7 Objects from Harry Potter That I Promise I Would Not Abuse

I just feel like these might make my life a little easier...

Good morning, friends. How are we all tolerating the time change?

I woke up at 4:30 on Sunday morning, and although my body said it was 3:30, I decided to just rip off the Band-Aid and get up. By 7:30 pm, I was barely awake. I was asleep by 8:30 pm, I'm pretty sure, and it was the first good night of sleep I've had in almost a month, so maybe I've found the secret to decent sleep--complete and utter exhaustion.

Though if that were the secret, I'd have been sleeping well since 1999, and... well... No.

As irritating as I find this bi-annual ritual, and as tough as the spring change is, I do admit that I appreciate that it's a sign of spring. The days are definitely getting longer now, and the cats are frequently treated to bird antics outside our windows these days. We're starting to talk about summer plans, too, and The Man even mentioned de-winterizing the camper soon. The open road will be before us soon!

And speaking of adventures...

Last year, I shared a list of books or book series I want to try to re-read this year, and even though the Harry Potter series was #12 on the list, I felt like it sort of... I don't know... Hit the spot? Scratched an itch? Didn't ask too much of me?

In any case, as I re-read it, I kept thinking how much I would like to have some of the objects mentioned and used in the book. I'm not talking cursed lockets or horcruxes or even the Sorcerer's Stone. I don't want to dabble in the Dark Arts or live forever. I just want a few things to make my life easier to manage.

I was also thinking, however, that some of these objects read as outdated given technological advances of just the last ten or fifteen years. I mean, the final book was published in 2007, when social media was still in its relative infancy (or at least toddlerhood or preschool years). Now a lot of the things the characters used in those books have real-world technological analogs that sort of make them less desirable.

And yet, still... I desire them.

Just for fun, here are seven magical objects that I would like to have that I promise--pinky swear and spit shake--to not abuse.

The Pensieve

Listen, my brain is a bag of cats on the best of days. It seems to me that having a place where I could store my thoughts and memories and sift through them later would be super helpful. I realize that there are note-taking apps and places like Miro that people use for just these sorts of thoughts, and a friend of mine recently shared a great post about how she uses AI to corral her thoughts.

For me, though, a Pensieve seems more efficient, if for no other reason than proving that I'm right when my memory conflicts with someone else's.

Harry's Invisibility Cloak

As an introvert who occasionally has to attend events and happenings that she would rather not attend, I would love to just keep my Invisibility Cloak in my pocket and don it when I need a break from peopling. Right now, I can only really use bathrooms as a place of refuge, and if you stay in one of those for too long, people have questions.

Molly Weasley's Clock

I have mixed feelings about Molly's clock. I really don't want to be a hover-parent, especially now that my babies are all technically adults, but I would occasionally like to know they aren't in mortal peril. It might also prove problematic with a couple of their professions. My oldest daughter is a nurse at a children's hospital, and one of the marks on the clock was "hospital." I don't know if it would default to "work" or "hospital," so would I have to worry or just assume she was on one of her shifts?

There's also the "mortal peril" problem with my oldest son. He's currently deployed in a rather "bad neighborhood" of the world, and while his particular duties don't always put him in mortal peril, he's definitely not as safe as he would be at home. But then, Charlie Weasley worked with dragons in Romania, so one could have argued the same about him, and somehow Molly managed...

I know there are apps, like Life360, that show where people are, but the problem with that is getting adult children to agree to let me track them. I have to be content with their grudging agreement to let me see their progress when they're on long road trips alone. I guess I'll take what I can get.

A Sneak-O-Scope

The older and more jaded I get, the less I actually need a Sneak-O-Scope. Between the doctrine of total human depravity and my own experience of people, the circle of trust continues to shrink with every passing day.

However, I would not mind having a Sneak-O-Scope around just as a bit of a gatekeeper to let me know when someone untrustworthy is in the vicinity. I'm pretty good at taking care of myself, but a heads up is always nice.

The Deluminator

I occasionally get migraines or really awful headaches at inopportune times, and it's not always possible to retreat to a dark room. It would be nice to just "deluminate" a corner if I needed to. I promise I'd give the light back.

Hermione's Handbag

I don't exactly understand how Hermione was able to carry books, potions, objects, spare clothes, and an entire magical tent in her handbag without falling over, but I would love to know. Do you know how much better my shoulders would feel at this stage of life if I hadn't spent years carrying purse, backpack, diaper bag, and a million other random things around everywhere? At this point, I can mostly get by with just my phone, ID, and a couple of debit cards, but there are still times when I need a purse. I would love to have one that made it easy to carry all my snacks, books, yarn, toiletries, medicines, hair implements, pens, dog treats, and whatever random objects might be necessary for a particular trip.

Might make it tough to get through airport security, though.

Hermione's Time-Turner

Okay, okay, I know this one really caused no end of problems for Hermione, but I'm older and wiser than a 13-year-old overachiever. I know there's a limit to what I can accomplish. But there are times when I just piddle around doing nothing of importance, and then I finally pull myself together and start getting things done. I would love to have a time-turner that would let me just skip back an hour or two to reclaim the time I waste.

As a footnote, I would also love to be able to cook the way Molly Weasley cooks. I don't think that's a function of magical objects, though--I think it's a function of Molly's wand and her strength as a witch. However, if she has any magical pots, pans, baking sheets, knives, or other cooking equipment, they would be of great use to me as I can use all the help I can get in the kitchen.

I have to say--I really enjoyed re-reading these books. I am not much of a fan of most young adult fiction, but I feel like the Harry Potter books are deeper and richer than that label would suggest. I also think Rowling's skill in holding the story together across seven books is something to be admired. I'm trying to hold it together over five, and it's not easy. The fact that she pulled it all together at the end without a ton of loose ends and deus ex machina is quite an accomplishment.

I'm trying to decide what to re-read next, and part of it depends on whether I can find a box or two of books that I seem to be missing... Now that it's finally warm enough to spend time in the garage without my fingers falling off, I'll try to get out there and hunt a bit more. They must be out there... But if I can't find the ones I'm looking for, I'll choose something that's already sitting on a shelf. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, I'll be back next week with some thoughts about the line between art and craft...

See you then!