Adventures In Potterland
Long before I began my trek into the depths of the internet, the fan-fiction bug infected my heart, soul and imagination. Visions of myself traversing the halls of Hogwarts saturated my every dream, of both the day and nighttime varieties.
At 13 years old, a small conversation on a popular Tolkien forum helped me to discover the wide world of online fan-fiction, and thus my foray into true obsession began. This is where fandom dreams came to life, and I was determined to make my own come to life, too.
All I could think about was getting to Hogwarts. Pouring over the text and rewatching the first couple films, I began to imagine a world entirely my own within the universe of the Potter series. Anything could and would happen in my stories, and I could return to that world anytime I wanted. It was, dare I say, a magical time in my life.
Little did I know that less than 10 years later, I would be physically exploring the castle in all it’s glory with the opening of the Florida-based Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. In 2011, I visited the park with my parents and my younger brother. It was everything you’d expect it to be, and — for me, at least — far more. What seemed like the simplest details to the story were exquisitely included in the decor and atmosphere of the attractions.
Sadly, though my every breath may beg to differ, we cannot reside in the Potterverse forever. The dream has to end sometime. The theme parks exist to give us just a glimpse of magic before our time is up, and we have to head on home.
I’ve fantasized about relocating to Florida for the ability to easily revisit the park, but since life isn’t quite as easy as moving to another state in the blink of an eye (still can’t apparate), I’ve yet to accomplish that dream as of now. Instead, once or twice a month, my sleep-self enters into a dreamy daze of Potterland and all its wizarding wonder. If this pattern continues, I will have dreamt about visiting the park around 15 times by the year’s end. These dreams repetitively tell the tale of my triumphant return to Islands of Adventure; every single time, I am blown away by the new Diagon Alley attractions and the trip on the Hogwarts Express.
Maybe I’m subconsciously longing for adventure in the great, wide somewhere, or maybe I just really, really need a vacation, but this is one recurring dream I’m grateful for every time it comes around. For me, Harry’s story is linked to my desire to write a world as influential and magical as the one J.K. Rowling has conceived, and to be reminded of that even in my sleeping hours is a real gift.
Though I do occasionally find myself in a fan-fiction binge, I try to focus my fiction writing attention on work of my own. As have other aspects of my life, my writing and fantasizing habits have evolved as I’ve aged. No longer am I the teenage girl typing away at a reimagining of the prefect’s bathroom scene, and my dreams no longer involve a date with Fred Weasley at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour. I’ve exchanged that for hours of outlining and character profiles, for dreams of visiting Potterland with my boyfriend and friends, having the time of our lives and leaving glowing and content.
Could this possibly be what fandom in adulthood feels like? Could my recent dreams be trying to tell me that I’ve actually emerged as a bonafide geek-WOMAN? If so, I certainly hope that instead of losing my light completely, I can continue to carry it with me. I hope I can hold dear dreams of the past while welcoming any future dreams that may come my way.
