| Tales of the Battle Live On
In War Survivors
by Niobe Thursby
"I remember that night well." Samuel Harcroft, 57, was present at the Battle of Hogwarts. He was then, and still serves as an Auror.
"About 7 years old I think. I was in the comfort of my home, of course. As I child you weren’t told much, and my father was fighting at Hogwarts."Gavin Snark, 17, Hogwarts student. Son of late Auror Gustav Snark. He is a put-on, not allowing emotion to color his words.
"My dad never talks about it. Whenever I ask him to tell me about my mum or how she was killed, he clams up." Gabrielle Dagon, 15, Hogwarts student. Daughter of the late Auror Kayleigh Cox. She seems grim.
"It was a battle. There were many images that we’ll carry with us until we die. Friends who lay there as if asleep, but you know can never be woken again. You think of those who stayed at home who would learn that their friend, family, children are now gone for good." Aurora MacDonell, 43. She is joined by her husband Jason MacDonell, 47. Both fought at the Battle of Hogwarts.
Gabrielle Dagon: "I really wish she’d have stayed at home with me and my Dad. Maybe then she’d still be alive."
Gavin Snark: "He was my number one hero. I wanted to grow up to be exactly like him. Like every other family, losing a loved one can be the worst pain possible. My family along with many others lost loved ones that night but we should all remember why they died."
Aurora MacDonell: "A number of Aurors – the ones who had gone into hiding when the Ministry fell, and came back to fight at Hogwarts – died in the battle. Too many…"
Jason MacDonell: "Too many, and I feel their absence everyday."
"No one walks away from a battle untouched," Aurora MacDonell told us. "We mourned and comforted each other. It’s all that was left to do in order to heal."
"Aye. When the heat of battle wears off, and the thrill of victory with it, ye take stock of what ye’ve lost," Jason MacDonell.
Jason MacDonell goes on, " I was surprised they had held out as well as they had. This was Voldemort, all his Death Eaters, and the rest of their army, against school children and what was left of the Order."
Aurora MacDonell: "When you are fighting, it always hard to tell if you are winning or losing. I think we were just trying to protect our friends and the school as much as we could. And if we can take out the Death Eaters as we went, that was a plus."
Samuel Harcroft: "I was fighting in the Entrance Hall mostly, but later moved into the Great Hall after killing about two Death Eaters, and had just finished off another when Molly Weasley attacked Bellatrix Lestrange."
"Bellatrix Lestrange’s death was a major blow to them, as was the capture of the other Lestranges and Antonin Dolohov," Jason MacDonell.
"I remember when Voldemort brought what we thought was Harry’s body to us," Aurora MacDonell.
Samuel Harcroft: "I was shocked, but pleased, when Harry Potter revealed himself."
Aurora MacDonell, "But they turned it around on him in the end."
Jason MacDonell continued, "Honestly, we’re lucky the violence was as contained as it was. If the showdown had happened at the Ministry, for example, countless civilians in Diagon Alley could have been lost. But we had the weight of numbers at the end; the reinforcements made an enormous difference."
Gavin Snark told us, "We should celebrate and never forget this day, because by forgetting this day we will forget our loved ones struggles to protect all of us."
Jason MacDonell: "It’s nay something we’ll ever forget. Students at the school still see the castle’s scars every year, witches and wizards still miss the friends we lost. But the victory is reason for hope."
Gabrielle Dagon, "I want her to be remembered for the great witch she was. Kayleigh Cox was an amazing mum and an amazing Auror."
All quotations were provided by the writers of the characters.
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[27 April] Tales of the Battle Live On In War Survivors