Hagrid's changes

[Kimberly]

No: HPFGUIDX 12429

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Monika Zaboklicka" 
<monika.zaboklicka at c...> wrote:
> 
> 
> > On Fri, 16 February 2001, "Jeralyn" wrote:
> >And it totally struck me how, in the first book, Hagrid was much 
more
> assertive than in the later books.  The argument against this was 
that Harry
> didn't *know* Hagrid yet, and that's the way he saw him.  But I'm 
not so
> sure.  Take some of these examples:
> >
> > "Budge up, yeh great lump."
> > "Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune."
> <snip>
> 
Monika wrote:
> I' ve got a horrible feeling that Hagrid wouldn't be so rude if the 
Dursleys
> were wizards. 

No no no no no (I'm covering my ears and humming the ABCs so as not to 
hear such a thing)!
To paraphrase Gred and Forge - he didn't yell at them because they 
were muggles - he yelled at them because they were great, bullying 
gits!  

>Sure, he was furious for what they did to Harry, and 
>what
> Vernon told about Dumbledore, but - as Jeralyn said - we don't see 
>Hagrid in
> a state like this again.

Any time anyone says anything against Dumbledore, Hagrid at least 
approaches this level of ferocity.  I wish I had the books handy to 
back me up, but I'm sure of it, and your examples below show it to 
some extent.


> - in CoS, Hagrid stormed Dumbledore's office shouting that Harry 
couldn't
> had attacked Justin and Nick, and later told Lucius Malfoy to leave 
his hut
> (I still can't decide if he was really more stupid than brave then)
> - in GoF, he actually attacked Karakoff and called him some bad 
names and
> didn't even listen to Dumbledore at first (surprise, surprise)!
> 
> >He's so much more mild - heck, he's rather a marshmallow quite 
often on the
> verge of tears.
> 
> That's right - with some reservations - I believe he *was* crying 
after
> Norbert in PS/SS, wasn't he?

He's nothing if not an old softy - Hagrid's a giant teddybear most of 
the time, and he *does* go misty fairly often.  I don't think that 
rules out that he can also be rather fierce when he's pushed far 
enough.  

> I'm so much afraid that it was Dursleys' being Muggle that made all 
that
> difference. On the other hand, he did attack Headmaster of 
Durmstrang - but
> then our dear Igor is not what I can call a hero, and perhaps 
Dumbledore's
> presence made some difference. I don't know. But I don't like that 
idea.
> 

I just think it takes a lot to provoke Hagrid.  Growing up a 
half-giant, if he went into a rage every time he got upset, he'd have 
squashed all the other kids without even realizing.  He has to have 
some control over his anger.  I'd say there are very few things that 
really enrage Hagrid, and in every case they involve his desire to 
protect or defend those he really cares about.  As far as I can tell, 
Dumbledore and Harry are the two he has that bond with more than 
anyone else.  We know more or less why with Dumbledore, but with 
Harry, the reason why I think is significant to why you see his 
anger in PS/SS so strongly.  
-Hagrid knew James and Lily fairly well, and by all accounts was very 
fond of them.
-Hagrid was, himself, the one who rescued Harry as a baby from the 
wreckage of his family home, and presumably saw the devastation, and 
the bodies of his friends and the child's parents.  He had already 
grown attached to Harry by the time they had to give him up to the 
Dursleys.
-They left Harry in the Dursleys care, trusting them with this child 
who was not only very important to their world, but was also special 
to him personally.  
-Hagrid *knows* that Dumbledore left a letter explaining the 
circumstances and instructing them what to tell Harry as he gets 
older.

Flash forward to the hut on the rock, and consider that Hagrid has 
been trying to get the letter to Harry for days.  He has sent them 
every which way, even rolled up inside of the eggs, and has tracked 
the Dursleys all over creation.  He finally comes face-to-face with 
them by crossing a chunk of sea in a storm, and finds out that they 
have a. been mistreating Harry, b. been keeping the truth from him and 
c. belittled Harry's parents and his nature to him his whole life.  
Add to that the fact that they consider Harry and Hagrid both to be 
basically monsters, that Vernon's holding a gun on him (which isn't 
likely to be any real danger to Hagrid, but can't be taken as a 
friendly gesture), that they insist Harry can't go to Hogwarts, and 
that they insult the memory of Harry's parents, the wizarding world in 
general and Albus Dumbledore in particular right there to Hagrid's 
face, and I don't think it's unreasonable for this to be the scene 
where Hagrid is more angry and menacing than any other in the books so 
far.

I do accept that Hagrid might have been a little less casually 
insulting if he thought Dursley posed any threat to him (i.e. had 
magical powers, as physically who could be a threat to Hagrid?), but I 
don't think it's because he's a muggle-bigot.  At least not in my 
happy little head, where Hagrid may make dangerous mistakes, but his 
heart is worth it's considerable weight in gold.

Kimberly,
Defender of half-giants since (err.. what time is it?)