Ever since I was 10 years old, I've been known as a "Harry Potter" fan by my friends, family, and teachers. I’ve never been embarrassed to admit that I've read the entire series five times, been to several midnight movie premieres, spectated the 2011 Quidditch World Cup, attended five "Harry Potter" conventions, and have the Deathly Hallows tattooed on my literal head. I've been a Potter fan for as long as I've known how to read and cite the series as a driving force behind my desire to earn an English degree.

No, I'm not planning on reading "The Cursed Child."

Lately I've been met with nothing but absolute shock by my social circle when I tell them that I have no interest in “the eighth story.” And I can understand why! I'm the biggest Potterhead I know! But, I'm sorry, I just don't care about the new play. Let me explain…

Primarily, I don't believe in the epilogue. I tend to pretend that “19 years later” was never written because I find it unnecessary, lazy and damning to several of my most beloved characters. I reject the notion that Harry would name his eldest son after two of the most abusive father figures in his life. It's a sweeping apology for the despicable actions of Dumbledore and Snape and an insult to the memories of Hagrid, Sirius, Lupin and Arthur who treated Harry with nothing but respect his whole life. Plus, the epilogue provides no redemption arc for a personal favorite of mine, Draco Malfoy, who was forced against his better will into a racist cult as a child and never given a chance by J.K. to redeem himself. So I'm not overly interested in reading about the lives of the generation that I believe never should have been introduced.

Secondly, I've never been a fan of creators adding onto canon after the conclusion of a series. It’s tricky, delicate, and frequently winds up damaging the original story instead of bolstering it (i.e., the unnecessary racism behind the addition and expansion of the neo-canon American wizarding school, Ilvermorny). Choosing to reopen an iconic, internationally beloved story just to provide a little extra material about characters with less than 20 pages of original canon is just too much of a risk for me to support. It's flippant and unnecessary and begs the question of whether or not it's actually an…economic choice on Rowling’s part. Regardless, reopening canon is dangerous and, much like the epilogue, I'm choosing to reject it.

Thirdly, if we’re going to be gifted with an addition to canon, why couldn't it have been a marauder's backstory? The origin, history and legacy of the marauders is a subplot of the "Harry Potter" universe that fans have been begging for J.K. to expand for years. Why choose to expand upon the epilogue, a widely rejected and unoriginal afterthought, when the marauders story is so much more critical and anticipated? The marauders are far more central to the plot of "Harry Potter" than Harry and Ginny’s children and there's a much higher chance that anti-epilogue fans like myself would be interested in reading about them. The marauders are some of my favorite characters! There are so many unanswered questions about Sirius and Lupin that I would love to have answered! I don't have any questions about the epilogue other than why Harry would so willingly and easily forgive a man who hurled racist slurs at his mother and bullied him from the ages of 11 to 16 and then give his son the bastard’s namesake. But that's just me.

Finally, can "The Cursed Child" even be considered canon if it's not written by J.K. Rowling? Besides the overwhelming support, endorsement and cooperation on her part, J.K. Rowling is not the playwright of the eighth story. Right on the cover are the words “Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling” and “A new play by Jack Thorne.” I may be grasping at straws here, but I'll stick to my first seven books when citing canon.

I'm aware that I may sound cynical or angry, but I'm really not. I'm sure it's a wonderful read and a wonderful show. Many of my loved ones are finding great comfort and nostalgia in the eighth story, and I'm happy for them! But, at the end of the day, I find the concept extraneous and uninteresting and that's just my opinion.