The Dragon, the Lake, the Maze: What Harry Potter Gets Right About Moving Abroad

My daughter and I are reading Harry Potter right now. Goblet of Fire specifically. And somewhere between the dragon and the lake and the maze I realized ... this is exactly what moving abroad feels like.Quick note upfront: JK Rowling has said and done things I don't agree with and won't pretend otherwise. The story belongs to the readers now. So we're talking about the story.This week I'm mapping the Triwizard Tournament onto the move abroad process. The dragon: the obstacle you didn't fully see coming that you have to get through with what you have. The lake: going somewhere cold and dark and full of things trying to stop you to get back to something that matters. The maze: the middle phase where the path keeps changing and nothing is where you expected it to be.And the cup. And the portkey. And why what's on the other side of it is the beginning of the best part of your story