My Undying Obsession ...

As July 21st looms ahead, I feel that it is time to reflect on my Harry Potter obsession. Maybe it's time to get everything out in the open. Explain how I first began to love the books, when it turned into an obsession, my thoughts on the last book, and finally what I plan on doing after the greatest series of books ever written comes to an end.

Book Lover:
I did not much care about reading the books when they first appeared on shelves all those years ago. They were considered "Children's books" and honestly, my reading level had surpassed the Children book level ages before Harry Potter. So there I was ... minding my own business, completely unaware of the amazing opportunities that Harry would soon open up for my creative imagination. All of the hype, all of the talk ... it was all a bunch of crap if you asked me. But about the time the third book had hit shelves, I was able to borrow a copy of a friend of mine's to "get a feel for the book" and decide whether or not I liked it or not. Well we all know the outcome ... Love at first Chapter. It was amazing, the descriptions for different things that no one would normally think of. Such as "Port Keys", random objects in places that they shouldn't be that wizards turn into things to transfer them into different places. I see them everywhere! Shoes in the middle of an abandoned parking lot, a book placed under a tree for hours on end, a random shopping cart miles away from a Walmart or Target. The book really opened up the imagination, the child in me if you will.

Mild ... okay ... Major Obsession:
Honestly, I don't think that I really became obsessed with the books until just recently. In fact, I guess about the time that the fifth book came out. Or well ... maybe after reading The Goblet of Fire. That book is the thickest of the series, and I still managed to get through it in a little under a week. When the fifth book came out ... I needed to get it right away. Actually, I ended up getting it a couple of days after it came out ... but after reading that one ... there was no turning back. I wanted MORE. MORE, I say! I made sure to pre-reserve my copy of book six. I didn't go out to the midnight party because I had to be up for work the next morning ... so I just picked it before work started at 9:30am. But it just got worse. After reading the sixth book, I went back and re-read the entire series ... because there were things that I couldn't remember and things that I needed to refresh on. That's about when it hit me. I was hooked. HOOKED. During the Goblet of Fire movie release I picked up three HP shirts and a HP jacket. This year for this movie I added another shirt to the collection, and even made a shirt to wear for the opening of the movie. This year we went and watched in on the IMAX. THIS YEAR I am attending the Grand Hallows Eve Ball at Borders. That's right ... I'm twenty-two years old, and plan on dressing up to attend a fictional Harry Potter ball. Maybe I really do need help.

The Deathly Hallows:
The seventh and final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's going to be dark, it's going to be scary, it's going to answer all of the questions that I've waited a decade for. Snape ... is good. This almost hurts me to say because I've thought that Snape was bad for a good long time. But after re-reading and re-reading ... and you guessed it ... re-reading. I've changed my mind. I think that Dumblerdore has Snape under an "unbreakable vow" that he has to save Harry no matter what happens. I think that it's the best thing for the greatest wizard of all time to do! I mean, he always mentioned how much he trusted him ... well Duh! It's impossible to break the vow! Plus, at the end of the sixth book ... the pleading that Dumbledore does ... I don't think that he was pleading with Snape for him to stop I think that he was pleading with Snape to finish what was the inevitable. As for who will die ... there's a good possibility that Ron could die ... I could see it happening. I think that it would be more detrimental for Ron to die than for Hermione to die. I could also see Ginny possibly dying, Neville perhaps, or Luna. However, the good WILL prevail. Harry WILL beat Voldermort. The books would be worthless if they didn't have a real hero in the end.

Life After Harry:
I think that I'm going to be okay. There are still the two movies that have yet to come out. Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince movie due out November 2008! And about the time that the movies come to an end ... it will be time for Aaron and I to start having children ... and hopefully my children will love them as much as I do. Harry will live on in my heart ... and in the hearts of those around me that love him as much as I do. We will all be okay.