11/11/01

Harry Potter's life is full of adventure -- whether he's tackling an ugly troll, solving the mystery of the Sorcerer's Stone, or winning the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor House. But Harry is also a good role model. Here are some of the qualities that make Harry such a good kid and a wonderful wizard to boot.

Courageous: How brave is Harry? Harry faces down Draco Malfoy during a Quidditch lesson, tackles a smelly, 12-foot mountain troll, and enters the forbidden forest at night to help find an injured unicorn -- that's how brave Harry is.

Smart: Harry might not be as book-smart as Hermione, but he figures out how to find the Sorcerer's Stone by looking in the Mirror of Erised (Desire).

Polite: Harry always speaks politely to his teachers at Hogwarts, and when he's invited to Hagrid's for tea, he eats Hagrid's rock cakes, even though they almost break his teeth.

Kind: When his friend, Neville Longbottom, is teased by Draco Malfoy, Harry cheers Neville up by giving him his last Chocolate Frog candy, and tells him he's "worth 12 of Malfoy."

Honest: Even when he'd rather not be recognized, Harry always admits that, yes, he is the famous Harry Potter who survived an attack by the evil Voldemort.

Honorable: When Harry gets caught out of bed after curfew and his house, Gryffindor, gets penalized, he feels so bad that he offers to resign from the Quidditch team so he doesn't keep hurting their chances of winning the Cup.

Humble: Harry is never a show-off. When Hermione tells him he's a great wizard, he gets embarrassed and tells her she's a better one. Harry knows he's good at a lot of stuff, but he knows his friends are sometimes better.

Faithful: Harry is faithful to his team. When he learns that Professor Snape, who hates him, is going to referee the big Quidditch match, Harry's friends tell him not to play, but Harry refuses to let his team down.

-- Amy Ellis Nutt