Potter Fever has consumed my 8 year old.
He’s reading the books and on his I’ve lost count viewing of the movies.
Casting spells in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter last summer
Because the books go into a lot more detail, he’s understanding more of the connections between the characters than he did just watching the movies. While the movies briefly touch on Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange being cousins, the books explain the family tree. (If you aren’t a Harry Potter fan *gasp* just know: Sirius Black is a good guy, Bellatrix Lestrange is his evil cousin)
This morning, he asked me “Why is Bellatrix evil? Sirius isn’t.”
I briefly thought about giving an answer about the story of Harry Potter only working if there were good and bad wizards and witches, but that was just the lack of sleep at work and not the appropriate answer to give to a child. So I just waited to see where he was going with this.
“Mom, Sirius is her cousin and he isn’t evil. So what made Bellatrix evil?”
“I don’t know, bud. I think she just decided to be evil.”
I really wish that I’d been videoing this conversation because the look on his face was priceless. Like he couldn’t believe that someone could just choose to be evil.
“Mom, I don’t think so. I think something must have happened to her to make her evil….
Like with Voldemort (head bad guy in Harry Potter). He had a bad childhood and no parents who loved him, so he did lots of bad things and was evil.
Something must have happened to Bellatrix, too.”
“So, you don’t think someone just chooses to be evil?”
Again, that face. That absolutely shocked face that believes that just about everyone is good.
“No one is that evil just because they want to be, Mom. I think she’s… broken.”