J.K. Rowling, in her Harry Potter series, tells an iconic tale of magic, love, anger, self-sacrifice, and good triumphing over evil. Woven through its pages are examples of bumbling bureaucracies, failure, growth, education, team-building, leadership…

And diversity.

“Of course,” said a senior manager nearly twenty years ago as we walked together to staff a booth at a large diversity conference. She pointed out that three of the four Quidditch sports teams at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry consisted of both genders. “There are people of African and Asian heritage sprinkled throughout the books,” she added.

(And later Ms. Rowling told us that Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts’ beloved headmaster, was gay.)

“That’s really cool,” I responded. “But it’s not what really interests me.”

What really interests me are the diversity-related conflicts that take place throughout the series among witches, wizards, Muggles, giants, two half-giants, werewolves, centaurs, goblins, ghosts, a poltergeist, and house-elves.

During a scene early in Book IV, Arthur Weasley and his three teenage sons, all wizards, arrived at the house where teenage wizard Harry Potter lived with his aunt and uncle (both Muggles). As one of Mr. Weasley’s sons prepared to leave, he dropped a brightly-wrapped piece of candy, hoping that Harry’s cousin, an obese Muggle bully, would eat it. The cousin took the bait, causing his tongue to become seven feet long.

Arthur Weasley, after repairing the damage, returned to his house to find Harry and his sons roaring with laughter. Fuming, he told the boys that playing such tricks with Muggles made it harder to improve Wizard-Muggle relations. To which one of his sons responded that they did what they did because Harry’s cousin was a bully, not a Muggle.

How many times have we Muggles witnessed someone verbally or physically assaulting someone different from them, later claiming that they did it because the other person deserved it? And how quickly do the facts get buried under barrages of hostility?

These diversity conflicts play a key role throughout the series. Many wizards and witches abused or demeaned enslaved house-elves. For good reason, many were terrified by werewolves and giants. Goblins and centaurs were ignored. And Lord Voldemort, the most evil wizard ever, took advantage of this mistreatment, promising giants, werewolves, and goblins more power if they assisted him in his killing and destruction sprees.

But Harry Potter, with coaching from Albus Dumbledore; Hermione Granger, his teenage friend; and others, learned how to include these outsiders into his life. Like many of us, he regularly fell short. But he listened and observed. He asked good questions. He was respectful, even when these outsiders didn’t fully come through for him. He helped when he could, and thanked those that helped him. He encouraged others to do the same.

Through these efforts, Harry forged symbiotic relationships with some of these magical creatures. In Book III, adult werewolf Lupin taught Harry a crucial spell, and in Book VII, Harry gave some advice that saved the werewolf’s marriage. After Harry freed house-elf Dobby from a cruel slaveowner in Book II, Dobby helped Harry to get out of several hot spots, ultimately sacrificing his life. In Book VII, goblin Griphook assisted Harry and his friends to steal a crucial object needed to destroy Lord Voldemort. Half-Giant Hagrid and Harry supported each other through the series. And in the climactic last battle, centaurs and house-elves joined the Hogwartians to defeat Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Both sides used diversity to work towards defeating each other, but many Hogwartians, under the leadership of Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter, found ways to include these magical beings in their efforts. This allowed them to learn about the hidden magic these creatures had to offer — magic that Voldemort and his Death Eaters either never learned or discounted.

While diversity without inclusion permits us to use the surface strengths of those different from us, it encourages us to hold onto stereotypes too tightly, resulting in misunderstanding, contempt, condescension, and inspiration porn. Diversity with inclusion encourages relationship-building with those different from us, resulting in stereotype breakdown, the discovery and cultivation of hidden strengths, the chance to develop friendships, and the potential to accomplish great things — things that would not be possible without the support of others different from us.

Diversity alone is for Muggles. Diversity plus inclusion encourages the exploration of the magic amongst us all.