What do two grown ups do on a Friday night? Well, when it happens to be a Harry Potter Marathon weekend on Freeform, you drop everything and camp out on the couch reliving the magic. At least, that is what my husband and I do with our Friday night.
It seems that no matter my age, the magic of Harry Potter just never relinquishes its hold on my imagination. I just got home from a honeymoon that included two days in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter where we drank butter beer, ate chocolate frogs and rode the Hogwarts Express more times than necessary because we just couldn't get enough. Most people head for beaches or exotic resorts for their honeymoon; we went to Hogwarts. No shame. For my 22nd birthday I received a wand, a Harry Potter coloring book and a Gryffindor mug. This summer I had some spare time and decided to start reading the series again from the beginning. Even though I have read it at least five times prior, I still got completely swept up in the magic and wonder of a story so well spun that it left an entire generation waiting for their Hogwarts letters.
Why am I still so obsessed with a children's book series at this stage in my life? Well, my thought is that you never outgrow a good story and "Harry Potter" is arguably the best story ever written. It is a story of good versus evil, friendship and love, coming of age and an underdog hero. It has every quality attributed to great stories all mixed up into a magical world of wizards and mythological creatures and amazing characters.
The thing about Harry Potter is that we can all relate to it. You can relate to the general struggles of the series on a level of evil threatening the world just like that has happened time and time again throughout human history. Some can relate to Harry's orphan status and his tough upbringing. Some of us can relate to Hermione and her intelligence yet the bullying that often accompanies a deep love of learning. So many relate to Ron and his constant need to live up to the precedent set by his older siblings and the struggle of living in the shadow of a larger personality (Harry). Anyone and everyone can find a relation to some part of this story and that is part of what endears it to us so completely.
Another reason I still love "Harry Potter" is the lessons I can still continue to learn from the story. The two biggest themes within the novels in my opinion are friendship and love will always prevail over hate and evil, and sometimes heroes are the most unlikely characters. It is rare to find an extremely well-loved story today and age that has such strong, true values and morals. You finish the series knowing your true best friends will be beside you through thick and thin, just like Harry, Ron and Hermione. You also see that even the most unlikely person can be a hero. Just look at Neville and Luna—two of the most underrated characters in the beginning for their supposed slowness and weirdness that are heroes of the battle of Hogwarts by the end of the series.
Harry Potter will always be a part of my life. I will continue to relive the magic as many times as I can, and I can't wait for the day that I can share the magic with my own children. Thankfully, as the incredible J.K. Rowling said, "Whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."
