Harry Potter and the Resolution of Conflict

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1), Harry, Ron and Hermione are on a mission to find and destroy the 7 Horcruxes (evil objects). The Horcruxes are not easily destroyed and have to be kept safe until the three find out how. The problem is that when a Horcrux is on a person, the person begins to see things in a negative light and behaves in a manner unlike him/herself. Ron was subject to this Horcrux “spell” and began perceiving situations that were not so. For example, Harry and Hermione in love,  and Harry speaking poorly of Ron. This resulted in a huge fight between Harry and Ron, and was not handled in the best way. This perception was Ron’s personal Horcrux and below I talk about two ways by which he could have destroyed it.

Walk the Cube

This is a process I learned in my Organizational Behavior class. It is a 4-step process that involves the two people involved, in this case, Harry and Ron.

1. Say what you saw: “I had a vision of you and Hermione kissing.”
2. Tell the story you made up about it: “I thought you two were actually in love and doing this behind my back knowing about my feelings towards her.”
3. Say how you felt about it: “I felt angry, confused, and betrayed.”
4. Say what you want from the other person: “I want you to speak your mind and tell me when I’m being ridiculous.”

In situations that are completely out-of-hand and cannot be resolved in one-on-one conversations a third party may need to be involved. When these types of situations occur you may need to consider the following Alternative Dispute Resolution methods:

Mediation: a third party facilitates discussion to arrive at a negotiation

Conciliation: a third party visits each person separately. The two people rarely meet to discuss the issues.

Arbitration: a third party decides how the conflict is to be resolved through a legally binding document that is to be signed by the people involved.

Litigation: when the conflict is resolved in court before a judge

Now that you’re equipped with these tactics, how do you think Hermione could have helped resolve the conflict as a third party?