Between school and dance classes, it took me the better part of a year to read all of Harry Potter. Over the course of that year, Harry and his friends taught me countless lessons about identity, family, determination, knowledge, beauty, love and friendship.
I’ve mentioned before that Harry used to live in my closet, and today, I’m finally going to explain. I do believe I told the story best on my old blog, in a post from 2015…:
I was born into the Harry Potter generation. J. K. Rowling had published The Prisoner of Azkaban just before I was born, and my parents bought a copy of the renowned series (through the fourth book) in 2000, shortly after The Goblet of Fire was released. It was a gorgeous, completely hardcover set, and it spent several years in the back of my closet before my mom threw the entirety of it in the dumpster. I kid you not.
You see, I was afraid of my closet, and I never went in there alone, so the top shelf was the perfect hiding spot for Harry Potter. Harry Potter contained magic, and magic was dark, and darkness was evil, so Harry eventually had a three-second peek at my bedroom before disappearing down the upstairs hallway and into the trash.
I never forgot the cover of The Goblet of Fire, though, as Harry and I looked at each other for the first time, beneath my mother’s arm. There was a brief exchange, during which I asked her what she was carrying. She told me that they were books– bad, scary books. So I let them go.
At this point in my life, my mom is able to call my dog a “muggle.” She doesn’t really know what that means–Can a dog actually be a muggle anyway?–but she knows the word, so I feel partially accomplished….
Most of my Harry Potter books are on my e-reader, and I love them so much more than those that spent so long in my closet– mostly because I got to read these ones. But I’ll never forget that moment–that fraction of a second–when I saw 14-year-old Harry for the first time, smiling from the cover of the latest book.
Tear-jerking, isn’t it? I love the irony of my growing into a fantasy fiction author and of Harry Potter being some of my favorite books in the world. Now, without further ado, here’s what I learned at Hogwarts:
The Sorcerer’s Stone
“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” – Albus Dumbledore
This is one of my favorite quotes from Harry’s first year, and it’s about Neville! The Sorcerer’s Stone taught me that courage is not always standing up to a monstrous enemy. Sometimes, courage is quiet. Sometimes it’s awkward. In the words of Victoria Erickson, “Just because you are soft doesn’t mean you are not a force. Honey and wildfire are both the color gold.”
The Chamber of Secrets
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – Albus Dumbledore
Dumbledore has a lot of great lines during Harry’s second year, but this one is my absolute favorite. Throughout his series, Harry is incredibly conscientious of his inner self (except maybe The Order of the Phoenix…. That one’s debatable.) and is great at asking questions about himself and others, no matter how many times he is denied the answers. This answer, however, is spot on.
The Prisoner of Azkaban
“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” – The Marauders
This line is very complicated for being so very straightforward. I always found it interesting that Harry, Ron and Hermione are usually on some form of life- or world-saving mission while using The Marauder’s Map, and yet, they have to say this line to make it work! While it does look good on t-shirts, this quote ultimately taught me to weigh the words good and right oh-so carefully.
The Goblet of Fire
“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” – Sirius Black
Besides being my favorite quote of Harry’s fourth year, this might be my favorite quote in all of Harry Potter. This series showed me that until human beings are given two things–money and power–one cannot truly know them. If you woke up tomorrow with both, who would you be? I’d say anyone who isn’t implementing Sirius’s tactics with Kreacher is on the right track.
The Order of the Phoenix
“‘You do care,’ said Dumbledore. He had not flinched or made a single move to stop Harry demolishing his office. His expression was calm, almost detached. ‘You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it.'”
Ugh, ugh. I promised myself I wouldn’t blubber, but this scene gets me every time. Harry’s fifth year finds him bearing an emotional range that is much larger than a teaspoon, and most of his thoughts come out in angry screams. I related. Many of us shared in his anger and sorrow during this scene. It taught me, as many things do, to listen. To keep listening. Someone, somewhere, far underneath obvious signs, is begging to be heard.
While Order of the Phoenix was not my favorite book in this series, it was, I believe, the most important to my own growth. Watching the Ministry of Magic crumble was not so different from the events that took place in my own life over the course of my reading. It’s a comparison that I don’t talk much about, but I feel that it’s worth a quick nod. This book made sense of the nonsensical. That’s invaluable to me.
The Half-Blood Prince
“Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right.” – Hermione Granger
Half-Blood Prince is my favorite of Harry’s magical adventures for too many reasons to name in this already-lengthy post, but I had to shoutout this quote from Hermione. Human nature is a complicated thing… maybe the most complicated thing, and it’s heavily explored during Harry’s sixth year through quotes like this. And Snape. And Draco. Chapter 24.
The Deathly Hallows
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” – Albus Dumbledore
Okay, maybe this is my favorite quote of the series. I think it’s decently self-explanatory, as well as beautiful, so with that, have a gorgeous weekend, friends!
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