'Harry Potter' Has Lessons For Adults, Too

The final Harry Potter book hit the shelves in 2007. The final Harry Potter movie hit the theaters in 2011. It has been well over four years since we could expect to get our regular Harry Potter fix, and now we're left to obsessively refresh J.K. Rowling's Twitter page in the hopes that she shares more insight about the series — or interacts with the former Harry Potter actors — and mark off our calendars as we wait for Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to come out. But, whether you were a part of the original Harry Potter craze, came in midway through it, or are discovering the books for the first time as an adult, there can be no doubt that the Harry Potter series grows along with the reader. That's why there are lessons that adults can learn from Harry Potter, and learn just as well as children did when they first picked up the glossy covered Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

The fact of the matter is that you're never too old to absorb all of the lessons that the book is trying to teach you; heck, you're never too old to absorb even some of the lessons that the book is trying to teach you. Although what Harry, Ron, and Hermione go through in the novels and films might be, you know, a little unique and fantastical, they have real-world applications that are clear in the fact that Harry Potter continues to touch the lives of so many people to this day. So what life lessons from Harry Potter can you still learn even if you're not a kid anymore?

1. First Impressions Aren't Always The Best

You'd be shocked how often in your adult life you end up going with your first impression of someone, and turning out to be wrong. If Ron and Harry had done that, they never would have become best friends with Hermione, and they probably would have died at the end of the first book. Just saying.

2. It's Harder To Stand Up To Friends Than Enemies

Neville Longbottom proved his level of bravery early on when he stood in the way of Harry, Ron, and Hermione and tried to stop them from getting themselves killed. Because it's really easy to tell off someone that you hate, but, when your friend is doing something wrong, it takes true courage to tell them to cut it out. Especially when you've known them for decades.

3. Sometimes, The Scariest Evil Is The Evil You Know

Sure, we're all worried about the big evils in the world like sexism, racism, and faceless enemies who might break into our homes and harm our families. But, just like Draco Malfoy was a more reoccurring pain in Harry's behind than even Lord Voldemort, so too can the everyday evils be just as hard to face: financial difficulties, fights with friends, having a no good, very bad day every day this week, etc.

4. Rumors Are Damaging And Dangerous

The media tried to paint Harry Potter as crazy for saying Voldemort was back. Rumors that Harry and Hermione were dating led Hermione to be given the cold shoulder by Mrs. Weasley and sent skin-damaging pus in the mail. Heck, Harry acting on a rumor from Kreacher the elf led to Sirius Black getting killed. Think before you go spreading information you don't 100 percent is true, and the world will be better for it.

5. Rely On Your Friends If You Want To Live

OK, so that's a little bit extreme, but it's still true that, no matter how old you are, every day is a lot easier to get through when you rely on your friends to see you through it.

6. You're The Only One Who Can Make Fun Of Your Friends

Everyone — especially Ron — loved to call Hermione a know-it-all, but, when Snape did it to her in class, everyone was offended on her behalf. Because only you get to make fun of your friends, and anyone who makes them feel bad is The Enemy.

7. Family Doesn't Always End With Blood

Harry Potter didn't have much in the way of family, but he certainly did create his own between his friends and the Weasley family that both he and Hermione married into. Family is what you make of it.

8. You Don't Actually Need To Get Along With Your Family

All right, so Harry did have some family in the world. But, trust me, if your family is the type that makes you live in a cupboard under the stairs for your whole life and goes out of their way to make sure you remember that they don't like you, then they're not your family. They're just people you're related to.

9. Authority Figures Aren't Always To Be Trusted

Snape might have been trustworthy in the end, but he certainly wasn't a trustworthy authority figure. His fervor to punish Sirius Black for bullying him as a kid nearly led to Peter Pettigrew getting off scot-free, and he bullied his students so much that Neville Longbottom was genuinely afraid of him. Some people just shouldn't have become teachers, man. And, so too in adulthood, just because someone is your boss doesn't mean you have to like them, or trust them.

10. There Is Light Even In The Deepest Of Darkness

No matter what was going on in the series, and there was a lot of dark stuff going on in the series, there were always moments of humor and happiness. A romantic relationship here. A laugh with your friends there. A great Ron Weasley one-liner. No matter what terrible things are happening in your life, there is light.

11. Every Hero Was Once A Child

It's all too easy for us to believe that our voices are too small to ever make a difference when we see an injustice happening. That's not true. Every great hero in history was just one small voice before they changed the world. Harry couldn't even talk yet before he saved the world. Remember that.

12. Finding Love Means Getting It Wrong — A Lot

Cho Chang. Lavender Brown. Viktor Krum. Breaking up with Ginny Weasley. Waiting until the end of the seventh book to get together. Suffice it to say, Harry, Ron, and Hermione never got love right the first or even second time they attempted it, and it took them a long time to sort it. That's just the way life goes, and that's OK.

13. Friends Make The Best Lovers

Of course, it really comes as no surprise that Ron and Hermione, and Harry and Ginny, were friends before they ever made the transition into lovers. Because we all know that the person you love should also be one of your best friends.

14. Magic Never Fades No Matter How Old You Are

This is the most important lesson to take from Harry Potter, and perhaps the most important one. Whether you're a child who still believes in monsters under the bed, or an adult too cynical to still be waiting for a letter from Hogwarts, there is beauty and magic in the world. It never fades; it simply grows and changes with you.

See? Like I said, the lessons in Harry Potter are timeless.

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