Friday, July 15, 2011

A Magical Goodbye


Dear Harry,

            It is time to say goodbye. The turning of this page saddens me. For it is not just the saying goodbye to you and your adventures on the page and screen. It is not just saying goodbye to the anticipation of a new interpretation of you and your story. It is not just saying goodbye to not knowing how you will present yourself to me next. This is a goodbye to my childhood.
            When I watched you on the big screen for the last time, I had a smile on my face, tears in my eyes and love in my heart. There were other people in the theater, kids much younger than me, and adults much older than me. But it was my peers and me I feel you were really there for. It is my generation who first read your books and fell in love with your story at the age of 5, and still hasn’t fallen out even at age 19.
            It was my generation that waited with baited breath for each new installment of the literary journey that was your life. It was my generation that dressed like wizards, witches, Hogwarts students, owls, quidditch players and even snitches to show our appreciation as we waited in lines miles and hours long. It was my generation who found the beauty in a story about a boy and a wand, not to mention the world in which he so completely belonged.  
            As you found your place in the wizarding world, we were finding our places in this world. As you were finding out your true destiny, we were finding our true passions. As you were figuring out the complexities of friendship, love and loss, so were we.
            I am so grateful you were a part of my childhood. You guided me, taught me so many things, gave me so many laughs, made me cry and cringe, but most importantly you helped me to see the magic in my life.
            To the critics of my generation who say that these fans are crazy or devoted, you are correct. We are crazy, but not for just some story. We are crazy for the characters and heart that the story holds. We are devoted to this because it gave us so much in return.
            And to those in my generation who were unhappy with the film adaptations not staying true to the books, it is not about putting every word from J.K. Rowling’s pen onto the screen. The movies are about reuniting with our favorite characters, our favorite world, our favorite boy with a hero complex, our favorite red headed sidekick with a wicked sense of humor, and our favorite brilliant and beautiful best friend. The movies are about seeing those things in a new way with all the joy the story can give us.
            Thank you, Harry, for showing me what a truly magical experience is. I lived it in every way. And thank you for giving me one last piece of wisdom before you left us. Dumbledore said to Harry in the heavenly King’s Cross Station, “Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic.”
            And so they have been. Words, Harry, gave me you and your friends. They gave me something to fall into and love with all my heart, they gave me a wonderful childhood.
            And so as your mother said to you when you asked if she would stay with you, I know that your will be with me in my heart.
            “Always.”
Love a devoted fan and honorary witch,
Maureen