Pottah! Part Deux! in Hello

Rowling did a great job of breaking down adults into morally gray, complex characters.

Snape. Dumbledore. James. Sirius. Even Tom Riddle himself. All these larger than life people are all broken adults from a broken childhood.

In Deathly Hallows, the reader is ripped from the comfort and safety of Hogwart’s as the characters are thrust into the “real world,” on the run, broke and scrounging by.

The children themselves show a greater maturity and understanding of the world around them than the confused adults they seek guidance from.

It’s a lot more than a children’s series. Using a fantasy backdrop, it is a coming of age story that deals with loss, grief and acceptance. It is a reminder that the world is harsh and that the adults in the room aren’t necessarily always right or know what’s best.

It also delves heavily into themes of death, addiction, mental illness, suicide, racism, classism and right wing ideology thrust upon the masses with a strict, dictatorial despot who rules by fear.