It’s so strange to see that the number of blog posts left (66 after this one) is lower than the number of blog posts written (which if I recall correctly will be 73 after this one). That means school and our journey through HP is slowly coming to an end. It’s sad but also super exciting! And exciting stuff is coming our way in Harry Potter too!

Chapter 5- The Order of the Phoenix

Even though Harry is angry with everyone in his life he is still getting the opportunity to spend time with Sirius. Sirius tells Harry a little more about the old house they are all living in, it’s the Black family’s home, Sirius’s childhood home. Harry slowly falls back into his old routines with the Weasley family. Mrs. Weasley is yelling at Fred and George like normal. Everyone gets together for dinner like normal, except the conversations around the dinner table are anything but normal. Every conversation has to deal with the Order of The Phoenix, a group of wizards (including everyone here) who fights against the Dark Lord and his followers. The group changed over time as original members, including Harry’s Parents and Neville’s parents, were killed or severely injured. Mrs. Weasley, in true Mrs. Weasley fashion, is adamant about the underage wizards in the house (Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny) knowing nothing about the Order or where Voldemort is at this time, but after a row with Sirius about who knows best for Harry, Harry gets some answers to the questions he’s had all summer long.

Chapter 6- The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

The next day everyone is off to do chores. The Black house is like a little house of horrors. Doxies, fairy like reptile creature things, live in a set of curtains in one of the rooms. The gang works to tackle these little creatures. While doing so Fred and George tell Harry about the joke shop and the products they are currently testing out. (Remember it’s all thanks to Harry’s Triwizard Money that they can do this.) The house is chaotic, but that’s pretty normal for a summer with the Weasley family and more. Sirius pulls harry aside one day and tells Harry about his past, showing him a tapestry of the pure blood wizards family trees (because of course they are all interconnected). Sirius shares stories about his brother becoming a Death Eater and about how Sirius used to stay with the Potter family and James (Harry’s dad) after Sirius’s mother kicked him out. Mrs. Weasley interrupts their bonding moment calling for lunch. Over the next few day’s Harry and the gang simply work to tackle the house’s unwanted guests and filth, taking Harry’s mind off the upcoming Hearing at the Ministry of Magic.

What I love about these chapters is art of storytelling. Both chapters hinge on stories and updates told to Harry by members of the Order or Sirius himself. J.K. Rowling begins to weave a tapestry of information that will be useful in the subsequent books, but also that sheds light on each character individually. The main character she is building up here is Sirius, of course. Sirius tells Harry a lot about his past and his family in these two chapters. He paints pictures of struggles and sorrow. He knits together stories of good and bad times. He reveals to Harry so much about himself in short conversations. He reveals to everyone who pays attention his desires to have not only his best friend James back, but to also have a companion, someone to bond with, to connect with, to hangout with. Sirius tells us just how much is lacking in his life, just how much he is still a prisoner in this world.

I think it’s interesting that Rowling uses these conversations this way.  It’s quite brilliant actually, and it’s something we do in the legal profession all the time. We are storytellers, we paint our clients the way we want the world to see them. We weave together stories about how our clients aren’t bad people, sometimes they are just people that make mistakes. We reveal to juries or judges that our clients are people who deserve second chances, or who deserve justice for the harms done to them. We weave together stories and put together puzzles in hopes we can change lives.

We are creative storytellers even in the transactional world. We have clients that we work together with to build up their businesses. We help take in the stories of their neighborhoods and piece them together to get funders to give our clients money. We piece stories of people’s passions together to create business entities. We take mission statements and help ensure contracts that uphold those mission statements. We are still storytellers even if that story just ends up becoming a contract.

Last night I spoke with someone about telling stories in your career. As law school goes on, as careers begin, we will be telling the world a story with every decision we make. Whether we choose to take risks, make plans to get to our end goal, or choose to be comfortable and stay in one place, every decision we make tells a story to others. Think about that during your day. Think about what story you want to tell others, what story you are telling others and how all of that is working out for you in the long run. It’s your legacy, it’s your life, it’s you on the line. Is your story one you want to share? Is your story working for you? Think about it this week.

Until Next Time,

Mischief Managed