Given the scope and depth of the Harry Potter series, it is difficult to choose one single moral to take away as a reader. The books teach values such as equality, friendship, loyalty, bravery, and many other core values that are found at the center of most western cultures. However, it could be argued that the majority of these values, if not all of them, are tied to the theme of love. We could easily argue that the core moral of the series is that love is the most important and most powerful force of humanity (or, simplified, the classic idea that love conquers all).
Throughout the series, J.K. Rowling shows us that love in all its forms is what drives the triumph of good over evil. The most obvious example from the novel is Harry's mother, Lily, who sacrifices herself in order to save her son, and whose love is a more powerful magic than Voldemort can overcome--it continues to protect Harry from Voldermort's touch even after her death. Maternal love as a powerful force is shown through other mothers, such as Molly Weasley, whose love for her children (and Harry) drives her to join the Order of the Phoenix and to kill Bellatrix Lestrange in the final novel. As another example, Draco Malfoy's mother chooses to betray Voldemort's cause and protect Harry in order to find and save her own son.
Friendship is another example of the power of love in Harry Potter. Harry's two best friends, Ron and Hermione, sacrifice everything in order to help him in his quest to destroy Voldemort once and for all. Other friends such as Fred and George Weasley, Luna, and Neville also regularly put themselves in harm's way in order to help Harry and one another. Without these bonds, Harry would be alone, and surely would never succeed in his quest to stop Voldemort.
Snape, of course, is an example of how romantic love can triumph over evil. His love for Harry's mother, Lily, causes him to abandon his beliefs and turn spy against Voldemort in hopes of saving Lily. After her death, he remains faithful to her by protecting her son until the very end.
Finally, Voldemort himself is an example of why love is the most powerful force of all. Voldemort was conceived without love--his mother enchanted his father with a love potion, and it is theorized by Dumbledore that this is part of why Voldemort is incapable of feeling love. His mother died in childbirth and he was raised in an orphanage, with no loving and nurturing family. This lack of love led to Voldemort's isolation and cruelty, as well as his eventual downfall.
J.K. Rowling's message on love can perhaps be best summed up by Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, who when speaking to Harry from beyond tells him: "Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love" (722).
Beginning with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and ending with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the series spans seven books. J. K. Rowling tells the tale of Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione as they come of age as young wizards. Determining a moral of the series may be easier if we first consider a possible theme of good versus evil. From here, we can conclude that good conquers evil. However, in choosing a moral, it may be helpful to consider the characters and their motivations in the story. Sacrifices by and for Harry are because of love; hence an overarching moral can be that love conquers all.
There are many examples to support the moral that love conquers all in the series. In the first book, Dumbledore says to Harry, "Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love." When Lily, Harry's mother, places herself in the path of Voldemort's curse to kill Harry, her love of her son protects him. She dies in the process.
Another example of love concerns a character who is initially thought to be evil. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Snape realizes that Harry must be sacrificed in order to destroy Voldemort. When asked by Dumbledore if he cares about Harry, Snape performs the spell for a "patronus," which provides evidence of his love for Lily. Dumbledore asks, "After all this time?" Snape replies, "Always." Snape's love for Harry's mom leads him to deceive others in order to protect Harry.
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