The holidays always are accompanied by the Harry Potter movies. They play on repeat on ABC Family, and for the sake of past memories, my family and I can’t resist watching. I have always been a die hard Harry Potter fan, but that obsession sprang from reading the books by J.K. Rowling, not the movies. While the movies are well done and the effects are increasingly incredible as technology improves, they can not compare to the perfection that is the written story.
When I was young, I watched the first Harry Potter movie before I was old enough to read the books, and it terrified me. The idea of being strangled by plants and the image of creepy Voldemort in his black cape were bad enough, but the scene where the ghost of Voldemort, freed from Professor Quirrell’s body, flies through Harry gave me nightmares. Therefore, when my father asked if I wanted him to read me the first book, I was adamantly against it. I did not want to read the scary story under any circumstance.
After a few months of protesting, my dad struck a compromise with me: we would read the first book one chapter at a time, and if I ever heard something I thought was scary, I could tell him to stop reading right away. I reluctantly agreed, mostly because I wanted my parents to stop nagging me about how much I would like the series.
I am forever grateful my parents made me listen to that book.
After finishing it, I took over my Harry Potter quest. I was immediately obsessed with the plot line and the characters. I wanted to slap Dudley every time he picked on Harry, I laughed at Ron’s funny one-liners, I burned with anger whenever Malfoy’s name was mentioned, and I identified strongly with Hermione (I was, admittedly, a very bossy child). I gasped at the instances of near death and I cheered when all ended well. They also helped teach me how to read. We had a cassette tape of the second Harry Potter book that we borrowed from the library to listen to in the car, and once we finished it, I would take it into my room and play it through my purple stereo as I read along with the book in my lap.
As I grew up, more books came out. I was 11 when "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" was released to the public. My parents, recognizing how essential it was for me to have a copy, put one on hold for me and we picked it up that afternoon. Less than 24 hours later, I had read all 759 pages and was already re-reading the story.
As the years progressed, I re-read those stories tons of times. I realized I had read every Harry Potter book at least seven times each. I laughed about that for a while, but then a few years later, I wanted to immerse myself in my favorite series again, so I’m not sure how many times I’ve read those books anymore.
Watching the movies this winter break has made me miss the simple, yet rich sentences of Rowling’s novels, so I have started to re-read the series again. However, I am not ashamed to admit that fact and here’s why.
Sure, it’s a little embarrassing for a 19-year-old to be excited to read a child’s fantasy series for the umpteenth time, but those books represent much more to me than that. They remind me of my childhood, when nothing made me happier than curling up and reading a book. It was my introduction to the world of writing: I learned the subtle punctuation of dialogue, the correct way to use grammar, and the best way to convey action by reading these iconic stories. They made me want to start writing because I wanted to inspire someone in the way J.K. Rowling inspired me when I was so young.
The stories themselves are also so original with the subtle hints Rowling incorporates: naming a werewolf Lupin, which is so similar to the word “lupine” that describes wolves, is one example of the names she chose to use to indicate future events. She set up the complicated, brilliant ending from the first few pages of the novel. She doesn’t leave anything out. Every question we have, every characteristic or mood swing is answered by the end. Re-reading these stories made me see how complex everything really was, and how brilliant she had to be in order to make every detail important.
Essentially, yes, it is just a series about witches and wizards, but it taught me quite a lot. I admit I know all the magic Harry and his friends learn, and if I actually had magical power, I would be a pretty great student at Hogwarts because I would know all the spells. However, it also taught me important life lessons. It showed me how much influence a story can have on a person like me, and instilled in me the desire to be a writer. The plot taught me how important our choices are, that while some events are out of our control, we control our own future through the decisions we make everyday. The books taught me how to be a good writer technically, and how explaining every detail makes the story the best it can be. I know that I am an anomaly in my reading habits, but I hope everyone finds a series or a book that matters as much to them as this series did for me.
