"Because I Have Something Worth Living For."

Last Scene: Harry, Ron and Hermione stood at the King’s Cross Station. And they focus on the three faces as the movie ends. That’s the closing shot. It manages to say so much to a fan who has lived through and grown up watching them, reading about them. I’m left misty eyed then. That’s the moment when it actually hits you – IT’s OVER.

A journey that started on 30^th June 1997 draws to an end in 15^th July 2011, fourteen years later. It’s been an epic journey, to say the least. What started as a two-three hundred fantasy novel turned into a worldwide phenomenon. Every time a Harry Potter book or a movie released, the sale reached a record high. Every single time. I don’t think anybody, even Rowling herself, could have foreseen this in those early days.

Like a million others, I too have grown up as the series progressed. I remember when the first movie released; we had a spare ticket and had wanted to sell it off. But we were sure that no one will buy a single ticket, that too at the last minute. But when we reached the theatres, there were hundreds ready to buy even that single ticket! That was just the beginning of what later became more than just a rage.

Every time a movie released, I had to go for the first day first show. School, exam, nothing could stop me. I remember being yelled at by my teacher for skipping a math test for a movie. I remember her words. She said, “All your priorities are mixed up. No movie is more important than a math test!” I obviously thought otherwise. Similar incident happened in the 10^th grade. I had a board assignment presentation on the release day. But I convinced the teacher that I had a doctor’s appointment and hence couldn’t come to school that day. Every movie was watched at least thrice in the theatres, to say the least. I had all the walls in my room covered with Harry Potter posters. After the release of every movie, I would ask the PVR people to give the posters, the face masks, everything they had.

Books were a different thing. Books were pre-ordered months before their release. And the wait and the anxiety before getting hold of the copy would be so intense. I remember the day the book had to be released; I would go to the mall at some 4 a.m. and stand. Hundreds would come. We all would be standing queues, dressed up in robes with scars on our four heads. Till some 10 a.m. Hours of wait made no difference because the excitement of getting to hold and to read that book was pure priceless! When deathly hallows was released in 2007, I was fifteen. Everybody was reading the book at their max speed as the most important questioned loomed large. Who will die- Harry or Lord Voldemort? I remember reading the book at the slowest possible speed. I didn’t want it to get over. NO. No. No. It was as if every word was savoured when read. Every emotion was felt so deeply. Tears were shed when Fred died or when we all learned the truth about Snape. Anger when Mad –eye Moody was killed. Happy tears when Albus Severus Potter joins Hogwarts – a feeling of déjà vu. A hope that it may start all over again.

July 15^th’11: When the Deathly Hallows Part 2 released, for the first time I broke my tradition of not watching the first day first show. I delayed watching it as much as I could. My father would jokingly say, “You’re not a loyal fan anymore.” That wasn’t true. I delayed watching it because I didn’t want it to end. No, not at all. It seemed like as if once I saw the movie, Harry Potter series would be over, for good. And that wasn’t something I or I’m sure a million others were looking forward too even though we couldn’t wait to watch it.

A lot of my friends, rather my closest friends are not Harry Potter fans. The make fun of me for loving it so much. I’m not a person who enjoys or finds books about magic and fantasy interesting. This series has been the only exception. And has been loved by me the most. A lot of people find the movies ‘lame’ because they haven’t read the books so obviously for them a boy  and a man without a nose supposedly trying to kill each other with two thin wooden sticks with colored fireworks popping out really doesn’t look intelligent. But the point is, They haven’t read the books so they don’t know what it’s truly about.

There was a reason why every book was read a million times over and over again. There was a reason for the rush to see the movies. There is a reason for the sadness of it all getting over. The reason why billions of people – from 7 year olds to 80 year olds- love it and it isn’t just about magic. It’s about love, friendship, anger, loneliness, helplessness, evil things, cruelty, unfairness, magic, hope and everything that we non-magical MUGGLES feel. It’s about the hope we all have of finding the good over the fact that life or people have been unfair. It’s about GOOD over EVIL.

             Lord Voldemort: "Why do you live?"

             Harry Potter: "Because I have something worth living for."

Aren’t we all suckers for happy endings?

I think JK Rowling is purely a genius for having the outstanding ability for thinking and imagining such stuff. The fact remains, even though it’s getting over and we’re all left heart-broken, the series is going to live in every fan’s heart. Cause most of us have over a decade’s life and memories attached to it.

So yeah, Harry, Ron, Hermione and the secrete wizarding world is truly going to be missed. L