Now, I know what you're thinking: "great, another bandwagon HP fan," or "ugh, here we go again with another HP post." However, this isn't your typical "Harry Potter" blog post.
"Harry Potter" Series
1,090,739 Words
3,363 Pages
199 Characters
17 Hours and
14 Minutes
8 Movies
7 Books
1 Story
"Harry Potter." Two words that have always meant so much to me. Much more to me than only words on a page or moving pictures on a screen. As a kid, I often dreamed of far off places where I could escape to and be a different person. "Harry Potter" gave me just that. Even though I found this in the other books I read, where I was able to escape for hours at a time and become completely captivated by something other than myself, this particular story was different.
I wasn't allowed to read the "Harry Potter" series until I was in fourth grade. However, I quickly raced through reading the first three books. After that, I had to wait until I entered seventh grade in order to finish the rest of the books.
When I was a young girl, my parents left me at home with my neighbor for the night where she let me watch the first two movies with her. I, then, waited three years in order to watch the rest (minus the last two), with my sister on our way to Havasu for family vacation. Little did I know at the time that "Harry Potter" would become my favorite book and movie series.
From the first time I saw Hagrid take Harry to Hogsmeade, all the way to when we met Harry and Ginny/Ron and Hermione's kids, I knew "Harry Potter" was much more than a simplistic series about witches and wizards. Despite Hermione being a constant know-it-all, Ron always being spooked by his own shadow, and Harry continuously getting the three of them into trouble, the three always found a way to take their bad parts and come out on top.
These three unlikely friends became beloved heroes in the most unfortunate circumstances.
They found the stone
They entered the chamber
They freed the prisoner
They won the tournament
They fought alongside the order
They learned from the prince
They obliterated the horcruxes
Throughout this entire story, there was one thing that always stood out to me. No matter what came out of these movies and books, the love between all the characters was so incredibly evident.
Love overcame everything in this series. There is an overwhelming amount of love through every friendship and relationship in Harry's life and those surrounding him. His mom, dad, Snape (due to his love for Harry's mom), Dumbeldore, Ron, Hermione, the Weasley's, Hagrid, and Sirius all had immeasurable love for Harry Potter. Anybody in this series would be willing to lay down their life for anybody else. And they did.
Of all the deaths throughout this story, there were a few that really hurt: when Sirius and Doby were killed to save Harry; when Snape killed Dumbledore to free Draco from Voldemort; when Fred died and left George alone; when Mad Eye Moody died; or the worst one yet, when Voldemort killed Snape right in front of Harry.
When this happened, you realize just how much Snape truly loved Lilly and because of his love for her, he loved Harry an incredible amount. He even stayed in Voldemort's army so he could protect Harry.
Ultimately, defeating Voldemort in the end might have been the main purpose throughout this story. Yet, I saw other purposes than just defeating some annoying guy with no nose. The purpose to me was to inspire children to be different and pursue their life goals.
Anytime I watch these movies or read these books, they automatically take me to a place where everything feels safe, where in some way or another the outside world disappears and I can become completely immersed into another world. The wizarding world of "Harry Potter" showed me so much.
It showed me how to be a friend, to be brave, to never give up, to love unconditionally, and to always follow my dreams (or the spiders, lol). In all seriousness, the magic from Harry Potter's world might be unrealistic, it's fake, and could never happen in my life.
However, it's the magic that inspired me to be the creative person I strive to be, to never let somebody's words bring me down, to not let my enemies control me, and to find love in the most random places.
I strive to be extraordinary like Harry, intelligent like Hermione, hilarious like the twins, wise like Dumbledore, stealth like Sirius, and confident like Neville.
I could never adequately describe exactly how much I love Harry Potter. Those who love it just as much can understand in someways. Although, every HP fan has a different idea about what has impacted them the most from this series. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will always hold a special place in my life and my heart (even if it is fictional).
Even though it does not exist, Hogwarts will always be another home of mine. For as JK Rowling said, "Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."
With that being said, thank you, JK Rowling, for writing such amazing literature and allowing it to come to life on the page and on the screen--it has truly changed this girl's life. Thanks to the actors and actresses who took part in the movies (those alive and dead--RIP Alan Rickman).
Never let the magic die, my friends, and seek adventure, even if you have to travel in a flying car.
