Harry Potter and Me
“Harry Potter is crap.” — me(pretty much a direct quote)
I’ve spent 2016 traveling the 15,678 air miles to do “all the Harry Potter things.” So that quote seems like an unlikely introduction to the story of “The Boy Who Lived and The Girl Who Travels”, but funny enough that is exactly how this story starts.
Upon the US release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I was in high school. The first time I saw a copy of Harry Potter was in the hands of my substitute English teacher. I even remember cracking a more than a few jokes about a grown woman reading a children’s book to pass the time. Years later a friend told me she was super into Harry Potter in high school but hid it from me because of that day. #ruthless
Fast forward three years to my sophomore year in college. The girls I hung out with knew all the cool guys, which included Mr. Marcus Gibson. One night while we discussed books we loved, he mentioned the Harry Potter series. He began to rave about it for what seemed like forever. He lost a lot of cool points at that moment (don’t worry, he’s since gained them all back). I told him I not only never read the books, I never intended to. But he just kept on about it! The conversation finally ended when he thrust the fourth book into my hands and told me, “just read it. Whatever you don’t understand, I’ll fill in for you.” And there you have it.
The book stayed on my bedroom floor for about a month. I refused to make time for a big ole children’s book. It was 734 pages, for chrissake! And I didn’t ignore it just because I wasn’t interested in the content. Once I start a book, I have to finish it no matter how much I don’t like it (looking at you, sparkly vampires).
Enter insomnia. Around 2:30 am one unremarkable morning, I reached down, picked the book up, and began to read. My first reaction was along the lines of (SPOILER ALERT)
“HOLY CRAP THIS BOOK STARTS WITH MURDER!”
I was immediately invested. To me, the book was about as perfect as it gets. The brilliant main characters, ridiculous creatures, intense flashbacks (my favorite part!), and surprise revelations. It was so much more than I thought it would be! Of course, as I continued the book I would ask the now smug Marcus questions along the way and speculate about events to which he already knew the answers. I had a few months before the release of the first movie and waited with the rest of the world indefinitely for the next book announcement. I had the brilliant plan to read the third book, watch the first movie, then wait for the second movie. Worst. Idea. Ever. I immediately hated the third book. Nearly ten years later when I finally read the first and second books (yeah, I know), I realized they were necessary for the third book to be so enjoyable.
Thankfully the first movie was pure magic (pun intended). It restored my faith in the boy wizard and the journey we were now on together.
I remember every midnight release party at Border’s (R.I.P.), Barnes and Noble, and when we finally figured out how to avoid the exhaustive long lines, Walmart. I remember the all-night reading sessions where my friends and I devoured each new book and enforced silences until we all finished. I remember bawling my eyes out in my first post-college apartment while I read Half-Blood Prince. Convinced a page was missing from my book at the end of the chapter where Dumbledore dies. I went back and read the entire chapter again. Twice.
Between the last two Harry Potter stories, I’ve seen the movies hundreds of times (not an exaggeration), been to all the Wizarding World theme parks, debated on podcasts the logistics of wizard matters in the real world, and invested an obscene amount of money on Slytherin paraphernalia. I started Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire again before my trip around the world. As I started the first chapter, I felt suspended in time. I remembered the exact emotions and sensations I had the first time I read those words. When I finished, I had goosebumps. It was the most surreal moment I’ve ever had. Right now, is an appropriate time to say thanks, Jo Rowling. Of all these precious memories, what it felt like to start my first Harry Potter book is the one I cherish most.
These are some of the stories that set the scene for my Harry Potter World Tour. For more stories and pictures from my “Year of Magical Living,” visit my blog or follow along in real time on Snapchat (@allons-ycraft). Oh, and feel free to share this post (lets me know I’m doing something right!)
