I
was already well past the age of eleven when I first dipped my toe into the
world of witches and wizards but that has never stopped me looking out for owls
each summer in the hope that my letter has been lost all these years. Even though I was late to the Hogwarts party -
the final book had already been published before I’d even layed eyes on that
iconic first line - Harry Potter has always been my go-to, the one series I
return to time and time again.
Of
course I’ve flirted with other books too; joined the Shadowhunters, fallen down
rabbit holes and climbed into wardrobes but Harry Potter has always been my
trusty old faithful. Rain or shine, good
mood or bad, I’m always happy to bury myself in a Potter- film or book! There’s just something about it that captured
my heart from the second I entered the world and it hasn’t let go, I don’t want
it to either, I’m ridiculously in love
with the world and I don’t see that ever changing. I will buy each illustrated version as it
hits the shelves, watch every sequel, prequel and unconnected spinoff, wear my
hufflepuff socks with pride and continue to cry / laugh at the same lines for
years; I’m too connected to Harry Potter to do anything else!
Some
people found friends through the series, whether that was Harry himself or the person stood next
to them in the midnight queue for the book release. Others found a love for reading, an enjoyment
for discovering new worlds with just a turn of a page. Others again found fandom and fanfiction, creating their own
work out of the characters they love so much.
I personally found a weird combination of all three. I’d always loved reading but it refreshed my
love for it, at a time when I felt lost I could reach out and step into
Hogwarts- escaping from everything I wanted to escape from and there’s no way
of putting into words what that meant to me.
Later on I fell into fandom; discovering a new way of writing and an
entire community of people who had taken pieces of it and put their own little
stamp on a corner of the world- it opened my eyes and my mind and jumpstarted a
fading enjoyment for writing myself. Through
fandom and reading I found friends both online and off but through the series
itself I’ve found many a conversation starter; in fact one of my closest
friends and I first bonded over Hufflepuff and how awful we’d be at Quidditch!
Harry
Potter is to me like safety and comfort in one, like sitting down with an old
friend and a cup of tea. It’s assuring,
watchful and always always there. From "Mr & Mrs Dursley" to "All was well" it's a story I know almost as well as the back of my hand and opening a book, any of them, conjures up the same warm feeling as coming home always does.
20
years have passed since publication, the nineteenth year of the epilogue is
today and even though I may not have grown up with the books I’ve grown with
them. Through high school to university,
from inside the closet to out, from scared and unsure to curious and willing. I’m the same person as I was the first time I
picked them up but I’m so different at the same time and I like to think it’s in
a good way; even though the books themselves weren’t the direct cause of
anything they’ve definitely accompanied me through it and for that I will
always be thankful.
All was well in the wizarding world and all will continue to be well in this world too, for as long as the Potter books remain as imaginatively beautiful and as heart capturingly good as they have always been, they will always remain a treasured series to me.
eloise x
I absolutely love Harry Potter too! I started reading it when I was only in the 3rd grade and totally credit it for my love of books now.
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