HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE

It is quite evident that from the outset of the series in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry will become the wizard with the greatest responsibility. He is renowned throughout the wizarding world as “The Boy Who Lived” and “The Chosen One.” He is the only one to have faced off against Voldemort and lived to be the one powerful enough to face off against him again. And again. And again.

With the help of his most faithful friends – Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger – Harry Potter is able to vanquish the evil forces within the wizarding world (and perhaps, in the muggle world, set a boa constrictor loose on a pestering menace or two). And how does he accomplish that, you ask? How is such an inexperienced and young wizard, who only recently discovered that he is a wizard, able to accomplish such tremendous feats? Maybe a part of it is luck, as Harry often seems to be in the right place at the right time. Another part is his great support team, as his friends Ron and Hermione are always with him and ready to help him conquer evil. And yet still another part is his virtues. His penchant towards self-sacrifice and endless courage in the face of evil allows him to do what he thinks is right. 

However, I would argue that the main reason that Harry constantly succeeds is his habit of breaking the rules. When is Harry Potter not found breaking the rules? Even in his introduction to the wizarding world his first year at Hogwarts, there is never a moment when Harry is not taking actions that toe the line of expulsion. Rowling sends a direct message through Harry’s rebellion against the rules at Hogwarts. Not only, as Harry shows, is breaking the rules an imperative to surmounting a greater evil. But with breaking the rules comes inherent dangers that have tremendous consequences.

One of the many ways that Harry saves the day through rule-breaking is by rescuing his friends from peril – or in Hagrid’s case, a seriously poor choice in judgement. When a troll is on the loose, Harry and Ron sneak off and away from safety to warn Hermione about the troll. Of course, after accidentally locking the troll inside a girl’s bathroom with Hermione in it, Harry and Ron rush inside where they all work together to defeat the troll. Harry specifically, as this whole plan was his idea, clearly broke school rules. Rather than get to safety and ask for a professor’s help, he runs to face off against a “gigantic” monster that is “twelve feet tall” (Rowling 174). Harry’s actions could have not only gotten himself killed, but also have led to the death of his friends. 

At the same time, his decision was an importantly calculated risk. The troll did not show signs of intelligence or display any signs that it was aware of a right or wrong. Even though the troll may have passed by the girl’s bathroom without going inside, there may have been the possibility of that happening. And Hermione, who remains both unprepared and unaware of the imminent danger she is facing, could have easily been killed without immediate aid to rescue her from the troll. By breaking the rules, Harry ensures Hermione’s safety and makes sure that no other student can be harmed by a dangerous and freely roaming troll.

Harry also rescues Hagrid – again, from his poor judgement – when he sends off his pet dragon Norbert to a safer location. Hagrid – who hold a bleeding heart for man-eating creatures – raises Norbert in his home on Hogwarts campus. To save Hagrid from trouble, Harry and Hermione use the Invisibility Cloak to “set [Norbert] free” (235). As the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, Hagrid has a major responsibility to look after and protect the grounds. Caring for such a dangerous creature on school property is a blatant disregard for the rules and betrays the trust of the professors he works alongside. However, in the process of protecting his dear friend, Harry broke serious school rules. For one, breaking curfew in a school where dangers lurk at literally every corner. And two, both Harry and Hermione put themselves at serious risk of injury if anything had gone wrong in transporting the baby dragon. So yes, Harry saved one of his most beloved friends from losing his job. Though, once again he wagers his life (or at the very least serious bodily harm) and “a hundred fifty points” from Gryffindor too.

Finally, when Harry fears that the school is in jeopardy of going to the “Dark Side,” he convinces Ron and Hermione to help him break into the room on the Forbidden Third Floor Corridor. Forbidden because it contains a “monstrous dog” with all of the characteristics needed for the makings of a horror movie: three heads, “mad rolling eyes” and “yellowish fangs” where droops of saliva hangs (160-161). Affectionately named Fluffy by its adopted owner Hagrid – quite a misnomer if you ask me. Also forbidden because it contains the powerful sorcerer’s stone, which Voldemort attempts to use to return to full power. Harry, Ron, and Hermione very clearly broke many rules: they entered a floor that was off limits, fought past magical defenses that should have been left in place, and then faced off against the evilest wizard to ever exist. Not only could they have died, but had they failed, it could have had calamitous effects on the wizard world had Voldemort risen to power once again. And yet, by breaking the rules, Harry is able to prevent a terrible event – the return of Voldemort – from taking place at that time.                                                                            

All in all, what we can take away from Harry’s rebellion is that truly wanting to protect something often comes at an expense to yourself. In going against the rules of an established institution there are bound to be consequences. However, the success of overcoming a greater harm can outweigh the consequences of rebellion. As we can learn from Harry, sitting back and playing it safe does not always guarantee success. However, doing everything in your power – even if that does include breaking some rules – to avert disaster will more often than not will lead to a greater triumph.