Harry Potter: 10 Fascinating Hidden Meanings And Metaphors

6. Dementors Are A Metaphor For Depression

Patronuses in Harry Potter tend to be used to fight dementors. They're euphoric bursts of energy, manifesting from your defining traits and loves, so what exactly does that make the beasts they're used against?

Dementors are a metaphor of depression. They're hopeless, horrible creatures who literally suck the life out of their victims, leaving them as empty shells; they drain happiness from the atmosphere, and they're completely immortal. The dementors also don't really have any sort of allegiance; they just hang around Azkaban. But perhaps the biggest clue of the meaning behind the creatures comes from Lupin, who claims, "They don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought."

It's a nice reference then that chocolate can make a wizard feel much better after a dementor attack. Chocolate makes everything better, right?