My Harry Potter Journey (Potterhead July)

Harry Potter is my childhood. As cliche as it sounds, it really has shaped me as a person. So of course I was eager to sign up for a spot in Potterhead July! Every time I re-read the books (which I’ve done a thousand times) I get transported back to a particular time and place, or remember a wonderful experience, and I thought I should share those stories with you. 

Philosophers Stone

Obviously, this is the first one. This is where it all began. I must have been quite young when I first read and watched this one, because I don’t really have anything that stands out to me. I do know that I love to re-read it and find new tidbits that only make sense way later in the series. It’s this one that makes me appreciate how much of a genius Rowling really is, and it obviously cemented my need to go to Hogwarts. I finish high school this year, but I’d be more than happy to do an extra seven at Hogwarts!

Chamber of Secrets

I remember not believing Voldemort when he explained that Tom Marvolo Riddle became I am Lord Voldemort. I had scraps of paper all over my room where I wrote them both out to check that it worked (it does, in case you were wondering). 

Prisoner of Azkaban

Ahh, my love Sirius! It was this one that made me fall for the Marauders. And man, did I fall hard. It definitely wasn’t after the first time, it was a couple times down the line, but I became obsessed. I read all the fanfiction, I wrote all the fanfiction, I shipped them all with each other and with obscure other characters. Jily is still my ultimate OTP, and Sirius and Remus make a cute couple… Think about it, it works right?

Goblet of Fire

I watched this movie for the first time at my best friend’s house, with a whole lot of other girls. An important thing to mention – I was such. A. Wuss. I cried at everything,it was ridiculous! So when Mad Eye Moody came on, I was done. I cried and cried and cried, and I hid under the blankets every time he came on. Why? I don’t know, because I was a weirdo that’s why!

Order of the Phoenix

After #4, my mum decided the books might be too scary, so I had to wait for her to read them first. Yes, this was an actual rule. I didn’t just wait though, I was allowed to stay one page behind the entire time. Do you think I was going to stand for that? Absolutely not! So I sat in the library and read ahead, very sneakily.

I admitted to it later, though. I was a wuss and a nerd…

Half Blood Prince

Another case where I should have listened to my mum… It was my bed time, but I was just getting up to the really exciting end. Like I said, my mum had read it before me, so she knew what was about to happen. She warned me that I shouldn’t stay up too late past my bed time reading, knowing that it was going to make me emotional. My dad, though, thought that it wasn’t a big deal if I stayed up a little later. After all, it was exciting stuff! So I chose to listen to him instead of my mum, who wouldn’t?

Ten minutes later, she came in to check on me. And I was sitting there, overtired, sobbing my heart out over a character I wasn’t even a huge fan of. It’s the most I’ve ever cried over a Harry Potter character. From then, I learned to stop a sentence or two before each death during my re-reads, because I didn’t want a repeat of that event!

I also remember watching the movie with my mum and my brother who hadn’t read the books. So when Harry was by the lake, we knew the Inferi were about to pop out. My mum reached over to comfort my brother since he wasn’t prepared. Right then, she got a text, so she had to get her phone to silence it (since we were in a movie theatre). And yes, that’s when they grabbed Harry. And yes, we were all absolutely terrified!

Deathly Hallows

By the time this one came out, I was a hardcore fan. I was so ready for the release of the final book! I was up early, and my mum was down to the shops to pick up the books we pre-ordered. Yes, books plural. One was for a friend, okay? But she could wait for her copy for a while… Keeping with the rule my mum had made after book four, I stayed exactly one page behind, pestering her in between pages to hurry up and keep reading. Eventually I persuaded her to get rid of the rule, and I whizzed through that book. It’s still probably my favourite!

I saw the movie close to opening as well. The ad that was constantly being shown had a particular quote in it, and when it came on, my friend and I quoted it along too. “Harry Potter… The boy who lived… Come to die.” The great thing was the guy two seats down from us sitting by himself whispering it along with us. What a great dude

Tell me your Harry Potter stories! I’d love to hear them. And if you’ve done your own Potterhead post, let me know so I can go check it out! I’m struggling to keep up – there are meant to be 85 through the whole month :O