Disclaimer: This post was based on the movie, but read the books. Seriously. Also note that spoilers follow, so if you haven’t yet read or watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and you plan to, you might want to skip over this.
Lesson #7: You have to keep going.
Midway through the Harry Potter series, I’d convinced myself J.K. Rowling wasn’t going to kill Dumbledore. Ever. I was sure the series would end with Dumbledore’s long and happy future left to our own imaginations, and I was certain of this based solely on my belief that Harry wouldn’t be able to make it without Dumbledore physically present somewhere to pull Harry’s tail out of tight spots and point him in the right direction.
Yet, he did.
Oh me of little faith.
Sure, those of you who’ve read Deathly Hallows know Dumbledore and his help never truly left, but the fact remains that Harry made it without Dumbledore physically by his side.
You know, I think Rowling killed Dumbledore to force Harry to learn this very lesson - that you have to keep going. Sure, Harry already had a taste of that, to some degree, when he lost his parents and when he lost Sirius, but let’s face it: Harry never knew his parents and Sirius was in his life for a total of three school years - one of which he spent playing the mistaken role of a murderous Azkaban escapee out for Harry’s blood.
Dumbledore, on the other hand, was the constant wizened grandfatherly figure in Harry’s life from Day One, even when Harry wasn’t aware of it.
Dumbledore believed in and trusted Harry as fiercely as he protected him, always seemed to have all the answers (or, at least, knew how to find them), never doubted his intentions or questioned his abilities, and made him feel as if - despite everything - there was still hope.
And then, he was gone.
I can only imagine how lonely that must’ve felt.
Life is going to sling some pretty nasty stuff at you from time to time. No one is immune – not even (especially not even) The Boy Who Lived. You’re going to face setbacks, you’re going to lose loved ones, and you’re probably even going to question yourself - your values, your worth, your purpose, and maybe even your motives.
At some point in your life, you’re going to have to vanquish a Dark Lord, and it might just damn near kill you.
But, if you don’t keep going, you’ll never again get to experience all the good stuff that comes your way. Love, laughter, dreams, and friendship - it’s out there for all of us. We just have to keep going.
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