Harry Potter Through the Ages!

As I'm sure you now know, the final Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 premiered yesterday (and it was absolutely EPIC!) and because of this, the blogosphere has been flooded with blog posts dedicated to Harry and the impact he has made on people's lives. And being the HUGE fan of the HP books and movies that I am, I thought it'd be fitting after such a historic event yesterday to add my own HP post to the mix in the form of the most memorable moments of my life featuring Harry! Enjoy! :D

*I'm 11-years-old, browsing the aisles of my elementary school library, when I spot a book with a boy riding a broomstick on the cover and I think, "Oooo, this looks interesting!" and the rest, as they say, is history.

*For my birthday one year, I have a Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets birthday cake.

*I get to go to the midnight release party for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with one of my best friends and her family. At the event, someone gives me a witch's hat and later that night, when I finally have the book in my hands, I'm the last one awake and still reading it past midnight.

*I get to go to a Harry Potter party at my local library, complete with games, food, prizes, trivia and people dressed as the Harry Potter characters. One of my best friend's wins a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and begins to sob openly with happiness and disbelief in front of everyone. I think it's one of the most amazing and moving things I've ever seen.

*I'm almost finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows for myself and one scene near the end has me feeling so emotional that I break down in loud sobs of happiness and relief. When this happens, my mom begins to laugh at me and I begin to cry and laugh all at the same time.

*During my sophomore year of high school, as an assignment in one my classes, we're required to write a letter to someone we admire. I choose to write to J.K. Rowling (of course!) and when I actually receive a response (to my utter and complete amazement!) along with an author photo, my teacher is so impressed she shows the letter and author photo to the rest of my class.

*I refer to one of my best friends and her family as the real Weasley family.

*From ages 11-17, whenever my birthday rolled around I would think things like, "Ooo, I'm 16 now! If I went to Hogwarts, I'd be in my sixth year already!"

*I have J.K. Rowling to thank for my belief that there really can still be magic in the world and for making me want to be a YA author even more as I read her books over the years.

*I'm seriously considering getting a Harry Potter themed tattoo to permanently declare my love for the series.

*And last but not least, I'm also seriously considering naming one of my future children after a Harry Potter character. (If I had a girl I'd love to name her Hermione, since she's one of my top fav. characters, but I think that would cause her to be constantly teased, so maybe something more modern, like Lilly or Ginny? :))

I hoped you enjoyed this blast from the past (feel free to tell me about some of your own!) and I guess I just have one (or a few) things left to say...

First: THANK YOU, J.K. ROWLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And last: Even though people are saying that the end of Harry Potter also marks the end of their childhoods, I don't really think this is totally true. It'll never really be the end because, in the words of the great J.K., "Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

~Ella