It all ends

Today is the last day. The last full day before Harry Potter is no more. It all ends.

I grew up with Harry Potter. It will always that book that got me interested in reading, that left me wanting more. 

I first started reading the books in 1999 (I was 13). The second book was already out and I spotted the first one in the book store. I read through both books fairly quickly and had to wait a whole year to get the third book. The wait was terrible.

I remember when I was looking at high schools with my parents. We had gone on one tour (I don't even remember the name of the school) and I knew it wasn't the one for me. My second tour was at Westtown. From the moment I stepped on the campus I felt like I was at Hogwarts. This is part of the reason  the main reason why I fell in love with this school. While my high school experience didn't have magical beings and butterbeer at the Belfry, it was a boarding school just like the Harry Potter gang.

After my first year of college Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince came out, the 6th book in the Harry Potter series. I was staying with my mom over the summer and she went out of town the week the book came out. I remember being alone at the house, pouring through the pages on a beautiful summer day. I was trying to make it through as quickly as I could but at the same time, trying to savour every sentence. My mom called to check up on me one day while I was nearing the end of the book. I answered the phone sobbing and mumbling words to myself. "He's dead." "I can't believe he's dead." For half a moment, my mom was half scared that something had happened to someone we knew...then she remembered, ah Harry Potter. "Dum---dum--ble---dore he died." She mumbled something like, "I don't know what a dummy door is but I'm glad you are enjoying your book."

My junior year of college I took a Harry Potter class. Yes, I went to a college that offered the study of Harry Potter and yes, it was amazing. We studied the symbols and what they represented, the mythological references and we discussed what a world filled with mandrakes would be like. For once, I didn't regret having to buy hundred of dollars worth of textbooks because these books were cool. I mean come on, who buys Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?

So, tonight is the end. Tonight I'll be joining my favorite Potter buddies for the final event. We'll start at Owen & Engine which has the styling of the Gryffindor common room. From there, we'll mosey over to the theater and partake in the final movie of Harry Potter. Here's to the end.