Wide awake on excitement and good, energy dose of my favorite candy bar, my seven year-old-self made my way through the bookstore, as my dad trailed behind me. Dressed in a long black cloak, my light brown, frizzy hair fell down on my gold and red tie as I held onto my store-bought wand in my other hand.
"Dad," I exclaimed. "Here it is!"
We made our way to the back of a line, surrounded by teenagers and children. I waited patiently until it was my turn to sit on the stool and have the "Sorting Hat" placed on my head. When I was next, I ran up to the stool and plopped down.
"Gryffindor," I pleaded just as Harry Potter did when he was being sorted. The girl holding that hat smiled and answered my wish. "Gryffindor!" she exclaimed with a sly smile.
With a huge grin on my face, I looked up at my dad proudly and he returned my smile back at me. A little boy with huge glasses and a crooked red, marker drawn scar on his forehead ran up to me
"You're in Gryffindor, too?" He asked happily.
I nodded and stuck out my hand, "Hermione, Hermione Granger," I said, "And you are?"
The boy gave me a smile. "Harry Potter," he said. "But you already knew that."
The realistic, magical night continued up until the anticipated book release of "Harry Potter and the Order of Phoneix." It was half-past ten and after two hours of running around from all the Harry Potter activities that the bookstore had to offer, followed by another two hours of reading the last few chapters of Louis Sachar's Holes, I was nearly half asleep, as my dad carried me along the endless line of fans to receive our own copy. During the car ride home, I fell asleep in the car dreaming of Hogwarts and all the magic that would follow the next day when I opened the first page of the new book.
The following morning, I woke up, begging my dad to read me one more chapter before he headed to work. My dad was often very busy with his job, so our time together was very limited. However, Harry Potter was the one thing he made sure to set time aside for. Every night that he made it home before my bedtime, we would sit together curled up on the sofa as he read to me a chapter of the book. My imagination ran wild as I dreamed of Hogwarts, Voldemort and Harry's battles. As I would beg for my dad to read one more chapter, he would smile and say tomorrow we would finish the next one. I knew he would keep his promise.
The experience, first of being read to and later being captivated by my own reading has always been a source of comfort and pleasure. That bonding experience, however, was only one of the reasons why the Harry Potter series became my favorite books. Certainly, Hermione Granger soon became my childhood idol. She was "the smartest witch of her year" and I believed that I needed to be just that too. I was determined to study hard and read everything I could get my hands on just like Hermione. I also strived to show bravely and true friendship just like she did. She knew the learning, but also loyalty and when to use her knowledge as well.
As I got older, my obsession with the Harry Potter books began to fade. Soon all of my posters of the characters in my room were in the garbage, and those worn books lay on my dusty shelf. Nevertheless, although I grew and developed other interests, the lessons I learned in Harry Potter remain a paramount part of me.
I believe strongly in the concepts important to that story and its message which include tolerance, the consideration for others, the important values of love, friendship and the idea that it is our moral choices in life that determine who we are, not our personal background. These are values that allow us to find courage in the face of adversity and to choose to do what is right, rather than what is easy
The bond with my dad still remains as strong as before and occasionally we find ourselves picking up a Harry Potter book or listening to an audiobook chapter that pops up on an iPhone set to "shuffle" during a long road trip.
To some people (typically muggles), Harry Potter is just a childhood book or simply a series of well-directed movies; however, it was much more than that to me.The series taught me crucial lessons about family, friends, and morals. Without Harry Potter's influence, I would not have fostered a love of reading, and obtain the same imaginative perception that I have today, which developed eleven years ago in that bookstore, on that very magical night.