Oh boy oh boy. Oh wizard. I started checking out some of these Harry Potter websites mentioned in our readings – The Daily Prophet, Fiction Alley (which led me to James Goodridge’s illustrations) – and I was sucked in for hours. Kind of like when Harry dips into the Pensieve and joined another world of memories, only time did not stop for me.
But the point is these articles are right. For anyone decent literate and into charming fantasy, Harry Potter has the power to draw you in, even after the books are complete and the movies are just about finished. I’ve never thought of myself as a fan fiction girl, but the snippets in the Writing Harry’s World article were still interesting, despite my cringing at the awkward bits, just because I am a member of this beloved world. The Harry Potter world exists in original print, films, vids, blogs, fanfic, fanart, amusement parks etc, because first and foremost it exists in our heart.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire brought the series to a whole new level in terms of relating to the millennial generation as students instead of just youngsters. The dancing lessons mirrored some of my more awkward gym experiences, the Yule ball represents a first dance, school spirit and pride becomes prominent when Durmstrang and Beauxbatons show up for the Triwizard Tournament, rock music and fashion crop up, girls start becoming labeled as pretty or popular…
It doesn’t make me want to go back to middle school or high school again, but I do feel a bit of nostalgia for those younger days when I sat around the cafeteria at school making up funny abstract stories about what was going on in the books that we were reading. A good friend of mine actually became a contributing writer for The Daily Prophet at one point, and she saw J.K. Rowling twice at children’s conferences. I’m really impressed that the series has encouraged children to write more on their own. I’ll always be a purist, preferring the original books only, (although I have to say the 7th Potter film went way beyond my expectations and I’m planning on seeing it at the Free Friday Films on campus soon), but I’m glad that the Boy Who Lived still lives on.
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