Warning: This article will have Harry Potter spoilers so if you haven’t the series and have managed to avoid spoilers (which would be amazing and I applaud you) then don’t read any further!
My Life With Harry Potter
When I was in the 3rd grade the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (AKA Philosopher’s Stone) was published. My teacher read it to the class and all I can really remember is that I enjoyed it and that no one had an idea how to pronounce Hermione’s name. You may assume that I kept up with the series after that but it soon slipped my mind; I liked reading but I wasn’t really a reader (I didn’t read anything beyond school requirements and Captain Underpants). No, it wasn’t until I was in 9th grade and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was due to come out the following summer that I started reading the series.
9th grade was a hard time for me. I was getting bullied constantly for my weight and skin color and my depression and insomnia were strong to the point where I could stay up for 3 days at a time. However, it was because I was so despondent to the world around me that I found myself able to envelop myself in different worlds. Surprising again, it didn’t start with Harry Potter but after getting ahold of every book I could read (without having to go to the library because that place was terrifying to me) I finally resigned and borrowed the first book from my cousin (my cousins have been huge fans of Harry Potter since the beginning and were the reason I broke my “too cool” rule in the first place). It was everything I needed.
I read the first five books within the rest of the school year (I had a lot of free time since I rarely did homework and stayed up for days at a time). I even got bullied some more for reading during classes or while walking home from school but that didn’t bother me as much because I was living in another world. I think it’s safe to say that The Harry Potter series saved my life more than once. I don’t want to get into that thread of my life, something my writing often focuses on, but I feel that it is important to mention in this article.
I was lucky, I only had to wait for the last two books after catching up; the wait was agonizing and I can’t imagine how awful it would have been to wait for the others (though I missed out on the fun of coming up with theories between each of those books). I remember reading Half-Blood Prince during the summer before my Sophomore year in high school and then getting the first six books in hardback for Christmas later that year (my sister had convinced my dad to get them for me). And when Deathly Hallows came out I had a job and money to afford the hardback, which I read at every stoplight I hit between the store and my house. I remember literally throwing the book across the room at the end of the chapter “The Battle of Hogwarts” when I read about Fred’s death. Every time I finish the series, I’ve read it through about nine times now, I feel like a part of my life has come to an end; it’s not a wholly sad feeling but it’s a wholly happy feeling either; it’s warm but jarring like I just stepped into the wrong reality. It’s a hard feeling to explain, part of me doesn’t even want to try; it’s an ambivalent feeling that tears me between mournfulness and gratitude.
I’m now about to finish the series for the tenth time (I plan to finish it before the end of this month) and it has had me thinking about all the lessons I have learned from Harry Potter and his friends. My head has been full of this series (more than usual) for months now and I can’t wait to let it all out.
Found Family is as Powerful as Blood-Related Family
While Harry’s parents cared deeply for him to the point where Lily’s death created a powerful protection even Voldemort couldn’t break, his relationship with his aunt, uncle, and cousin is toxic and abusive to the point where Harry was used to living days without food. While Dudley had slightly redeemed himself near the end of the series and the two cousins eventually became friendly they never, in my opinion, shared a strong familial love. No, Harry’s true family was found with the Weasley’s, Hermione Granger, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Rubeus Hagrid (Neville and Luna too, in my opinion). His relationship with these people reminds readers that even if they are brought up in an abusive family household they can find familial connections elsewhere, which can be just as powerful than their connection with blood relatives. People who grow up in loving families can also find a familial love with their friends. Familial love isn’t limited and can’t be measured, it grows and holds onto those who earn it (and, sadly, sometimes to those who don’t earn it).
There is No Excuse for Bullying and Intolerance but Forgiveness Can be Earned
Yes, this may seem like a contradiction but my point is that people who bully have weakness in their character regardless of their history or upbringing. Often times we get books where characters are considered “badass” because of the way they put other people down, belittle, and dehumanize; I even had an argument with someone who said Draco Malfoy was a badass until Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows where he showed emotion. There is nothing badass about being a bully and the Harry Potter series reflects that concept even if the fan fiction doesn’t.
When Harry enters the Snape’s memory in The Order of the Phoenix he sees his father and his friends bullying Snape, unprovoked; Harry doesn’t take this lightly, having been in Snape’s position several times before, and is disturbed to the point where he contacts Sirius at great risk. When Lupin reminds Harry that James was fifteen when this memory occurred Harry won’t take that as an excuse and responds with “I’m fifteen!”; he also uses this argument two books later when Hermione and Ron trying to defend a 17-year-old Dumbledore; this says a lot about Harry’s character and shows readers that even age isn’t a good excuse for bullying.
Dudley and Draco both came from family’s who spoiled them and raised them to be bigoted and intolerant. Their background reminds me of the excuse I often hear for people’s open or subtle bigotry, “they were just raised that way”. While there is truth in that, especially for children, it is still a weakness of character for someone to live comfortably in that mindset as they grow older and are exposed to tolerance from other people. It is lazy to resist cognitive dissonance and takes true bravery to climb out of such a past. Both these characters do grow to become tolerant and accepting, raising children with the purpose of making them better people. They earned forgiveness not because they threw out the “I’m sorry, I was just raised that way” but because they made a strong effort to better themselves and their children.
Tyrants Create Their Own Enemies
When Voldemort first tried to kill Harry as a child he marked him as an equal instead. To some people it is just a clever plotline in cleverly written books but JK Rowling has sense made the point to some of her readers that it was analogy about resisting fascists and tyranny. Readers who supported Trump’s campaign and presidency were angry at her for speaking out against him and she had to remind them exactly what her books were about in the first place. A power-hungry man who thinks too much of himself and his intolerant ideas always finds resistance and enemies in those he oppresses and, more importantly, underestimates; it is not an unfamiliar concept as the history of the many dictators and fascists the world has seen tells us. Sadly, resistance doesn’t always succeed. Even more sadly, a lot of the time, the cycle continues and the once-resistance turns into tyranny. But this message is still hopeful for those under tyrannical rule because while there is resistance there is opportunity for revolution. Even the weakest flicker of it can ignite the change.
Freedom of Press is Necessary but Propaganda Can Be Seducing
Voldemort was not the only one in power who controlled the Prophet, and eventually Lovegood’s Quibbler, but the Ministry of Magic proved the power of a government-controlled press as it turned many people against Harry, The Order of the Phoenix, and Dumbledore against each other; it even turned a son against his parents and siblings. Readers should take heed of this concept and support the press but trust themselves as well. It is no governments job to tell people what it right and what is wrong, it is the people who investigate, who question and doubt, and who speak up who should decide for themselves. Propaganda is dangerous and powerful and only those who are determined to dig deeper can keep themselves from sinking into it. Listen to all voices, not just the ones you are most comfortable with, and embrace cognitive dissonance as an opportunity to grow. Readers, do you notice what Umbridge and the Fudge were trying to do to the students in the fifth book? They are trying to keep the students from thinking for themselves.
We Should Not Underestimate Youth
Voldemort, his Death Eaters, the Ministry, and even some of the good guys all underestimated children, thinking them incapable, stupid, or naïve. Is this really a surprise when generation after generation blames the generation after them for all the failures in the world? There will be a day when Millennials blame the generation after them for all the same things. Nonsense. It’s nonsense when older generations send youth to fight their wars; it’s nonsense when we look at our children trends and say “things are going down hill” and “back in my day” as if this hasn’t been happening over and over again for centuries! Youth is our future and it always will be. This bitterness and underestimation between generations is just as dangerous and volatile to human life as Voldemort’s belief that a child like Harry was no threat was volatile to him. It is our youth that we need to support so they can support us; I’m not talking about pampering them like the Dursley’s pampered Dudley, I’m talking about valuing their feelings and creating them to be our equals not our puppets or our reflections.
There are Things Worse than Death
When we look at Voldemort, a weak man who feared death beyond anything, struggling to become immortal we, readers, realize that this a foolish wish. He treats the killing curse like the worst punishment when he really brought the worst punishment on himself; he lived a life without love and friends; he remained untrusting and untouched, thirsty and greedy for total control. People fear the unknown, it’s the same fear that makes me terrified and awestruck by space, or people fear of being forgotten so here is my advice: make yourself unforgettable; love as hard as you can and bring others up; don’t force other people down and keep your heart cold; explore everything you can, even if it’s just muddy streams and ant hills; fight, be passionate, and allow yourself to feel; pursue your dreams with whatever time you can spare; make your own choices; lastly, make sure you read.
Happy Birthday, Harry Potter!
