Expelliarmus! The Lessons We Learnt From Harry Potter

The Harry Potter series has been hugely influential to kids and adults alike.

Dumbledore taught us that even in the darkest times, all you have to do is turn on a light and this is just one example of the great things this series has taught us. 500 million Harry Potter books have been sold worldwide which means that Harry Potter has touched so many people's lives.

So sit back, relax and read through all the life lessons that Harry Potter taught us but be sure to de-gnome the garden if you're planning on reading this outside otherwise they might ruin your plants when you're not watching!

WARNING: This will contain some MAJOR spoilers so make sure you've read and watched them all before you read this!

Harry Potter has the running theme throughout the whole series of this fight between he-who-shall-not-be-names and Harry Potter, himself. While Voldemort was, in some ways, a more powerful wizard than Harry, Harry ultimately triumphs over Voldemort with the help of his friends and the teachers and student of Hogwarts. Harry Potter possesses a lot of qualities that Voldemort doesn't like the ability to love, friendship and most importantly, a nose! It's always important to remember that no matter how powerful evil may seem, good can always conquer it; a lesson we learned from Harry Potter.

Harry Potter is a very important and resourceful wizard but he would be nowhere without his trusty friends, Ron and Hermione, by his side! In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry wouldn't have gotten into the final room to collect the stone without Ron's brave and noble sacrifice during the game of giant wizard chess. Hermione is the studious friend who always knows exactly what charm and spell to use to get the boys out of trouble. In fact, when Hermione is petrified in The Chamber of Secrets, Ron and Harry are rendered almost hopeless without her help and even in her petrified state, she helps them with a crumpled up note in her hand explaining exactly what creature occupies the Chamber - a basilisk. Friends are a huge part of Harry's success which teaches us that working together will always help you solve problems.

One of my all-time favourite scenes from the Harry Potter series is when Fred and George Weasley whip up a potion to make them appear older so that they can enter their names into the Triwizard Tournament. Dumbledore casts an age line ring around the goblet that prevents anyone under the age of 17 to enter the deadly competition. Fred and George think they have outsmarted him but the spell backfires and they begin to age rapidly with beards shooting out of their chins and their hair growing and turning grey. While this is a wonderfully amusing scene, it is also a great life lesson that cheater truly never prosper.

Spoiler alert! As we learn in the Deathly Hallows, Voldemort's 7th Horcrux, the one he never meant to make, was a part of his soul instilled into the body of Harry Potter, himself. To kill Voldemort, Harry had to kill the small part of the Dark Lord he had inside of him. This Horcrux was accidentally made because the love of Harry's mother was so strong that when Voldemort attempted to kill Harry, the curse backfired and saved Harry's life; hence the name, The Boy Who Lived.

The Harry Potter books are absolutely jam-packed with examples of people, creatures and species who are misjudged at first glance, but the example I would like to bring to your attention today is a literal book! The Monster Book of Monsters is a harsh and scary-looking book with eyes on the cover and teeth over the opening. This book simply needs a gentle stroke of the spine to release its teeth and reveal the wonderful world of monsters and everything you need to know about their care and how to approach them. A misjudged book by the appearance of his cover!

Professor Severus Snape is the perfect example of a seemingly strict and cold-shouldered teacher who actually cares a lot more than it appears. Throughout the whole series, Snape seems to dislike Harry and punish him at any opportunity but as we learn during the scene of his death (spoiler again, sorry), he was madly in love with Harry's mother and therefore set out to protect Harry at all costs, even if he did remind him too much of James Potter who stole his love away from him.

There is always merit in being studious and working hard. Harry Potter gives us great examples of these in the wizarding world through the characters of Hermione and Neville Longbottom. As mentioned before, Hermione often gets Harry and Ron out of all sorts of sticky situations but knowing exactly what spells and charms to use at any given moment (because she studies hard!). Also, Neville is the one who gives Harry the Gillyweed in the underwater trial of the Triwizard Tournament in order for him to breathe underwater. This is because Neville has been studying herbology in his own time and had read about this plant that would benefit Harry. So work hard and get studying, you never know when you're random knowledge might come in handy!

People always talk about themselves being lucky or unlucky but the wizarding world highlights the idea of luck being more of a mindset than a physical attribute. In the Half-Blood Prince, Slughorn gets his potions class to create an acceptable concoction of 'Living Death' in exchange for a vial of Felix Felicis, or Liquid Luck, which Harry successfully makes and receives the prize. When he alludes to Ron that he has slipped this potion into his drink before a Quidditch match, Ron plays exceptionally well and wins the tournament, however, Harry has not done so and Ron only believes that his luck is magically induced but actually is simply of his own merit.

I draw your attention to the singing egg in The Goblet of Fire. Harry receives his clue for the next task and all it appears to do is scream when he opens it. It's not until Moaning Myrtle suggests that he should try listening to it underwater that it produces a beautiful mermaid song that reveals the true nature of the next task. Through all the lessons we learned from Harry Potter, trying a slightly different perspective is definitely a good takeaway.

These are just a few of the many lessons we learn from Harry Potter along the way and remember as Luna Lovegood reminds us: hide your shoes or the nargles might steal them!