Harry Potter. That�s right, Harry Potter. You heard me right, it�s about that time. Of course, it would be impossible to cover all of The Future of Harry in one post. I would like to focus on one specific facet of Harry that I think is indicative of a lot of what the future holds in store for him. But enough jibba-jabba, let�s get on with it.

Harry has created controversy not only in the wizarding world, but in the real world as well (for those of you unable to tell the difference, the wizarding world is where owls deliver the mail and kids walk through walls to catch the train to their school. The real world is where humans deliver the mail, and kids that try to walk through walls to get to a train end up in the hospital). It seems that certain groups of people feel that Harry is dangerous, not because of his wicked Expelliarmus charm, but because he introduces our children to Witchcraft and Wizardry, which will eventually lead them to pagan and Satan worship. The claim is that children are unable to distinguish between the real world and the wizarding world. Harry lives in London, attends a school in the UK and rides the Underground, just like you and me. Frodo and Aslan live in completely fictional worlds, with fictional geographies, no subway system, completely and temporally isolated from us in every way. Ergo, children are not in danger of picking up bad pagan habits from Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia, but Harry Potter opens the door to all sorts of evil ideas (I am leaving out, for simplicities sake, the Magic Yarmulke argument. Email me for details).

I don�t want to get into the argument in depth here. I happen to think that there are more pagans in existence today because of Lord of the Rings, even if it does have Christian themes. Again, that isn�t necessarily the issue. The clear thing is that our society encourages children to use their imagination. Barney, Teletubbies, Sponge-Bob; you name it. Kids have plenty of practice distinguishing what is real and what isn�t. If your question is whether or not kids should learn ethics and morals from contemporary fiction as opposed to the Bible or other canonical religious texts, that is a different argument, and you might as well throw out the K�tonton and Magic Yarmulke books while you are at it.

If you have read any of the Harry Potter books, you know that there is not a deep delving into the occult anywhere in the story. Magic is used as a set piece, not as a topic in and of itself. We never have an in-depth exposition of complex rituals or exploration into hidden magical secrets. On the contrary, magic as JK Rowling portrays it at its deepest sense, is not occult and mystical, but very real. When Dumbledore informs Harry that the mercy he showed towards Peter Pettigrew created a �bond� between them, Harry recoils in horror:

"Pettigrew owes his life to you. You have sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt...When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them... and I'm much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter."
"I don't want a connection with Pettigrew!" said Harry. "He betrayed my parents!"
"This is magic at its deepest, its most impenetrable, Harry. But trust me... the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life."

Dumbledore is telling Harry is that magic is multi-faceted. Yes, there are the Expelliarmuses and Alohomoras, but deep down, magic is about the relationships created between people. This is the same magic that exists in the real world, which takes its form in society and culture, in interpersonal relationships and personal self-consciousness. Rowling may use magic as backdrop to the story, but the real message is much more profound and universal.

Take Harry, for example. Everyone in the wizarding world looks at Harry as a powerful wizard, due mainly to the fact that Voldemort met defeat at his hands. But what really happened? We know that Harry�s protection from Voldemort had absolutely nothing to do with anything special or magical about himself (magically speaking, it was Lily Potter�s sacrifice which saved him). Dumbledore explains that some of Voldemort�s power transferred to Harry, which explains Harry�s ability to speak Parseltounge. Voldemort�s inability to harm Harry (before the �rebirth�) stems not from some inherent magical power that Harry posses, but simply as a result of the protection provided by his mother.

What�s the point? The point is this; Harry is special, not because he is a great wizard, but because he is a great person. He is brave, courageous, caring and all that other good stuff. In the end (and here is the prognostication), in order to defeat Voldemort, Harry will give up all his magical powers, leaving him as much a Muggle as the Cousin Dudley. He will have to make a choice; between giving up the power that transformed him from an unloved orphan to a wizarding-hero overnight, and living in a world ruled by evil. And precisely because of who he is, Harry will make the right choice, even if it means losing what he felt made him special. But that�s the catch; it doesn�t matter one bit, because Harry will still be the greatest of all wizards:

�Harry -- you�re a great wizard, you know.�
�I�m not as good as you,� said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.
�Me!� said Hermione. �Books! And cleverness. There are more important things -- friendship and bravery and . . .�

Being a great wizard has nothing to do with magic. Not occult magic, anyway.