Disclaimer: I do not own anything in connection with the Harry Potter series. Please do not sue.
Knight in shining armor? Prince Charming on a white horse? Fairy god-mothers and castles? Fire breathing dragons and a princess in the top tower?
Fairy tales – how unbelievably predictable they are.
Don’t get me wrong, I like fairy tales. They always begin “once upon a time” and end “happily ever after.” They are wonderful little love stories about perfect damsels in distress who are rescued by a faultless-in-every-way man. The couple could not be happier or more perfect.
The only problem with fairy tales is that they are just that – tales. Fictional works of prose told to small children to instill ideals such as honesty and courage into their small minds. The point of a fairy tale is not even love, but rather the ideals surrounding the love story itself. Funny isn’t it?
I suppose that is all right, though. The love displayed in fairy tales is too superficial to last forever. It would not be able to withstand real trials and suffering. It would panic and crumble in the face of most of what I have seen. Though the characters in fairy tales have courage, the love itself does not. When love fails, what is the point of everything else? Prince Charming only had courage in the first place because he was hoping to find true love on the other side of the danger. Now that he has love and has discovered it is not true, what is his motivation for courage? There is none.
I used to believe in the love of fairy tales, and then I met a true prince and knight. He is neither pompous nor showy. He does not want fame and fortune because he knows all too well that those things do not bring happiness. He only wants acceptance and love. He has faced a fire-breathing dragon and worse, and he has beaten the odds each time. He never wishes for the glory that he receives because he knows just how much that glory costs.
He has shown me what true love is. True love does not run, even when facing its greatest fears. True love exhibits modesty and meekness. True love is loyal. More importantly, in the face of peril, true love perseveres.
It was this true love that my prince has for all humanity, and it changed my view on love. I realized that as beautiful as white horses and pumpkin carriages are, they would never complete me as a person – a soul. I wanted more. I needed more. So, being the know-it-all that I am, I observed my prince. I tried to understand his kind of love. I never comprehended it until the night that he pardoned that rat. It was an action out of love, and I understood. Later that night, he stood between a werewolf and me, and I realized that I only wanted him to love me like that. No one else – just my prince.
I thought that I had figured out this deep love. I was wrong. It seemed that my prince had more to teach me about it. Over the following year, I began to see that selflessness played a major role in this love. I watched as he put himself in the most dangerous positions, forsaking his own wishes. It seemed like second nature for him to simply give and not ask that the favor be returned. That was when I decided to return his own brand of love to him rather than wish that he would give it to me. I knew that he showed me that love. It just did not have the added bonus of a crush attached.
I worry about my prince now. He is at a crucial point where he could easily give in to the bitterness that is threatening to overtake him. He has lost much in his short life, and has received little in compensation. I am glad that I have learned the lesson of true, deep love because it is my teacher’s turn to receive it. It will be a difficult task, but I believe that I am up to it. My prince needs me. I will not fail him. I promise.