Harry Potter, the story that shaped a generation

JKRowling never guessed the success her story would have when she submitted her manuscript to her editorial agent, nor she could foresee the impact it would have on the generation of children who grew up reading it, and on the adults who rediscovered their inner child in Harry Potter books.

The story of the wizard child and his friends has captured the hearts and minds of everyone. It has been delightful, it has made us cry, laugh and it has reawaken (in us, adults) and taught (children) the values we must keep to live in a world of peace, harmony, and tolerance.

Harry, the orphan boy that is brought up by an aunt and uncle who do not love him, has no ill-feelings towards them after how badly they treated him. In the end, he wants to protect them to prevent them from finding the same ending his parents had. In fact, he is a healthy boy with a huge capacity to love, who marvels at the most simple things the universe has to offer, who is thankful for all the good things that come to him, and who learns from the bad things that happen to him. He is a boy who listens to his heart when it is time to make decisions and who is not afraid to speak his mind.

As our character grows up (we first meet him when he is eleven years old), his personality and character traits strengthen with the presence of friends who like him as he is, and a family (The Weasleys) that adopts him as if he were one if their own. With them, Harry learns what it means to have siblings, being cared for by adults. He finally learns what home is and feels like, and how awful it would be to lose that again.
During his time at school, Harry learns to differentiate good from evil, not because it has been told to him, but because his heart tells him so. This gut-feeling decisions make him save one of his worst enemy at school (Draco Malfoy) when his life is in danger.

So, when Harry begins his personal battle against Lord Voldemort, his sense of justice first prevents his father’s friends from killing one of Voldemort’s followers (Pettigrew), but also makes it very hard for him to accept the help of people of authority. Regarding the latter, he openly refuses the aid of the Minister of Magic because Harry’s sense of what’s right and wrong do not agree with the use of lies and deceit by the MOM to reach their goal. Actually, at some point in the story, Harry also refuses the help of his friends because he does not want to risk their lives. In the end, he accepts their help when he understands that by standing together they are stronger to face and vanquish whatever might oppose them.

Young people today, those who grew up with the Harry Potter saga, are people who understand about friendship, loyalty, perseverance, justice, commitment, honesty, and love. They understand something we - older generations - took for granted and, therefore, forgot about: love is both our protecting shield and the power that allows us to go on.