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Kings Cross - Blog Posts
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was the final book of the series, creating a different and more pronounced impact than probably all but Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. It was also different for me than the rest of the series as it was the only book I got at midnight, it was the only book (I ever) jumped ahead with—seeing that at the end “All was well” and that this was the only book I read after the movies, having been dismayed by the 4th movie, I didn’t read it for almost 8 years. Reading the book then I was an adult and not a pre-teen or teenager and it, therefore, has a separate place in my heart and in my mind even though I read it after just rereading the entire series. The fact that Deathly Hallows all fits in one book is majesty itself, so much explained and told but not overwhelming.
One of the main themes through the series and highlighted in the Deathly Hallows is how much Harry has to due by himself and how much of the burden he can share with others. As we have grown up with Harry, Ron and Hermione we experience this as well albeit with less dramatic stakes. This is true in both the physical battles of the Seven Potters and the Battle of Hogwarts, but also just in terms of Harry leaning on Hermione and Ron in trying to figure things out but in other times letting them take charge while he rests or sometimes becomes distracted by the Deathly Hallows and not the task at hand: finding and destroying the Horcruxes and also when they all joke around, comforting each other and themselves. This is also true emotionally, in the way we can best understand when Harry leans on Hermione and Luna while burying Dobby.
Another theme throughout the Deathly Hallows is how complicated relationships and individuals can be. Looking past Ron and Hermione and Harry, I mean Harry and Dudley, Draco Malfoy and Xenophilius Lovegood. For Harry and Dudley it happens for both of them; while Harry despises them, he makes sure they’re safe and while the Dursleys have always had disdain and repulsion for Harry, Dudley is worried and angry that they’re not sticking together and helping him, and we know Petunia’s recognition of the final loss of her sister shocks and somewhat destroys her. With Draco, as we saw in the Half-Blood Prince, he reminds us there’s a difference between a bad boy or bully, and a truly bad person. Yes, he’s a bully and elitist, but just like his father he mostly just likes to complain and pump up his ego; he’d do very little actual damage or harm to others, that type of evil or hatred is outside of him. Xenophilius Lovegood, in my opinion, had his best and worst moments in trying to sell Harry and his friends to the Dark Lord. It wasn’t cowardly, it wasn’t weak; there is a difference between sacrificing yourself for a cause or for someone else and sacrificing your child. Xenophilius fought alongside and supported Harry until for him, there really was no more purpose in a better world, an okay world or any world.
The Deathly Hallows also nicely tidy’s up the series with the Chapter “King’s Cross” by referencing for us how just because the Harry Potter Universe was in books and in our minds didn’t make it any less real and for showing us as well as Harry how death, adulthood and life are all things we must accept and how choosing acceptance will help us move forward even if not always easy or instantaneous.
A potential unfulfilled: the Intercity 225
As I had some time to wander around before catching the Eurostar back to France, I checked out the trains at King's Cross station. To my slight disappointment, there wasn't a huge amount of variety on display: Azuma, Azuma, Azuma... They're nice trains, don't get me wrong (built by Hitachi, using the same base as JR Kyushu's 885 series), but that's all there was. Still, I decided to check out all the platforms, and, at the far end, hidden behind an Azuma, there it was.
The star in train books during my childhood was the Intercity 125 or High Speed Train (HST), a 125 mph-capable Diesel-powered set, which, I think, still holds the world record for the fastest Diesel passenger service. I would have loved to see one when visiting England, but this was just as good. In fact, I had seen it out of the window while riding into London, taken a crappy photo and thought "oh well, never mind", only to see it had followed us in.
In the early 90s, the Intercity 225 was touted as the next big thing: all-electric, capable of running at 225... km/h (that's 140 mph, using different units was admittedly a bit disingenuous), designed to receive a tilting mechanism later on, completing the Advanced Passenger Train's redemption arc. What could go wrong?
Not long after the introduction of the Intercity 225, Britain's railways were privatised, with the typical lack of ambition for service that it brings. No private company was going to invest in the infrastructure and upgrades to allow the train to reach its full potential; meanwhile France and Germany were expanding their 250-300 km/h networks. Instead, these trains were limited it to 125 mph - the same as the HST, just on electrified lines. Worse still, it was one of these sets that met with the consequences of the privatised rail maintenance's culture of corner-cutting and outsourcing, on a broken rail at Hatfield in 2000.
From the outside looking in, I'm left with a bitter sense of "what could have been" for this train. Perhaps a rail fan from the UK could say more about what they feel the Intercity 225's legacy would be. At least its successor, the Azuma, has the fact that it's bi-mode (Diesel and electric) to shout about.
Still great to see one and its "so 90s" design in the flesh! LNER have also given the trains their original livery back, except with a burgundy main body colour instead of the original graphite grey, while the locomotive was in a special commemorative livery for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
For more on the Intercity 225: Ruairidh MacVeigh's video