It’s Harry Potter Time!

I’ve spent a lot of time on Harry Potter lately:

• Last week I was Assistant Headmistress at Hogwarts LA,
• This weekend my husband and I both read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and
• Today we went to see the movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Why all the interest in Harry? I didn’t read any of the books until I started helping at Hogwarts LA three years ago. Then I started reading them for background material. But J. K. Rowling has spent so much time creating her world, going deeper than just telling a good yarn, that I became interested in what she was trying to say. And since the main theme of the book is death, I was curious to see how she would end the series. The books clearly get darker as time goes on, but she has always ended each one on a cheerful, optimistic note. I won’t say much about the ending of Deathly Hallows, since a lot of people are still reading it, but I will say the epilogue does return to a cheerful, life-affirming tone.

It seems to me her main message to her readers is that yes, bad things happen in life, people you care about die, and evil does exist. But don’t let the trauma destroy you. Be brave, do your duty, be thoughtful and caring to others, and value your friends. And don’t be paralyzed by fear or focus entirely on mourning. When you get a chance, don’t be afraid to enjoy being alive and to share that joy with others. Not a bad lesson for children of all ages in these perilous times.