A not-at-all-brief history of my love for Harry Potter

 During my mission, I met the Kurtz family, who adored the Harry Potter books. I had heard of the series and seen the illustrations, but didn't know much except that it chronicled the adventures of a wizard kid, and they were popular with young kids and teens. Well, this family decided that I needed to read the books. Not to be deterred, they took my card, wrote my release date on the back, and placed it in a paperback copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to be mailed upon my return home, which at that time was a year away.

Skip ahead about 15 months, August of 2001. I'd been home for four weeks, the new semester didn't start for two, and I was insanely bored. The Kurtzes must have mislaid the paperback copy of the Sorcerer's Stone and I forgot to remind them to send it. (They did send it later that year. It’s one of three editions I now own.) Fortunately, my youngest brother, David, owned all four books available at that time, and strongly encouraged me to read them. He was so excited about the idea, that he read the first several chapters of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone out loud to me (to this day, I still think of David's voice and tune whenever I read the Sorting Hat's song). I started slow, and read one chapter myself that first day. The next day, I finished the entire book.

I finished the rest of the first four books in the 10 days I had left before moving back to school. They just kept getting better and better! I still remember finishing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at 4:30 a.m. and being afraid to go to sleep. That book was scary!! I was officially hooked on the books, and was now stuck with the same problem as millions of other fans: how the heck was I supposed to wait for the next book to come out?! Fortunately, that was when the movies started to arrive, and with school and community theatre I found other ways to spend my time.

About a year later, I wandered onto the Warner Brothers Official Harry Potter Web site. And there I discovered a whole new world: fan fiction. That Web site became my second home. I read dozens of stories, met hundreds of people, and even joined an exclusive club called the "Harry Potter Prats." I was thrilled to find out that Harry Potter fans were not limited to pre-teens. I met middled-aged mothers, young men, and a lot of college students on those boards. I spent ridiculous amounts of time there, which horrified my dear mother to no end (ironically, it was the skills I learned from spending so much time on the computer that qualified me for many of my jobs after graduation, so it all ended well).

Graduation day, when I and all of the other English majors ran
around in ourgraduation robes, shouted "Wingardium leviosa"
at each other, and knew we were awesome.

Many of the people I met on that Web site wrote fanfics of their own. After one of my friends mentioned that Charlie Weasley was my perfect man -- athletic, friendly, red-haired, not-too-tall -- we were paired up in every fanfic my friends wrote -- one in which Charlie and I had six kids! The one exception was a story where I was a pirate called "Blackwand Meg", who stole magic from other wizards. That was about the time the original Pirates of the Carribean movie came out, and I was thrilled with the character!

It took me a good eight months to gather the courage to start working on my own story. The result was a story called Why Won't He Just Leave Her Alone? It explored two stories: Snape's journey to the Dark Lord's side, and Lily and James's courtship. The premise was that Snape and Lily were best friends at Hogwarts, and it was her relationship with James that pushed Snape to the Dark Arts. My friends online were very supportive, and I'm proud to say I had quite a loyal following. It didn't hurt that I put a bunch of them in the story, as well. I had a lot of fun finding ways to insert them, and writing them into situations I knew they’d love.

Two months later, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published, and I had to stop writing my story because I was so mad at Snape! Geez, he was a jerk in that book! I still get steamed whenever I read it. I had a hard time reconciling in my mind how the Severus I’d so lovingly written could become such a horrible, nasty person.

Do it, Sirius. Do it!

But, I got over it fairly quickly, and continued writing. I started off strong, but my posts became less and less frequent when I graduated from school and had to find a job. After about two years I was feeling a writer’s block, of sorts. I had things to write about, but I felt like it wasn’t interesting anymore. I had ideas for major plot points, but none of the fun character “filler” stuff that makes Ms. Rowling’s writing so fun. So, sometime in late 2005 I stopped writing. Cold. When the WB deleted my thread for the fiftieth time, I didn’t bother to start it again. Maybe someday I'll finish it off, or at least write down the prologue where Snape is inducted as a Death Eater. In my head, it's a cool scene.

Fortunately, I've reconnected with quite a few of the Prats on Facebook, and though I am a little sad I won't be meeting up with them for the last movie, I'm glad they're still as wacky and wonderful as ever!

Skip ahead to 2007. Ms. Rowling finished the REAL Harry Potter story, and despite my big talk about waiting, I was on line at Barnes and Noble at midnight on July 21, 2007 with friends Kate and Jenna to purchase my very own copy. I even took home some black display balloons that I ended up releasing when I finished the book as a symbolic gesture to the end of a series that had played such a large part in my life. Most of the mysteries were resolved in a satisfying manor, including the two I attempted to explore in my story. I cried at the end, and was amazed at how well Ms. Rowling kept me guessing, right up to the end (though I was totally right about Snape's reason for hating Harry -- yay me!).

Now here I am, anticipating the last movie and last excuse to really geek out with the Harry Potter community. I'm sad about the ending, but I'm glad for the chance to reflect on why I love the books.

I love the characters -- the good guys and bad guys were all fantastic characters. People I could love or love to hate. By the end of the books, I feel like they're my friends (you know, in a Facebook/blog stalking sort of way) and I'm sad I won't get to share in their lives anymore. BTW, I found a place on JK Rowling's site with a family tree, so that you know who the Weasley kids and Luna and Draco marry, and how many kids they have. I am very disappointed Charlie apparently doesn't get married... or maybe I'm not. If I could write myself into the wizarding world, I'd be the muggle who married Charlie Weasley, and we'd live happily ever after :-D

The story is intruiguing and well thought out. I still marvel when I read the last two novels and realize how important seemingly-random events are from the first two. Rowling totally planned the whole thing. She did her research on mythology (like Hagrid buying three-headed dog Fluffy from a "Greek chappie"). She worked her fanny off and the result is something flat-out fun to read.

But my favorite thing about the Harry Potter books is that they inspired so many children (and adults) to read. My last year at university, when people would ask what I wanted to do after graduation, I told everyone I wanted to be an editor, because I would be honored to be involved with something like Harry Potter that taught kids how wonderful stories are, and how much they can learn if they pick up a book. Sadly, I'm not an editor, and I don't deal in fiction, but I still read a LOT, and I'm always excited to see my nephew and nieces and other kids and their parents and MY parents reading whatever interests them. Sure, Harry Potter isn't for everyone, but that's not the point. The point is that I love to read, and it makes me happy when my friends do, too!

In conclusion, I have really enjoyed immersing myself in Harry Potter's world for these last ten years. I feel like I've learned a lot about myself, developed new analytical and writing skills, and met awesome people through this interest, and I hope that never changes! Whether you care about Harry or not, I hope you enjoy this weekend, and that you find something that makes you as happy as Harry has made me!