I know I'm not the only one that eagerly awaited my acceptance letter to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – and was devastatingly disappointed when I realized that, after all, I was, in fact, a Muggle (non-magic folk).
No thunderous knock on my door from Hagrid would come, and no magical self-discovery was in my foreseeable future. To deal with this disappointing blow, I continued to entertain the ideas that are alive and well in J.K. Rowling's universe, that I so ensconced myself within her novels. to be applicable to ours. Through watching and rewatching the films and taking a wonderfully whimsical family vacation to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, this perpetuation of believing in the values of this fantasy world has only continued.
Here are moments, potions and spells of the Harry Potter saga that I wish – and I know you do too – actually existed, and by so doing would make our world a bit more enchanting.
Let's start with the topic of:
1.Transportation
How many countless times have you been on the opposite side of campus from your dorm and just so ready for bed? Or better yet, need to travel back home for break? Instead of taking that cab to the airport, then that flight to your hometown, you could instantaneously arrive at your destination by way of "apparating!"
You can even travel with someone if you are touching. "Apparating" and "Disapparating" require a license, which you may test for at the age of 17, just like a driver's license! ...But much cooler.
Some Muggles enjoy riding horses, but how much more exhilarating would it be if we could ride these freaking majestic "hippogriffs"?! It's like riding a horse but also flying.
This is the more family-friendly mode of transportation, All you need is a fireplace and a supply of "floo powder". "Just remember to speak very, very clearly" with your desired destination.
I may be one of the few who looks at a toilet and says, "Geez it would be cool if I could travel to the Ministry of Magic through that," but I blame Joanne Rowling for these fantastical, albeit unsanitary (?) ideas. Think about it, though, how convenient and multi-purpose a public restroom could be!
While the lines are a bit blurry between Transportation and Magical Objects, here we will shift to the latter:
2. Magical Objects
"Portkeys" are similar to apparition, but the magic lies within a certain object to be touched. A larger number of travelers can tag onto a single portkey to be taken to a specific place.
While the "time tuner" does not transport one through space, it carries its user back in time. Hermione used this device to take an excessive amount of classes.. and later to help free Sirius. Any high-achieving student and/ or hero could make good use of this.
As aggressive as the "howler" that Molly Weasley sent to Ron was, it is a magnificently vocal way to send one's letters. Think pre-iPhone/ Facebook voice messages – but post old school voicemail.
Onto:
3. Potions
"Felix Felicis", otherwise known as "Liquid Luck," brings about one of the funniest segments of the Harry Potter series – at least in the films. This luck-bringing potion grants Harry the confidence and the pizzaz to go get chummy with Professor Slughorn and low key gain information from he and Hagrid. This is networking at its finest. One cannot help but link Harry's confidence here to one who has drunk alcohol, but the catch is, his intuitions are correct: it is not a false confidence. How exceptionally useful would it be to have a swig of this elixir every once in a while?
In this hilarious moment in which Ron is convinced that he is in love with Romilda Vane, the perception-bending power of a "love potion" is witnessed first hand by Harry. While surreptitiously feeding one's crush chocolates laced with such a potion can be tempting, perhaps its for the best that this does not actually exist... perhaps.
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"Veritaserum" how convenient would it be to have a potion that unfailingly causes the drinker to tell the truth?! There would be no more need for faulty truth detectors and, worse, torturous interrogations. (#worldpeace)
4. Spaces: there is often more to them than there first appears.
"The Room of Requirement" (AKA the "Come and Go Room") is a secret space that appears only to those who truly have need of it. Harry, Ron and Hermione form Dumbledore's Army here and use it as a training space. Later, this is the one safe space for those opposing Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
"The tent" at the Quidditch World Cup, borrowed by Mr. Weasley, looks like a normal sized camping tent from the outside, but once you enter it, just like the Tardis, you discover that it is "bigger on the inside."
5. Spells
The Patronus Charm: the ultimate banishment of darkness and sadness. This spell is used in defense against dementors who would otherwise suck one's soul from one's body.
The Disarming Charm: "expelliarmus," is Harry's go-to spell.When he could choose any other more devastating attack, he naturally chooses the one that simply takes away his opponents weapon. This propension of Harry's gives us a wonderful example of how to be a badass, without being aggressive.
The Summoning Charm: "accio," the one spell I have most often consciously wished to exist for my daily life purposes. When lying in bed and just wanting that remote to magically come to me upon my call, when my pencil is just out of reach, or when I kick the soccer ball 20 feet back over the fence, yelling out "accio ______" would be prime.
6. Quidditch
How can you not wish this super-dangerous, complicated sport did not exist?! It is a life-goal of mine to play the Muggle version, but having to run around instead of fly just won't be the same...
Finally:
7. Moments Such as These
“Sweetheart, you're ready. Let go; let go!”
In life's most trying moments, to be able to actually have the people most close to you with you in a visible spirit form is a testament to the magic that pure, genuine love holds. This moment in which Harry first faces Voldemort in wand-to-wand battle is amplified by his parent's presence. He is never alone, even if they can't be with him physically.
Three years later, Harry has an entire crew behind him, this time physically. J.K. Rowling does a fantastic job of linking her audience's mind, heart and soul to a sense of solidarity and shows us the value of friendship, loyalty and braver.
Here's to keeping our eyes open to magic and to awe. May we never fully grow up.
