Listen, I already know what you're thinking. A Harry Potter convention, really? Harry Potter ended years ago when the last movie was released, right? Well, no. The fandom is still alive and strong and Harry Potter conventions are the place to see that.
Leakycon is an annual convention dedicated to Harry Potter. Thousands of wizards and witches gather in a convention center for a weekend and share their love for Harry together. I have been going to Leakycon since 2011, and I don't see myself ever stopping. It was the most magical weekend of my life, and I vowed I'd somehow get to every single one after that. Conventions are full of educational panels, Q and A's with special guests, cosplayers and Wizard Rock concerts. (Yes, Harry Potter even has its own genre of music). These conventions are a place of zero judgement, and people can just be the crazy fans they want to be.
I used to go for these specific things. I still end up in panels or front row at the concerts, but everything officially part of the convention is now just second-string for me. Now, Leakycon is a place where I get to see my friends. Being in a place full of nerds and people just like yourself, it's really hard not to meet people. One of the running jokes is that you can turn in any direction and you already have something in common with the person you turn to. Eventually you have this huge group of friend you only get to see once a year, but that doesn't make the bond any less strong. It actually might make it stronger.
Every year I go into the convention scared. Scared it won't feel the same as the last time. Scared that it will have changed too much. And every year, as soon as I step into the hotel or convention center, I know I'm home. Where else can you see an actor running around in a rat costume proclaiming that he is "just a normal rat, nothing special." Where else can you get a "Snitchwitch" (#brandloyalty) delivered to you at 2:30 a.m. after a night full of dancing at the ball, and then immediately walk across the street for Denny's.
I think my friend, Brianna said it perfectly when she posted about Leakycon on Facebook, "I love being in a crowd of Wizards, arm in arm, singing the same words and feeling the same things. I love belonging here. I love Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, who gave all of this to me. I know those people who haven’t read the books or listened to the music or been to the conventions will never be able to understand exactly what these things mean to me. And I’ve long since given up trying to explain it to them. But know this. When I’m at Leakycon, I am happy. And I am home."
Leakycon is home for us, and I can't wait to go back. See you all in Dublin, Ireland?
