This practice is becoming increasingly rare. Many parents prefer to ‘let him/her find his/her own way’, and dislike (with good reason) receiving premature hints of aptitude, limitations or, at worst, catastrophe. Mothers and fathers have often fretted themselves silly on the way home from the Naming Seer, wishing that they had not heard the Seer’s predictions about their child’s personality or future.
CHAPTER FOUR
Silvanus Kettleburn
If Sybill Trelawney’s post as Divination teacher required her to predict danger, employment as the Care of Magical Creatures teacher put you right in the middle of it. Rubeus Hagrid adored the beasts in his care, from his forbidden dragon to his arachnid friend Aragog. The man in the job before Hagrid – Silvanus Kettleburn – also loved magical beasts. He also, presumably, loved having the full use of all his limbs – something he certainly did not have by the time he retired.
Silvanus Kettleburn
by J.K. Rowling
BIRTHDAY: 22nd November
WAND: Chestnut and phoenix feather, eleven and a half inches, whippy
HOGWARTS HOUSE: Hufflepuff
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Encyclopedic knowledge of magical creatures, fearlessness
PARENTAGE: Magical father, magical mother
FAMILY: No wife, no children
HOBBIES: Dangerous creatures are both his work and his hobby
Silvanus Kettleburn was the Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts until Harry’s third year, when he was replaced by Rubeus Hagrid.
Kettleburn was an enthusiastic and occasionally reckless man whose great love of the often dangerous creatures he studied and looked after led to serious injuries to himself and, occasionally, others. This fact led to no fewer than sixty-two periods of probation during his time of employment at the school (a record that still stands). Like Hagrid after him, he was prone to underestimating the risks involved in caring for creatures such as Occamys, Grindylows and Fire Crabs, and once famously caused the Great Hall to catch fire after enchanting an Ashwinder to play the Worm in a play of ‘The Fountain of Fair Fortune’.
Kettleburn was a loveable if eccentric man and his continuing employment at the school was evidence of the great affection in which staff and students held him. He finished his career with only one arm and half a leg. Albus Dumbledore presented him with a full set of enchanted wooden limbs on his retirement, a gift that had to be replaced regularly since, because Kettleburn’s habit of visiting dragon sanctuaries in his spare time meant that his prosthetics were frequently set on fire.
Kettleburn retired to Hogsmeade but was unable, due to his physical infirmities, to take part in the Battle of Hogwarts. Determined to play his part, he clambered into his attic and threw his entire stock of Flobberworms out of the skylight at passing Death Eaters. While this may not have had much effect on the outcome of the battle, it was generally felt to show the right spirit.
If there’s one thing these stories prove, it’s that heroism comes in all shapes, sizes and varieties – whether it’s Remus Lupin giving his life to save the wizarding world or Silvanus Kettleburn hurling Flobberworms at Death Eaters from his attic. After all, you don’t have to be a sword-wielding Gryffindor to be a hero; sometimes, all it takes is having your heart in the right place.
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