you're a wizard, harry
I wanted a Harry Potter mega-post so I'm making one.
I love Harry Potter. A lot. And I hope that over time I have cultivated a flist who loves it as much as I do. I think that I have. So, I want to talk about it. Let's talk about how much we love Harry Potter! (And the series, not the character, but I'd be just as happy talking about how much I love Harry too.)
I started reading HP when I was 8 years old. It happened like this: when I was in Year 3, we had to bring a book that we were reading at home to present to the class. It was like show and tell but with actual books. I myself was very excited because I prided myself on being an avid reader, even as a child. I don't even remember what book I brought into class, but I was sooo sure that it would enrapture my audience. I even had a speech prepared. I was secretly hoping that my presentation would be interesting enough for my teacher would decide to read the book to the class, as she hinted that she might do. So it's presentation day. I'm about wetting my pants with excitement, and then this blond boy Robert gets up in front of the class, and in his hands is the Philosopher's Stone (Sorceror's Stone to you Americans, of course). He starts to talk about the book. And inside I am secretly dying because I know that this is the best presentation thus far and that mine won't even come close. Even so part of me is thinking, 'wow, this sounds really interesting - an ordinary boy who discovers he's a wizard, what a plot!' And sure enough, after Robert has presented, my teacher suggests to the class that we might start reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone after lunch, and everyone agrees, and there I am plotting the demise of Robert, who has absolutely ruined everything. Then my teacher starts to read. And despite myself, I love it. Every bit of it. I stop telling Mum about school when she picks me up and fill her in on the latest chapter of Harry Potter. As it is with all of my fandoms, it's go hard or go home for me. I go hard.
Unfortunately we don't get to finish the Philosopher's Stone before the end of the school year, so Mum buys me the deluxe box set of books 1, 2 and 3 for Christmas and I set about reading them myself. By the time I've finished all three of them, Goblet of Fire has been released, so I finish that too. And then it's just a matter of waiting. The waiting game - which, I think, Harry Potter fans know better than anybody. Twilight fans only had to wait for Breaking Dawn: we had to wait for OotP, Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows. So, suck it nerds, we Harry Potter fans are the enduring ones.
Anyway, Harry Potter has nearly always been a fixed point in my childhood. I remember Mum surprising me the day Philosopher's Stone was released in cinemas by taking me to see it after school. She was bored shitless; I was enraptured. Even though I certainly had a few things to say about the adaptation: "but where is Mr Dursley at work? Why is Quirrell so old looking? Why isn't this film 444,984,980 x times longer so they can fit in everything? AND WHERE IS PEEVES?" I was only eleven but completely self-righteous. I may not know have known much, but I knew Harry Potter. Oh yes.
I've seen every film bar CoS in theatres. That is my only discrepancy as a fan. I bought OotP, HBP and DH on the day they were released, and finished them the same day too. My experience reading DH, I have to say, was the most intense experience I have ever had reading a book and probably ever will have. I didn't stop. I kept going. I remember after Hedwig died, I said outloud 'THIS SHIT JUST GOT REAL' but I didn't stop. I think the only time I put the book down was when Fred died, and that was only so I could pound my blankets in despair. WHY JKR WHY. And then it was back to it, all the way to the end. I also had the same mix CD on loop the entire time I was listening which I had sadly misplaced now, and I can only remember a handful of songs that were on there. Oh my God though the mix was SO GOOD. It was so dark and atmospheric and of the songs I do remember, whenever I listen to them I just feel so much that I have to just listen to the song and let it finish. I can't listen to any of those songs and do another else IT IS IMPOSSIBLE. I was thinking about re-reading DH earlier this week, which is basically what brought me to this post, because I felt as if I needed to have an exorcism of thoughts and feeeeelings regarding HP before I started again. HP is intense for me. I remember it as part of my childhood, my pre-teen years, my adolescence, and now in my adulthood it is STILL THERE. How can I not love it so much? HOW CAN ANYONE?
So I want you to talk about Harry Potter to me. How you discovered it, how you read the books, how much you like/dislike the films, how do you feel about the way the series ended, etc. TELL ME YOUR HARRY POTTER STORIES. I love those so much!
SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO ASK: OotP is my favourite film. Bar none. Hands down THE BEST. I know people usually have very different opinions in regards to the films, and slowly over the years I have learned to enjoy them as a separate medium of course otherwise I would go mad, but I don't see how other fans don't love OotP as much as I do. IT IS THE BEST. The beginning of the film is THE BEST re-imagination of the beginning of ANY of the books. HI DAVID YATES, I LOVE YOU A LOT. (Though I loved HBP a lot less, ughhhh I hated how they changed the post-Quidditch Harry/Ginny kiss because it was my absolute favourite thing ever, and they gave it to Ron and Lavender which I suppose worked because my Ron/Hermione shipper was saying YES and my Harry/Ginny shipper was saying NOOOOOOOO DAVID YATES). Anywayyy notice how I'm saying THE BEST a lot? BECAUSE IT IS THE BEST. I don't think DH will top it, but I am happy to be proven wrong. Everyone looked so good. RON LOOKED LIKE A RON. Everything was P-E-R-F-E-C-T and Imelda Staunton was born to play Umbridge AND NONE FOR ALFONSO CUARON BYE.
Although I have to say my Dan Radcliffe crush was OUT OF THIS WORLD in his PoA. He was such a hottie, I don't know how I feel about how he grew up. Or didn't. LOL.
Anyway, OH YES and your favourite book. Which one is it? I have to say that I don't know if I have a definite favourite, I'm not sure if it's PoA or OotP OR even HBP. I don't think I can say DH because basically I've read it only once in a 24-hour period so I've forgotten almost everything and PS and CoS are always at the bottom of my list because I feel very tired/bored reading them, it's like GET TO THE POINT JKR. But I think PoA is probably my favourite? I didn't like the film though. Suck it.
SO YES TELL ME YOUR HARRY POTTER FAVOURITES. That would be great! Oh and also just a fair warning: I don't like Snape. I don't like him. At all. I don't like how he was redeemed in the eyes of Harry ughhh, hate it hate it hate it. And also I fully support Ron/Hermione AND Harry/Ginny. YES I'M ONE OF THOSE FANS. Fuck it though, I think they're great, and I don't mind Harry/Hermione so much unless someone is telling me that they are canon. No, they aren't at all, Steve Klovessss.
And Harry Potter is my favourite character. That's rare isn't it? People don't like Harry. I suppose I understand why but I HATE THAT THEY DO. He is my favourite, I think his rant in OotP was OVERDUE (I said it) and I will love him forever. YEP, HARRY POTTER IS IN MY TOP 5 CHARACTERS OF ALL-TIME, DEAL WITH IT.
I hope I haven't scared you off now, but the thing is I haven't actually ever sat down and written about how I love Harry Potter and all that comes with it so this is eleven years worth of stuffffff bubbling up now. THAT'S A LOT. There's probably more but I can't think of any. It's your turn to talk now!
Oh, and if you made it this far you can have some songs that I like that are HP-related to me because the HP on-screen is VERY different to the HP in my head:
Action/Adventure - Andrew Bird
Team - Bon Iver
Fire Eye'd Boy - Broken Social Scene
On My Shoulders - The Do
Edit - Regina Spektor
Where Do You Run To - Vivian Girls
Rearrange the Sea - You Can Be a Wesley