Given the growing darkness surrounding Harry's years at Hogwarts, it can sometimes be jarring to remember that most of the series takes place when Harry is between 11 and 17 years old. The back half of the series shows the world is darkening, starting with Voldemort's resurrection at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. However, as the world gets more dangerous, Harry and his friends are also tackling the uncertain world and the emotions of being a teenager.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione are kids in addition to being young heroes. Thus, while things occurring in their lives may be getting harder, they are also balancing it with school and the pressures of growing up. However, Harry Potter does not lose its understanding of what it can mean to be a kid trying to grow up. There are plenty of moments throughout the series that remember the ups and downs of what it means to be a teenager, and the franchise allowed its central characters to experience plenty of those emotions and actions throughout their time at Hogwarts and on the run.

Related: Harry Potter Houses: What Makes Each Hogwarts House Distinct and Who's in Them

7 Awkwardly Dealing With The Yule Ball

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Hermione and Harry
Warner Bros. Pictures

Although the novel Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban spent some time referencing Harry's crush on Cho Chang, Goblet of Fire is the first installment to emphasize the transition from child to teenager. The Yule Ball is the first school dance Hogwarts puts on, but the biggest issue is not even the painful dance lessons. Instead, the central struggle is finding a date, which is mandatory for all champions, meaning Harry has to figure out a way to ask for one. Harry and Ron awkwardly attempt to figure out how to ask out a girl, referencing that girls walk in groups and are uncertain how to ask alone. When the Yule Ball finally comes, Harry stumbles through his dance and joins Ron in brooding while their dates are also left to their misery.

6 First Crushes Are Not Handled Maturely

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Hermione and Ron
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No one needs to look further than Ron finally acknowledging Hermione is a girl and a potential Yule Ball partner prospect. Unfortunately, Ron and Hermione's awkward several-year dance from friends to revealing their romantic feelings is stewed in uncomfortable love triangles with Viktor Krum and Lavender Brown. Instead of directly discussing their feelings, Hermione and Ron take nearly every other avenue possible, creating years' worth of misunderstandings, miscommunications, and uncomfortable behavior. While some of these moments may even be enough to give the audience second-hand embarrassment, it could not be said that real-life teenagers handle situations perfectly.

5 Acting Before Thinking

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Harry
Warner Bros. Pictures

Nearly everything Harry does falls under this category. He can be rash, basing his decisions on his instincts or limited information, rather than taking the time to think things through. For example, when Harry believes Voldemort has captured Sirius, Harry only attempts to contact Sirius once, and in that failure, assumes the vision is right and rushes to the Ministry of Magic to save him. Although there have been plenty of times when Harry has been proven correct that the surrounding adults will not believe him; thus he feels he needs to do things himself. Harry takes several opportunities throughout the franchise to act before he thinks things through, even when Hermione is nearby to help him sort it out.

4 Coming-Of-Age Creates Personal Growth

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Neville Longbottom
Warner Bros.

Although this is true for Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Neville Longbottom may be the franchise's best example. Neville went from a scared and uncertain eleven-year-old boy who showed his potential for bravery by standing up to his friends and transformed into the leader of Dumbledore's Army and the only one bold enough to speak directly to Voldemort. Unfortunately, Neville's transformation occurs mainly without seeing the development. However, his explanation of taking up Harry's place of instilling hope in his peers by going against the Carrows, as well as showing Neville killing Nagini and pulling the Sword of Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat proves his development.

Related: The Wizarding World: is There a Future For J.K Rowling's Franchise?

3 Rebelling Against Professors

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny, Neville, and Luna fight at Ministry of Magic battle (2007)
Warner Bros.

This is most notably witnessed during Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when Dumbledore's Army starts learning magic; when Umbridge refuses to teach them anything useful. In this aspect, a bit of rebellion is sparked in every student who joins the group, along with the understanding it is meant to stay a secret. Harry has also been known to rebel against Professor Snape, considering the several conflicts in their relationship. However, Dumbledore's Army may be a more prominent call-out toward Hermione's rebellious nature than anyone. For all she claims about following the rules, Hermione never quite manages it herself. In Chamber of Secrets, Hermione brews the illegal Polyjuice Potion, and Dumbledore's Army is her idea.

2 Fred and George's Pranks

Harry Potter abd the Order of the Phoenix Fred and George
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Fred and George Weasley are ready at basically any time for a prank. In a world that is getting more dangerous by the day, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes is the light in the darkness everyone needs. But, before they were a prank shop, Fred and George kept their business in school, giving out new products and testing them on younger students. Their final act as Hogwarts students had them leave school in a blaze of glory, to Umbridge's discontent. Teenagers are barely serious all the time, and Fred and George's child-like love of pranks is a reminder of those feelings.

1 Discovering Adults Should Not Be Placed on a Pedestal

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Dumbledore
Warner Bros. Pictures

At what point do children realize the adults they looked up to are not as perfect as they believed? Harry struggles to learn that Albus Dumbledore, in his youth, had been a far different person than Harry knew. Draco understands far too late that his father's beliefs and way of life may not be what is best for the future when Draco is forced to become a Death Eater, and learns the true horrors of what that means. Hermione, who always showed respect for adults, conflicted with the idea of how dangerous or wrong a professor could be. Adults are not perfect, and discovering that someone you had looked up to for years had not believed in what you hoped, or was a different person than you considered, is a part of growing up.