When I was younger, my older siblings started to read "Harry Potter." My mom told me I could only watch the movies with them if I read the books first. Thus began my journey to Hogwarts. I spent the next few years catching up. I read all the books and memorized countless lines from the movies. I sat at the book premieres and waited in lines for hours to receive my copy of the final installment of the series.
In 2011, the final film in the "Harry Potter" franchise came to life on the big screen. If you’re a diehard Potterhead like me, you were standing in line for hours in advanced to experience this. J.K. Rowling said at the premiere these words, “Whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”
This summer I decided to reread the books that defined my childhood. I have discovered that my love for this series never ends.
The way that Molly Weasley cares for Harry as if he is her own son…I tear up every time. In the fourth book, subtitled "Goblet of Fire," Molly and her son Bill surprise Harry and step in as his family on the final day of the Triwizard Tournament. Molly Weasley never forgets to send Harry Christmas presents, always invites him to stay at the Burrow, and basically is the mother Harry never had. Any reader would want Molly Weasley to knit them an authentic Weasley sweater.
I was reminded of the house elf revolution Hermione Granger attempted for years. Hermione was told again and again by her friends and classmates, that attempting to gain more house elf rights was pointless. However, she continued to knit hundreds of hats and scarves in an attempt to free the creatures. The details like this make me realize how complex these characters are and how (try as they might) the movies cannot show.
I was hit with emotion every time I was reminded of how little Harry knew about his parents. He was determined to discover what his parents were like, and found an insight to them through Sirius Black in the "Order of the Phoenix" I remembered how important Sirius Black was to Harry in the "Half-Blood Prince." I understood Harry’s grief over Sirius and found myself once again being understood by Rowling
In every book I am able to sit down and fall in love all over again. I am still that ten year old girl wondering where I could find a chocolate frog, dreaming about flying over Britain, and wishing I could learn to give someone a pig’s tail.
I will always love this series. When I think about Harry, Ron, and Hermione…I think of them as my friends. I was there with them to kill the basilisk, to survive the Hall of Prophecy, and everything else. Hogwarts is my home. Hogwarts will always be the place I look to for comfort and the place I know I can always come back to. So whether by page or screen…Hogwarts will always be my home.
