(Unintentionally Continuing the Harry Potter Theme)

I may be a bit younger than many of the writers and readers here at Specter. I am a ‘90s child, not an ‘80s child. Born in 1990, I’m right on the border of Generations Y and Z.

Being born in 1990 also makes me part of a very special “generation”: the Harry Potter generation. When I stop and seriously think about it, Harry Potter is actually one of the most defining parts of my childhood. As many people my age—give or take a couple of years—like to brag, I grew up alongside this literary phenomenon, my age only a year or two away from his in the current book.

For some reason, I’m not as sad about the entire thing ending this Friday with the release of the final Harry Potter movie as many of my peers are. I think this is because, for me, Harry Potter ended a long time ago with that final book. The movies are add-ons, a welcome part of the legend but not the real thing.

But, nonetheless, in spirit of it all ending, here are some of my Harry Potter memories:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1997*) – I was six. My parents bought the book for me. All I remember is being very confused and enthralled when the Dudleys were trapped in the cabin on the rock in the sea with Hagrid pounding on the door. What the hell was going on??

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1999) – I don’t have much to say about this one, except that I enjoyed Hermione’s crush on Lockhart.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999) – For some reason, this third book (often hailed as one of the best by Harry Potter fans), marks, for me, when the series really began revealing itself as something bigger than just a fun, fluffy tale about a boy wizard and his buddies. It has a slightly darker tone, which I always like.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) – Beginning the year before my 11^th birthday, I started praying (for lack of better word) that I would get my Hogwarts admissions letter in the mail. Even after my 11^th birthday in late 2001, I continued to hope that it simply got lost in the mail.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003) – I was in 6^th grade at this time and sadly going through my punk phase, just to add dimension to Harry Potter-reading me.

I totally gave this book away at lunch one day because I was like, “I think I dreamed about Harry Potter! I was trying to remember what the latest book was like because I kept remembering this house that Harry goes to, and this secret order, with his godfather in it, and then Sirius dies, but when I looked it up [in Goblet of Fire, thinking it was the latest Harry Potter book and forgetting the fifth one existed], it wasn’t at all like that!” And then my friend got mad at me for giving the book away.

The fifth book is my favorite, even though most people “hate” it because they think Harry is too whiny. I mainly like it because I think this scene where the Weasley twins flee Hogwarts on their broomsticks is super badass and sexy.

This is also about the time when I started hoping an American exchange student could appear at Hogwarts in the next book, and I would miraculously get to play her in the movie, and then she could start dating Harry and I could make out with Daniel Radcliffe, who I only thought was cute because he was the next best thing to the perfect, fictional Harry Potter. I also had a signed photo of Dan Radcliffe hanging on my wall for awhile.

I still hold today that I would marry the fictional Harry Potter if he was real.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005) – I never remember this book too well, and a part of me kind of doesn’t like it for some reason I can’t articulate. You could tell that the series was coming to its final hours; that the end was inevitable, as more pieces of the Voldemort puzzle fell into place.

The fifth movie came out in 2005 as well. The only memory I have of the midnight showing is everyone cheering when Harry/Dan took his shirt off.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007) – I got this on a Saturday afternoon from the local Barnes & Noble where we had pre-ordered it. I started reading it right away and read it all in one sitting. I remember crying at 2:00 a.m. when Harry was walking to (what it seemed like) his death. It felt like my best friend was dying.

. . .

I could go into all the intellectual and analytical reasons why Harry Potter has been such a phenomenon. I’m sure I could find plenty of theories online. As part of the Harry Potter generation however, I’ll just go into my own, perhaps not very profound, reasons why I love(d) the series.

I fell in love with the series because of the characters. Rowling did a great job overall balancing darkness and humor, crafting engaging plot lines, combining fantasy and reality, creating scenes her readers could relate to, and having simple themes that all could understand—all of these aspects definitely contributed to its popularity as well. But for me, it comes down to the characters.

I think it was very important that Harry Potter was close to my age. Not only did Harry and his friends grow up alongside us, and therefore going through puberty and peer pressure and all that other horrible teenage stuff at the same time I was (Harry gets angsty right about when we were angsty—ugh, junior high), but J.K. Rowling tailored her series to grow up along with her readers. The books generally got darker, more complex, and longer as the series continued.

And, as you can tell from my brief reflections on the books above, Harry Potter also became an outlet to direct my own hormones. And I think having a crush on Harry Potter is much more respectable than having a crush on Edward Cullen, who just devotes his life to being overprotective of his girlfriend instead of, you know, saving the world.

The characters created a certain feeling of comfort within the books as well. Harry, his friends, the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore, and all the others on team Harry represented the kind of people and the kind of world we want most to see in the world. They were familiar, since, again, I had grown up alongside him—I was “friends” with Harry, Hermione, and Ron for over a decade in my time, seven years in Harry-time, longer than any of my closest friendships in elementary school, junior high, or high school. No matter what was going on in my life, Harry Potter was a constant I could rely on and look forward to.

Not only that, but even in the midst of friend drama and mood swings, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were the best of friends and extremely loyal to each other. They became Orphaned Harry’s family. And everyone fought for and was willing to sacrifice for the good of all mankind (or British-kind). Even when the going got tough and the extremely attractive Sirius Black died and the government became corrupt, etc., Harry and the others didn’t give up. AND they went through puberty. It gave us kids hope that such people could exist in the increasingly complicated and kind of depressing world, and inspired us to maybe be those people. Harry Potter wasn’t just my 6^th grade crush and my best fictional friend (if you can even have fictional friends? It’s not exactly a reciprocated friendship), he was also one of my heroes. And I imagine many of my Harry Potter-fan friends would agree.

Sure, the themes are simplified. Good vs. evil is presented in black and white. But it’s fantasy. And I think it’s alright for 10-year-olds to learn the basics about friendship, loyalty, and being good—they have a whole world of adult literature to teach them about the gray area in between.

Of course, as William Henderson points out, and as my reasons for loving the series prove, it’s a completely different experience for kids reading Harry Potter now. There’s no more waiting a year for a new book, no more midnight premieres of movies, no Barnes & Noble release parties, no more not knowing what’s happening next. And it’s likely that there won’t be another Harry Potter. And I agree with Henderson–it is time to let him rest. The Harry Potter Generation is in college now. We don’t want J.K. Rowling or a publishing company’s desire for money to ruin one of our best childhood memories. (Though I am TOTALLY going to Harry Potter World sometime before I die.)

That said, I think I have to go re-read Deathly Hallows now. I miss me some Harry Potter.

*U.S. hardcover release dates. Excuse me (and please correct) if the dates are wrong, I’m just going off what I’m finding on Amazon.