A series of novels “Harry Potter” written by the English writer J. K. Rowling is one of the most popular series in the whole world. The protagonist of these novels, Harry Potter, is a young boy who lives with the Dursley family. At the age of 10, he gets a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and goes to study there. Harry learns that life can be magical and amazing and that the real friendship exists. However, he also makes a mortal enemy there, Lord Voldemort. This paper will discuss Harry’s reasons for living with the Dursleys, compare his life in the real and magical world, ponder upon the sorting hat’s reasons for wanting to send Harry to the Slytherin faculty as well as reveal why Voldemort is considered to be the main Harry’s enemy.

Harry Potter is forced to live with the Dursleys as his own parents died, protecting him from the Dark Lord. He was hating life in this family more and more with every year. The Dursleys were vile, evil, cruel, and rather silly people. They offended Harry and limited his freedom. He lived in a closet under the stairs and replaced the servants in their house. In comparison, in the wizarding world, Harry was a celebrity. Everyone knew him and had the honor to get to know him personally. He was gladly accepted into the Quidditch team where he became an excellent seeker. Although there were several ill-wishers in Hogwarts, Harry Potter found true friends who always supported him in the most difficult moments there.

As for the reasons why the sorting hat almost put Harry in the Slytherin faculty, it felt the great potential of Harry Potter, the power of his personality, determination, and courage. These qualities could become a powerful weapon for combating evil or for gaining power (Pottermore, 2017). Only Harry himself could decide how to dispose his talents. Nevertheless, these qualities were inherent mostly in the students of Slytherin. Moreover, a great deal of Slytherin students turned evil, and Harry had two opposing forces in him – part of the soul of the Dark Lord and the Love of his mother – Lily Potter. This could also be a sorting hat’s reason for wanting to put Harry in this faculty.

Speaking about Lord Voldemort, he is considered to be the main enemy of Harry Potter and the antagonist in the series of novels for several reasons. First, Harry had personal accounts with him since the Dark Lord killed his parents. In addition, Harry’s godfather was suspected of assisting the Dark Lord and imprisoned in Azkaban although he was innocent and always remained a loyal friend of Lily and James Potter (Sherrill, 22). Moreover, the Dark Lord was the evilest wizard, and Harry was the only person who survived the fight with him and could resist the Dark Lord as an equal. Throughout the novel, the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters killed many of Harry’s close people who defended him, among whom Dumbledore and Sirius Black. Kind, true, and just Harry could not let the Dark Lord capture the world where his friends lived (Klein, 37). Therefore, he fought with dignity for Hogwarts against the evil forces.

In conclusion, although this series of novels tells about mighty wizards, this story says that the most powerful weapon against evil is love, friendship, and nobility. There are many points that emphasize the disinterestedness and good intentions of Potter as well as the punishment for those who aspire to power. Harry Potter is the personification of the most powerful magic that occurs even in the real world. It symbolizes the existence of eternal things, which remains after the departure of close people: love, devotion, friendship, and faith.

Works Cited

“Life Lessons we can all Take From Philosopher’s Stone.” Pottermore, 2017, https://www.pottermore.com/features/life-lessons-we-can-all-take-from-philosophers-stone.

Sherrill, Brenna. The Wizarding Words of J. K. Rowling: Literary Merit in the Harry Potter Series. Western Kentucky University, 2014, http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1491&context=stu_hon_theses.

Klein, Shawn. “Harry Potter and Humanity: Choices, Love, and Death.” Reason Papers, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 33-41, 2012, https://reasonpapers.com/pdf/341/rp_341_3.pdf.