When DD started asking questions about wars, terrorism, military, dictators, political assassinations, evil beings in general, I concluded that there wasn't much point in shielding her from these concepts since she already was exposed to them and she needed ways to make sense of her expanded understanding of the world. That's how HP came into her life.
Skepchick, as far as social currency for next school year goes, I'm not sure HP would help much. There are a couple of other children in DD's class who are HP fans but they did not exactly bond over HP. Being good at soccer and basketball really helps with recess time and block-building skills come in handy during indoor recess. There are a few boys in her class who gravitate towards playing with girls and those boys tend to be into pretend play and collaborative games. I realize I'm making sweeping generalizations but knowing how to engage other children in simple playground games probably would go a lot further and that is a skill that can improve with coaching and practice.
