Mischief Managed

So, for those of you living under a rock, the last movie in the epic Harry Potter series comes out tonight.  This is it.  The end.  And at 20 years old, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to let it go.

I was introduced to Harry in about third grade.  I was a voracious reader, jumping between books and reading several at a time.  I remember getting those wonderful little book order catalogs (sidenote: do they do those anymore with the advent of Amazon?), reading the descriptions, and waiting rather impatiently for the books to come in.  My mom, if I remember correctly, was the mom who organized it for one or two of my classes, and I knew that I would get my books first.  I think if she had ever brought me to book stores my little 8 year old heart would have stopped and I would have spontaneously combusted.  Because books, although (I think) the best thing you can buy a child, are expensive, I also got a lifetime love of rereading from my absolute need to be reading at all times.

So after learning who Harry was, I was hooked.  I was perfectly happy to read Chamber of Secrets at my own pace.  I continued to read, asking for the next book for my birthday.  Well, lo and behold, Azkaban had just come out and they were out of stock!  So I waited, ready to know what the next adventure would hold, and once I got my hands on it, I still couldn't believe how good it was.  The Prisoner of Azkaban has always been my favorite of the series, and when Goblet of Fire came out, I was already starting an obsession. 

We moved before I entered middle school, and Harry helped me make new friends.  Harry was something we had in common, and the books helped cure me of at least a bit of my social awkwardness.  Or, at least, put me with people who would accept and love me no matter how nerdy I was.  The first book I ever got on opening day was Order of the Phoenix, at a BJ's wholesale club (why I remember this I don't know).  I started reading it on the drive home and didn't stop until I finished at about 2 in the morning.  Of course, the next day, I immediately started rereading it.  I don't know what sticks out at me, but I can vividly remember reading this book, even from the beginning in the dust jacket (Ron plays Quiddich?).  Waiting for others to finish the book was torture, I had theories!

Half-Blood Prince is more of a blur.  I had moved again by this point and was in high school.  I had another group of Potter-obsessed friends, and we would talk about our theories often, wondering what would come next.  The movies, of course, had an impact on our fandom (I think I had a Harry Potter calendar annually from 2002 to 2007), and it was always part of our lives.  There was another book to look forward to; another movie to pick apart argue if it was good or not.

Then came Deathly Hallows.  It was the only book that I went to a midnight release of, with my hand knit Gryffindor scarf from years past (should've made a Ravenclaw in hindsight), and my best friend and I left Borders, going 65 down a 45, racing home to start the book.  I remember saying to my friend as we ran a yellow, "I just got the book, if you kill me before I read the book I'll kill you!"  Once I got home, I read from 12:30 AM to the finish at about 9.  I read so fast I missed several pieces of dialog, but it probably didn't help that I had tears down my face from page 56 to the very end.  I had to physically put the book down during the Battle of Hogwarts to let the deaths of my two favorite secondary characters to wash over me.  The next day, I started rereading.

In the four years (minus one week) since that book has come out, I have seen movies at midnight, reread the series several times, and grown into a different kind of Potter fandom.  I've watched A Very Potter Musical and its sequel several times, and I became a nerdfighter in 2008.  Most of my friends are still Potter fans, and many people I know from Twitter or Dailybooth love Harry as much, if not more than me.  Our plans for spring break of next year?  Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Since Christmas Eve, I have been participating in the Harry Potter Reread, reading a chapter a day, ending today.  Although the movies end tonight, I will never stop loving Harry.

This is something I want to keep in mind as I watch the movie tonight: it will never really be over, not for me.  I've probably read Sorcerer's Stone 25 times, and Dealthly Hallows at least five.  Pottermore will be starting up in a few weeks, and I can't wait to see more stuff from the Potter Universe.  These are books that I want to read to my kids, to introduce them to the magic and wonder of Hogwarts, the battle between good and evil, and the struggles we all face as adolescence with teen angst.  I grew up with Harry, he's like a childhood friend to me.  So thanks, Jo, thank you for these books that I will never stop rereading.