Fantasy Advent Day 13: The Harry Potter holidays ranked, Part 1

We're not far from the time that some Hogwarts students would spend the Christmas holidays in their common room, playing Exploding Snap, or pulling a cracker with a fellow Ravenclaw at the Christmas feast. Whether you're boarding the Hogwarts Express for a couple of weeks with your family or hoping Peeves doesn't target you with an enchanted mistletoe, there are a lot of ways to celebrate and Harry ran through some unconventional ones. Here is my ranking for the best and worst of the holidays for the Boy Who Lived and his friends. I'll do three this time and the remaining four next to keep you in suspense.

7. Worst by far: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Dark and dangerous times are in full swing in the last book of the series, but there are some unimaginable things at play in Year 7. Dumbledore is gone, the Death Eaters are in control at Hogwarts, Muggle-borns are criminalized and imprisoned, and that's just what's going on in the wider wizarding world.

What makes this qualify for me is the absence of things. Ron has left Harry and Hermione after a massive row. The friends he left behind don't know if he'll ever come back and it's not easy for them to keep going in such a state. Harry and Hermione go to Godric's Hollow on a kind of pilgrimage. My favorite moment is Hermione conjuring a wreath of Christmas roses at the Potters' gravesite, but this moment of shared grief with her closest friend is quickly overshadowed by the attack of Nagini and the extremely tense escape just ahead of Voldemort's arrival at Bathilda Bagshot's house.

6. Pretty miserable: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This Christmas at Grimmauld Place is sort of all over the place. It starts properly with the attack on Mr. Weasley at the Department of Mysteries. Thank goodness he's all right in the end, but it brings to light the connection Harry has to the Dark Lord's mind. He spends a great deal of time anxious about the possibility that he's giving Voldemort a glimpse into the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix or that he's endangering his friends and found family. Percy, being a prat, sends back his Chirstmas jumper. Sirius feels depression as the holidays come to an end.

The visit to the Closed Ward is what makes this particularly difficult as well. We see the way that Neville spends the holiday with his family and the way that his grandmother dismisses his talents. She also dismisses Neville's quiet connection with his mother who may just be giving him chewing gum wrappers as a reflex. I love Neville's keeping of the gift.

5. Tough talk: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I'm not just picking on the last few books. It's tough to grow up and confront unpleasant things and that's hard even when you're not weighed down by an ongoing war and your impending doom. I want to give Harry a very long hug when he needs to talk to Arthur and Remus at Christmas. He's feeling a great burden with the suspicions he has and can't seem to find someone to take him seriously. Even Hermione is erring on the side of caution instead of considering what he says to be of real concern. Harry needs and deserves to be heard and I'm glad that he confides in Dumbledore next.

On the other hand, I absolutely adore the attempt of Rufus Scrimgeour to recruit Harry. It's the first time Harry admits to being "Dumbledore's man, through and through." Remembering the frustration and the butting heads that we saw in Year 5, I'm always moved by Harry's loyalty here.

We'll be back soon with opinions on why Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is hard to place and where I place the Mirror of Erised.