Harry Potter Lessons Learned, Chapter 5: Diagon Alley

Welcome back to the Harry Potter chapter-by-chapter. I admit that I've been hyper-focused on the Halloween Countdown that is nearly done, but I am here to talk about what would, in cinematography, be called an establishing shot.

"If yeh know where to go."

I never noticed establishing shots until watching a behind-the-scenes discussion of a favorite TV show. But as soon as I recognized it, I paid attention to how I knew a setting by a close-up of a character's building or an overhead shot of the city where the action was taking place. It also helped set the tone for what was to come.

Diagon Alley as a chapter welcomes us to the wizarding world by doing the same for Harry. I love the fact that his first responsibility involves paying the owl for the Daily Prophet. One of my first major steps into the larger world was going to a school that required a commute. Instead of taking a bus across town, I biked to the train station,, took a train into the city, boarded a subway to another area and arrived at classes for the day. On the way to the subway, I would do what seemed to me a very grown-up thing: I would pay fifty cents for a copy of The Boston Globe. It'll be some time before Harry borrows Hermione's copy of the paper to catch up on the news, but this is a good start.

Hagrid makes sure that Harry is welcomed publicly, not sneaking him in the back door like someone to be ashamed of. We don't know how common it is for new students to come to Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron--we don't see it happening to others in this chapter and later books don't shed much light on procedure--but Harry is recognized and reverenced. I love Doris Crockford, who keeps coming back for more handshakes and I'm not thrilled that he meets Professor Quirrell here, but that's a discussion for a later time.

For me, the best part of the chapter is involved in how many choices Harry gets to make. This is the kid who only got a cheap iced lolly because a vendor at the zoo noticed him. His school uniform was to be grey versions of his cousin's clothing. He gets to choose his friends first, not falling over himself to ingratiate himself to the first classmate he meets. He chooses to defend Hagrid in the process, even when Hagrid keeps him from spending his money on really fun things like Curses and Counter-Curses or a solid gold cauldron. We don't know how Harry got from blushing at the idea of a birthday present to owning a snowy owl, but we get the feeling from the fact that he "couldn't stop stammering his thanks" that he's overwhelmed by the generosity.

I think the greatest choice he makes is to be open to this new world. He lets himself be vulenerable and trusting and whatever his nature is, it's what attracts the attention of a wand that is a twin to Lord Voldemort's. It may be "curious" to Mr. Ollivander, but it's a product of the person Harry has raised himself to be in spite of the Dursleys.

Lesson Learned: Ignorance is a gift

I love the title of the Dr. Seuss book, Oh the Places You'll Go! It's a traditional gift for graduates or growing children ,but the message is great for all ages. One of my favorite quotes from it is, "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose."

I travel on a regular basis with a friend who doesn't like wandering. At the beginning of a day on vacation, she will know which museum we will visit and what time we need to be at a tour and our days go very smoothly under that direction. I am absolutely fine with that, but I've discovered that I need an element of the unexpected. Some of my best experiences have come from when I let her go back to her hotel while I return to a neighborhood or find out what we missed earlier in the day.

It is no bad thing to be curious, to be on the receiving end of knowledge. It is, in fact, something to be treasured. It can be a scary experience, but every worthwhile thing in growing up is.