Friends: Through Thick and Thin

Friends: Through Thick and Thin

Friendship is something treasured among many, but friends often go through seasons of ups and downs during their friendships. It seems that no matter what happens though, they are able to work together to overcome any obstacles that come their way, and the bond between them is strengthened. The Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling is able to depict this phenomenon well with three of the main characters, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. In the course of Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s friendship, they have been through many journeys that have had positive effects making their friendship stronger, as well as negative effects weakening it to the point of ruin. Throughout the series, Rowling expresses the importance of friendship, especially when it comes to overcoming challenges and difficult tasks. In the first movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry is completely isolated before coming to Hogwarts. Not only does he not have a loving family environment, but he does not have any friends to serve as a support system. Psychology researchers have noticed and created what is called the attachment theory (Goodfriend 75). This theory focuses on how the familial environment during one’s formative years affects one’s ability to begin and maintain normal, adult relationships – including romantic relationships. However, after becoming a student at Hogwarts, Harry quickly creates a large group of friends. More importantly, he creates a close relationship with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone). All of these children have been removed from their homes and are forced into constant interaction with friends and peers (Christie 6). For most of the students at Hogwarts, a strong group of friends helps with things like homesickness and difficult classes. But in Harry’s case, Rowling seems to draw a more obvious parallel between friendship and difficult life challenges. The only way that Harry is able to reach the Mirror of Erised in the dungeons of Hogwarts is with Ron and Hermione’s help. Hermione and Ron both tackle specific challenges that Harry would have been unable to face on his own. Harry’s friendship with Ron and Hermione saves his life and allows him to keep Voldemort from finding the Sorcerer’s Stone. He also becomes part of a couple groups. Groups are important and provide us with innumerable benefits. For example, when Harry becomes a Gryffindor and joins the Quidditch team it adds more to his life than just labels or new friends (Beers 33). These group memberships change the way Harry defines himself, and for Harry (like the rest of us) group memberships are an important source of self-esteem. Harry learns that he can rely on himself while still drawing upon the support system and exceptional magical talents of his close friends. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets we see that once Harry returns to the Dursley’s house he no longer has his support system readily available. The Dursleys tend to classify all wizards as bad and do not really appreciate the complexity of the group (Beers 38). They maintain their beliefs that wizards are strange and magic is bad no matter what Harry tells them. He gets locked up in his room and some of the Weasleys show up to rescue Harry with their flying car. Harry is clearly very grateful to have a close friend that will allow him to spend the remainder of the summer at his house. Once Harry, Ron, and Hermione get well into their second year of school unfortunate events begin to happen. The chamber of secrets has been reopened by the heir of Slytherin and select individuals at Hogwarts are being petrified (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets). Harry, Ron, and Hermione are determined to find out who the heir of Slytherin is, so determined that they make a polyjuice potion to find out if Draco Malfoy is the heir or if he knows any information. Hermione ends up getting petrified as well but was still able to help the boys discover the secret passage way to the chamber. Ron, Harry, and Professor Lockhart march on together to save Ginny, though Lockhart is not much help. Once again we see that friendship is able to help these three through difficult life challenges. Harry is shown how much Ron and Hermione care about him in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when he receives birthday presents from them through the mail. In this movie their friendship takes a small turn for the worst while Sirius Black is on the loose looking for Harry. There is a new teacher, Professor Lupin, whom Harry becomes attached to and ends up detaching himself from his closest friends, Ron and Hermione (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). Lupin is able to tell Harry all sorts of information about his parents because he was one of James Potter’s best friends. Lupin is also able to help Harry through his fear of the dementors and teach him valuable things.
Hermione gets on Ron and Harry’s nerves when she tells Professor McGonagall about the mysterious broom in the mail, and Ron gets upset with Hermione because he thinks that Crookshanks killed his rat, Scabbers (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). Hermione’s character is also beginning to change; She sort of starts to rebel by quitting Divination and shocks everyone when she has the guts to punch Draco Malfoy. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are able to join back together towards the end of the movie when they end up facing Sirius Black together. Hermione makes it very clear that if he wants to kill Harry he has to kill them too. This boldness shows us that Hermione and Ron will be by Harry’s side through thick and thin. In the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the great event known as the Tri-Wizard Tournament takes place. Harry is confused when he gets selected to participate because he did not enter his name into the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). This occurrence causes Ron to be sullen and envious. He does not speak to Harry for awhile because he feels as though Harry went behind his back to enter the tournament. Even though Hermione remains by Harry’s side, Harry becomes very frustrated that people will not believe the fact that he did not enter his name into the Goblet of Fire. Ron ends up finding out that the first task involves dragons and makes a feeble attempt at helping Harry, which ends up making Hagrid look like the one helping out. Hermione helps Harry conquer the summoning charm for the first task. Afterwards, Ron realizes that Harry would be crazy if he willingly signed up for this tournament and finally believes him, reuniting the three best friends.
The Yule Ball was nearing when Ron decided to ask Hermione as a last-resort date (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). This annoyed her, but Ron was annoyed even more when he found that Krum was taking her to the Ball. Ron’s jealousy clearly shows and hints at a possible relationship between the two in the future. Another event that adds to the turmoil is the article Rita Skeeter writes about Hermione toying with Harry and Krum. Several days after that, Hermione received hate mail for supposedly breaking Harry’s heart. During the final task, Harry and Cedric Diggory get transported to a graveyard where Cedric gets killed, Voldemort returns to power, and a duel ensues. Harry experiences trauma and is unable to give a successful testimony before the end of this movie, which hinders his friendship with Ron and Hermione. Harry spends another frustrating summer with the Dursleys during the beginning of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It is more frustrating than usual because no one will explain to him what has been going on. He would receive letters from Ron and Hermione but they never really told him anything. They claim they wanted to tell him but Dumbledore made them swear not to. After being taken to Grimmauld Place, he meets up with Ron and Hermione and unleashes some of that anger on them. Harry said back to them, “CAN’T’VE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU’D HAVE SENT ME YOUR OWL, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR –“ (Rowling, Phoenix 66). Harry gets even more frustrated when he returns to Hogwarts because many students believe what the daily prophet has to say over Dumbledore and himself. Ron and Hermione stick by his side though and continue to support him and stand up to others that talk poorly of Harry, even if Harry does take out his anger on them occasionally.
Harry has such a terrible first week back that he decides to reach out to Sirius. Sirius responds to the letter by appearing in the Gryffindor common room fire one evening (Rowling, Phoenix 301). Hermione cannot believe that Harry wrote Sirius and risked letting secret information get out. It becomes very frustrating for all when they are not allowed to practice defensive spells, so Hermione thinks of a plan to change that. Hermione told Ron and Harry, “I’ve been thinking that – maybe the time’s come when we should just – just do it ourselves – learn Defense Against the Dark Arts ourselves,” (Rowling, Phoenix 325) Together, Harry, Ron, and Hermione form a group called Dumbledore’s Army, consisting of twenty-eight students total. Dumbledore’s Army is a club that was formed by these three for students wishing to practice using defensive spells (Christie 13).
Harry also begins to have very upsetting dreams. He dreamed that he was a snake gliding across the floor towards a man. “He reared high from the floor and struck once, twice, three times, plunging his fangs deeply into the man’s flesh, feeling his ribs splinter beneath his jaw, feeling the warm gush of blood…” (Rowling, Phoenix 463) It terrified Harry how real this dream was; it was even more frightening that he had attacked Ron’s dad. This is when Dumbledore knew Voldemort’s and Harry’s connection was stronger than previously thought. When he sees Sirius in trouble at the Department of Ministries he automatically assumes that it is real and that Sirius needs help. Hermione tries to warn Harry by telling him Voldemort may be deliberately trying to lure him there, but Harry does not listen and ends up putting all his close friends in danger once again (Rowling, Phoenix 732). His separation to Ron and Hermione only grows when his godfather is killed in battle. It is trauma that continues to break apart their friendship. All throughout the novel Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry is suspicious of Draco Malfoy and believes him to be a death eater like his father (Rowling, Prince 130). Unfortunate events keep occurring at Hogwarts and Harry is determined that Draco is behind them even though Ron and Hermione are doubtful. Harry gets frustrated with them when they do not agree that Draco is up to something. Harry also gets frustrated with Hermione because she keeps telling him that the Potions book he has is bad and that he is cheating in class by using it. She is constantly telling him, “I think this Prince character was a bit dodgy” (Rowling, Prince 240)
Romantic relationships really branch out in this novel; Ron begins to date Lavender Brown and is all over her whenever possible. This makes Hermione extremely jealous and sort of forces Harry to be in the middle of Ron and Hermione’s bickering all the time (Rowling, Prince 302). Eventually, Ron realizes that he really likes Hermione too and breaks up with Lavender to start their relationship. Harry goes through a battle within himself over Ginny Weasley. He really likes her, but he is afraid to pursue this relationship because of Ron. He does not want to ruin his relationship with his best friend just to date his sister, and he is afraid that Ron will not approve.
During all this relationship drama, Harry has been taking lessons with Dumbledore to learn more about Voldemort and the Horcruxes he created. Dumbledore allows him to confide in Ron and Hermione, and he tells them everything that he is learning and what his future will hold (Rowling, Prince 215). After the traumatic death of Dumbledore, Harry tells his friends that he will not be returning to Hogwarts next year; instead, Harry will search out and kill Voldemort by destroying all the Horcruxes (Rowling, Prince 650). Ron and Hermione vow to join Harry in his journey. Ron says, “We’re with you whatever happens” (Rowling, Prince 651). He is not thrilled by the idea at first because he would be putting them in danger again, but Harry cannot deny the fact that he would love their company and help in the oncoming journey.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows begins as the three friends Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on a perilous mission to track down and destroy the secret to Voldemort’s immortality, the Horcruxes, and destroy Voldemort himself. Without the guidance of their professors or the protection of Professor Dumbledore, the three friends must now rely on one another more than ever while completing this dangerous task. During their journey to save the wizarding world, there are Dark Forces in their midst that threaten to tear their friendship apart. Dumbledore’s death has taken a toll on all three of these characters, especially Harry. Rita Skeeter takes it upon herself to write a novel about Albus Dumbledore to share with the wizarding world what they apparently did not know about him (Rowling, Hallows 352). Harry is shocked by some of the information he finds out and begins to doubt what he and Dumbledore had; he thinks that Dumbledore never really cared for him and that he just fed him lies to make him do things “for the greater good.” Hermione, attempts to try and comfort Harry and set him straight by saying she knew he cared about Harry and loved him very much. Harry replied, “I don’t know who he loved, Hermione, but it was never me. This isn’t love, the mess he’s left me in” (Rowling 362). Harry takes out his frustration on Ron and Hermione, and they begin to feel like nothing they say to him can help the situation. They start to step lightly when around him and begin to confide in one another and sort of exclude Harry from things (Rowling, Hallows 291). Finally, after a series of events and conversations with his friends, Harry decides that it does not matter what the truth about Dumbledore is, he will continue to search for the Horcruxes and defeat Voldemort. Another problem within the friendships of Harry, Ron, and Hermione is brought about by Ron. The three main characters take turns wearing the locket until they find something to destroy the Horcrux. Wearing the locket tends to bring out the worst in them, however and an explosion occurred on a day that Ron was wearing the locket (Rowling, Hallows 306). He said he was cold, hungry, hurt, and that they have accomplished nothing. He thought Harry knew what he was doing and had an actual plan; Ron was disappointed. Ron also started to think that Harry liked Hermione and was trying to take her away from him. This caused all these harsh feelings to surface. At this point, he walks out and leaves Harry and Hermione to search for Horcruxes without him (Rowling, Hallows 310). Hermione is devastated by the loss of Ron while Harry is angry. I think that at this point Ron can be considered a double. He is a loyal friend and wants to continue to help Harry, but he fights a battle within himself until he just cannot take it anymore. He wants to just erase the disappointment he has in Harry, but he fails to do so and expresses his thoughts instead.
Eventually, Ron makes his way back to help Harry and Hermione with the help of his deluminator and resumes the position of a loyal friend. Ron showed up just in time to pull Harry out of the icy water. Once Harry is safe, Ron says, “Well, I’ve – you know – I’ve come back. If – you know. You still want me” (Rowling 372). Despite the fact that Ron walked out on the other two, their friendship and trust in one another strengthens and grows. Their friendship eventually overpowers anger and frustration to endure. Harry, Ron, and Hermione depend on their friendship for strength and demonstrate the many benefits being a good friend can provide. Harry has Ron and Hermione by his side until the very end. They help him destroy everything but Nagini and Voldemort himself. Many help at the battle taking place at Hogwarts because they want to help Harry destroy Voldemort. It overwhelms Harry to see that so many people are supporting him and are on his side. Towards the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Harry is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save his world and more importantly to him, his friends. He demonstrates bravery, courage, and selflessness. In his willingness to surrender himself, Harry provides a wonderful example of a sacrificial redeemer. The Harry Potter series ultimately boils down to the power of friendship more than any other thing. The main threesome, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, experience problems with their friendship. Friendship is not glazed over or presented with rose colored glasses here. We see fight, personality conflicts, disagreements, and the difficulty of maintaining close friendships with people. Even with all these difficulties, Harry, Ron, and Hermione always come back together after they are separated, overcoming their obstacles and strengthening their friendship and trust for one another. They value their friendship that they have despite all the problems and challenges they have been through throughout their lives. Looking at the friendship of these three can show others the benefits of being a good friend and how by having these good friends, one can get through anything with their help.

Works Cited
Beers, Melissa J., and Kevin J. Apple. "Intergroup Conflict in the World of Harry Potter." The Psychology of Harry Potter: An Unauthorized Examination of the Boy Who Lived. Dallas: Benbella, 2006. 33-44. Print.
Christie, Katie. "The Sociology of Harry Potter: An Analysis of Adolescent Friendship Networks in the Harry Potter Series." Department of Sociology. Emory University, 29 May 2008. Web. 21 Nov. 2010.
Goodfriend, Wind. "Attachment Styles at Hogwarts: From Infancy to Adulthood." The Psychology of Harry Potter: An Unauthorized Examination of the Boy Who Lived. Dallas: Benbella, 2006. 75-90. Print.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Dir. Chris Columbus. Prod. David Heyman. By Steven Kloves. Perf. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and Richard Harris. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2002.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Dir. Mike Newell. Prod. David Heyman. By Steven Kloves. Perf. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Miranda Richardson, Alan Rickman, and Maggie Smith. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2005.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. By Alfonso Cuarón, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, Steven Kloves, and John Williams. Dir. David Heyman, Chris Columbus, and Mark Radcliffe. Perf. Daniel Jacob Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson. Warner Home Video, 2004.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer 's Stone. Dir. Chris Columbus. Perf. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and Richard Harris. Warner Bros, 2001.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 2007. Print.
---. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 2005. Print.
---. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 2003. Print.

Cited: Beers, Melissa J., and Kevin J. Apple. "Intergroup Conflict in the World of Harry Potter." The Psychology of Harry Potter: An Unauthorized Examination of the Boy Who Lived. Dallas: Benbella, 2006. 33-44. Print. Christie, Katie. "The Sociology of Harry Potter: An Analysis of Adolescent Friendship Networks in the Harry Potter Series." Department of Sociology. Emory University, 29 May 2008. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. Goodfriend, Wind. "Attachment Styles at Hogwarts: From Infancy to Adulthood." The Psychology of Harry Potter: An Unauthorized Examination of the Boy Who Lived. Dallas: Benbella, 2006. 75-90. Print. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Dir. Chris Columbus. Prod. David Heyman. By Steven Kloves. Perf. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and Richard Harris. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2002. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Dir. Mike Newell. Prod. David Heyman. By Steven Kloves. Perf. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Miranda Richardson, Alan Rickman, and Maggie Smith. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2005. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. By Alfonso Cuarón, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, Steven Kloves, and John Williams. Dir. David Heyman, Chris Columbus, and Mark Radcliffe. Perf. Daniel Jacob Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson. Warner Home Video, 2004. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer 's Stone. Dir. Chris Columbus. Perf. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and Richard Harris. Warner Bros, 2001. Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 2007. Print. ---. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 2005. Print. ---. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 2003. Print.