Hagrid's Mysterious Past

[devika261 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 26175

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., meboriqua at a... wrote:
> Hey Everyone -
> 
> I was just reading EW (found the last copy at the supermarket and 
got 
> very excited).  Robbie Coltrane said in an interview that he had 
> talked to JKR about Hagrid.  She "told him, and even disclosed some 
> secrets that will be revealed in future novels".  Hmmm - I thought 
the 
> big shocker was that Hagrid was half-giant and I am assuming that 
> we'll meet Fridwulfa, his giant mommy in OoP.  Now I have the 
feeling 
> that JKR is hiding more about Hagrid than that.
> 
> Does anyone have any speculations about what secrets Hagrid may 
> harbor?  We've discussed Snape's past a gazillion times (but I like 
> it, Amanda!).  What about Hagrid?  I have no idea.
> 
> --jenny from ravenclaw 
> 
> Fudge is the icing on my cake ******************************


Oooh, I like this question!  We DO still have new topics to discuss!  
(I've only been in this group since May, but this seems new to me, 
anyway).  
I don't have the books with me here, but going by what I remember, I 
don't think there has been that much discussion or foreshadowing 
regarding giants in general.  We know that Fridwulfa is Hagrid's 
mother (at least, Rita Skeeter said so), and we know that giants are 
supposed to be vicious and just "not very nice," according to Ron in 
GoF.  I also assume (although that could be dangerous) that Hagrid's 
and Madam Maxime's mission at the end of GoF had something to do with 
the giant community, perhaps an attempt to persuade them to ally 
themselves with Dumbledore.  However, I'm not sure how any of this 
directly pertains to a secret in Hagrid's past.  I'd be interested to 
hear anyone else's ideas, though.

What I was thinking was that perhaps Hagrid's secret has something to 
do with Voldemort directly. Hagrid knew Voldemort when he was still 
Tom Riddle.  He probably looked up to Tom, as a prefect, and he 
trusted him with the secret of Aragog.  Perhaps Hagrid even thought of 
Tom Riddle as a friend.  It makes me wonder if Voldemort would have 
tried to get Hagrid to join him when he was rising to power.  If the 
giants were joining Voldemort's side, Hagrid might have been tempted 
to do so as well.  Voldemort probably appealed to those who were 
shunned by ordinary wizarding society, such as werewolves, vampires, 
and of course giants.  Hagrid, being a half-giant who had been 
expelled from Hogwarts, may also have fallen into this category.  

I'm not sure if anyone knew that Voldemort had once been Tom Riddle.  
IIRC, Dumbledore said that when Riddle resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, 
he had undergone so many magical transformations that he was 
unrecognizable as the person he had once been at Hogwarts.  However, 
even if Hagrid didn't recognize Tom Riddle in Voldemort, Voldemort 
still knew Hagrid.  Voldemort might have realized that Hagrid's 
affinity for dangerous creatures could have made him a useful 
follower.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.  Maybe the fact that Hagrid and Tom 
Riddle were schoolmates has more meaning than we thought after CoS...

Again, I really like this question.  I hope other people have their 
own thoughts to add!

Devika :)