The End

Well, last night the final Harry Potter movie came out. I didn't go to see it because I haven't seen all the movies (yet). I have, however, read all the books and thought a post about the end of an era was necessary.

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley are significant people when it comes to my childhood. After all, I was at the perfect age to start reading the first book when it came out in 1997. I was 9. Instantly I became hooked on the series, and every summer when a new one was scheduled to come out, I would buy it.

I remember getting the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, from my father the day I turned 11. The book came out that day, and somehow he managed to grab a copy on his way home from work to gift to me. It was one of my favorite gifts he has ever given me.

I remember reading those books like crazy, turning the pages faster and faster, dying to know what was about to happen to Harry and his friends. I remember reading them at a beach house my grandparents once owned, so enthralled that going to the beach was the last thing on my mind.

I own every single book (about half hardback, half paperback) and have read them numerous times. Even last summer, I reread the entire series because I wanted to relive those times.

I'm planning a HP movie marathon soon so I can go see the final movie in theaters. It's another Harry Potter memory I want to make.

I know that this is not the real end for Harry Potter and me. I fully plan on reading these books again and again, reliving my childhood and possibly sharing them with my own children one day.

So I'd like to say one thing to Harry Potter. And that's thanks. For keeping me interested in reading. For being a faithful friend during my youth. For growing up with me. And, a biggie, for bringing people together.