During many of our childhoods, "Harry Potter" was an influential force, similar to, or even greater than our family, friends, and other loved ones. The "Harry Potter" series taught us the power of love, the importance of friendship, and, of course, the beauty in a little everyday magic.
But now as we grow up, with those valuable lessons in the back of our minds, "Harry Potter" means something different to us. Sure, we still love the series the way we used to when we were younger, because much like the comfort of a warm bed or your favorite sweater, the words of J.K. Rowling soothe us and take us back to an easier time in our lives when we would run around our backyard with sticks and shout spells at each other (at least I used to do this; I don't know about anyone else).
I cry at different parts now. When I re-read "The Deathly Hallows," I was a bawling mess. This was not just because beloved characters were dying, but because I know what it is like to lose people that you love. The first time I watch "The Goblet of Fire" with my mother, I was eight years old and Cedric Diggory's death saddened me, as it well should, but my mother was sobbing. I never understood why until recently. It is the death of a child that can hurt the hardest.
Cedric Diggory's death marked the world of Harry Potter's shift from happy light-hearted magical adventures to a struggle between darkness and light. With his death, Harry Potter's world became more like our own. Our world today is filled to the brim with darkness and threats of doom. In these horrible times, we look to the most unlikely place for a little bit of light, a book meant for children.
Harry Potter's messages go beyond the world of Hogwarts and into our real world lives, showing us that amidst the darkness and turmoil of the world we must look inward to ourselves to find solutions. No matter how dark the night may seem, none of us are truly alone. We must look to our friends and family to help us and give us strength.
That is why the "Harry Potter" series will stand the test of time. Even after the little children who waited for hours in lines at bookstores have grown old and passed away, Harry's message will live on. In the words of Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, "Happiness can be found in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light."