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I am a Christian and imagine my concern when my son and grandson told me they were reading Harry Potter books. At first I freaked, then I decided to check what was really being written in the series of Harry Potter books. It is better to know one's enemy than to go into battle unprepared, and for Christians, it is a spiritual battle we fight; even in what we read and watch.

When we are first introduced to Harry, he was an orphan being left on the door step of his aunt and uncle the Dursley's. He basically grew up in an atmosphere of neglect, slavery and impoverishment. His bedroom was a cupboard they kept locked. They fawned all over their son,
while ignoring Harry except to yell at him and boss him around. While their son, Dudley, had his birthday remembered and celebrated with much fan fare, Harry's went unnoticed and he got nothing, not even a "Happy Birthday". He wore his cousin's hand me down clothes, it was as if he had nothing of his own; at that time not even a picture of his parents,nor was he told the truth about how they died and who they really were.
To my astonishment, Harry was not bitter by his circumstances, he was at times angry at how his cousin or aunt and uncle treated him, but he kept the angry words one who would normally use inside. He was obedient to them. He did not curse them but honored them, as if they were his parents, which we as Christians are commanded to do, honor our mother and father.
Yes, as he got older he rebelled against them, but that is a teens way of growing up, to test those waters to see just how far he/she can go, and if it is the right way to go.

At Hogwarts, Harry showed bravery, honesty, discipline, loyalty, kindness and he put others before his own safety, which usually got him in trouble. He was also, childlike, in awe of his surroundings and like any child he loved magic. (As a child and even now, my favorite movie is the Wizard of Oz, and yes, there are Christian parallels there too, but that is for another article!)

When we were children we loved the thought of magical things, some adults still have what is called "magical thinking" their hope for something better. Other books, and movies also capture this theme of magic, most of Disney's movies are magical, Lord of the Rings, the
Chronicles of Narnia, and others. But what seems to set the Harry Potter series apart is that the magic is being done by Harry and those at Hogwarts or in the witch/wizard community he is a part of during his school year. The others

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