When I was little and still being home schooled I was part of CBS, aka Christian Bible Study. It was held once every week and I always enjoyed going. One day when I went to the "older group" (aka I was about 11) Harry Potter was brought into the conversation. Nobody liked Harry Potter, quite the opposite. As we sat in a circle, people shared stories of throwing their Harry Potter book into fireplaces not to share via Floo network but to watch them catch fire and change the color of the flame with various colors of ink.

These people weren't crazy Christians- they were cautious of Harry Potter because they were concerned that people/their children would take the wizardry/witchcraft present in the book and seek it out in the real world; one minute their child would be reading a harmless book and the next they'd be dabbling with witchcraft. I'm being sarcastic about it but I also had a similar experience- my mom didn't allow me or my sister to read Harry Potter until we were about 12. After reading the first one we got hooked and read all of them. My mom tried to keep up with us but she slowed down after hitting book 4.

I love Harry Potter. But I also want to examine the negative sides of Harry Potter with the disclaimer that I know characters have flaws but I want to examine why those flaws are so problematic.

The obvious premise for Harry Potter is the hidden Wizarding World- a magical place of flying brooms, owl mail and talking hats. And the second premise right off the bat is the even more hidden evil of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (Voldemort, FYI) and the Death Eaters. Evil is acknowledged but it only applies to a part of the wizarding population. The everyday witches and wizards such as Harry, Ron, Hermione, etc. have magic powers that they use on a day-to-day basis for good. But in the real world *sigh* witchcraft is evil anyway you cut it. So parents fear that their children will not recognize the difference between the imaginary and the real. The best compromise is the parents who allow their children Harry Potter with the disclaimer that they should take it all with a grain of salt and some common sense.

And now, for a tangent. *RANT BEGINS* Another flaw of this book series ( though again, without any flaws there would be no conflict, aka it would be boring) is Harry's living out of "the ends justify the means". He gets into all sorts of trouble, some incidents worse than others, but so long as everything turns out in the end it's all good. This gives Harry an excuse to act very rashly, with little consequences. It's not realistic and some of it is wrong. The primary incident I have in mind when writing this is found in The Deathly Hallows. Harry goes up to Ravenclaw tower in the Invisibility cloak to find out about the diadem but he happens to run into Alecto Carrow and McGgonagall:

Minerva McGonagall: "But let me make one thing very clear. You are not going to pass off your many ineptitudes on the students of Hogwarts. I shall not permit it."

Amycus Carrow: "Excuse me? It's not a case of what you'll permit, Minerva McGonagall. Your time's over. It's us what's in charge here now, and you'll back me up or you'll pay the price. (spits in her face)"

Harry Potter: " (emerges from invisibility cloak) You shouldn't have done that, Crucio!"

Way to be dramatic, Harry. The thing with this moment is that Harry didn't have to torture Carrow- he could have used any other spell to knock Carrow out. And yes, Carrow is a horrible, evil person who is definitely deserving of the treatment he got. But Harry's choice to act mainly in passion and anger is much too similar for my taste to how to a more sinister character would react, such as Bellatrix Lestrange. *RANT ENDS*

Don't get me wrong- the world of Harry Potter is the best. Harry Potter himself for all his flaws is a wonderful human bean. But he's also impulsive and it's best to take his actions with a grain of salt as well.

I am so thankful for the world that J.K. Rowling created- a fantastic universe that combines my favorite things: Britain, food, and adventure. Oh, and love. I can't wait to go to Harry Potter World sometime in the future and I hope if you haven't read Harry Potter- either for the reasons I mentioned or for something else- you will give it a chance. Good always prevails, even in Harry Potter.