My first introduction to this series was the summer before second grade. I vividly remember sitting down with my cousin to watch "The Chamber of Secrets." We sat on the floor in front of the television and laughed while Ron spewed slugs, and I believe I spoke with a really bad fake British accent for probably a week after that (sorry, Dad and G-Swiz). There were only two movies out at that time and we watched both of them. Twice. My parents bought them both for me when we got home, and I watched them more times than I could count. My friends and I acted out the movies every day during summer camp. We did it so much that the counselors hated hearing us yell as we struggled to relax through the Devil's Snare and as we fought the Basilisk. Harry Potter was my life until about 7th or 8th grade when I had to do real schoolwork. I saw all the movies opening weekend, preordered the new books and locked myself in my room for a couple days while I devoured them. This all sounds pretty nice, right? Wrong.
I hate Harry Potter.
1. I hate that the characters are so realistic.
I've laughed. I've cried. I've questioned their sanity. Harry, Ron and Hermione grew up with me. They were childhood friends that were always there to keep me company when my real-life friends weren't. Dumbledore mentored people in real life with his advice. Sirius made us all hope for a long lost godfather. J.K. Rowling so beautifully developed these characters that I always thought of them as real people. But they are not real. The people are fiction. The places are fiction. The relationships are fiction. I will always be sad that I can never meet my friends.
2. The relationships are perfect.
I probably won't ever have a relationship as wonderful as Remus and Tonks. Or Harry and Ginny. Or Ron and Hermione. Or Hagrid and his magic beasts. Or Molly and Arthur. Or... well, you get the point. The relationships developed in this series are phenomenal, and they set unrealistic expectations for young children who read them. I want magic like that.
3. I will never marry Ron Weasley.
Okay, so everyone has their celebrity crush through their younger years, right? Mine was Ron Weasley, and, by association, Rupert Grint. I was madly in love with him and was thoroughly convinced that I would marry him. I drew a picture of us married, and had a specific wedding date (which recently passed with no such wedding). He was a loyal best friend, a protective big brother and a perfect match for Hermione. I love Hermione dearly, but I will always be a little jealous of her for getting my man.
4. My mom wouldn't let me name my little sister "Hermione."
I tried. "Breanna" just isn't as satisfying.
5. I will never go to Hogwarts.
As previously mentioned, Hogwarts is fictional. Which means I will never walk the halls. I will never explore the Forbidden Forest. I will never relax in Hagrid's hut or the Prefect's bath. That sucks.
6. No other book series will ever live up to this.
Harry Potter is the best. It is my favorite, and I will stand by that until the day I die. No other series will ever live up to be what Harry Potter has been to me. The real-ness and magic of the Harry Potter universe (no pun intended).
As anyone who knows me will vouch (and my blurb down at the bottom of this page says, I love Harry Potter. But I hate to love itsometimes. To think that the series ended breaks my heart, but now I now that J.K. Rowling is not done.
J.K. Rowling changed so many lives when she wrote these books, and mine was one that was heavily affected. You know how it feels?
Thanks for the pain, the laughs, the love.
