Yes, it's hard to believe the big-screen adventure started so long ago, but it's true. On Nov. 16, 2001, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" first brought the beloved storybook characters off the page.
We've learned a lot from Harry and the gang since those early days.
From the first film to the last, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint made the Wizarding World magical. Warner Bros.
1. Choose your friends wisely:
An unlikely trio, to begin with, Harry, Ron, and Hermione proved time and time again that real friendship forges an unbreakable bond. Together they managed to face Dementors and Death Eaters, Dolores Umbridge and Horcruxes. Not to mention the truly horrifying pitfalls of teenage life: relationship problems, jealousy, and school exams. With true friends, it doesn’t matter if you argue over a possibly jinxed new broomstick or accidentally swallow a love potion because, at the end of the day, they’ll always have your back.2. A good teacher is a great thing:
Hogwarts had plenty of amazing teachers who put their students' needs and safety first. And just like their real-world counterparts, we're sure they never made enough galleons, sickles, and knuts to compensate them for all their hard work.
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" brought magic to the big screen in 2001.Warner Bros.
3. Face your fears:
Whether it was as simple as saying a frightful name to take away its power or facing one giant spider — and a thousand little ones — confronting fears proved powerful in the Potterverse.
4. If you need help, ask for it:
Harry had one flaw throughout every story: His first instinct when facing danger was to face it alone. But along the way, he always found out that a little help from his teachers, the groundskeeper, and the headmaster — and a whole lot of help from his friends — was the only way to win.
Alan Rickman as Professor Snape in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection / ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett C
5. People aren't always what they seem:
From the first story to the last, Harry learned powerful lessons about people he thought he knew. For instance, Professor Quirrell seemed like a well-meaning member of the faculty, until Harry discovered the dark (lord) secret he kept under wraps. And despite seven years of doubting Professor Snape's motives, Harry learned the potions master was fighting for him all along.
6. Be a doer, not a dreamer:
When faced with a mirror that brought one's ultimate fantasies into focus, Dumbledore told Harry: "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
7. Never mistake confidence for courage:
Gilderoy Lockhart boasted about his brave feats in "Chamber of Secrets," but it was all a bunch of hot air. Want to see real bravery? Check out quiet Neville Longbottom, who mustered up the courage to stand up to his friends in the beginning and to help take down big bad Voldemort in the end.
Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1." Everett Collection
8. Everyone dies, but some never really live:
"Don't pity the dead," Dumbledore — or Harry's idea of the late headmaster — said in the final film. "Pity the living, and above all, all those who live without love."
9. Wealth is relative:
Harry's bank vault was filled with mounds of gold galleons, while his best friend, Ron, barely scraped by. But Ron had family, and Harry considered him much richer for it.
10. The most harmful action is inaction:
"Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike," Dumbledore warned in "Order of the Phoenix."
Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." Warner Bros.
11. Older doesn't mean wiser:
So many of the best lessons are in Dumbledore's words, including his words about where wisdom is often found: "Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth."
12. It's OK to be a misfit:
Luna Lovegood was roundly mocked for being fanciful and just plain out-there — even Hermione accidentally called her "Loony" once — but she was also a faithful friend to Harry and a worthy member of Dumbledore's Army.
13. The way to really know someone:
Sirius Black said it best in "Goblet of Fire": “If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."
14. Death is inevitable, but love is immortal:
Harry's mother died defending him, but her love lived on — and continued to protect him long after she was gone.
15. Magic is real:We may not have wands (or at least ones that work), but we have friends — and that's the most powerful force in the whole Wizarding World.
16. Bravery comes in many forms:Whether you stand up to your friends because they’re breaking the rules, like Neville did, or take a leaf out of Hermione’s book and fight for what you believe in (even if nobody else took S.P.E.W. seriously), these were all demonstrations of courage and fortitude.
17. People can surprise you:
A towering half-giant could turn out to be a loyal, kind, and gentle friend while a stuttering, nervous teacher may be harboring Voldemort in his turban. A dark, bitter Potions master may sacrifice everything to right a wrong for the love of his life, and even a paragon of wisdom like Dumbledore could have a complicated past. People aren’t always what they seem: well, almost nothing is in the wizarding world, and that’s an important lesson to remember.
18. Heartbreak is sometimes inevitable:
It’s sad but it’s true. Just as Harry and Cho, Lavender and Ron, and Lily and Snape showed us, sometimes things don’t work out the way we’d like them to.
You might suffer a broken heart through unrequited love, or lose those you love most, but the books also show us that life goes on. People recover and forge ahead and even death isn’t something to be feared; it is, as Dumbledore so eloquently said, ‘but the next great adventure’.
19. But true love lasts, always:
Love is a strong theme throughout the books; if you love someone completely it can never be undone. Lily’s love for Harry granted him protection and Snape’s love for Lily shaped his path after her death. True love lasts forever. Just because a person dies doesn’t mean our love for them does; a comforting lesson we can take heart in.
20. Money isn’t everything:
Harry may have inherited a whole vault of gold from his parents, but it couldn’t buy him the thing he perhaps yearned for the most: the family that was lost to him. On the flip side of the coin, Ron had grown up wearing and using hand-me-downs in a household that was constantly worrying about costs, but his home was full of love and life.
He may have been jealous of Harry’s status and wealth, but Harry envied Ron’s big family and happy home. It just goes to show at the end of the day, money isn’t everything.