Harry Potter and the Tearful Farewell
- Dumbledore pg. 333 Chamber of Secrets
It's kinda silly that I'm blinking back hot tears writing this. But I'm sorta sentimental about the Harry Potter Series.
Back in 1999 I joined the Unofficial Harry Potter Fan Club started by interweb fan fiction pioneer "Jenna" (never found out her last name) and created a special bulletin board display with pages I printed (in colour!) from the website!
It was the first book I became a fangrrl for! I made sure to put the URL at the bottom of each page to teach my kids attribution. I loved Fan Fiction and even before I knew what a Mary Sue was.
It was the first book I waited, with baited breath, for even the title to be revealed, I read every "leak" and speculation online, I pre-ordered it from Amazon and when, the day that book arrived in the summer (thank you JK, for always summer!) I had a sign printed and taped on my front door thanking my mailman and then all my friends would understand that they wouldn't see me in person for a day or two (and DO NOT CALL ME) until I had finished reading the book. The last book I read in one sitting. At the beach. The sun came up over the ocean as I finished and I fell asleep then woke up hours later and started to re-read it again - because of the fast pace gobbling of my first reading.
I thought I had lost these pics until cleaning up at the end of the year when I stumbled across an old ZIP disk! (and yes, I still have a Zip drive --- just in case!) And Whoohooo! Some early Digi pics edited with Photoshop Deluxe, but they were so small!
The UHPFC website (on GeoCities, no less!) had character write-ups and artwork created by the fans...and this thing that was new to me called--In 1997 when our school was not even a year old and before the book was released here in the U.S. I jumped on Amazon.UK & ordered the
"I LOVE magic!"Thank you J.K. Rowling for creating a magical world for us that captured my attention, imagination, & emotions. Other series that have my lifelong love & affection are the Chronicles of Narnia, Anne of Green Gables, and Little House on the Prairie. But all of those series were finished before I ever started them. Never had I started a series that was still in progress where the plot points were hotly debated among my friends and where our loyalty to the world was unequivocal! Where each book was feverishly anticipated! This was a first!
- Harry Potter upon seeing the inside of the Quiddich cup tent in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Harry Potter series resonates on so many levels with truly classical themes and characters. Heroic stories like
I was enchanted...I continue to be enchanted. And isn't that the true magic of books? That willing suspension of disbelief that silken spell that surrounds the reader and sparks the imagination and lasts....forever. Thank you JK. Thank you so much!
Forgive me if this tearful long and rambling farewell post isn't techie, instructive, or even all that philosophical... I just think that Harry, Hermione, & Ron (and SNAPE!) deserved a goodbye love letter.
UPDATE: Harry Potter Eyes: Cried my makeup off at HP7 w/my friends! Sad, pathetic, huh? It was AWEsome!
I just got back from seeing HP7. A 1:10 movie on a hot humid DC Metro day. My friend Debbie joined me with her soon to be 9th grade son Matt. I leaned over before the movie started and said in a hushed sotto voice "What happens at Harry Potter stays at Harry Potter! I brought 10 Kleenexes from home and I'm prolly gonna use 'em all! I apologize in advance for my sobs - we won't be speaking of this again - got it!?" he laughed at me and I grinned and then tried to cry and sob with dignity behind my 3D glasses as best I could. Yeah, it was THAT GOOD! But parents! It's flippin scary! What looked like a 3rd grader got upset & had to be taken out. But for middle school kids & older?...
It's a brilliant glorious exciting movie about love, sacrifice, friendship, and trust. Go see it. Now!
Lastly, from fan fav site 109 Harry Potter Reborn BABIES! Most disturbing creepy thing EVER! Eewwww! SCARY!
Baby Voldemort toy is the most horrifying thing to come out of the Harry Potter world
also...
The Most Ludicrous Moments from Lifetime’s J.K. Rowling Biopic
10 Fantasy Book Series That Could Replace Harry Potter at the Movies
Thanks for this Gwyneth! The Harry Potter books hold a deeply emotional and personal place in my heart too. I haven't seen the latest movie, I'm saving it as my reward at the end of this week, but I am exciting and sad and I'll definitely be packing lots of tissues!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the comment, Bobbi! I'm so glad I'm not the only one who holds these books dear to their heart. I can't wait to hear what you thought about the movie! And definitely take lots of tissues! Cheers!
ReplyDelete~G
Gwyneth, I cried my eyes out too! When we left the theatre, I asked my husband what he thought of the movie. His response: "I think you cried A LOT."
ReplyDelete:)
Aww Tiff! Yeah..I was apologizing to my GF & her son for my barely held back sobs...and sniffs, and snuffles. But GREAT movie!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to find this blog post today. I saw the final Harry Potter movie this afternoon by myself and have nobody to talk about it with. Maybe that was a good thing because I cried about five different times and was truly terrified at many others. And I NEVER cry. Weddings, funerals, books, movies - never. I think a lot of it was about saying goodbye to this world and these characters but also extreme gratitude for all they've given me over the past years. Thank you for sharing your memories.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure Mr. Young! So glad to meet you blog to blog! I'm totally inspired by your new Teacher Librarian Adventure and am eagerly following you both on Twitter & your blog! Cheers!
ReplyDelete~Gwyneth