Early Friday afternoon, as most of Britain's witches and wizards were ignorantly slaving away at whatever place they call work, the world changed. It wasn't one of those explosive changes where the results can be clearly measured. It wasn't even unexpected. But it certainly has many people concerned.
At a little after 2, Harry Potter officially became a Quidditch player. For the first time in his short 19 years of life, the Boy Who Lived (then defeated He-Who-Need-Not-Be-Named-Anymore, then captured all the Dark Lord's most dangerous supporters) does not call standing between the forces of Darkness and the rest of the magical community his first priority.
Yet even now, as he prepares to begin his new life, our reluctant national hero is concerned with allaying the worries of his fellow magi. Before he made his promise to the Puddlemere United Quidditch Club on Friday, Harry Potter gave his solemn vow to the rest of us:
"In the last week, a number of people have approached me to say how afraid they are now that I am no longer in the Ministry's service. I want to say first that these fears are groundless. The Aurors remain a strong unit, fully capable of meeting any foreseeable threat. They have many brilliant witches and wizards with far more skill and experience at fighting Dark magic than I could ever possess and an excellent leader in Mr. (Kingsley) Shacklebolt. They have my complete trust.
"That said, I remain firmly committed to the struggle against evil. If I encounter Dark magic anywhere in my life, I will do whatever it takes to make certain that it is completely and properly dealt with. And, if Darkness ever rises to pose a threat to our way of life, I will immediately answer the call to help defend our society. I couldn't do anything else. It is my … it is our duty."
Potter's message is clear, and so is its target. The soldier-turned-Seeker is making sure all the remaining Dark wizards in Britain knows that he has no plans to stand aside if they attempt anything too brash. It's an important statement for him to make.
No matter how skilled the remaining members of the Auror Division are and regardless of what the Minister's office has said to the contrary, Dark magic continues to be a very serious threat to this nation. It has been over 300 years since Britain has gone much more than two decades without a new Dark lord, and the power vacuum left by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's fall offers every member of the Dark Side the opportunity to gain distinction, and with it power, through audacity.
"Dark wizards are quite often at their most dangerous when it appears they are on the decline, as now seems to be the case. History has given us many excellent examples of this…," Hogwarts History of Magic Professor Benedict Binns said before launching into a long dissertation about the Black Magic Wars of the 1280's.
That is particularly worrisome when considering just how vulnerable today's magical community appears to a resurgence of Darkness. The Ministry is deeply split between the supporters and opponents of bumbling Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, making the sitting government more committed to solidifying its control than protecting its subjects. And the Boy Who Lived, the only person who was able to check the rise of the late Dark Lord and his successors, is off to play Quidditch after being forced to resign from the Auror Division. It's not surprising many are afraid.
"Of course I think there will be more trouble from black magic," Enid Longbottom, 82, declared when questioned during her Friday shopping in Hogsmeade. "You-Know-Who came back from the dead, didn't he? The Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley after everyone said the war was over, didn't they? And that's just in the last four years. It pains me too much to think of the terrible things that happened further back."
"I want to believe the fighting is finally over, but I just can't," added D.J. Prod. "Without Harry Potter to stop them, I'm sure the Dark Side will try to take over again sometime soon."
Re-enter the Boy Who Lived and his warning.
Coming from anyone else, such a message would be laughable, but Potter's history of conquering Dark wizards is enough to make his words credible. With Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange already languishing in Azkaban, the rest of the late Dark Lord's surviving followers are sure to be wary of disregarding such a formidable opponent, no matter how he makes his living.
Are Potter's words alone enough to guarantee our security? Certainly not. He did not provide details of how he plans to deal with any possible threats and he did not respond to the Daily Prophet's owls requesting an interview on the subject. Even the Boy Who Lived's agents could provide no specifics about their client's intensions.
"We only work with Harry with Quidditch and a few other business ventures," said George Weasley.
"You'll have to talk to him yourself about all that hero stuff," added his twin brother, Fred Weasley.
But details aside, Friday's statement should do much to make Britain's witches and wizards feel safer. Harry Potter has always been truthful and honourable on the rare occasions he has spoken publicly. He has never given us any reason to doubt his actions or his motives. If the Boy Who Lived says he will fight to defend our community, surely he will.
We all hope the last of the Death Eaters will heed the warning and not start another wave of violence. If they don't, we can all rest easier knowing our superhero Seeker will be there to resist them.
And after everything he's done already, who could possibly question that Harry Potter will succeed if he is called upon again? The world might have changed, but not that much.