Dear Harry: You Shouldn’t Have Become an Auror
It has been three years since the Battle of Hogwarts. Ron is working at the joke shop; Neville has accepted a professorship at Hogwarts. But Harry, unlike his two friends, is still an Auror. I write to him to let him know why I think this is the wrong path for him to take.
Dear Harry,
I write mainly because I have been thinking about you frequently of late. I have known you very well for quite a long time. I grew up with you and I can count myself among those privileged enough to accompany you in your efforts to defeat Lord Voldemort. It is because I know you so well and because you are so important to me that I feel compelled to say the following to you, though you may not like to hear it. Harry, you should not have become an Auror. Please, do not continue down that path any longer.
I can understand what motivated you to join the Aurors in the first place. Though Voldemort had fallen, his influence had not disappeared by any means. You wanted to assist the Ministry in rounding up Voldemort’s supporters and sympathizers, or ensure that the fallout of the war did not lead to more terror and chaos. But Harry, to continue as an Auror would be to continue a fight you were forced into, to do a duty that you never enjoyed and that has caused you so much pain. Did you not say to me yourself at the end of the Battle of Hogwarts that you’d “had enough trouble for a lifetime?” Evil may never rest, but you deserve to.
Harry, I write to remind you that it is not your duty to be an Auror. It does not have to be your responsibility to continue keeping evil at bay. You grew up in the center of a war, and you decided to become an Auror because you could see nothing but Voldemort in your future. Then the war ended, and you found that you were still alive, facing the future you had been unable to imagine. Your future can be anything you want it to be, anything that makes you happy or feels meaningful to you. You were never happy when you were fighting Voldemort – though you did so with the strength I have always admired in you – and I cannot imagine you happily consigning yourself to the life of an Auror. Those years of constant anxiety, narrow escapes from death, and profound loss must have taken their toll on you. Repeatedly putting yourself in dangerous situations is not the best thing for you. You were always so much more than your fate, Harry, and so much more than a warrior against evil.
I do recall vividly one thing that made you happy despite everything else that was happening around you. You led Dumbledore’s Army and taught a group of teenagers how to properly defend themselves against the gathering darkness. You planned lessons as you drifted off to sleep and watched with pride as your peers grew and transformed. Harry, you would be a brilliant teacher. You are kind, encouraging, patient, and experienced. Teaching would give you the quiet, normal life you have always sought. You would be an exceptional mentor to the next generation. You would be training students not only to protect the world but also to be good people. After seeing you in your DA lessons, I always imagined you would become a teacher, which is why I am surprised to see you continuing as an Auror.
Harry, please do not be an Auror anymore. You would be a perfect Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. You do have a flair for the subject. You could give the students of Hogwarts the comprehensive Defense education you never really had. You could give them a safe, welcoming environment in which they can nurture their talents. You could be to a whole new generation of wizards what Remus Lupin and Minerva McGonagall were to you.
I write only with your well-being in mind, Harry. You would be much better off, in my humble opinion, as a professor, not an Auror. I hope you will consider my advice.
Sincerely,
A Good Friend
