One of the most read series in all of literature is Harry Potter. The seven-book series has sold over 400 million copies and has been translated into over sixty languages. What makes this series so wildly popular? What is it about the boy who lived that drives frantic readers to flock to the local bookstore at midnight on release day to purchase the latest chapter? How can a story set in a world that doesn't exist, made up of wizards, witches, magic and mystical creatures, be so popular? The series has managed to earn a place on the New York Times bestseller list and has given author JK Rowling numerous awards because it is relatable. It is not the setting or events of the story's plot that we relate to. We identify with what Harry, his friends, mentors, teachers, guardians, and even enemies feel. In many ways Harry is exactly like us. It represents some of the good characteristics we all have as well as the bad ones. The series as a whole is about one thing that is emphasized over and over again in the novels, love. The Harry Potter series is one of the most read novel sequences because the central theme is love and self-sacrifice, and readers are looking for a novel that shows them just that. Harry eventually discovers that he narrowly escaped death because his parents, especially his mother Lily, were ready to die for him because of their love for him. He was always Voldemort's intended victim. His father, James, was killed while trying to give his mother time to escape with her son. Lily was also given the chance to step aside and be spared while Voldemort completed the task he had come to Godric's Hollow, the Potters' home, to do. She sacrificed herself to protect her only beloved son, which in...... middle of paper ......ck is a potential trap. Someone full of hatred and greed, like Tom Marvolo Riddle, who has never known it even once in his entire life, cannot understand its full magical power. Love is one of the hardest and strongest types of magic and is perhaps the fabric that holds the wizarding world of Harry Potter together. Dumbledore tells Harry “Have no mercy on the dead, Harry. Have mercy on the living and, above all, on those who live without love” (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 722). The series emphasizes that it is important to love. It is obvious throughout the series that Harry embraces his story and his duty by accepting the soul-cleansing act of practicing selfless love. It's no surprise that the Harry Potter series is so mainstream during a time of fear, uncertainty, and unrest. Harry defeats evil by not fearing it, but by embracing it and overcoming it with love.