gets his immense size from his mothers side, as Hagrid’s father
was just a regular-sized man. However, despite Hagrid towering in at a whopping eleven and
a half feet tall- he is considered ‘tiny’ by giant standards. His mother left him and
his father while he was still quite young, returning to the giant colony from which she
came- this left Hagrid’s father to raise him alone.
"My dad was broken-hearted when she wen'. Tiny little bloke, my dad was. By the time
I was six I could lift him up an' put him on top o' the dresser if he annoyed me. Used
ter make him laugh..."
Very little is known about Hagrid’s formative years, or parents, but his father certainly
raised him well, as in spite of his giant size, Hagrid was a caring, attentive softie
who cared immensely for those that were close to him.
Hagrid began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the year 1940 and
was sorted into Gryffindor house- starting just 2 years after Voldemort himself. Hagrid
was a promising young wizard- but did have a habit of getting in trouble- trouble which
almost always stemmed or pertained to magical creatures in some way. Among other things
It has been speculated that Hagrid did things like raise werewolf cubs under his bed and
sneak off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls. However, what would become Hagrid’s
biggest mistake was acquiring a new and dangerous pet- an Acromuntala by the name of Aragog.
You see, in the time that Hagrid attended Hogwarts the school was in a bit of a crazy
state- students were mysteriously being ‘petrified’ on a consistent basis and no one knew what
was happening or why it was happening. It’s later revealed that the atrocities occurring
at the school were the result of a young Tom Riddle who had opened up the chamber of secrets
and released the Fabled basilisk within. When a student was eventually killed, Moaning Myrtle,
a witchhunt began to figure out who exactly was responsible for the crimes. Riddle, who
was concerned that the school would be closed, then threw Hagrid under the bus and framed
him- explaining that the attacks were the doing of Hagrid’s Acromantula Aragog.
Unfortunately for Hagrid, he didn’t have much of a chance to defend himself- this meant
that his wand was snapped, and he was expelled from the school. Things weren’t going well
for Hagrid, however, the silver lining is that he was trained as gamekeeper of Hogwarts
and allowed to live on the school grounds at the request of Albus Dumbledore. The headmaster
of Hogwarts at the time, Armando DIppet, strongly believed that Hagrid’s pet was responsible-
which meant that Hagrid’s expulsion was likely not going to be reversed, however-
given that Hagrid’s alleged crimes were responsible for the death of a student- it
sort of feels like he got off easy. Why wasn’t he punished more severely?
There are a few reasons for why Hagrid was never held to the full extent of his crimes.
First of all, no one believed that Hagrid had any sort of ill-intent. Though everyone
felt that he was guilty, no one believed he did any of it intentionally- which exonerated
him to some extent. Secondly, Dumbledore heavily vouched for Hagrid- and knew that he was a
kind soul that needed a second chance. Despite Dumbledore not yet being headmaster, he still
had some sway at the school, and was able to secure the posting of gameskeeper for Hagrid.
What was most interesting about Hagrid’s expulsion, however, was everyone’s blind
ignorance with the regards to the true culprit- the basilisk living inside the Chamber of
Secrets- a chamber that existed within the very walls of Hogwarts. The reason that no
one ever considered it as an option, was that at that point the existence of the chamber
was either entirely unknown, or thought to be something that only existed in fanciful
legend. It was the subject of fable- a room made by the maniacal muggle-hating founder
Salazar Slytherin- but those who knew of it never took it seriously.
After book 2, the existence of the chamber becomes more common knowledge, and Hagrid
is finally properly exonerated for his crimes. This allows Hagrid to become a professor-
at which point he is allowed to perform magic again. This is explained by JK Rowling:
“He is allowed. He has been allowed to do magic openly ever since he became a teacher
but because he was never fully trained his magic is never going to be what it should
be. He is always going to be a bit inept.”
Despite his 50 year punishment for a crime that he didn’t commit, Hagrid certainly
took it all in stride. He never allowed his unfair punishment to make him bitter or angry.
Hagrid is one of the most wholesome characters in the entire Harry Potter universe, and it’s
just too bad he was treated so poorly.
And that’s it for this video! You knew that Hagrid was expelled, but did you know all
of the ins-and-outs? How should Hagrid be rewarded for 50 years of false punishment?
Let me know down in the comment section below.
Until next time
YER A WIZARD ARRY