Harry Potter Revealed

9. The Order Of the Phoenix unmasked
Like a lot of things in Harry Potter, there appears to be more to the Order of the Phoenix than first meets the eye! Why for example is it an “Order” rather than a society / association / group / etc? The answer lies in the Arthurian legends which form the core inspiration for J. K. Rowling’s plot. Rowling writes nothing at random (ok, with the exception of Mark Evans) and an ‘order’ is a term for a group of knights. This particular order is the Order of the Phoenix, and the phoenix, as we know, is a (red and gold!) bird which dies by spontaneous combustion and is born again (resurrected, one might almost say) from the ashes. Yet again we come face to face in Harry Potter with the motifs of life and death, but more than this, the idea of rebirth implied by the Order’s name leads us to suspect that there is another, deeper motivation behind the Order’s existence than is yet fully apparent in the story. We have already predicted that Harry will have to pass beyond death by some means or other, and that Godric Gryffindor will return from the dead to help the fight against Voldemort. (We favour this interpretation over the idea that Harry will merely seek his advice in the underworld, because, as we argued in our previous post, the painting shows Godric Gryffindor fighting alongside Percy and Harry.) We think that the Order is a chivalric or knightly one which may have been in existence for a very long time – maybe even ever since the time of Godric Gryffindor himself – and that it exists primarily to serve Godric Gryffindor, his beliefs and his heirs. This places the fight against Voldemort in the context of a long history of struggle, whilst not diminishing its importance as potentially the most significant.

Other evidence also points to an interpretation which likens the Order to a chivalric order of knights. We have already demonstrated, in the form of Percy Weasley, the existence of a character equivalent to the Perceval of Arthurian legend, but at least one further character may be likened to a member of the Round Table: Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth.

What first got us thinking about Aberforth was his name. ‘Forth’ makes you think of phrases like ‘go forth’, ‘venture forth’ and so on. ‘Aberr’ is an old verb meaning ‘go astray’ or ‘wander off’. So Aberforth’s name perfectly describes the man as we know him: he used to be an active member of the Order, whereas now (apparently) he is not, and most people seem not to know where he is. All we have been told about him is that he is Dumbledore’s brother, that he is an odd bloke, and that he was accused of performing inappropriate charms on a goat! Additional clues left by the author provide us with information as to his current whereabouts: he is barkeeper at the Hog’s Head in Hogsmead. We get the impression that he is also the owner of the premises, and we think he has probably been so for quite some time – probably since the last time that the Order was active. He doesn’t seem to be in hiding as such – at least, not from his brother, since Albus Dumbledore uses the Hog’s Head to interview Professor Trelawney. Dumbledore says that it was Trelawney who chose the location, but we think this is a cover story Aberforth appears to have stepped back from a visible role in the Order of the Phoenix at around the same time as the allegations against him surfaced. Similarly, another of the knights of the Round Table, Lancelot, is the subject of rumours about himself and Guinevere, who is King Arthur’s wife. Lancelot feels his honour to have been besmirched and leaves Arthur’s court, renouncing the life of a knight. However, he sees reason at the last and takes up his sword again to fight with Arthur in the final battle. We see a Lancelot in Aberforth (and think it is a little joke on the part of J. K. Rowling that “Guinevere” and “goat” both begin with “g”!) and expect that Aberforth, too, will return to the fray on the side of good in the final reckoning.

So that’s it pre-Book 6 ! In a day or so we will all know how accurate our predictions have been. We will all have much more to go on ahead of the publication of Book 7 and plenty of time for more theorising. Hopefully, Book 6 will enable us to work out how exactly the return of Godric Gryffindor will help Harry to finally vanquish Lord Voldemort

We hope that you liked our Blog and that it adds to your enjoyment of Books 6 & 7.

Watch this space for our retrospective on our theories once we have had the opportunity to read Book 6. Also look out from Nahs & Nai’s Book 7 (Pillar of Storgé) blog.