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10 Things we learnt after reading Harry Potter

by Maui R. Drilon

It's been 14 years since the first Harry Potter book came out (yes, we all feel older now), and a decade since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone first got kids to stay seated in a theater for three potty-break free hours. We've read (and seen!) Harry and his pals transition from scrawny, problematic teenagers to insanely hot, problematic young adults. Now with the eighth and final film just around the corner, we decided to enumerate the life lessons we learned from the series, before bidding the multi-billion franchise adieu.

1. Be nice to the unpopular kids. Throughout the series, we learned that it's the freaks who turn out to be the best allies to have. School loony Luna Lovegood readily joined Dumbledore's Army and helped fight off the baddies. Hagrid saved (and endangered!) Harry and the gang's lives so many times. Neville Longbottom, despite being the class klutz, had the initiative to help revive Dumbledore's Army with the help of Luna and Ginny Weasley. We can attest to this in the real world: because really, you don't see the school jock helping you set up your office e-mail, do you?

2. It pays to be the teacher's pet. So Harry got a lot of flack from some of the students (and teachers) for being Dumbledore's favorite student. But despite Harry never using his "connections" to get an easy pass in Hogwarts, being the headmasters' pet had its perks. For one, the old man protected Harry as if he was his own son, and showered him with awesome gifts like the invisibility cloak. Which leads us to the third lesson…

3. It's not breaking the rules if you're invisible. It's perfectly acceptable to transport a dragon, sneak into a teacher's office, spy on government officials, and sneak into private bathrooms if you can't be seen. Because really, who's to say you were there in the first place?

4. Use second-hand text books. Not only do you save money, but you increase your chances of stumbling upon a secret that could lead to a huge adventure worth basing a 2-pound book on. Or you could find a used bus ticket that could be handy in case you need to dispose of some gum.

5. Chocolate can cure anything. In Rowling's wizarding world, chocolate is considered the antidote to the chilling, cold effect that dementors have on their surviving victims. In that case, Rowling could equate dementors with that monthly visitor that makes women just as cold and chilling.

6. Socks are an important article of clothing. The next time you get a pair of socks for Christmas, keep in mind that not only do they keep your feet nice and toasty, but that socks are what freed Dobby the house-elf from a lifetime of slavery at the Malfoy residence. That and hey, now you know which of your friends is a cheapskate.

7. You don't have to be related to be called "family." Heck, the Dursleys were Harry's own flesh and blood, and they kept him in a cupboard under the stairs. It really doesn't matter if you share a family tree: your real family's the ones who stand by you through thick and thin. They're the ones who agree to fight your battles with you, break the rules for you, and bother going camping with you to look for pretty little jewels that hold fragmented souls of the most evil wizard on earth.

8. It's okay to hit on your best friend's sister—all it takes is perfect timing. Even if Harry rescued Ginny in the second book from a teenage Voldemort, the timing just wasn't right. It would take four more years before Harry puts the moves on his best friend's sister. And by then Ron was cool with it, since in his head, there was a good chance they were all going to die in the battle, anyway.

9. It's your own choices that define you, not your abilities. This was one of Dumbledore's little nuggets of wisdom that he imparted on Harry at Hogwarts. So the next time someone berates you for failing at something because of your lack of skills, simply tell them: "No, no, I chose to suck at this."

10. Journalists sometimes make stuff up. Rita Skeeter was a well-known journalist who liked to sensationalize everything she covered, and even made up most of the things she wrote. It didn't help that she could transform herself into a beetle, making it easier to spy on her sources. So really, who's to say what you see on the news is true?