The most important part of this chapter and to their friendship is the lie. Hermione’s lie to take the blame for finding herself in the bathroom with the troll through no fault of her own. I know the feeling of absolute loneliness seconds before certain death can translate into greater questioning of everyday life but,… Continue reading Halloween through Friendship

The thing about betrayal is that the circumstances don’t matter, the end results don’t matter. The social contract is broken as soon as you act on going against your word. Harry and Ron are breaking the implicit social contract they have with the fellow members of their house by acting on their selfish urges. To… Continue reading The Midnight Duel through Betrayal

Me: Salut! Sane Me: Bonjour Me: Why do I need to write this again? Sane Me: Because you promised Me: Who? Sane Me: Yourself Me: Why? Sane Me: Because you wanted to get good at writing. Me: That doesn’t sound like me. Sane Me: Remember the day you spent dreaming about writing YA novels and being a… Continue reading The Potions Master through Promises

Okay so, This is gonna be short and quick, mostly because the chapter is short and not filled with references to Vulnerability. There are a couple of them but, before I get there, I’d like to define Vulnerability. Vulnerability is being naked, It’s exposing yourself to the elements of nature and saying, The ball’s in… Continue reading Sorting Hat through Vulnerability

I have been struggling with expectations (see what I did there :p). I’ve come to think of expectation as self-defense against the uncertainty of the future, It lays a foundation with which to tackle whatever might come next. I’ve been doing this a lot over the last couple of months or so, laying down expectations… Continue reading The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters through Expectations

I want to focus on one grubby place from this chapter, The Leaky Cauldron. Hagrid is an outcast in the Muggle world due to his size, appearance, and ability to do magic, He doesn’t fit in and gets agitated by it. He then goes into this unremarkable place and immediately feels at home, the barman… Continue reading Diagon Alley through Being a Stranger

There are two things that jump out in this chapter regarding generosity, The first is Hagrid’s focus on wishing Harry Potter on his birthday. His first 3 actions from the start of the chapter are to eliminate any and all distractions to achieving this singular goal. (1) He fits the door back into the frame… Continue reading The Keeper of the Keys through Generosity

Fearlessness can be as liberating as fear can be crippling, I think this chapter shows that brilliantly.  I like that Vernon gets his priorities straight in fear, like not putting Dudley on a pedestal and showing some consideration to Harry. The way fear induces paranoia in Vernon and stops him from following his “normal” way… Continue reading The Letters From No One through Fear

Loneliness is not about being alone but, to not feel loved, by others or by themselves. They have to find solace in their thoughts to keep the feeling away. The lack of love felt by Harry while having to watch his “equal” showered with loads must be depressingly lonely. I hope he found solace in… Continue reading The Vanishing Glass through Loneliness