Growing Up With Harry Potter

It’s not difficult to pinpoint when I fell in love with the world of Harry Potter.

One of my best friends dragged me to go see the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, back in 2003, when we were still in middle school. She’d been wanting to go and see it a second time, and when she found out I’d not seen any of the films, she saw fit to kidnap me and introduce me to something she thought I ought not to be missing.

I knew very little of the Potter phenomenon back then, only having read parts of the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, when I was in third grade, for a book report. I hadn’t read any of the other books in the series, nor had I watched any of the films. I’d heard kids in my class going on about how much they loved Harry Potter, both the books and the films, but I just never bothered to see what all the fuss is about. So being almost completely unfamiliar with the subject of Harry Potter, I didn’t go into the theater expecting much, although I was only in eighth grade at the time, so all I was probably thinking was “hey, free movie!”

Hooked on Harry

Well, needless to say, I was hooked from then on. I read the first book the very next day, in just a matter of hours. I read the second one the following day, and was done before bedtime.  The other books quickly followed, although they took a bit more time to finish, as the books get progressively longer throughout the series.

As soon as I’d finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I started in on the first two films in the series. Watching them only increased my affection for the series. I’d never really read or watched anything about magic, save for the Disney animated classics, and I suppose you could say I got swept away with it all.

I can admit without any shame that I was a bit obsessed, as were quite a few kids my age at that time I imagine. It was freeing, I suppose, immersing myself in a world so different from our own. Full of fanciful and strange things like three headed dogs, talking hats and living pictures. To imagine myself in the company of such creatures as three-headed dogs, trolls and phoenixes. I’ve always had quite the imagination, and this only added to it. It’s inspired me in many ways.

The clock strikes midnight

So I followed the Potter series on from that point, anxiously awaiting the release of the fourth installment in the film franchise, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. A bit of a tradition was started with that when my friends and I decided to go to the midnight opening for the film. I’ve attended every one since, as well as the parties that Borders would throw for the release of a new book in the series.

I’ve painted my nails for the midnight opening, as I do every year, in the scarlet and gold colors of Gryffindor. Somewhat silly, maybe, but it’s my subtle way of dressing up for the occasion, instead of going full-blown Hogwarts attire like a lot of my fellow Potter-lovers will do. And when I was almost finished polishing, I realized that this is the last time I’ll do it. There won’t be another midnight opening, full of fellow fans decked out in black robes and round glasses, brandishing pretend wands and wearing the colors of Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. And it’s something that I’m going to miss, but I know that I’ll always have the memories of what it’s meant to me.

All good things come to an end

Now I’m awaiting the release of the very last Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

My love for all things Potter is just as great at nearly 21-years-old as it was at 13.

And the curious thing is while it’s easy to pinpoint when and why I fell in love with the magic of Harry Potter, it’s slightly harder to figure out how I’m feeling about this all finally coming to an end. On the one hand, all things have their time. But on the other, I’m going to be dreadfully sad, in a way, to see it all go.

It’s a bit like the feeling that came over me when I finished the last page of the final book, a kind of loss, but not one that hurts, necessarily. It’s hard to describe. I was sad, but happy too. Glad to see the characters I’d come to love get their happy ending. I cried after that last word, just a few tears, like I know I’ll cry in the wee hours of Friday morning, when that big IMAX screen goes black and the credits start to roll. But even though this is a sort of ending, that’s the beauty of books and movies. They’re kind of forever. And the things I took from them, from the words of the books and the scenes of the movies, those stay with me.  So, yes, I am sad to see these movies coming to an end, but it’s just that time.

A finale ten years in the making, and I’m more excited to see it then I can even say. And as for the last word’s of my little article, let’s see…ah, yes! In the words of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore "Nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak."

- By Katie Bickford, Linden resident

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