**Spoiler Alert: The following contains information about the outcome of the Harry Potter series. Consider yourself warned.**

Like millions around the country and world, I stayed up past my bedtime to catch the final installation of the Harry Potter film franchise when it opened at midnight last Thursday. I was 9 years old when the first book came out. In the 14 years since then, I've developed as an organizer alongside Harry, Hermione, and Ron. There are so many things I've learned from Harry Potter over the years, and in honor of becoming an adult at 2:48am as the credits rolled Friday morning, here's some love for my favorite fictional organizers.

10) No one is born a leader

In the wizarding community, Harry is known as "The Boy Who Lived," famous for debilitating his arch nemesis Lord Voldemort as a toddler. But it takes Harry at least a few books to realize that leadership means a whole lot more than having a famous name and a strong sense of self. Being a leader isn't just about you. It takes a long time to realize that, and even longer to develop the skills to engage your community and build collective power that can overcome even the darkest of forces.

9) The youth are changing the world (and why this means hearing things we don't want hear)

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were eleven when they took on Voldy together for the first time. For many youth, right and wrong is a gut reaction. There's no hesitation, no fear of mortality. For many of the adults in Harry Potter's world, it is simply easier to disregard the messages he and his young peers are delivering as youthful fantasy than to have one's assumptions and choices challenged. Empowering our youth sometimes means hearing things we don't want to hear, but never forget that some of the most fearless and selfless organizers and community leaders aren't even of voting age yet.

8) Don't get complacent after victory

Remember when Harry the Baby defeated Voldemort, and all of the Wizarding World celebrated and stopped fighting for justice? Even before Voldemort came back, both Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic were under pressure by anti-education (Professor Umbridge), racist (Lucius Malfoy's Pure Blood ideology), and lazy, willfully oblivious (Fudge) political leaders. Sometimes injustice is a giant, and we stand and fight. But sometimes injustice is so small that we let it go, and it slowly creeps into our lives until it's giant and we're unprepared to take it on.

7) Respect the oddballs

When I was in 7th grade, there was a really nerdy boy and we called him Neville, which was nothing less than high-brow bullying. Neville Longbottom was on the receiving end of an onslaught of condescension and low expectations not only by the Slytherins but often from his own family and house. Anyone who has read the last book knows that while Harry, Hermione, and Ron are chasing horcruxes, Neville was anchoring the grassroots resistance back at Hogwarts (and anyone who has seen the last movie knows that the nerdy actor who plays Neville kind of turned into a hottie).

6) Use alternative media sources to get your story out

Rita Skeeter is basically Rupert Murdoch. She hacked emails (oops, I mean turned into a beetle and hid in Hermione's hair), and sold sensationalized, often factually incorrect, stories to the Daily Prophet. Instead of fighting for print coverage in a clearly oppositional news source, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and their allies in the Order of the Phoenix turn to existing alternatives (the quirky news magazine 'The Quibbler'), and create new mediums where needed (Fred and George's subversive radio station). Using alternative media outlets gave the Order platforms to defend controversial opinions and to rally their supporters directly.

5) You don't fight Voldemort every day

There's not a whole lot of dialogue in the final Harry Potter movie. Lots of epic facial expressions, intense moments, and wand fire. And organizing is full of exciting moments, too, like a big GOTV push or the moment the bill you've been negotiating finally gets to the floor. But there are many small fights that have to be won, or the big fight isn't possible. Harry has to sit in class to learn the spells, ward off goblins and other small threats, and negotiate the challenges of boarding school before he can fight old Voldy. Today, I'm securing a venue in Oakland for our Issue Campaign BootCamp, haggling with printers in Berkeley for the California Advanced Data Training, and making sure our credit card receipts from New Media BootCamp this past week are filed correctly. Some days, you do small tasks for the big fight.

4) Surrounding yourself with a diverse cast never does you wrong

Lord Voldemort and his followers subscribe to staunch belief in "pure blood supremacy." his philosophy is based on the idea that only wizards whose parents are also magical are worthy of the services of the Ministry of Magic, and that the wizarding community would function more efficiently by purging the "mudbloods" - those born to non-magical parents. Now this has some parallels to real life, wouldn't you say? The fight against Voldemort is also a fight against magical racism/xenophobia. Harry, Hermione, and Ron engage with a diverse and powerful coalition of strong women, young and old wizards of color, low-income magical families, and GLBT wizards (Dumbledore!). You should also consider developing a strategy to reach out to house elves, centaurs, giants, mega-spiders, and others with diverse backgrounds and skills. (Those goblins though…can't trust 'em.)

3) Have feelings.

Sometimes when I'm in the middle of a campaign, I really try to keep my feelings in check. But open yourself up. Be real with your experiences, mourn your losses, celebrate your victories, and love the people you're fighting alongside. You can learn so much about yourself and others by fully participating in the journey of your fight. Allow your experience to change you! Harry and Ron were determined to hate Hermione, until they saved each other's lives one Halloween and chose to look past their differences to form a life-long and history-changing friendship.

"There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them."

Truth.

2) At some point, you have to fight

Get the best education you can. Do your research. Practice duels. But at some point, you put your book down (or put it in your fancy bottomless bag) and you take a stand, fully aware that you don't know everything. And maybe your spell doesn't come out right, but it's ok because you…

1) Rely on your community

Harry Potter believed for a long time that this fight was his personal property. He's consistently shocked that Hermione and Ron demand to accompany him on every rescue mission. To Harry, the fight to defeat Voldemort is directly related to the murder of his parents. It takes him all seven books and all eight movies to realize that Hermione and Ron aren't just tagging along because they're his friends, and Ginny isn't doing it because she has a crush, and Neville isn't doing it because he's lonely and looking for companionship. They're in it because they have also lost family and friends, because their world has been torn apart by injustice, because they too believe in a brighter tomorrow. You may have the skills, the knowledge, the experience, the scar- but never hold the fight so fiercely close to you that it blinds you to the strength and courage of those walking beside you.

Laura Bartolomei-Hill is Logistics Coordinator at NOI