Words of Wisdom

I’ve always been a huge Harry Potter fan. When I was a kid, I was obsessed. I read the first four books at seven and went to midnight releases for the rest, and reread them all again and again and again. I listened to podcasts, read fanfiction, wrote for an online role playing site, and listened to wizard rock music. Easily some of my favorite experiences when I spent four months in the UK were visiting Harry Potter-related sites. I’ve read the books and seen the movies so many times I’ve lost count, and I can probably still answer just about any trivia question you might throw at me. (Just in case, major spoiler alert for the whole series in the rest of this post.)

Death is a major player in Harry Potter. Not literally, except in “The Tale of the Three Brothers” in Tales of Beedle the Bard, but thematically. Harry’s whole story started because Voldemort murdered his parents. He proceeds to lose his godfather two short ears after finding him, his greatest mentor and teacher, the pet that symbolizes his childhood and innocence, the most loyal creature friend in yet another act of sacrifice, and so many more.

And it all happens because Voldemort is afraid of death. Because he heard a prophecy once that told him, “Neither can live while the other survives.” Because as a young child, he became obsessed with the idea of being the most powerful wizard in the world and of living forever, to the extent that he was not alienated by the idea of murdering others to cast the curse that would split his soul to protect him.

Dumbledore always told Harry that Voldemort’s greatest weakness was that he was so afraid to die, and that this obsessive fear is what led him to so much evil. Dumbledore said Harry need not be afraid of death, that “To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”

I didn’t have to look up that quote to remember it. It’s one of the better known ones of the books, but more importantly, it’s always resonated with me. I know in this world, being afraid of death couldn’t corrupt me into using a curse to split my soul, but regardless, based on the evidence of the books, I’ve always wholeheartedly agreed with Dumbledore that life is much more enjoyable if you aren’t trying to run from the inevitable, and instead can accept that it’s coming, and maybe even that it’s not so bad after all.

Harry visits his parents’ grave in the final book, and on their shared tombstone he sees the Scripture quote, “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” He worries for a moment that this means his parents are trying to “defeat” death the way Voldemort is, trying to conquer it and live forever. But really, it means that death is coming for everyone, and it’s the last obstacle you have to face before you’re free. Alternatively, it also means that it’s the last fear you have to put to rest, one of the hardest ideas to come to terms with as you try to build yourself a well-organized mind.

The words of JK Rowling were so ingrained into my consciousness as a kid that it’s no wonder that I convinced myself early on not to be afraid of death. I didn’t lose sight of its horribleness and emotional resonance – I still cannot make it through any of the last three books without weeping, for example. But being upset by someone dying and being afraid of it are two different things. Somehow, Dumbledore’s words took root in me as a personal goal and philosophy, one that sticks with me even now.