Let’s face it: we all wish we could step through Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross and catch the Hogwarts Express to school. We’ve all practiced our levitating spells before going to bed, and we all know exactly which shop we’d step into first in Diagon Alley. Odds are, you probably have a closeted Ron somewhere among your friends, a less-closeted Neville, and probably a Hermione. (People tend to see me as a Hermione) Also, you quite certainly spend a lot of time in the presence of our favorite gentle giant – Hagrid. Where, do you ask, can we find this rare creature? Knitting away at another Christmas jumper, sitting in front of the fire with a cup of well-sugared tea, there she is: your grandmother.
Wizardy-galore
Growing up, you’ve probably marveled at your grandmother’s amazing skills: while she’s sewing up your pants, she’s also baking a cake, keeping one eye on the stove and another on you, all the while humming an obsolete tune while watching television. Her hot chocolate is the best in the world, she can mend anything you manage to rip in a day, her bedtime stories are unsurpassed, yet she doesn’t have a wand to aid her in her endeavors. She performs all her magic without the aid of an umbrella, and her spells are less likely to miss than Hagrid’s, we’ll have to admit.
Magic in the kitchen
Hagrid may not be the best cook at Hogwarts – he may even be the worst: his rock cakes are aptly named, his other excursions into the land of sweets may desire a warning sign, yet all the fussing and care that go into them are pure grandma. He, like your Nan, believes that tea solves everything, and he will feed you ‘till you burst at the seams. A rock cake would feel quite nice on a cold winter’s evening, wouldn’t it?
That big yellow tent
Slip, knit, pass. Slip, knit, pass. Imagine Harry and Hagrid on the tube, Hagrid busy with his knitting, murmuring softly to himself. If your grandmother has passed on the skills to you as well, and you’d like to try a hand at knitting one of Hagrid’s yellow tents (or a jumper), you can always order yarn in bulkand grab a seat on the subway. You will certainly look a lot less out of place, and you might even make yourself one of Mrs. Weasley’s Christmas jumpers. Or one for the closeted Ron.
Bear hugs and Harrys
To the young and dazed Harry, Hagrid may have seemed like a dream, blasting his way into his life with a letter filled with magic. To the orphaned wizard, Hagrid has surely been both parent and grand-parent, friend and accomplice. While always trying to keep Harry (and himself) out of mischief, our giant often seems a doting grandmother, who can never stay mad long enough to instill punishment. Besides, it is often Harry who is saving Hagrid’s neck.
One big heart
Rubeus Hagrid is essentially just one huge walking heart – rarely can reader and viewer alike find a kinder and more gentle-hearted soul in the world of Hogwarts. While wizards may come in all shapes and sizes, and may be hiding more than just a wand under their sleeves, Hagrid wears an immense beating knot of emotions on his own, and is ready to lose more than he has to save his friends. A lot of love can fit into such an ample frame, making Hagrid one of the best loved would-be grandma’s in the world of fiction.
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