Eucatastrophe in Harry Potter, Part 5

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix climaxes in a nearly epic battle in the heart of the Ministry of Magic. After Sirius, cursed by Bellatrix, falls through the mysterious veil, Harry realizes his godfather is dead. He chases after Bellatrix and, for the fifth time, meets Voldemort. Voldemort, infuriated by losing the prophecy, points his wand at Harry and speaks the killing curse. 

Harry doesn't move. He doesn't resist. His mind is blank with shock and grief. Life and death mean little to him. 

Then out of the blue something lands in front of him and deflects the curse. It's one of the statues from the Fountain of Magical Brethren, brought to life by Dumbledore. In a brilliant eucatastrophe, Harry once again survives Voldemort's attempt on his life. 

But the Dark Lord has something else in mind for Harry. Unable to defeat Dumbledore, Voldemort takes possession of Harry. Pain as he had never known embraces Harry. Every inch of him longs to scream, but Voldemort is controlling his voice, taunting Dumbledore, goading the Headmaster to kill Harry and Voldemort together. 

Harry wishes Dumbledore would just go ahead and do it. At least the pain would stop. “And I'll see Sirius again...” With this thought, Harry's heart overflows with love. 

Then Voldemort is gone. Just that quickly. Harry finds himself face down on the floor, unsure of what happened. What could have forced Voldemort to release his hold? Nothing short of a eucatastrophe. 

Dumbledore explains later that Voldemort could not remain inside someone so full of love as Harry is, and when that love surged within the boy, Voldemort had to let go. Harry's love rescues him. And that is the best possible kind of eucatastrophe...the miracle of a love that saves the day.

Eucatastrophe in Harry Potter, Part 4

Harry Potter never expects the Triwizard Cup to be a portkey in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He never expects to be instantly transported to a dark graveyard, to watch Cedric Diggory die beside him, to be tied to a tombstone, to witness Voldemort's reappearance in a new body, to see the Death Eaters grovel before their lord, or especially to duel with Voldemort one-on-one. 

There seems to be no way out. How can a fourteen-year-old boy defeat the most powerful dark wizard of all time? How can he even have a chance? Harry is sure he will die in that graveyard. He doesn't see any other way. But he vows to die fighting. He will not just give in and die crouching and cowering; he will die standing as a man, like his father did. 

So he faces Voldemort and shouts “Expelliarmus!” just as Voldemort screams out his killing curse. 

And eucatastrophe strikes again. 

The jets of light from the two wands meet, and the light unexpectedly, miraculously explodes into a golden web that lifts Harry and Voldemort into the air. Harry holds on for dear life, willing the beads of light back toward Voldemort. Unearthly music resounds, filling Harry with hope and strength. He watches, amazed, as each bead meets the tip of Voldemort's wand and forms into the shade of a person the Dark Lord killed. Cedric appears, then Frank Bryce and Bertha Jorkins, and finally Harry's own parents. The shades encourage the awestruck Harry, telling him to hold on and giving him instructions on how to escape. Finally, Harry, following his father's direction, breaks the web, summons the portkey, and with only a split second to spare, returns to Hogwarts. 

Only then can Harry, and readers along with him, catch his breath. 

The story is not quite over, of course, and Harry is not yet safe, but by another sudden joyous turn, by a miraculous grace, he is still alive. He has once again escaped from Voldemort and once again experienced the wonder of eucatastrophe.

Eucatastrophe in Harry Potter, Part 3

The Dementors hover around Harry, Hermione, and Sirius, eager to draw even closer, close enough to suck out the souls of their helpless victims. And there is nothing anyone can do...or so it seems. 

Then a eucatastrophe bursts out of nowhere in the form of a large, shining animal that comes galloping across the lake. It charges down the Dementors, scattering them in all directions, circling protectively around Harry, Hermione, and Sirius until the last of the soul-sucking fiends flies off into the distance. Harry is so sick and faint that he doesn't even know what his rescuer is. He sees it glide back across the lake toward someone who seems quite familiar. Then he drifts into blackness. 

It isn't until Harry and Hermione go back in time that Harry realizes the true nature of the primary eucatastrophe, the sudden, unexpected, spectacular miracle, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. His radiant protector is none other than his own Patronus, cast at just the perfect time, at the moment of realization, to save his own life and the lives of his friends. 

But the story contains yet another eucatastrophe before its end, at least from the perspective of one of the characters. Locked high up in Hogwarts, Sirius awaits his second encounter with a Dementor's kiss. He has no hope of escaping this time. Then he hears an unexpected tap on the window. Amazed, he looks up to see not a Dementor but Harry and Hermione hovering on Buckbeak! Hope has arrived in the darkest of moments. Hermione opens the window; Sirius squeezes through; and up they fly to the castle's highest tower. Once again, almost miraculously, Sirius Black has escaped the clutches of the Dementors, and as he soars off on Buckbeak, he must be relishing both his freedom and the eucatastrophe that gave him his happy ending.

Eucatastrophe in Harry Potter, Part 2

Harry Potter's prospects seem more dismal than ever as we progress through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Horrible things are happening at Hogwarts. As the end of the story approaches, four students, a cat, and a ghost have been petrified by a mysterious monster. One of those students, to Harry and Ron's horror, is Hermione. The Chamber of Secrets has definitely been opened; Dumbledore has been suspended; Hogwarts might be closed; the Heir of Slytherin is on the loose; and some people even think Harry is the Heir!

The two non-petrified members of the trio have no idea what to do. Then, on a rather impromptu visit to the petrified Hermione, Harry and Ron experience a eucatastrophe. It begins simply enough. Harry sees that Hermione is clutching something in her hand. He works the paper loose and realizes...Hermione has discovered the answer to a major part of the mystery. The paper is a page from a library book...a page that describes the dreadful basilisk, the monster, Hermione has deduced, kept in the Chamber of Secrets. Just below the description of the basilisk (which lines up perfectly with everything that has been happening at Hogwarts), Hermione has written “Pipes.” Harry and Ron now know exactly what they are facing and how the monster has been traveling around the castle. 

At first glance, this might not seem like much of a eucatastrophe. After all, finding a book page in someone's hand isn't all that dramatic. Yet it is a sudden turn in the story, almost miraculous really. Harry and Ron hadn't had any intention of visiting Hermione at all. They only do so when they are caught by Professor McGonagall, and Harry invents an excuse on the spot. Then, suddenly, a large part of the mysterious is cleared up, thanks to Hermione's research (as usual), and a light begins to appear. The resolution of the story has not yet come, of course, but this small eucatastrophe, the unexpected pleasure of an answer, reveals that it is on its way. 

Then disaster strikes. Ginny Weasley is taken by the Heir into the heart of the Chamber of Secrets. Harry and Ron don't even think twice about going after her, but again their future looks bleak when a cave in leaves Harry to go into the Chamber alone. He confronts the real Heir, the memory of Tom Riddle (the future Voldemort), who has been growing stronger off of Ginny's emotions all year. As Riddle becomes more and more distinct, Harry nearly despairs of saving the unconscious Ginny. Riddle brags, claiming to be the greatest sorcerer in the world. But Harry calmly tells him that he's not, and then something entirely unexpected occurs. 

In the midst of haunting music, Fawkes arrives. Dumbledore's phoenix drops the school Sorting Hat into Harry's lap and perches calmly on his shoulder. Neither Harry nor Riddle understands the nature of this eucatastrophe, or rather the beginning of this eucatastrophe. Riddle, in fact, scorns the apparently useless bird and hat. Until... 

Fawkes claws out the eyes of the basilisk. Gryffindor's sword falls out of the Sort Hat (right onto Harry's head), and Harry uses it to kill the basilisk. We readers gasp in awe, delight, and relief, but then we realize that Harry has been wounded by the basilisk's tooth and its poison is spreading through his veins. Riddle laughs. But then another wonder...Fawkes lands beside Harry and begins to cry. His tears fall into Harry's wound, soothing it, closing it, drawing the poison from it. Phoenix tears are healing tears. The series of eucatastrophes continues. Finally, in a moment of inspiration, Harry plunges a basilisk tooth into the Riddle's diary. Ink pours out, and Riddle fades away. The deed is done. Harry (and his readers) breathes a huge sigh of relief, amazed that he has survived, thanks to the sudden, joyous, miraculous turn that is eucatastrophe.

Eucatastrophe in Harry Potter, Part 1

Eucatastrophe. Good catastrophe. According to J.R.R. Tolkien, eucatastrophe is “the joy of the happy ending...the sudden joyous 'turn'...a sudden and miraculous grace...never to be counted on to recur” (1). A genuine eucatastrophe nearly takes the reader's breath away with its beauty and delight. It shocks and charms, awes and enchants, amazes and elates. It is the unexpected pleasure that comes at the end of a long, hard road, the deep satisfaction that everything turns out well in the end even though everything seemed black and hopeless. 

The Harry Potter stories are filled with eucatastrophes. Each novel features at least one, if not several, of these stunning turns of plot that bring pure delight to readers. This series of posts will examine the eucatastrophes of the Wizarding World and draw a few conclusions about their deeper meanings. 

Harry's prospects seem rather bleak toward the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Dumbledore has gone off to the Ministry, leaving Harry, Ron, and Hermione to go through the trapdoor and seek the Sorcerer's Stone before their enemy (whom they believe is Snape) seizes it for Voldemort. The trio progresses through each challenge until Harry must go on by himself. Then, to his shock, he faces not Snape but Quirrell and Voldemort himself. As Harry struggles against the ropes that bind him, something dawns on him. He realizes that since he does not want to actually use the Stone but only find it, if he looks into the Mirror of Erised, he will see where the stone is hidden. Voldemort also catches on and tells Quirrell to use Harry. 

Harry stands before the Mirror, small and scared, and suddenly experiences a eucatastrophe. The Sorcerer's Stone drops into his pocket. It is completely unexpected and quite satisfying. Harry now possesses the prize that Quirrell and Voldemort haven't been able to grasp...and only because his intentions are pure. 

But Harry is not out of the woods yet. He still has to escape. He defies Voldemort and makes a dash for the door, but Quirrell grabs hold of his wrist. Then another eucatastrophe occurs. Quirrell can't hold onto Harry. His hands burn and blister at the mere touch of Harry's skin. Harry uses this phenomenon, which he doesn't understand, to his advantage, but soon he collapses under the strain. Just before he passes out, however, he catches a note of a third eucatastrophe: someone calling his name. 

Neither Harry or readers understand what has happened until Harry wakes up. Dumbledore had returned...suddenly, unexpectedly, seemingly out of nowhere. He pulled Quirrell off of Harry just in time. Harry is almost miraculously safe. 

Dumbledore then proceeds to explain the second eucatastrophe. Quirrell couldn't touch Harry without experiencing great pain because of the strength and power of Lily Potter's sacrificial love. That love is, Dumbledore tells Harry, “in your very skin,” and it is the force behind one of the eucatastrophes that save Harry at the end of his first wizarding adventure.

(1) In “On Fairy-Stories” (The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays, page 153)