I was 11 when the school library had announced about the new book Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. In fact, I had just turned 11. I was a lover of books, my favorite at the time being the Bunnicula Series... so I decided to give it a try. I was hooked from day one. I felt like I was part of the story, I felt a special bond between the main characters and myself that made me cry and laugh out loud while hidden in the corner of my room with a blanket. I never put it down, I didn't even sleep... by the end of day 3 I was finished with it.... A week later I read it again. I am now 22. I have read the first 4 books 7 times a piece and I have read the last 3, 3 times each. When the first movie came to theaters, it was like Christmas for me. I remember the magic and enchantment that movie brought to my heart. I was entranced by the words and music. I left the movie theater with the theme music echoing in my ear (only to beg my mother to take me to walmart so I could spend what little money I had on the soundtrack) I had a portable cd player in which I listened to that cd everywhere. In the car, on the bus, while at home, I even had it playing while I slept. I was at every midnight release of both book and movie.
Harry, Hermione, Ron and I grew up together. Now, we are coming to a close. I am not afraid or ashamed to say that the Harry Potter series are my favorite books of all time, they have not only been a good read, but a very special friend to me. They have been with me through sickness and grief. They have been a very welcomed escape from a sometimes depressive and dreary world. The wizarding world was real for me, it was a place that I spent most of my childhood. It has shaped me into the person I am today, I have no doubt of that. Some may think I am crazy, or immature... They can think that if they want, I am only speaking the truth. Tomorrow night, the first part of the last installment is released. I will be there holding hands with my husband as we search for horcruxes and battle death eaters together alongside my lifelong friends in their world that was for so long my world as well. I hope to leave with a smile, but I will undoubtedly lose some tears. This is the beginning of the end, a relationship that has lasted through the most pivotal years of my childhood. I will continue to visit Harry's world the rest of my life and I will share the same magic with my children and their children.
Harry, thank you for being a constant friend and companion, I owe so much to you. We will be together at your end, and I know that you will be with me until I come to my end.
