- "And Odo the hero, they bore him back home
To the place that he'd known as a lad,
They laid him to rest with his hat inside out
And his wand snapped in two, which was sad." - — Part of a song about Odo
Odo is a relatively unknown character, but he has been mentioned in songs twice. The first time was in 1996, Hagrid and Professor Slughorn were drunk right after Aragog's funeral and it was about him dying. The second was at Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding where Hagrid, Charlie Weasley, and a "squat wizard in a purple porkpie hat" were singing "Odo the Hero". Odo could have possibly been a friend of Hagrid's since Hagrid was around in both situations or it could just a drinking song of sorts.
Full song
Now gather 'round, fellows, let's sing us the saga Of Odo the hero, born one happy day - His father from Giggleswick, in all its glory; His mother from Wigglesworth, farther away. At seventeen, Odo was given a wand, And was given a tall pointy hat; A witch and a wizard had given him birth, And a wizard he'd be; that was that!
Now men came to town for revenging and killing, For Otto the Thieving had done someone ill; They mistook his name and they seized Odo's parents, And sent them to gaol, and then sought Odo still.
And Odo, boy wizard, could do naught but hide, For he knew not a charm nor a spell; If he was to live, then he'd just have to learn All his spells, charms and hexes quite well.
If he was to rise up, he'd just have to train up Then rescue his parents from gaol, all in all; The books said a school would be found in the Highlands, Four days of hard march north of Hadrian's Wall.
So Odo the wanderer set out from home With his wand safely hid, as a rule; He'd pose as a oaf, with his hat inside out, While he searched for the lone magic school.
And as he walked northward through bonnie Glenfinnan, A farm girl so pretty walked home down the way. His hat inside out was a cause of amusement; Indeed, it was her first amuse of the day.
So Odo the wizard was seen as a jape, And caused her much laughter just then; "Oh, pardon my laugh, but your hat inside out Is too funny for words, do ye ken?"
The gentleman Odo took off said amusement And gestured with it in a great manly bow; "Milady, I beg you, forgive my appearance; I'm Odo the wizard, at your service now."
"Ginevra I am, just a farm girl, no more; No doubt quite a fool for my laugh; I didn't come by to humiliate you, But in search of my favourite calf."
"Then that is our quest now!" said Odo the wizard, And into the meadow went he and the girl; Need I say he found the young lass quite attractive, From toe-tip to top of her highest red curl.
Ginevra and Odo, alas, weren't alone; A bull stood, so mad he could cuss; His small mind decided to flatten the two, And he charged down the field in a fuss.
Ginevra beheld him. and ladylike, fainted; And Odo lamented, "It would be my luck!" His wand proved quite useless; but storm clouds had gathered, And as the bull leapt, lucky lightning bolts struck.
The bull condescended to stop in his tracks And then drop to the ground, very dead. Ginevra revived, and she saw not a corpse But dear Odo, still standing instead.
"Hail, Odo the hero!" she said, and she kissed him; "You saved me!" she said with aplomb and much joy. "Well, yeah, just a bit," said our Odo the hero, Accepting acclaim, though he was just a boy.
She led him to town and her parents she told, For truly her heart was so full. "Hail, Odo the hero!" they sang in their joy, And they ordered a feast of roast bull.
The townspeople, likewise, hailed Odo the hero With cheers and huzzahs, and a fine-sounding band; Ginevra's dear parents saw more in the bargain And offered our hero Ginevra's own hand.
"Not lightly I'd take it without her own wish," said Odo, so gentlemanly. She paused not a moment, but plighted her troth, And said she Lady Odo wouldst be.
The great day arrived, and she peeked in her dowry For old, lent and blue to be worn by the bride; She crawled in the trunk and she searched on the bottom; The lid fell, and locked poor Ginevra inside.
So Odo the bridegroom was waiting at church, But no blushing Ginevra came 'round Alas, his intended, his lady so fair, was nowhere at all to be found.
And Odo the heartsick cried out to the skies; Musy sadness win out in his life, as a rule? He packed up his wand, turned his hat inside out, And departed Glenfinnan that day for the school.
And Odo the student for years learnt his spells, And he mastered his hexes and charms, Then returned to Glenfinnan to wait for the day Of Ginevra's return to his arms.
And Odo the hero protected Glenfinnan From armies and weather and magic abuse. One day, in the midst of a fight with a dragon, The mayor approached him with terrible news.
"O Odo, you're busy, with much on your hands, And although we should leave you alone, We thought we should tell you Ginevra is found - But she's naught but some hair and some bone."
And Odo decided his life was a failure, His parents in gaol and his fair lady died; He snapped his fine wand and said, "Come, dragon, cook me! I can't do much worse!" and the dragon complied.
And Odo the hero, they bore him back home To the place that he'd known as a lad; They laid him to rest with his hat inside out And his wand snapped in two, which was sad.
Etymology
Odo is a name typically associated with historical figures from the Middle Ages and before, most especially Count Odo, who led an unsuccessful defence of Paris against the Vikings in 885. Odo is etymologically related to various European names which all come from a Germanic word meaning "possessor of wealth".
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince film)