“Harry Potter” and “Divergent”: Amity

We’ve covered Dauntless, Candor, and Erudite. Now, in this fourth installment of our Divergent series, we are going to explore which characters in the Harry Potter series we believe would have chosen the peaceful life of Amity at the ripe age of 16.

Amity is described in Divergent, “Amity farm the land. They’re all about kindness and harmony, always happy.” This faction is dedicated to peacefulness, kindness, forgiveness, trust, self-sufficiency, and neutrality, as outlined by the Conversations of Peace in their Manifesto. Amity was formed as a peaceful society, free from sadness and conflict, by those who blamed war and fighting on human nature’s faults. There is no one leader of the faction, but the members make decisions together and elect a representative to share their rulings with the other factions. So which Harry Potter characters would have chosen to bleed over the soil for the simple life of Amity at their Choosing Ceremony?

1. Lily (Evans) Potter

Lily Potter is renowned throughout the Potter series for her kindness. Professors were enamored with her peaceful spirit and desire to bring happiness to those around her. Professor Slughorn describes her in Half-Blood Prince as a “vivacious and charming girl,” one of his favorite students. He claims that anyone who met her would like her since she was amiable and funny. The Half-Blood Prince movie adds to his memory of her with a recollection of her flower petal transfiguration spell, a beautiful symbolization of her gentleness. Dumbledore tells Harry at the top of the Astronomy Tower, “Just like your mother, you are unfailingly kind. A trait people never fail to undervalue, I’m afraid.” We know Lily to be a very forgiving character from her friendship with Severus throughout their years at Hogwarts, even with his “Mudblood” slurs and interest in Dark magic. She was a very trusting woman, ready and willing to name Peter Pettigrew as Secret-Keeper though he was a questionable choice at best. While Amity generally stay out of fighting entirely, we believe that a cause as impactful as the Order of the Phoenix, good plainly battling the evil of Lord Voldemort, would be more or less an exception to the rule of neutrality. Lily undoubtedly had no interest or yearning for war or conflict, but she would not sit idly by as her friends and family were threatened, tortured, and killed either; just as Johanna Reyes defects to defend the innocents against the attacks in Insurgent. Lily’s kind and gentle nature would have been a perfect fit for the Amity faction.

2. Neville Longbottom

Neville is a particularly gentle young man. He gets bullied by all of Slytherin and even members of the other Houses throughout the Potter series, but he doesn’t fight back. He remains docile even in the face of a spider being tortured – specifically to hurt him. He does not lash out at the impostor Mad-Eye; he just stands there and takes the abuse. Neville is kind to everyone and non-judgmental, a product of his family background. He is quiet and reserved, mostly keeping to himself, even in  large groups like the Great Hall or the common room. While his demeanor is entirely at home in Amity, so are his interests. Amity are is in charge of farming the land, and Neville is particularly interested and gifted in Herbology. After his time at Hogwarts he becomes a professor in the subject. He takes solace in being surrounded by plants, usually preferring to visit Professor Sprout in the gardens than spend time with other students. He often takes the neutral stance among his friends, as we see in Goblet of Fire when Harry and Ron are fighting. While Neville aids Harry in his watery contest, he is still on fine terms with Ron, choosing to stay out of the argument. While he turns a new leaf in Deathly Hallows and stands up to the Carrows—reassembling Dumbledore’s Army, leading the attack on Fenrir Greyback’s werewolves in the Battle of Hogwarts, and finally rallying the downtrodden to fight after Harry’s “death” and kill Nagini—his most basic and true nature is his kindness. We believe that while the Sorting Hat took a long time to see Neville’s brave side, Neville was even slower to recognize it within himself. At 16 years old, Neville would have eagerly bled over the soil of Amity in search of friendship, harmony, and nature.

3. Rubeus Hagrid

The gentle giant of the Harry Potter series, Hagrid has all the power and strength to do major damage to anyone who crosses him, but he chooses not to. Overall, Hagrid is a very peaceful character throughout the challenges he faces. He always greets the trio warmly and treats all other people and creatures with respect. You have to be a gentle person to interact successfully with magical creatures like hippogriffs, who demand respect. Hagrid is even kind to characters that mistreat him, carrying Malfoy to the Hospital Wing after he deliberately ruined his first lesson. Hagrid is thoughtful and caring, bringing Harry a homemade cake for his eleventh birthday and putting together a scrapbook with photos of Harry’s parents. Like the Amity, Hagrid is a big hugger. Harry never leaves Hogwarts without a big bear hug from Hagrid, he has a heart that is in perfect proportion to his body, and he is passive in conflict. When Fudge arrives to take him to Azkaban, he does not fight or cause a ruckus; he simply gives vague advice to Harry and Ron under the Invisibility Cloak and goes willingly to the dismal wizard prison. His peaceful and gentle demeanor, as well as his interest in magical creatures and nature, would be quite at home in Amity.

Honorable Mention I: Professor Sprout

Pomona Sprout flourished during her Hogwarts years as a content Hufflepuff and star in Herbology class. She later returned to the castle to teach the subject and become the Head of Hufflepuff house. Throughout the series, Sprout has continuously offered help during times of conflict without being involved directly. This is similar to how the Amity granted Beatrice and the others refuge during Insurgent. She placed the Devil’s Snare beneath the trap door in Sorcerer’s Stone, grew the Mandrakes to cure the Petrified in Chamber of Secrets, opposed Umbridge’s tyranny in Order of the Phoenix, and insisted Hogwarts remain open after Dumbledore’s death in Half-Blood Prince. When the time came for direct action, Sprout used her talents with plants as her weapon, throwing Devil’s Snare and more at Death Eaters during the Battle of Hogwarts. For a spirit in touch with nature and plant life, Sprout would easily choose Amity and feel at home among all the rest.

Honorable Mention II: Madam Pomfrey

Poppy Pomfrey has been trusted to heal and nurture Hogwarts pupils since before the Marauders came to school. An expert in healing magic and Transfiguration, Pomfrey uses her talents the ideal way a member of Amity would. She is never involved with the conflict happening around her and treats the injured without much judgment (except to remind Harry to be careful). The only time we see her become involved with conflict is during the Battle of Hogwarts, and even then she returns immediately to her healing post afterwards to treat the wounded. Amity would be a lovely home for Madam Pomfrey, where she could live peacefully among other gentle people like herself.