Time is Making Fools of Us Again

This last Thursday, I waited in line for the final time in anticipation of the last Harry Potter movie.  It's hard to put into words how I felt while sitting out in the sun, amongst a thousand other fans, with the excitement so thick it was almost palpable.  My friend Kayla and I had insisted that we get in line much earlier then we had for previous installments, arriving at 3:00 p.m. and sure enough, we were able to set up camp (well, a blanket really) right up near the front of the line for our showing (12:05 a.m.)

For me, waiting in line for a midnight opening is nearly as much fun as watching the movie itself.  I've gone to the midnight opening for the last two books, the last four movies, and honestly wouldn't have missed any of them for the world.  There's something about the atmosphere that accompanies a midnighter that is contagious, or perhaps the better comparison is to a drug...once you've experienced it once, you want more.  Most importantly, everyone around you is connected by a single common thread, a single passion that has caught up the hearts and imaginations of many for the last twelve years...Harry Potter.

I mean, think about it!  Never before had a book series garnered so much excitement from adults and children alike.  The Harry Potter books are credited by many for being the books that got them to read, and despite the objections of people that protested the books (without reading them, for shame) on the grounds that the books promoted devil worship, the adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione blazed across the world.  Before the Harry Potter books became a hit, there was no such thing as a midnight opening for a book release, let alone for movies!  Now look at the impact that the books have made on this one phenomenon alone, for there rarely is a large budget film that doesn't have a midnight release - warranted or not.  

I have Harry Potter, and J.K. Rowling of course, to thank for many things growing up.  As a little kid with Aspergers (a form of autism) I was extremely socially awkward.  For the first few years of my elementary school experience, I had very few friends...but Harry was always there.  I grew up with Harry, only a couple years younger then he was as each new book was put out.  It was through our mutual love of Harry Potter that I met my best friend Kayla (of The Cuckoo's Nest blog).  Because of this, I feel like I really can say that Harry Potter not only taught me about what true friends are, but introduced me to one too.  Aside from friendship, the characters also were there when it came to who I admired...Hermione, naturally, was my ultimate role model, for she not only had the wild hair that I possess, but was very intellectually driven and proved time and time again that it was more then okay to be a bit of a book worm.  The Harry Potter books also played a crucial part in the relationship that I formed as a little kid with my sister.  When the first couple books came out, I didn't read them by myself at first - rather my sister read them to me, always comforting me when I became too scared and reading them with such inflection in her voice that I could hardly have done better if I'd listened to the audiobook instead!

Anyway, back to Thursday night.  The line was every bit as much fun as I expected it to be.  I drew a few dark marks on friend's arms, met a couple of awesome fun people, and of course had a wizard duel with my partner in crime, Kayla.  That part was probably the best bit of silly fun I've had in a long while.  We just started with figuring what types of spells could be acted out, and then went for it without any other plans.  One of our other friends filmed us, and halfway through, some random girl that we never had met before started to film us too...strange...

The Gryffindor on the left is yours truly, the Ravenclaw on the right is her partner in crime

As the time drew nearer and nearer, I felt a whole mix of emotions: excitement for the movie, anticipation, but at the same time a twinge of sadness.  My whole childhood has been connected to Harry Potter, to the waiting, excitement, and theorizing that came with it.  In a strange way, the release of this movie feels more like a definite coming of age mark then anything else so far, even my high school graduation.  (Sorry Anila, but I had to say it...)  I know that the books and movies will always be there, but the waiting and sense of immediacy that has accompanied their releases over the past decade is finally drawing to a close.  

The lights dimmed, the audience cheered, and the film began to play...

Thank you Harry, and you Jo Rowling for the magic that filled my childhood. Thank you for the memories, for the friends, and for the adventures.  As Dumbledore said, "Time is making fools of us again," for it seems like it was only yesterday that I was sitting up late listening to Harry's adventures for the very first time.  I solemnly swear that I will never, ever forget.

Mischief Managed.