KA Byrnes – Enneagram and Encaustic

The Restricted Section

Professor Fig has heard about the troll attack in Hogsmeade. We both know that Ranrok must be after the locket we found in Gringotts. Fig has discovered an inscription on the locket. When he reads it aloud, a map appears.

In Fig’s office, I look at the map. It’s a plain floor plan of Hogwarts, but I can see blue glows over the Library’s Restricted Section. We’re both eager to go investigate. Into his office walks Headmaster Black, though. Black wants him now, no excuses. Our trip will have to wait.

However, I have an idea. Sebastian once bragged that he could sneak into the Restricted Section. I find him in the hallway. When he asks for more information, I tell him about Ranrock.

My secret’s safe with him. It’s off to the Library tonight for adventure.

I meet Sebastian on a staircase overlooking the Library entrance. We’ll need to sneak in. Using the Disillusionment spell, we get past the Librarian and some ghosts. Peeves the Poltergeist catches us, though, in the basement.

Sebastian volunteers to chase after Peeves. I don’t want him to get in trouble on my account. He “likes to have friends in his debt”, he says, and goes back upstairs to distract the Librarian. I head down further, until a blue glow at the bottom reveals a hidden doorway.

Through the secret arch is the Athenaeum, a room of puzzles to solve and statue knights to fight.

At the end of it all is another pensieve, this one with a book floating over it. The book opens, revealing a section of torn-out pages. Liquid flows from the spine and the memory drops into the basin.

I see Rackham and Charles Rookwood, as well as two other people. (These four are The Keepers.) They stand on an overlook. Down below is a blighted hamlet suffering a drought. With a nod at each other, The Keepers intervene. Rackham sends ancient magic into the sky, bringing rain. The other three wield his ancient magic, turning the grey village into a blooming, green place. A father hugs his son, who uses a crutch and looks sickly. The little girl looks straight up at The Keepers on the hillside.

Later in the memory, the girl, Isidora, is now a student at Hogwarts. Like Rackham, she is the only person to enter as a fifth-year and to see the blue traces of ancient magic. She seems very excited. Rackham insists she train and study before she can learn how to wield it. In the wrong hands it could be very dangerous.

And then I’m bumped back to reality, sneaking out of the Library. Sebastian, caught by Peeves and the Librarian, insists that he’s alone and no one else was here with him.

He’s right: my secret is safe with him.

LIEUTENANT DAN TAYLOR, FOUR

He’s so impulsive and angry; is Lt. Dan an Eight? An Eight, a Body Type, who loses part of his physical ability would have a difficult recovery.

What if Dan is a Heart Type, though? It’s a joke in the movie that Dan’s every ancestor has died in war, and Dan expects the same fate. A Four would feel pretty pissed off at getting cheated out of a glorious death.

Dan is more emotionally volatile than an Eight would be. “You call this a storm?!” He loves this conflict, this fight between his will and nature’s. It’s not about physical power, though. An Eight would ask for his body to be changed; for Dan, his heart needs to change. Until this moment he’s dominated by depression and can’t move forward with his life.

I also like him as a Four because he is another Heart Type companion for Forrest Gump. It’s consistent.

BUBBA BLUE, TWO

Who doesn’t love Bubba? Of course, like Jenny, he’s kinda fridged so that Forrest Gump can have feelings.

Is Bubba, like Jenny, also a Two?

I mean, he has a collection, which is a Man Two trait. He collects shrimp recipes!

It’s interesting that Forrest would surround himself with the same Enneagram. (Or, the showrunners would stick to writing the same kind of character who befriends Forrest and then dies.)

Bubba is a complete character, though. He’s written for laughs, but Mykelti Williamson gives us more than comedy (or pathos). We believe that he and Forrest have a connection strong enough to last beyond Bubba’s death. Making Bubba a Two is a wise choice.

JENNY CURRAN, TWO

She is a sexually-abused child who grows up to become a wounded woman. Drugs, hurtful boyfriends, rash choices, and suicidal moments are what we see of her. She wants to be a folk singer, like Joan Baez, but she performs nude (with her guitar as her modesty shield) in a strip club. She’s a character who breaks our hearts, but she’s also a plot device to break Forrest’s heart. Is Jenny actually a complete person, or is she only an archetype of pain?

At the end of the movie, Jenny is a real character. She’s grown, she has an arc, and she’s exorcised her demons.

But she’s also fridged, lol.

Okay, let’s dig. I immediately jump to Heart Type because she carries so much emotion. She’s not strong enough to be a Four — she would need power moments and not just trodden moments. She’s clearly not a Three. Maybe a Two? An abused Two can break into pieces like Jenny does.

I’ll take it. I like that her damaged Two is supported by Forrest’s Eight-to-Two confidence. It’s a good match beyond plot shenanigans. Also, when Jenny finds her strength, it’s in the healthcare field. A genuine Two at peace could choose that career.

FORREST GUMP, EIGHT

As I said in my review of the protagonist in The Accountant, any Enneagram choice must be about the character beyond their neurodiversity. Showrunners just can’t present a hero with no specific defining traits.

What are the possibilities for Forrest?

He’s a “running fool”. My first thought is about a Body Type. Someone who needs that physical expression — running across the country — could be a Nine, Eight, or One. However, he doesn’t seem like a Nine. “Sorry I ruined your Black Panther party” is not spoken by someone who avoids conflict. He’ll mix it up with anyone if he thinks he’s defending Jenny. Is he an Eight?

Yes. Think of his bravery during the war. He goes back for everyone, tirelessly. That leadership, that instinctual heroism, is Eight-like.

He’s so connected to his friends — Bubba, Lt. Dan — that I thought he might be a Heart Type. I prefer to think of him as an Eight moving toward his strength number, Two. Perhaps his mental challenge lets him discard the darker side of his Enneagram. He’s never stingy, which would be his weak number (Five) reaction. He’s always compassionate and generous. I really like the idea that Forrest leans heavily into the Two aspect of his Enneagram.

But he’s still an Eight. I only need remember his table tennis prowess to feel certain of that.

Hogsmeade

In Charms class I learn accio, the spell that pulls objects (and enemies) to me. One of my classmates is Natty, a girl from Uganda whose mother is the new Divination Professor. Natty, in Griffindor, is kind and adventurous.

We learn levioso, the spell that floats objects (and enemies), in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. I duel another classmate, Sebastian, in front of everyone. From Slytherin, Sebastian is a rule-breaker who’s also helpful and curious.

Using accio to play Summoner’s Court, a rare and delightful mini-game.

The houses don’t segregate as they do in the Potter books. Students mingle without making favorites. None of the rivalry exists (possibly because the game decided to avoid quidditch). Playing as a moustache-twirling Slytherin isn’t possible. Our student character can do a few selfish things, but nothing that would count as going to the dark side. (It’s one of the game’s weaknesses.) However, the game does use our perception of Slytherin as evil. We keep waiting for Sebastian to do something nasty. He’s not completely nice — he’s the person who teaches us the Unforgivable Curses — but he never stabs us in the back.

Portkey to Gringotts

Flying over the quidditch pitch in the fresh morning air … someday

Hogwarts Legacy (2023) is an absolute blast of a video game. It was so successful upon release that a sequel is in development. HBO is shooting a Harry Potter reboot series of the books. It’s a good time to like the Potterverse.

One of Legacy’s strengths is how it combines the expected lore we all know with a fresh story. The plot has nothing to do with Potter and takes place years prior — the late Victorian era — to the books.

Our character begins as a fifth year student who’s attending Hogwarts for the first time.

ONE

On a street in London I and Professor Fig, who’s quickly teaching me what I’ve missed for four years, load a carriage and prepare to travel to Hogwarts.

TWO

A ministry official, George Osric, apparates in. He’s got news to share with Fig, but not here on the street. The coachman shakes the reins of invisible steeds and we fly away.

UNCUT GEMS

A lot of content nowadays is generated just to trash on someone else’s creativity. The worse a show is, the more people will make a video about it. It’s not my intent to be that person. My Enneagram reviews of unsuccessful shows are because I hope to find an answer. Usually it’s because I love the content and am disappointed that it failed. I believe that a great Story Enneagram structure will lead to a great movie.

Sometimes, though, a subjective reaction will overcome the objective reality of a solid Enneagram.

From my unused files, a case in point:

I can’t say I enjoyed Uncut Gems, 2019. This is a well-crafted movie, heavy with intentions. The filmmakers knew what they wanted to do. No, my dislike comes from the character and plot. Again, well-acted. I just don’t want to watch this protagonist. I don’t really care about his drama. He’s repugnant. I’m pretty sure this is what everyone was aiming for and they succeeded. Hat tip to them, and please never put this movie in front of me again.

LEFTOVER NINE

The movie opens in Ethiopia, 2010, as if it were a Raiders or Jurassic Park franchise. Locals work a gem mine under hazardous conditions. A man with a wounded, bleeding leg is pulled from a cave-in. The crowd is restless, angry. Miners still underground chip out a rock loaded with gems (or a single gem peeking through the layers). It’s shiny.

ONE

We dive into the gem. Colors, music, the kaleidoscope — it’s like an outer space nebula. This is a very particular shot. This gem — The Rock — is like Sauron’s Ring. It plays a protagonist of sorts, a force with an impact on agency. You could even say it has a magical influence. All of this is suggested in this shot.

Then the gem interior cross fades seamlessly into a colon interior. (Yes. I know.) Howard is undergoing a colonoscopy. Afterwards, the credits run as we follow him forward with his day. It’s New York City, 2012, Howard runs a sketchy jewelry store, and disorder emanates from him like a noxious gas. Even for the city, he’s loud and brash.

Five Year Anniversary

Happy Fourth of July, and Happy Anniversary to me! Looking back at my first posts is hilarious. Here’s the category listing for the month of July 2020. It runs for seven pages! Hahaha! Wow, I was a lunatic. I eventually learned that generating that much content per week was unsustainable.

When people ask what I do with my time and I reply that I create a weekly blog post, it doesn’t sound that impressive. But posting weekly for five years straight is worth celebrating.

Flying

ONE

Picking up where Episode One of The Good Place left off, Chidi still stresses while Eleanor tries to evade the problem. She calls for Janet. (Actually, Chidi calls for Janet because Eleanor can’t remember the name.)

TWO

First, Eleanor confirms that any conversation with Janet is confidential. Yes, not even Michael can access it. Then she asks Janet for bee-striped clothes.

At the town meeting in Tahani’s palace, everyone wears the same fabric. Michael, with false confidence, tells them all that he has no idea how the chaos happened.

THREE

And then Tahani’s normal clothes return as the bee-striped outfit fades away.

Roll credits.