Ah, Harry Potter. A timeless childhood classic with iconic music, iconic actors, and iconic dialogues. Sure is a magical series. Literally. But, if we put all the mythology and magic aside, there are some amazing lessons we can learn and carry through our lives.

Courage isn’t the absence of fear

Courage is one of the central themes of the books and movies. And it doesn’t mean not to be afraid at all, but to tackle adversity head on despite being afraid.

Harry, our hero, is the truest example of courage. Throughout the series, he faces big-time monsters and challenges, like the basilisk in ‘Chamber of Secrets’, all the Triwizard Tournament challenges throughout ‘Goblet of Fire’, and even tries to cheat death, except for in ‘Deathly Hallows’, where he has to die to eventually fulfill the prophecy.

The premise of the series so set by a pair of brave parents who would eventually sacrifice their life for the safety of their child. When Lily, Harry’s mother, is killed by Voldemort, she subsequently sets a protection charm on baby Harry after her death.

In ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’, Neville Longbottom, who seemed like an innocent, almost meek child in the movies, finally plucks up the courage to stand up to his friends, stopping them from sneaking out of the common room and breaking the rules. This in turn earns in House points for Gryffindor who eventually win the House Cup.

Later on, in what we Potterheads can call a major character development, he stands up to Voldemort in ‘Deathly Hallows – Part 2’ and eventually kills Nagini, one of the last horcruxes.

Ginny, Harry’s love interest, restarts Dumbledore’s Army in ‘Deathly Hallows’ and fights against the Carrows in the Battle of Hogwarts, all while Harry and his friends are out there destroying the Horcruxes. True leadership at its finest.

And how can we forget Severus Snape, as Harry states, ‘the bravest man I have ever known’? Even though he had a pang of hatred for Harry, he decided to work as a double agent for both Dumbledore and Voldemort to protect him, perhaps knowing it would cost his life eventually. And he died a martyr, finally standing up to Voldemort and helping Harry defeat him.

Intelligence and curiosity are powerful tools

Magic spells and potions can only get you so far, real power lies in intelligence and curiosity. Hermione Granger is the prime example of intelligence and curiosity, constantly reading and learning new things and applying what she learnt in real life. In ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’, she successfully distracts Professor Lupin in his werewolf form by imitating a werewolf call, something she learnt in Professor Snape’s class. This goes to show that learning can be (and should be) empowering, rather than dry.

Our choices make who we are

Take a moment to reflect the character sketch on Voldemort and Harry. Both share the same birth date, both are half-blood, and both their wands have a phoenix core. But that’s not all. There’s a lot more in common between these two: bubbling curiosity, rebellion, and intelligence. However, both chose alarmingly contrasting paths. One chose evil, greed, and arrogance, while the other chose courage, love, and goodness.

Failure and loss are part of life

A lot of the characters face major grief, and deal with mistakes, and major setbacks. The ride of life is not easy for any of the wizards or witches. Harry lost a lot of his loved ones, including his parents, his godfather Sirius Black, his pet owl Hedwig, and many other friends, but he had to accept the losses and could not let them weigh him down if he had to defeat Voldemort.

And while Professor Dumbledore may be wise, he isn’t quite perfect. When he ignored Harry throughout ‘Order of the Phoenix’, thinking he would protect Harry in the process, he only put him in more danger and further escalated the war. That was a major error of judgement.

Ordinary people, extraordinary differences

Heroism need not be just limited to the ‘chosen ones’. Minor characters also have their moments.

In ‘Chamber of Secrets’, Dumbledore’s phoenix, Fawkes, brings in the Sorting Hat for Harry to pull out the Sword of Gryffindor and slay the basilisk, as well as stab Tom Riddle’s (Voldemort’s) diary. He also uses his tears to cure Harry of poisoning by basilisk venom.

Dobby, the Malfoy’s former house-elf, is also a small, but crucial character. In ‘The Chamber of Secrets’, he (unintentionally) gives a lot of information on the said chamber to Harry, prompting him to take action. In the books, he also gives Harry a herb called gillyweed, which helps him breathe underwater during the first task in ‘Goblet of Fire’. He also shows him the Room of Requirement for his lessons with Dumbledore’s Army in ‘Order of the Phoenix’. He also ends up saving Harry and his friends from the Death Eaters in ‘Deathly Hallows’, taking Bellatrix Lestrange’s dagger for them and eventually dying a hero (and a free elf).

Dobby defends the gang against Bellatrix Lestrange

Home is what you make it

A home is not just a shelter with four walls, a roof, and some furniture. It’s the people around you that make you feel like family. Harry did not feel at home with the Dursleys, his extended family who mistreat him and deprive him of proper familial love. He eventually feels more at home with the Weasleys, even though their home is small and not much. To quote a brief dialogue between Harry and Ron in the ‘Chamber of Secrets’ film,

Ron: “It’s not much, but it’s home.”

Harry: “I think it’s brilliant.”

Hogwarts is also portrayed as being more than a school, but also a home. Harry also feels at home at the school with the love of his teachers and peers.

Question and challenge authority

This lesson is explicit throughout ‘Order of the Phoenix’. When Dolores Umbridge and the Ministry of Magic decide to suppress practical education, Harry forms Dumbledore’s Army to secretly teach his friends the spell.

The Ministry also tries to suppress the fact that Voldemort indeed has returned, and when Harry tries to convince them that he has returned, they try to frame him as a ‘public enemy’. This essentially marks fighting for a freedom of speech that is suppressed by a tyrannical government.

The Ministry also tries to convict Harry for using magic outside the Wizarding World, even though he used it to protect himself against a dementor (a soul-sucking figure which is portrayed in the film as a black-hooded, floating figure).

As we look back on how the screens lit up with ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’, let us also remember that it is more than a story of spells and wands. It is a telling of various life lessons on courage, love, friendship, and life. And that is the true magic of the series.