Exclusive interview with Harry Potter Saviour of the World Wizard and his friends.
What secrets will they reveal to us? First interview for more than seven years now!
Many years have passed since the end of the War, and our great hero and his teammates (and friends) are now close to their 30th birthday. After many invitations, and as many refusals, they finally gave us an interview for the ten years since the end of the Great War. We welcomed in our offices, at their request, Harry Potter and his acolytes, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginevra Weasley and Neville Longbottom. As well as his partner Draco Malfoy and his friends Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini. And as a special guest: Severus Snape. (Who, according to him, didn’t want to be here today...) There are a lot of questions we would have liked to ask. However, many were rejected, as for the others, we didn’t have time to mention them in the first interview. But, Ladies and Gentlemen, we will gladly take what has been given to us.
I now propose that we begin this long-awaited interview. For layout reasons, nothing is in the order. (Harry Potter’s own recommendation. How could we refuse?) Sit back and enjoy.
The editor.
For Harry: That's a question that a lot of people have wanted to ask you, Harry. How does it feel to know that you have such a big prophecy in your name when you were only eleven years old at the time?
Harry: Honestly? Not much, really. I think at eleven I didn't fully realize what I was being asked to do. I had lived my whole life with Muggles. I didn't know anything about the world of wizards. I was always marvelling at all the things that I saw for the first time in my life that were completely normal to other people. So when I was told what I had to do, and why I was so famous in a world I didn't know, I think it went right over my head. It took me a long time to figure out what was going on and how it affected me. In the beginning, all the problems at Hogwarts and where I was at the center with my friends were just coincidence to me. I still think today that I was far too young for adults I thought were responsible to hand over a responsibility that I wasn't ready to take on. That I was never ready to take!
For Harry: And when you realized what you were being asked to do, how did you feel?
Harry: Betrayed? Angry? Lost and confused? All that at the same time, I think. Those aren't really moments I like to dwell on. But a lot of secrets have been kept, and a lot of things have been kept from me, and to this day, I still haven't been able to forget and forgive. I have a very big grudge against some people who have been very important to me. I have, of course, taken my responsibilities. Responsibilities that were given to me when I had asked for absolutely nothing, if I may add, but I took them all the same. Once the war was over, it took me a long time before I tried to put the past behind me and move on. I'm still not sure if I've done that yet.
For Ronald and Hermione: Is it difficult to be best friends with the savior of the Wizard World? Or a heavy responsibility to bear?
Hermione: Yes and no. We are not friends with Harry because of his title, fame, or money. And even less because of what he had to go through and do. We are friends with him because we love the person he is. The way he's dealt with all of this. Certainly there have been mistakes that were made. Ups and downs, but as with all friendships, we talked about it and worked it out.
Ron: Sometimes we thought our friendship was going to end. It was honestly very difficult, yes. Heavy to bear? I would say yes, in some cases. We were children at the beginning and teenagers at the end. Of course, there were disagreements and misunderstandings. Hermione, for example, took a very long time to understand that what we see or read in books was not always exactly what was happening in reality. Sometimes even with wounds and screams. It was no picnic.
Hermione: Exactly, as Ron says! Sometimes it's hard to question what you thought was true. Or that we've heard all our lives in Ron's case, and read in books in my case. It took Ron many years before he realized that his jealousy was very misplaced. It created sparks. But we came out of it much stronger than we were and our friendship is stronger and more solid than it ever was before.
For Ronald and Hermione: Which brings me to my next question, do you all regret what you experienced together?
Ron: No. Absolutely not. What if we had to do it all over again? I would do it without hesitation. Despite the daily fear, the arguments and jealousy of the early years, I would do it all over again without hesitation. They are the best thing that ever happened to me, and honestly, I don't know where I would be today if I hadn't met them.
Hermione: Like Ron, I don't regret anything. Oh, there were days when I did regret a few moments. But at that time there were a lot of regrets, for a lot of people. Eventually it passes. Fear takes over, and that was normal at the time. And now? Like Ron, I know that if someone asked me if I was ready to do it all over again, I would do it without hesitation. Because it's meant so much to all of us!
For Draco: You're currently in a relationship with Harry Potter, hero of the Wizard's World, and have been for a few years now. Did you think about ten years ago (while you were all still at Hogwarts) that you would be where you are today?
Draco: No. Plain and simple, no. I even think that if someone had had the audacity to even mention that I might have ended up with Harry Potter while I was still at Hogwarts, I might have, maybe, punched him in the face. Do it the Muggle way. Which is saying a lot! But, in hindsight and long conversations with Harry, I realized that many of the years I spent at Hogwarts were years of total denial. Whether it was my feelings towards Harry or what came out of my mouth every day. Much of what I did, said and how I behaved was denial caused mainly by fear.
Harry: And his oversized ego.
Draco: And my oversized e— Potter, go back to where you belong and let me answer my questions in peace! Anyway, the point is, no. I had absolutely no expectation that I would be here today. A lot of people didn't think I'd end up here today, myself included.
For Harry: Is your life today... Complicated? You are without a doubt one of the most famous people of our time. However, you are also one of the most mysterious people... So that raises a lot of questions.
Harry: I think my life will always be complicated. Honestly, there's not a moment when it hasn't been. But you learn to deal with it...
Hermione: Harry. I think he was asking you if it's more complicated now than it was before. In the sense that: Do you still feel that way.
Harry: Oh. No. Yes? Depends on the moment, I'd say. And I wouldn't say mysterious, just private? My life has been spread out everywhere since I was born, even when I didn't know about it. The first time I set foot in the world of wizards, I saw that there were biographies of my life! With passages that I wasn't even aware of having lived.
Ron: I confirm. There were at least three of them in my house when I was a kid!
Harry: When the war was over, and I was finally able to breathe a little bit, I took steps to keep my private life, private. It didn't really work at first, of course. Even today there are still people who think that I owe them something, and that it's just my duty to put my life before them and be accountable to them. But with age, and experience, I've learned to put things in perspective and only show what I want to show, not thinking that I have to show it. Afterwards, I can actually understand why people may think I am "mysterious" even if I myself don't think so.
Hermione : Still, you have to admit that you are a private person, and mysterious in many ways, Harry. I mean, I think that's normal, don't get me wrong! But even for us, his closest friends, there are some things we don't know about him. And we'll certainly never know. And it's only logical for him, I would do exactly the same thing in his place!
To Pansy and Blaise: What can you tell us about your life at Hogwarts?
Pansy: There's a lot we could say about our life there. We spent so many years there. Learning and fighting. I think a lot of people our age could write a book about everything we've lived there. Good or bad.
Blaise: Indeed. I would have thought you'd want to know more about our lives now... But so be it. Hogwarts was... Weird, for a lot of us. We didn't know what we were up against, and yet we loved being there. It was our home. There are so many memories attached to it!
Pansy: Draco's attraction to Harry in the form of hatred, which is very clichéd, is part of it too.
Hermione: Oh, same with Harry! He followed him around all day long for months, a year—
Harry: Hermione!
Draco: Harry?
ALL RIGHT, WE'LL STOP FOR THAT QUESTION. OUR GUESTS HAVE GONE OFF TO DEBATE, SO WE'VE DECIDED TO MOVE ON BEFORE THINGS GET OUT OF HAND. (THEY MAY BE FRIENDS NOW, BUT I THINK THE RIVALRY THAT BOUND THEM AT HOGWARTS IS STILL THERE. SOMEWHERE...)
For everyone: What's your best memory of Hogwarts?
Harry: Going there?
Hermione: No, Harry. I think he meant aside from that. Once you've been there, what's your best memory?
Harry: Coming out alive?
Draco: ... That might work for you. But I don't think that's the answer they're looking for, Harry.
Harry: ... Seriously. There are a lot of memories I cherish from my time at Hogwarts. Some I want to keep secret, some I don't. I'd say the leaving the Muggle I lived with until I was 11 years old full-time. Meeting Ron and Hermione. And, to a certain extent, to have met Draco, although I wish it could have been different. The moments I was able to spend between fighting for my life and fighting for my friends' lives. Really a lot of memories, and I consider them all to be my best memories, because without them, I wouldn't be where I am today.
Hermione: Like Harry said. Memories of the quiet times at Hogwarts are priceless. I know what I would have done if I hadn't received my letter to Hogwarts, but I don't think it would have been the same. Almost every moment with Ron and Harry is one of my best memories.
Ron : Meeting Harry. Meeting the woman of my life as Hermione, even though it took a long time to realize it. (No, actually I understand it, Hermione had understood it a long time ago...) and looking back, I would say that even the arguments and insults exchanged with Malfoy and his friends are good memories now. Because at that time, we were all just teenagers at school with rivalries and people we didn't like (or liked too much, in the case of some.) And not teenagers who had to fight every day or so for their lives.
Draco: I'd like to say that our days at Hogwarts have been the most glorious for me. I was respected and people were afraid of me. (Mainly because of my father, but at the time it didn't matter to me.) Then from the fifth year on, Hogwarts became my haven. Where I could hide and stop, more or less, pretending. I don't know if I have "better" memories there. But I do know that this castle was and will remain my second home.
Blaise: Watching Draco struggle with his attraction to Harry Potter.
Pansy: And seeing him pretend that he wasn't affected by the rejection of his friendship request.
Draco: ... We're all serious and sentimental. Then the two people I call my best friends turn on me. I feel seriously attacked right now...
Ron: Oh, Harry was like that too. (Except for the rejection of the friendship. Because he's the one who rejected it, so it doesn't matter...)
Harry: Next question before I find myself without best friends!
To Severus Snape: Everyone knows you didn't have the best relationship with Harry Potter during most of his time at Hogwarts. But now? And how do you feel about his relationship with your godson, Draco Malfoy?
Severus: Harry Potter is and always will be a shameless kid. And without brains. Most of the time -
Harry: Ooooh, Sev you flatter me!
Severus: BUT in hindsight, I could see that he wasn't totally his father's son. And in a way, I respect him a lot since the war. As for his relationship with Draco? I'd rather not think about that.
Draco: But Uncle Sev, we decided, with Harry, to name our first child Severus!
Severus: Please, anything but that!
Harry: No. It's decided. And you will be the godfather too. Oh, and before I forget, you don't have a say in this!
Severus: I need a drink.
For Neville: We don't talk about you enough, I think, even though you played a crucial role during the war. Especially at the end. How do you feel about that?
Neville: Honestly? Not very much. The end of the war was ten years ago now, and still today I have moments where I don't think everything that happened was real. But I did what I had to do. I didn't think about it and I went for it, because that's what was going to help my friends. My second family. Even though I was scared. I developed a whole new respect for Harry. And Hermione. And Ron, too.
For Neville: If you had to do it all over again, would you do it?
Neville: Without hesitating for a second. Because fear, being totally petrified and terrified doesn't take away from the fact that saving lives is the most important thing. Especially in times of war.
Draco: And that, ladies and gentlemen the Wizards, is a true Gryffindor, through and through. Learn from it, Harry!
Harry: Hey! I thought we were talking about Nev and his heroics during the war. Not about me and the fact that I'm only 55% lion!
Draco: My bad!
For Ginny: For a long time, a lot of people believed in your relationship with Harry. The dream couple, and the most famous among wizards. And according to some of our sources, you believed in it too. How did you experience his relationship with Draco Malfoy ?
Ginny: It was a shock. I'm not going to lie. And at the time, I was just a child. A child. And I thought all was owe to me. His relationship with Malfoy was one of the worst moments of my life. Not in the sense that I was heartbroken, because, let's be honest for two minutes, I wasn't really in love with Harry, but with his image and what he stood for. No, it was one of the worst moments of my life because of the way I reacted to the news.
For Ginny: And how did you react?
Ginny: Badly. I don't think I've ever yelled so much and insulted so many people in my life. I really believed that Malfoy, or Draco, had taken something that belonged to me. And it took me a long time to realize that Harry was his own man, and that he could make his own decisions. That he didn't fall in love with Draco just to piss me off! And it really almost got out of hand... Even Ron, who's my brother, sided with Harry while he still hated Draco more than anything. My family was no longer on my side and I was left alone, and it took almost two years before I realized that it was all ridiculous. And it took even longer before I was able to make amends and we found some semblance of friendship again. But everything's better now. Harry's happy with Draco. And I'm happy with my life. He's like another big brother to me.
For everyone: What are your biggest regrets to date?
Draco: Oh my God, there are so many. And some that aren't even mine! I could say the side my father took during the war, but it's not mine to regret that (even though it took years before I understood it...) I could say how I behaved at Hogwarts, but honestly, I wouldn't be with Harry right now if it hadn't been like that.... I'd say it was the fear I felt as a teenager, with the relationship my father had with the Dark Lord, and the fact that he almost indoctrinated me.
Pansy: I have a lot of regrets, but I'd say the biggest one was turning Harry in to The One Whose Name Shouldn't Be Used. Because Harry is a great person, and even with the fear, no one should have done that.
Blaise: I like to tell myself I live without regret.
Ron: ... The way I behaved towards Harry and Hermione at the end of the war. It's a regret that I think will never leave me.
Hermione: A lot of things I did and thought about at Hogwarts. Even though at the time I thought I was doing the right thing.
Harry: All the people I brought with me during the war. All the people who were wounded and killed because of me. Even though, it wasn't exactly my fault, it was the war. But I think I would always feel a little guilty that I'm still here, and that other people are not and never will be.
For everyone: Before you leave us and finish this interview, do you have anything to say, an anecdote?
Harry: Live as much as possible and cherish your loved ones!
Ron: Respect others and don't be jealous of something that others haven't chosen and sometimes don't even want.
Hermione: Learn as much as you can, you never know when it might save your life!
Blaise: Respect everyone and especially the peace that so many people have recovered for you, sometimes at the risk of their lives.
Pansy: Always think before you act. It can save you a lot of regret and guilt.
Draco: If you think hair gel is your saviour, stop. In a few years you'll be crying in front of so much ridicule and humiliation!
And it’s the end of this long-awaited interview! I know you don’t have the answer to all you questions, and interviews with Harry Potter and co are extremely rare. But don’t worry, they promised to come back! Together or not. (Not all the time either, and always quite rarely, but let’s take what they give us!) So if you have any questions don’t hesitate to send them to us at the Daily Prophet, we’ll pass them on, and who knows... Maybe you’ll get your answers?
See you soon for a next issu of « Daily Prophet »,
Your reporter: Kevin Lang.