Recently a friend and I visited Harry Potter World in Orlando, Florida. (See my instagram for more pics!) We’d been planning this trip for months and I determined to reread all the books before our trip. As I was busy with work, and being the slow reader that I am, I did not succeed. I did, however, finish the series two days after my trip. I cannot count how many individual times I have gone back and read any one of the Harry Potter books. At times I simply feel like reading a particular one, open it up at random, then skip around to my favorite parts. Other times I start at the beginning and read every word. I believe this was only my third time starting from book one and reading all the way to the end without stopping. Rereading these books reminded me of all the reasons I love Harry Potter and I felt inspired to write about why these books are so impactful, for me and others. So get comfy, this post is going to be a long trip on the Hogwarts Express.

*Spoiler Alert — Thre are spoilers all over this post*

My Introduction to Harry Potter

Much of my childhood, I did not actually like to read. Shocking, I know, especially for those who have grown accustomed to seeing me curled up with a book and a blanket, deeply engrossed in whatever story I’ve flown away to at the time. I was not always this way. During silent reading time at school I would often ask my teacher if I could go to the bathroom or get a drink. Any escuse to get away so I wouldn’t be forced to read. I would go to the library with my class and just wander around, picking up books, then quickly setting them back, not really interested in anything I picked up. I won’t pretend I never liked anything I read, but reading was not something I would have ever chosen to do with my time, nor did I particularly enjoy being forced to do it.

Sometime around fourth or fifth grade, my mom bought me the Harry Potter books 1-4. I think she had it in her head that I liked reading. Either she misunderstood why she often found me reading in the house (because it was homework to read 30 minutes a day and I was determined to be a good student), or she somehow instinctively knew I would someday love those books. Sadly, I was not hooked. I remember reading the first page of The Sorcerer’s Stone and immediately losing interest. I tried to read on. I tried to like it, but it simply did not hook me. Being a novice reader at the time, I did not know that many a wonderful book often takes a few chapters to really cach your attention, and I did not have the patience to put that experiment to the test.

I have to backtrack a bit here to explain about my fifth grade teacher, because she is an important part of this story. Mrs. Anderson was the fifth grade teacher I did not want. She seemed old and boring to me, and everyone said she was strict. But Mrs. Anderston had her prioreties in order. Faithfully, every single day, she would read to us right after lunch. She’d turn out most of the lights, let us rest our arms and heads on our desks, and read. I realize now what fabulous taste she had in books. She introduced the class to all different kinds of books, many of which I may have never picked up off the shelf had she not explosed me to them. There were some I did not particularly care for, but most of the books she read completely sucked me in and impacted me in ways I could not understand. The BFG, The Giver, and Maniac Magee are a few. Not only would she read to us, but she would facilitate the most fantastic discussions in which the class was truly engaged. Read aloud time was the best time of the day. (Keep in mind the juxtuposition of this with silent reading time being the worst time of the day.)

Now to bring this all together. A novice to the magic of what books can do to you, I don’t know if I fully realized that I could love books. I think I believed that what I loved about read aloud time was simply the environment my teacher created. But I saw how she loved books, and little by little, I developed a bit of a jealosy for those that loved to read. I saw how excited they would get over them and I wanted that for myself. One day I witnessed an interaciton between my teacher and another student in my class. Mrs. Anderson noticed that she had checked out Harry Potter from the library and struck up a conversation about it. They kept raving about how amazing it was. I thought to myself, “I want that!” So I went home and tried Harry Potter again. While the last time I’d opened the first book I lost interest immediately, for some reason or another I kept reading this time. Maybe I’d simply developed more patience, but whatever the reason, the more I read, the more I loved it. The magic, the friendship, the bravery! I felt connected to the characters in a way I’d never experienced before. It created in me a thirst for books that would never leave me. Since then, I almost feel empty if I do not currently have a book in which I am thoroughly engaged. So we can all blame J.K. Rowling for turning me into a reader. She’s said before: “If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” I fully believe that. And what do you know… it was her book that ended up being my “right book” and also what inspired me to be an author. I’ve always dreamed that one day a story of mine would be some child’s “right book” that turns them into a reader.

What I Love About Harry as a Character

There are many things to love about Harry. His good heart, his courage, his inability to ever give up. That’s not to say he doesn’t have flaws, but I’d argue that his flaws actually make him more relatable, because they make him real. His hot head, his anger, his impulsivity. There are times I wanted to throw the book because he was being so stupid. I could go on and on about Harry’s attributes and how they make him an incredible, inspiring, realistically flawed character. However, I’d like to focus this section on something about him that is missing in most fanasy: Harry Potter is just a regular kid. Hear me out, because this is important.

It’s such a trope in the fantasy genre for the main character to have uncommon, unprescedented power and strength–power that makes it so that they are the only ones capable of defeating the enemy. (Yes, I will acknowledge that as an author, I have also fallen into this trap.) Okay, yes, there is a prophesy about Harry and how he is the chosen one that will have “power the Dark Lord knows not”, but this doesn’t mean what you immediately assume it means. First of all, he’s only the “chosen one” because Voldemort keeps singling him out. If Voldemort hadn’t killed Harry’s parents and hadn’t made it his mission in life to kill him, who knows if he’d have been the one to defeat Voldemort. Second, Harry, while a good wizard, is not a genius, nor does he have uncommon power that is beyond what others around him are capable of. His magical ability is pretty average and I love this! Why?  Do you know what kind of message this gives to kids when the only heroes in fairy tales are powerful sorcerers? It tells them that in order to make a difference, you have to be special. And not special in the way that you are to your mom, but special in a way that sets you apart from everyone else. A kind of special some people are just born with, which is unattainable to everyone else. Having Harry Potter just being an average teenager (compared to those around him) tells kids that anyone can be a hero. You don’t have to have straight A’s, or be a basketball star, or have fifty trophies. Even an “average” kid can be a hero if they so choose. For “it is our choices… that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities”. (Albus Dumbledore–The Chamber of Secrets)

One other note on this… So if Harry is so “average”, what makes him such a great person? In my opinion it’s not his magic skills. While very advanced in Defence Against the Dark Arts, his skill alone would not have been enough to defeat Voldemort. We don’t need to get into the details of this, because I could go on for days, but in the end it was his heart that saved him and everyone else. He didn’t defeat the Dark Lord alone, but he was the one called out to take him on and he stepped up. For all his loved ones–those living, and those who had passed away. The prophecy about Harry and Voldemort mentions that he would have “power the Dark Lord knows not”. Harry is quite disappointed when Dumbledore explains to him that this power is “just love”. But that love is what allowed him to keep pushing on, to keep fighting, and ultimately, to lay down his life.

I don’t feel like this explanation did justice to what a wonderful character Harry is. However, I could write a twenty page essay on just him as a character if I wanted, and I’m trying to stray away from that in this blog post. I do want to say one more thing I love about Harry: the sassy, sarcastic snark! This, along with other things, was something missing from movie Harry. You see, he’s a bit of a smartalec, and he doesn’t take anyone’s crap. Let’s enjoy a few of my favorite sarcastic Harry moments:

“They stuff people’s heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall,” [Dudley] told Harry. “Want to come upstairs and practice?”
“No, thanks,” said Harry. “The poor toilet’s never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick.” Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he’d said.

“Congratulations, Harry!” she said, beaming at him. “I wonder if you could give me a quick word? How you felt facing that dragon? How you feel now, about the fairness of the scoring?”
“Yeah, you can have a word,” said Harry savagely. “Good-bye.”

“Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?”
“Yes,” said Harry stiffly.
“Yes, sir.”
“There’s no need to call me ‘sir’ Professor.”

“Why were you lurking under our window?”
“Yes – yes, good point, Petunia! What were you doing under our windows, boy?”
“Listening to the news,” said Harry in a resigned voice. His aunt and uncle exchanged looks of outrage.
“Listening to the news! Again?”
“Well, it changes every day, you see,” said Harry.

“Not as stupid as you look, are you, Dud? But I s’pose, if you were, you wouldn’t be able to walk and talk at the same time.”

“He was asking for it,” snarled Dudley.

“Oh yeah?”

“He cheeked me.”

“Yeah? Did he say you look like a pig that’s been taught to walk on its hind legs? ’Cause that’s not cheek, Dud, that’s true.”

“Harry, don’t go picking a row with Malfoy. Don’t forget, he’s a prefect now, he could make life difficult for you…”
“Wow, I wonder what it’d be like to have a difficult life?” said Harry sarcastically.

Important Lessons Taught in Harry Potter

To me, a book worth reading is one that makes me better as a person. One that teaches me about life and inspires me to be better. Here are a few lessons I learned from Harry Potter that really impacted me:

Ask for Help

Harry has a problem asking for help. He wants to charge off and save everyone on his own. This isn’t necesarily because he wants the glory of being a hero. He simply doesn’t want to endanger anyone else. But over and over he learns that he cannot do anything on his own. We need our friends and we need our family.

Love Conquers All

I spoke on this already, but I love that the answer to everything is love. His mother’s love saved him as a child, and his love saved the world.

Fight Prejudice

There is all kinds of prejudice in the world and J.K. Rowling did not shy away from exposing kids to this. The main prejudices in Harry Potter have to do with blood status. Those with wizarding parents are “purebloods” while those with muggles for parents are “mudbloods”. Muggles themselves are at the very bottom for these pureblood lovers. Time and time again this issue crops up in the books until in book seven, muggleborns are being rounded up and killed for doing nothing wrong. In Harry Potter, we learn that it’s important to fight these incorrect and terrible notions, and that  standing up for someone is worth the negative repercussions.

Don’t Give Up

Harry Potter never had the chance at a normal life. He is singled out as a baby by the most evil wizard of all time. His parents are killed, he grows up in a home where he was neglected and abused, when he finally finds his godfather (the closest thing he’s ever had to a parent) he dies, the hopes of the wizaring world rides on his young shoulders, Dumbledore (his mentor who loved him) dies, he becomes a wanted man as a seventeen-year-old, his best friend walks out on him… the list could go on and on. Not to mention the fact that among all of this Harry was living with a piece of Voldemort inside him all along. But he never gives up. He screams and yells and throws things, but he never stops trying. I love that so much.

“It was important, Dumbledore said, to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then could evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated. . . .”

Conclusion

This blog post was entirely ineffective in summing up all Harry Potter is to me. I really had to pick and choose just a few things to write about, because these books are my favorite of all time, and like Harry, I feel like Hogwarts is my home. There are many who will probably disagree with me on some of my points, but the main point I wanted to emphasize was how these books inspired me. They inspired me to read and they inspired me to be a better person. They also taught me about compassion, bravery, and love. I hope that some day a book of mine can be as inspiring to someone else as Harry Potter is to me. That’s a lofty goal, and one that can’t actually be measured, but I can dream, can’t I?