Chapter 9 – Kid Discussion – Family members protect each other

Are we the only ones that are upset with Malfoy? I mean it’s bad enough that Neville is having such a rough time at school without getting bullied by another Hogwarts student. We really wished that Neville could fly well also so that he was at least good at something.

The Idea of Family

The big idea that we saw in this chapter was the idea of family. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom are somewhat like a family at Hogwarts. Even at the beginning of the book, the students were told that their houses would be like a family to them while they were away from their real families. What makes them look like a family though?

• They spend a lot of time together.
• They teach each other new things (older students show the younger ones how to get around the castle).
• They have fun together.
• They try to help each other succeed. They try to earn their house points.
• They PROTECT each other.

There were a lot of times that the Gryffindors protected each other in this chapter.

1. Harry and Ron confronted Malfoy in the Great Hall when Malfoy was picking on Neville and trying to take his remembrall.
2. Harry flew the broom to stand up for Neville and get his stolen remembrall back from Malfoy.
3. Hermione tried to stop Harry from flying the broom. She was concerned that Harry would be expelled and concerned that Gryffindor (her family) would lose house points.
4. Hermione tried to stop Ron and Harry from sneaking out of the Gryffindor common room at night. She again didn’t want the boys to get into trouble and didn’t want her house to lose points.
5. While Filch chased them in the hallways, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville all stuck together and helped each other get back to the common room.

Protecting your family members can be a hard thing to do when you are a foster/adoptive child. For one reason sometimes past hurts make it hard to think about other people. One of my kids would agree that after being taken from their biological home, they worried about what would happen to themselves. He just doesn’t worry about his adoptive brother getting bullied by other kids because he is more concerned about getting picked on himself. Our whole family actually had a talk after reading this chapter about what to do when your brother/sister is getting picked on by other neighborhood kids. We talked about how it is okay to tell a friend that you do not want to play or hang out with them if they are going to pick on your brother/sister. Family members protect each other and stick together. Friends might move away.

“My daughter and one of my sons would also say that as a foster/adoptive kid, it’s not always easy to stick together with your family.”

My daughter and one of my sons would also say that as a foster/adoptive kid, it’s not always easy to stick together with your family. I can remember going to an amusement park and constantly having to tell one child to wait in line for rides with our family and not the people in front of us. When one child was very small, they would go to any man and call him “Daddy.” At church we had to make sure that this child went home with us and not someone else.

“When everyone sticks together and protects each other, you will feel more loved and the world isn’t AS scary.”

It can be weird to stick together with your foster/adoptive family because you might not know them that well. A new foster/adoptive family are strangers when you first go to live with them. Like my kids always say to me – this is all normal, but you have to learn to trust the new family. It’s amazing to belong to a group, a family. When everyone sticks together and protects each other, you will feel more loved and the world isn’t AS scary. I like to remind my kids that we are proud of them. They could go to school and get picked on. They could go to a friend’s house and get made fun of, but we (their family) will always be proud of them and love them. It’s easier to face the world when you know that someone is proud of you no matter what.

Now It’s Your Turn:

1. Would you have agreed to duel Malfoy? Why?
2. Would you like to fly a broom?
3. How does your family stick together?
4. You’re hanging out with your friend in your neighborhood. Your friend begins to make fun of your brother/sister. What do you do?

Help Others:

How should foster/adoptive families stick together? Do you have any ideas or thoughts about this chapter that you want to share with other kids?

Kids’ Discussions:
Ch. 01 | Ch. 02 | Ch. 03 | Ch. 04 | Ch. 05 | Ch. 06 | Ch. 07 | Ch. 08 | Ch. 09 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 | Ch. 13 | Ch. 14 | Ch. 15 | Ch. 16 | Ch. 17

Parents’ Discussions:

Ch. 01 | Ch. 02 | Ch. 03 | Ch. 04 | Ch. 05 | Ch. 06 | Ch. 07 | Ch. 08 | Ch. 09 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 | Ch. 13 | Ch. 14 | Ch. 15 | Ch. 16 | Ch. 17