Harry did NOT kill Voldemort - and the lessons I learned as a result

My kids are dressing up, courtesy of my ultracool wife, as Harry and Hermione for Halloween. While talking about Harry Potter, my son said "And Harry kills Voldemort."

I couldn't let it pass. It was just too important.

“No. Harry did not kill Voldemort. Absolutely not.”

“How did Voldemort die then?”

“Voldemort killed himself. He fired a killing curse at Harry, and Harry sent a disarming spell at Voldemort. The killing curse bounced off the disarming spell and hit Voldemort. It was such an evil and ugly spell that it killed Voldemort.”

There are so many important lessons here. Let’s take them one by one.

1. Harry was torn about the fact that, according to the prophecy, he would either be a victim, or a murderer.  Despite Voldemort’s innumerable atrocities, to both Harry personally and to the world at large, Harry had no desire to actually kill him. Yes, he wanted to end Voldemort’s reign of terror, but not by killing him. Even at the last moment, in the Great Hall, as they circled each other, Harry gave Voldemort a way to redeem himself. He wanted peace and healing, not revenge. This is such a key central theme in the books – choice. 

“…there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.” – J.K. Rowling, Goblet of Fire

And though it was easy for Harry to choose anger and vengeance, he chose love and forgiveness. He chose what was right - not necessarily in an absolute moral sense – but what was right for him. Harry remained true to his own character. This is what I tried to impart to my son. No matter how difficult, how desperate the situation may be, there is always a way to remain true to your own nature and ideals.

2. Many of us feel powerless in our day to day life. We are told what to do, what to eat, how to live. Cutting across the grain commonly leads to discord or strife with our peers. It’s easy to “go with the flow.”  In Order of the Phoenix, a prophecy was revealed which, in its essence, pits Harry’s life against that of Voldemort. Harry felt himself being pulled, inexorably, into a death match.. But along the way, Dumbledore helped Harry reassess his interpretation of the situation.

The Prophecy had not real control over Harry. He was free to turn away from the Prophecy, to run, hide, or find his future elsewhere. In the end, he entered the final battle purely by choice. The message I wanted my son to understand was that nobody and nothing controls him. In the end, what he does is his own choice. Whether to enter the arena, or walk away, will be entirely up to him. It’s a subtle, but substantial, shift in perspective that changes everything. When you take responsibility for your own actions, and refuse to lay them at the feet of the government, your parents, or a prophecy, you are free.

3. When Harry was a mere 15 months old, Voldemort attempted to kill him with a killing curse. Protected by the love of his mother, the curse rebounded onto Voldemort and ripped him apart. When we arrive at that final fight, we have much the same situation. Harry, as had his mother, made the supreme sacrifice to protect his friends. Harry took the time to explain this to Voldemort, and went so far as to ask him “You don’t learn from your mistakes, Riddle do you?” (Tom Marvolo Riddle is Voldemort’s birth name). And indeed Voldemort does not. He fires exactly the same curse at exactly the same person who is protected by exactly the same charm – love.  The lesson is quite clear – if you do the same things you always do, you’ll get the same results you always get. Knowledge, even supreme magical knowledge, is worthless without wisdom.

4. There is something poetic about the fact that it was the very curse that Voldemort used to take so many lives that ultimately took his. The great Zig Ziglar said “If you go out looking for friends, you’re going to find they are very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere.” I wanted my son to understand that what you put out into the world is what you will get back. Put out anger, hatred, and evil, and they will rebound onto you. But deliver friendship, happiness, positivity and love and those things will brighten your days at the darkest of times.

I think the Harry Potter series will always be dear to me. But as I read them again, now through the eyes of my children, there is a magic in them I’ve never appreciated before.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. (Not literally. I’m not a Legilimens).