Christmases of the Hero
It's the Christmas holidays, everyone! All of us have different ways of spending the holidays. It might be with our families back home or here in Hogwarts. In this article, let us travel back in time and witness how our hero, Harry Potter, spent his Christmas days when he was still a Hogwarts student like us.
In his first year, he stayed at Hogwarts for obvious reasons and had his best Christmas that time. He received his first Weasley sweater and gifts from friends. It was also that year he received his father's Invisiblity Cloak from the headmaster. He also enjoyed his most abundant Christmas dinner. The afternoon was spent on furious snowball fight with the Weasleys and a game of wizard chess with Ron. But the highlight of his first Christmas in Hogwarts was his discovery of the Mirror of Erised and being able to find his family in the reflection.
Harry Potter's second Christmas at Hogwarts was more exciting than his first one. As usual, there were his presents, which included a toothpick from the Dursleys, and the great Christmas dinner in the stunning Great Hall with the dozen frost-covered Christmas trees and the dry falling snow. The excitement came after the dinner when Harry, Ron, and Hermione drank the Polyjuice Potion (Hermione, who accidentally transformed into a something of a cat, was brought to the hospital wing afterwards) and went to the Slytherin Common Room to talk with Draco Malfoy about the Chamber of Secrets; they found out that Draco is not the heir as they suspected before.
For Harry's third Hogwarts Christmas, there were only twelve of them left in the castle, as people were afraid of the escape of Sirius Black from Azkaban. Apart from the usual holiday decorations, presents and sumptuous dinner, Harry's joy that day was the Firebolt that he received from Sirius Black. However, it was confiscated from him by Professor McGonagall so it could be checked for jinxes. This was Hermione's idea, which put her at odds with the two guys once again.
Christmas at Hogwarts took a different turn at Harry's fourth year due to the Triwizard Tournament. The highlight was the Yule Ball at the Great Hall, where they ate and danced until midnight. It was also the night when Harry and Ron knew that Hagrid is a half giant and when Cedric told Harry about the golden egg for the second task. And who would forget about this night when Ron and Hermione had their fight because of Hermione's partner in the ball, Viktor Krum?
Harry, in his fifth year, spent Christmas at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix in Grimmauld Place. On Christmas day, they visited Arthur Weasley at St. Mungo's Hospital. It was also in that place that they saw their previous Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart, with his memory still damaged, and Neville's parents, who were driven to insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange. This one was definitely one dramatic Christmas for Harry and the rest of them.
It was at the Burrow where Harry spent his Christmas in his sixth year as a Hogwarts student. When they were eating their meal at the table, Percy arrived with Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour. Harry and the Minister had a conversation about Harry being the Chosen One and how much of a good thing it would be if he worked for the Ministry, an argument Harry was against. Harry left the Minister outside, rejecting his offer.
We all knew that the three were in a run in their seventh year and that the Christmas of 1997 was a heartfelt and meaningful one for Harry. He and Hermione spent Christmas Eve in Godric's Hollow. They went to the cemetery and found the tombs of James and Lily Potter, as well as the tombs of Ignotus Peverell and Dumbledore's mother and sister. They also found the Potters' house, the place where Harry's parents died. This was a great deal for Harry Potter, coming back to his hometown.
It looks like in the seven Hogwarts years of Harry Potter, he spent his Christmas in a place he felt home.