Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Growing up with Harry..


I was inside Tita Lani’s room when I saw three books scattered on her bed. I picked one of them and randomly opened a page. My eyes easily caught the name Professor McGonagall.

A few minutes later, I was walking on my way home tugging along the three books about a boy named Harry Potter.

I was in 6th grade when I first dared to read a whole book. It was the first of the seven book-series about a boy wizard, Harry Potter. It took me almost a month reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone because I wasn’t very interested about it at first.

I was about to read the second one when the movie of the first book was released. I was then a high school freshman. I remember how my high school classmates dislike Potter and joined the Lord of the Rings bandwagon instead. But I remained a Potterhead. I finished the other two books (Harry potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) right away and waited for tita’s copy of the fourth.

I was able to read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire not from a book, but through a printed copy of it acquired online (I guess through an ebook copy). As the middle book for the whole series, Goblet of Fire really delivered. I was so hyped while reading it. Later on, I was also able to get hold of the real book. It took almost a year before the fifth installment came out.

Tita Lani was working in Vietnam then, and she already bought a copy of the book. Since she was coming home for vacation, I waited months before finally getting hold of it. When Tita Lani got here, she immediately handed the book to me and I started reading it right then and there. Back in school, my other friend Lala is also a Potterhead. I would then give her hints on what happened on the book. We were mad-crazy about it.

The sixth book came I guess when I was already in college, a freshman I presume. This time, most of my classmates are also addicted to Harry. We would talk about Harry and gush on Daniel Radcliffe.

When the last book came out, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I pre-ordered a copy of it right away. Upon getting the book, I went straight home and flicked the pages hungrily. Not later that afternoon, I was already teary and sad that Harry Potter’s adventures are finally over.

The movie versions were good too. I have to say though that my favorite would probably be the third, which was directed by Alfonso Cuaron. It was wickedly funny and sarcastic, but it has really portrayed the maturity of the characters from the last two movies.

And now, the two-movie finale for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is almost on its way. These movies were the only remaining connection that I have to Harry Potter. After this, there will be no Potter mania anymore. But for me, Harry will always be in my heart. It feels like we grew up almost at the same time. From his first year in Hogwarts down to his coming of age.

I’m gonna miss Harry, but there will always be the books and movies to remind me of the boy who lived.

No comments:

Post a Comment