Harry Potter Lessons Learned, Chapter 16: Through the Trap Door

Welcome back to the chapter-by-chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. We're down to the last two chapters of the first book and things are not going to be easy going forward. Not that they've been a walk in the park for Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but they've been traveling to the field of battle and now can't leave it until they've faced enemies. Let's get into it.

"Are you a witch or not?"

The opening of the chapter is a great one. Told from the perspective of future Harry, it recalls that he thought the end of the year would be interrupted by calamity. This is a common fear among students, but most of us don't expect a wizarding apocalypse to happen in the middle of our history exam.

The pressure doesn't release once he's turned in his final scroll for the exams, though, and that's a lucky thing. Harry is still on high alert and thinking critically when it's most needed. I think that being friends with Hermione since Halloween has taught him to always anticipating what will need to be logged for future use and his instincts are starting to be of greater use to him.

This is true of the other two who go with him through the trap door. Ron is the cool-headed one first with Devil's Snare and later with the chess board. His exasperated, "Are you a witch or not?" is a great moment. Not only does he call Hermione to be herself, but to use all of the hard work she's done that year. Hermione then uses her own supernatural ability to focus to get past Snape's logic puzzle.

I remember studying for the SATs in preparation for college admissions. I knew that, for all of my studying, I could find myself tripped up. I am a religious person and added prayer to my preparation for the day of the test. When I opened my exam booklet, the very first question was based on a word I'd read that morning as part of my religious studies. Finding something I could trust myself to know helped me proceed with confidence and I got into good schools with the help of those tests.

I feel as though the tests between the trap door and the final confrontation of the book are designed to be less about educational content and more about intuition. For Harry, Ron, and Hermione, they can proceed with confidence to take action.

Lesson Learned: Your true colors

Success in the end is something that can and should come with the inclusion of instinct. We're four books ahead of when Harry will try to remember something by referencing where in Hermione's notes that he's seen something, but he can remember more recent things that have helped him. This can come in the form of his Quidditch skills that let him catch the key or how he follows Ron's advice in wizarding chess.

Be true to what you do best. And if you're not sure about what that is, turn to friends for help bringing out your strengths.