Reflecting on the Harry Potter Series as an Adult

When I was 6 years old there were two profound things I experienced in my life. One was the experience of 9/11 that shook the world, and the other was a boy wizard named “Harry Potter,” that shook my view of the world.

At the time of 9/11, I didn’t know what was going on. All I knew was that there was panic, and my parents rushed me out of school to come home. It was a moment that changed all of us and something I can never forget, even as I look at stories of people who lost loved ones in the twin towers.

I never lost any of my parents, but I knew the world around me seemed harsh and cold at times. My childhood wasn’t the worst, but there were many times that were questionable and left me in a dark place. When I saw the preview for Harry Potter and the Sorcerers stone, something in me felt like I needed to see it.

My mother and I went to see it at the local mall movie theater that is now at the point of being desolate. During that time it was the place to be, and where my love for Harry Potter began. While watching the film I was brought into a whimisical world full of magic and a story that for some reason felt similar to my own. I wanted to watch it over and over again.

Even at a young age, it wasn’t just about the magical world and the beauty although I was in love with that just as much. The story of a boy who was mistreated by those around him, but had a resilience no matter how hard it was, gave me hope to keep going. I faced a lot of emotional bullying, at home and in school. Harry, Hermione, and Ron’s knack for always doing the right thing encouraged me to do the same.

The first Harry Potter book I read from cover to cover was the order of the Phoenix. I think I read it two or three times. Whenever things got hard at home, I would put on classical music and read the book making my own voices for the characters. Someone let me borrow their tapes for the book that had the voice of Jim Dale, his voice brought the characters even more to life for me.

As an adult, now approaching my 30s, it feels that time is getting closer and closer. My life has still not always been easy, and I faced a lot of emotional difficulties. I stopped reading the books and watching the movies for a while, I became religious a bit and was thinking that the witchcraft part of the story may be evil. Even though I never thought this before. Harry Potter was always a story that was an innate part of who I was and influenced my heart to love and care for people.

I have honestly felt like religion ruined me in some ways. That I wasn’t the same person, and in some regards became prideful and bigoted. However, Harry has this dynamic about him that is Christlike. I think that is also one of the reasons why the stories spoke to me so much.

Upon further invesitgation in religious beliefs, as I have had interests in researching other religions besides christianity, I learned more about witchcraft. The story’s witchcraft and sorcery elements were more real than I had previously thought or believed, which made me understand why some people maybe feared to watch or get involved with the series. And maybe even why Christians believed it could be a gateway for the devil to influence the mind of children to think that some things were innocent.

However, I have figured that it depends on how one views the story that impacts how it affects them. There is more to Harry Potter than the sorcery component. There are so many themes that this story hits that creates a lasting impact on the viewer/reader. Themes of love, identity, morality, and courage lead to an experience like no other. It is a form of art that causes the person to look deeply within one’s self.

Rowling’s world of fantasy and delight is also a world that has great darkness. It is a balance of yin and yang that reflects our world as well. The biggest theme of the book is the choice between good and evil. Voldemort’s name literally meaning “flight of death,” reflects his fear of death and being weak. Harry on the other hand is stronger because he has seen the effects of death and is able to succumb to the gravity of fate that death comes for everyone. Harry had a choice to be evil, he had a choice to be proud of his fame, a choice to be scared and back down, but he never did. This was due to the love of the people he knew; An understanding that death happens, but fighting for the greater good even in the midst of the unknown is the greatest thing one can do.

In a world full of uncertainty, especially in a time of heated debates and discussions of whose life matters more, Harry Potter reminds us that everyone has something and special and unique to bring to the table. When the series came out 9/11 happened, and since then we have seen the pandemic, protests for black lives, wars between people who are similar to one another and I can not help but to think that this series has the anecdote that could bring world peace.

The people of the world continue to fight each other because of their differences. We continue to mock each other and give hate instead of seeing ourselves as uniquely human. Just because our skin is a different color, our dialects are slightly different, our cultures are different, we continue to give each other a hard time. The stories also show us that when we are young, we look at the world differently. Children have this innate ability to see the good in everything. But as we become older, for some reason we recognize the differences and find it strange when something is unfamiliar.

Often times children are disregarded by adults, even as shown with the trio in the books. Sometimes they were looked down on because of their age, and not always fully taken seriously because they were so young. But in my opinion, now as an adult: children are wiser, but the world and it’s hatred can cause a corrupted heart. Watching the movies as an adult again helped me to reconnect with my younger self. I think of Harry whenever life gets hard. Even though he is fictional, his character was real. Each time he stumbled he got back up again and chose to be brave, and chose not to be hateful like his aunt and uncle or Voldemort himself.

With my background in Christianity, I see the good things about religion but also the parts that divide us and why I felt so unlike myself to “put myself on the cross daily.” There were things I knew and felt about love without the input of dogmatic religion, and even recognizing how hateful these kinds of people can be. The allegories to religion in HP helped me to recognize a lot of things and realize what true love is. As I mentioned before I love the Christlike ways, because Christ was brutally honest but also incredibly kind, and did the right thing. The dogma came with later writings of the New Testament where people seemed to show so much hate towards other people outside of the faith.

True love is vulnerablity, honesty, acceptance of someone’s differences and “flaws,” and being willing to sacrifice your life for the life of others. Harry and his friends represented this, and it has given a place of belonging to those who need it most. As Dumbledore said “Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who deserve it.”

To me this series is more than just a set of books or movies that will make a great collectors edition… it is a representation of life and guidance through story telling that goes beyond pages and into the heart.

As I conclude, the last thing I wanted to mention is about the meaning of Harry’s lightening strike scar. Everything has a meaning, and I questioned why Rowling chose a scar to be the connection to Harry and Voldemort; Why Voldemort tried so hard to possess Harry using his mind. In Hinduism, a lightening bolt stands for enlightenment. In other symbolism it stands for sudden illumination, or the destruction of ignorance. Harry’s journal is a spiritual one for himself, his world, and to the reader; A reflection of Rowling’s own hardships and her path to her own enlightenment, possibly. I know many people disregard her due to her remarks from twitter, but to me I cannot. She created something powerful, and to create something this remarkable is a reflection of who she is.

In the times we live in, we need a bit more magic, and to re experience the message behind the story that is powerful and life changing.