The End of an Era

Over one million words, twenty-one years, eight movies, and seven books…. It’s all led up to this. It’s all led up to the end. July 15, 2011. The date is etched into the forefront of my mind as if it were a lightning bolt scar. If you’ve never been one of the millions of readers worldwide who have witnessed the phenomenon firsthand, who have bought into and believed in the magic of J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter, then nothing I write can ever make you understand the significance and gravity of this moment. But if you’ve ever lined up outside of a bookstore or movie theater dressed as a wizard or found yourself up in the wee hours of a Saturday morning with a Potter book in hand, dying to find out the fates of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, then you’ll understand. This is the end of an era.

I hesitate to call Harry Potter readers ‘fans’. We are so much more than that. We proudly go the extra mile to show how much this brand and its author have meant to us. As a group, we have happily shelled out billions of dollars on books and accessories, created the highest-grossing film franchise of all time, designed scores of websites, taken pilgrimages to immortalized locations, and spent countless hours dissecting and discussing every move that Harry and his friends have made. To call us fans would be nothing short of disrespectful. We are the Harry Potter nation.  

I discovered Harry Potter when I was exactly one year younger than he was. I don’t quite recall how he came to my attention but I remember begging for, and receiving, the first three books in the series as part of my Christmas haul that year. I remember them being on display in the mall one evening and I vaguely recall already being somewhat familiar with the series – I’m sure they were the fad of the moment in my elementary school. Either way, I went home with the books that very night. I remember studying the jacket of the first book and, being a curious ten-year-old boy, randomly flipping through a few pages of it to sort of get a feel for what I was about to experience. I remember words like ‘scarlet’ and ‘Quidditch’ jumping out at me. Before I had read a single page, I felt an immeasurable rush of excitement coursing through my body. This is gonna be good, I thought.

I had no idea how right I was. Almost instantly, I was thrown into a world of magic and wonder, a world where snakes could communicate with humans and where vampires drank at rustic old bars. Yet these were no simple children’s books. They were written about things that appealed to the ten-year-old I was but were written in a way that made me feel a lot more grown up; they made me feel as if the author felt I could be trusted to handle more serious situations than I had previously been accustomed to. I loved it. There were touches of humor here and there but at no point was I ever led to believe that there’d be one big happy ending where all the characters skipped off hand-in-hand; almost from the beginning I knew that the end, when it came, would be dark and ominous.

Of course, the books became more dark and ominous as Harry’s time at Hogwarts went on. I later realized that in this case, as in so many cases, art was imitating life. As Harry had to deal with the pressures thrust upon his young shoulders, his loyal followers had to deal with the pressures of Muggle high school and beyond. We were being led through the hardships of adolescence by our beloved J.K. Rowling, a sympathetic adult who had lived through it and had come back for us. And we loved her for it. Although we didn’t always realize it, we were learning many of the truths of the world just by reading her books. We learned that if we didn’t respect others, it could come back to bite us in the butt. We were taught that friendship and love could guide us through the darkness and into the light. I admit at the time it sounded like crazy hippie talk to me but in practice, I found these lessons to be surprisingly true. My closest friends were there for me and because of that, no matter what else was going on in my life, I would be okay.

Now the series that has taught me so much is coming to an end. It could be said to have ended in 2007 with the release of the final book but literally seeing the end after all these years just makes it seem more official. I, like the majority of the Harry Potter nation, am dying to see the final movie and yet, I’m not. Seeing it will mean seeing the end. I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet. I didn’t even like the movies at first. I admit it. Up until maybe The Half-Blood Prince, I felt like the filmmakers were, for the most part, just phoning it in – I mean, the Sword of Gryffindor in Chamber of Secrets looked like it came from a dollar store. But the films are an integral part of telling the story. They take the people, places, and creatures we’ve seen in our heads and make them real. I still get a tingle of anticipation when I hear “Hedwig’s Theme”. It forewarns me that something both magical and exciting is about to happen.

I find myself not wanting to let go. I grew up with Harry Potter – both figuratively and literally. Through the good times and the bad, Harry has been right there beside me for the last twelve years of my life. I remember arguing with my sister as a kid over the correct way to pronounce the name ‘Hermione’ and how crushed I felt in eleventh grade when a classmate yelled out a pivotal twist in the sixth book’s plot before I’d had a chance to get my hands on a copy. Being the dramatic, over-dedicated fanatic that I can be, I made it my life’s mission at some point in time to read the last book in the series if it was the last thing I did; I literally refused to die until I found out how the Harry Potter saga ended. When that final book came out, I pulled all kinds of strings to make sure I had it that very first day. I remember telling a friend that night that finishing the final Harry Potter book would effectively be finishing my childhood.

At no other point in my life has something so drastically unreal had such a real and profound impact in my life. Words can’t even express what seven little books and the characters contained within them have meant to me. They have influenced everything from the way I write to the characteristics I look for in my friends. I can honestly say with every fiber of my being that July 15, 2011 will be a truly bittersweet day. I won’t see the film that day – I’m actively avoiding it – but when I do, it’ll be like saying goodbye to my very closest childhood friends.

A great friend of mine in the Muggle world Kelli, also a huge Harry Potter fan, expressed similar feelings: “I can’t wait for it but then again I can because it’s the last one and then no more Harry Potter.”

My little sister Harper, who recently had the extremely good luck of winning tickets to an advanced screening of the movie, said “I felt as if I was a pile of sand. The end of the saga literally blew me away.”

Joanne Rowling, the writer behind the wizard, has said in the past that she will never write another Harry Potter book again. As much as it pains me to admit it, I think that is for the best. Harry’s story has been told and I consider myself fortunate to have been able to experience it at the height of its popularity. Jo has recently been quoted, however, as saying “never say never” when it comes to future Harry Potter books. Oh, how could she tease us so?! While, of course, I wouldn’t say no to more books being written if she could do them in a tasteful way – like maybe by filling in that tantalizing 19-year gap – it seems more likely that this could be a reference to her new interactive website Pottermore. The site, which will go live in October, will feature facts and tidbits that didn’t make it into the books while exclusively allowing readers to finally purchase Harry Potter e-books. As for new Harry Potter adventures, I personally don’t think that’s a possibility. She’d have to introduce a whole new villain – He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named’s followers were weak without him – at a time when Harry’s finally able to live the quiet life he desperately wants. The kid deserves a break.

As a generation, we are so incredibly lucky. Probably never again in our lifetimes will we experience anything that will impact us the way Harry Potter has. Fifteen years ago, who knew that a scrawny British boy with messy black hair and glasses could change the world? The Harry Potter franchise has infiltrated virtually every corner of the globe, raising literacy rates and interest in reading wherever it has gone. Harry himself has, even if only temporarily, inspired people to be better individuals. The themes of selflessness, love, and bravery leapt off of the pages and into our lives. We will forever be thankful for that. We will forever be thankful to Harry and Joanne and even to Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint.  We will forever cherish the memories and we will never forget the Chosen One, the boy who lived.