Austin Scholar #25: The Real-Life Magic Of Harry Potter
While I'm At Oxford...
Hey, y'all!
Harry Potter is one of my favorite book series. I've devoured all seven books (many times), read countless hours of fanfiction, and am a proud Potterhead.
But there's something really special about this series beyond its entertainment value.
The Harry Potter books were almost literally magic. They've helped kids make friends, combated loneliness, turned a whole generation into readers, and impacted millions of lives.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
This week from Austin Scholar...
Austin’s Anecdote: How Harry Potter made a lasting impact on me
The real-life magic of the Harry Potter series (and why your kid needs more of it)
Scholar’s Sources: My favorite magical reading recommendations
This is the final newsletter you’ll be getting while I’m at my writing class at Oxford. I’m so excited to tell y’all about my experience here next week!
Austin’s Anecdote: How Harry Potter Made A Lasting Impact On Me
From the moment I first read about eleven-year-old Harry Potter walking through Diagon Alley, I was completely entranced.
It felt like I, too, was experiencing magic for the first time.
Throughout the entire series, I felt like I was building such a strong connection with these made-up characters.
I loved Hermione Granger and firmly believed that she was the only reason that Harry stayed alive.
I adored the Marauders and was hurt by Peter’s betrayal and the deaths of Sirius and Remus.
I was completely offended by Snape when he killed Dumbledore. Like, I was seriously so mad.
And, I really, really wished that I could learn magic, and was heartbroken (but resigned) when I didn’t get a letter on my eleventh birthday.
With Harry Potter, I learned the true power of words. Any emotion can be evoked by compelling phrasing. People can become friends with words on a page.
It was simply life-changing.
And yes, now, as I’ve spent hundreds of hours analyzing every piece of the so-called Potterverse, I can recognize the plot holes and have come up with millions of other ways that the books could have gone. (Like, why didn’t Dumbledore or Harry tell everyone that Voldemort was a half-blood? All of the blood-purists worshipped him and thought that he was the most powerful wizard, so if they found out he was only a half-blood all of their “pureblood is superior to all” beliefs would be completely thrown off.)
But, the absolute magic of the books themselves cannot be denied.
So, this newsletter is basically my love letter to Harry Potter and how it changed millions of lives (and why books like this are so important for your teen’s development).
The Real-Life Magic Of The Harry Potter Series (And Why Your Kid Needs More Of It)
Okay, so: the Harry Potter books themselves are beautiful and absolutely transformative.
10/10, love them.
But, in my opinion, the most magical part of Harry Potter is what grew from it.
The Harry Potter fandom has taken the core brilliance of Harry Potter and transfigured it into an entire universe.
And it comes down to, as it did in the series itself, the houses.
Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff are arguably one of the most iconic aspects of the series.
A common “get-to-know-you” question is literally, “What Harry Potter house are you in?”
Thousands of Instagram bios have “hufflepuff pride!! *sparkle emoji*” or “i’m a slytherin.”
Obviously, in the series, the house rivalry is a pretty continuous storyline, but why were the houses themselves the part that stuck out the most?