Ten Random Acts of Kindness from “Harry Potter”
Harry Potter does not just teach us about spells and love. It also teaches us about the magic of being kind. Here’s a list of ten random acts of kindness taught by the series.
1. Harry buys chocolates from the trolley so that he can share them with Ron.
Harry had never tried Chocolate Frogs or Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans before. For the first time in his life, he has enough money to buy them all, and someone to share them with. What could be a better way for two 11-year-olds to bond than with treats? To save Ron from his poorly packed sandwiches and to have someone to talk to, Harry buys a little bit of everything and shares it with his new friend.
2. Ron, Fred, and George use their dad’s flying car to rescue Harry from his room at number four, Privet Drive.
During their holidays, Harry promises to write to his friends. However, Ron does not receive any letters from him. Worried for his friend, 12-year-old Ron and his 14-year-old twin brothers arrive at the Dursleys’ home in Mr. Weasley’s flying Ford Anglia at midnight to save Harry like knights in shining armor. Harry then spends the rest of the summer at the small yet cozy home of the Weasleys.
3. Florean Fortescue helps Harry with his homework and also offers him ice cream every half hour.
After inflating his Aunt Marge in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry ends up spending the last two weeks of his school vacation at the Leaky Cauldron. His days are spent in Diagon Alley, where he works on his summer homework at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor. Florean not only helps the boy out with his holiday essay but also gives him complimentary sundaes every half hour.
4. Firenze saves Harry from Voldemort and lets the boy ride him “like a common mule.”
Centaurs are proud creatures. Firenze the centaur, on the other hand, frightens off Voldemort and takes Harry back to safety when the boy is serving detention in the Forbidden Forest in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. He also allows the Gryffindor to ride him to help him escape faster, much to the chagrin of other centaurs.
5. Cedric is nice to Harry in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire even though most people are against him.
Cedric Diggory is the ultimate Hufflepuff. He is kind, humble, and modest. After being chosen to represent Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament, he could have easily joined the anti-Potter gang. But he chooses to remain humble and kind toward Harry, who is his rival in the competition, and even helps him out during the tournament.
6. Molly Weasley knits Harry a sweater as a Christmas gift.
Despite just meeting Harry once, Molly Weasley knits a Weasley sweater for him as his first Christmas present at Hogwarts after Ron tells her that Harry is not expecting any gifts during the holidays.
7. The Marauders accept Remus Lupin as a werewolf and become Animagi to help him.
When James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew discovered that their friend Remus Lupin is a werewolf in their second year, they vowed to assist him in his monthly transformations despite the fact that it could be extremely dangerous. They also spent three years becoming Animagi, risking permanent mutilation. Despite their family’s prejudices against werewolves, they supported Remus throughout his monthly transformations by accompanying him to the Shrieking Shack in their Animagi forms.
8. Draco refuses to identify Harry at Malfoy Manor.
When Harry, Ron, and Hermione are taken to Malfoy Manor by the Snatchers, Draco is well aware that the moment he identifies Harry, the boy would be killed. Draco knows the difference between a schoolboy rivalry and aiding in the murder of a rival. Draco despises Harry and his friends, but after everything that has happened in the last year, he knows he can’t just let Harry die.
9. Luna Lovegood believes in Harry when others do not.
She is intensely loyal to her friend throughout the series. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when Harry is characterized as an attention-seeking liar, Luna confronts him and reveals that she believes He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, and that Harry fought and escaped from him, in front of everyone.
10. Dudley makes amends with Harry.
Following the Dementor attack in Order of the Phoenix, Dudley changes his mind about Harry and begins to regard his cousin as an equal. At the end of the series, Dudley even leaves a cup of tea for Harry, shakes his hand, and states that he does not see him as a waste of space. It is a good feeling for Harry during troubling times, who has never heard kind words from the people he has spent his childhood with.
Did this list make your tears fall down? Collect them in a vial for future use, and let us know your favorite act of kindness from the series in the comments.