The Harry Potter series functions as an allegory of 20th century world history and the war against Nazism. In this literary work, one finds several interrelated discourses on peace and violence, affect and emotions, as well as civilising and decivilising processes that mirror our ‘muggle’ real world. All of these themes constitute the foundation of Norbert Elias’s sociology. Therefore, this article develops an Eliasian interpretation of the thematic discourses of Harry Potter and defends the position that literary works can and should be taken seriously as sociological accounts. The first part deals with violence: How is violence alternately exercised and eschewed? Why do some people employ violence easily and delight in inflicting harm on others? The second part looks at discourses on peace and war and how they reflect discourses of good and evil: How does obtaining, maintaining or refusing power affect the totality of social relations? How are discourses of inclusion and exclusion related to conditions of war and conditions of peace?