Harry Potter and the Loss of My Adolescence

There was a time in my life when I knew the exact number of steps in the enchanted staircase at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I could tell anybody who would listen who authored the textbook Harry, Ron and Hermione used in their third year of Care of Magical Creatures and slipped "blast ended skrewt" into casual conversation more than I'd care to say.

I might have also yelled "wingardium leviosa" at my dog a few times too, now that I think about it.

Like a lot of kids my age, I adored the Harry Potter books, and later on, the movies too. I remember hoping against hope that I would wake up one day to find that the Ministry of Magic had made a mistake -- that I wasn't a muggle after all! On more than one occasion my brother and I had serious conversations about the possibility that Hogwarts and wizards really did exist.

"It has to be real," we decided collectively, "how else could J.K. have come up with all those details!?"

Yes, we were on a first-name basis with J.K. Rowling. Admit it: You were too.

For me, Harry and his friends weren't role models, they were peers. When I read the first book in the series, Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone, I was 11 years old, just like Harry. And as the characters grew up, so did I. With each installment in the series beginning on Harry's birthday (July 31st, for all you muggles out there) I watched the years tick by for my bespectacled friend. He studied for tests, developed crushes, played on sports teams and saved the wizarding world while I did similar things in the muggle world (just with a bit more MTV and pizza).

Every kid should have a Hogwarts to escape to. If I ever get the chance to meet J.K. Rowling and I'm not entirely tongue-tied, I intend to thank her for guiding me through the dark ages of my adolescence and changing the way I see the world.

So it's not hard to imagine how nervous I was when the movie franchise began. Would it tarnish the Potter name? Would they do the stories the justice they deserved? Would Ron be cute?

Luckily, after flailing a little bit with the adaptation of the first two books -- The Sorcerer's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets -- the Potter movie machine found its groove. Ten years later, and with the impending release of the final installment later this week, I've found myself feeling sentimental.

While the movies never outshone the books for me, they were deliciously entertaining. Despite the parade of special effects, what I like most about the movies is watching the cast grow up. Right before our eyes, adult features slowly rose from mushy baby faces, voices lowered and robes were outgrown.

But don't let the hocus-pocus and Avada Kedavra fool you, that's what Harry Potter is really about. Beneath the Hippogriffs and wizard wars are three awkward kids who grow up and find their place in the world. It's as simple as that.

Harry, Ron and Hermione have officially grown up. Emma Watson is dropping out of Ivy-League schools and rocking a pixie cut, Daniel Radcliffe is exposing himself on stage and abusing alcohol and now Tom Felton is a rapper?

So I guess this is it. We passed our O.W.L.s and it's just us and the real world from here on out. There will be no more three-pound books or two-part movies to look forward to. (I mean, what is Pottermore anyway?)

But like all good things, the Harry Potter series must too come to an end. And yes, there is a good chance I'll cry a little when I see The Deathly Hallows Part 2. Not because the saga is over and Harry, Ron and Hermione will never go back to Hogwarts again, but because I never will either.

 

Follow Meghan Overdeep on Twitter: www.twitter.com/meghanoverdeep

Comments

[annersbananers]

11:43 AM on 07/20/2011

I loved Harry Potter and cried when I finished book seven, but to be frank, I don't know why people haven't dealt with the end of Harry Potter when the books ended. To me, the movies are just an extended celebration of a really great book series. I think the biggest shame is that half of Britain's best actors will be out of work now that the series has ended.

[SavvyLass]

05:05 PM on 07/14/2011

But of course you can go back -- all of us can go back, whenever we wish! That's the beauty, and true magic, of a beloved story.

[ThreeCrows]

01:13 PM on 07/14/2011

I took an English course while in college and one of the books I read was called The Rites of Passage. It dealt with all the milestones we mark as we get older. These transitions from childhood into adulthood are a part of everyone's life. Sometimes it's hard and many times it's bittersweet because you want to hold on to them as long as you can. What you have experienced is that, maybe for you, unwelcome transition as you say goodbye to a big part of your life. It's only the beginning. You perhaps have already experienced this when you graduated from high school and said goodbye to that period of life and moved to the next phase of your growth. If college is current, you'll enjoy that moment and move on the next transition when you graduate. As your horizons expand, you'll find a great job, friends, lovers, etc. and within that realm, more life transitions. Maybe you should look at Harry Potter and see it as an appreciation for preparing you for the next phase of life as the author has done with the characters. Never really looked at it that way, had you?

[lilyinbloom]

12:24 PM on 07/14/2011

I was first introduced to the series as a fifth grader by the school librarian. The Harry Potter series - books and films included - had a special place in my childhood growing up. Now, 10+ years later and I've purchased tickets to the midnight showing of the last film installment. I'm sadder than I could have ever imagined being. J.K. Rowling truly did something remarkable when she penned the magical world of Harry Potter..

[MKWaters esq]

09:08 AM on 07/14/2011

Meg-I'm all teary-eyed reading your article! My daughter and I are going Friday...

[Justine Spriggs]

07:38 PM on 07/13/2011

Meg-
Great article! I, too, will be shedding tears when it is all over. Not because I'm an uber dork, but because I will no longer have that lasting connection that Harry Potter created between my love of reading good literature and my insatiable appetite for good movies. Sure, there's always Twilight, but I just don't feel the same way about those books and those movies as I did about HP.

You are a wonderful writer, my friend! I'm now subscribing to your RSS feed- I'll have a Meggie fix every time you write something new now :)

All the best,
Justine

[major woody]

07:03 PM on 07/13/2011

I'm a 54 year old father of 2 (my kids are now 19 and 17 respectively) and started reading the books aloud to my kids before they could read. By the time The Order of the Phoenix came out we were having to buy two books at a time so my daughter and I could both read at the same time. Now we are headed as a family to the midnight showing a bit over 30 hours from now and I swear I am as excited as my kids. As someone who grew up as a LOTR freak I never would have believed that I would be affected as strongly as I am and on so many levels by the Harry Potter phenomenon.

I have watched Daniel, Rupert, Emma and the rest of the kids grow up along with my kids and feel a strange sense of pride in their acomplishment, but as I look back the thing that strikes me most strongly is that the books and movies make me feel young; and certainly helped create a bond between me and my children. I'm getting misty eyed just writing this so I guess I'm going to need a lot of tissues for tomorrow night. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

[wellingtonian]

07:00 PM on 07/13/2011

I feel the same way, I got my first HP book when I was 8 and 14 years later I still love them just as much. I love how people around my age literally got to grow up with the books, it's something you just can't appreciate if you read them all at once.

[madame fate]

02:35 PM on 07/13/2011

That golden, sacred, all important letter from Hogwarts... Oh, how I wish I had gotten one of those letters, too. I would have outshone Hermione! I would have 'done great things'. I would have been a champion for wizarding rights and been kind to Muggles, too.

When people lost belief in the world of magic/fey they lost a wonderful part of how they viewed the world. No longer was anything considered a miracle or 'magic'. It was all explained away by that cold, calculating thing called Science.

Possibilities, that chance to dream of better things, became probabilities to be proved or else dismissed as nonsense. Mysteries were debunked as charlatanism and only the god "Science" was revered forever more.

Now, the earth spins too quickly. We are on a lifetime rollercoaster ride full of theories, checks and balances and the 'Mystery's' call to go out into the woods or meadow or sea to marvel at the wonders of all the world is an uncommon thing now.

When the world lost their belief in 'Magic,' of all things mysterious, that was when we lost our innocence forever. But, even in the face of science, I still believe in the Mysteries of the world. Fool that I am.

[Charice Shannon]

01:16 PM on 07/13/2011

Is it sad that I feel so sentimenal about the end of Harry Potter as well...even though I'm a mom of a child who grew up on it...we read the books, attended midnight book releases and have seen every movie together.

[youvebeenflagged]

01:01 PM on 07/13/2011

Well said, Meghan. As a person much older than you with a 13 year-old son and a 10-year old daughter, I can say I feel the same way as I look at them.

[Greg from Aus]

09:05 AM on 07/13/2011

What an amazing article! :) I've been asking myself lately whether I was the only person that was extremely sentimental about the ending of Harry Potter, to which I then stubbornly went on to convince myself that I was being silly, and that it is just another book/film series. I then realised that Harry Potter isn't simply a book/movie series - it ties in closely with my adolescence (similar to that of which you talk about in your article). I also felt that I was growing up with the characters as they embarked on their journey from children to young adults (which became more realistic once the cast of the film was set in stone). The book's allowed me to disappear into an entirely different world where I would actually question whether magic was indeed real once I had finally fallen back into reality. After seeing the final chapter last night, I felt like I had lost a best friend. Incredibly sad to see the curtains close on something that has been such a significant part of my life.

Thanks again for your article, it's good to know there are other people out there experiencing the same feeling as me!

[f1 ghirl]

05:39 AM on 07/13/2011

This is exactly how I feel!! When it came out, I was just 12 years old and instantly fell in love with the book and the movies. I remember reading it 'till 3 in the morning with my heart palpitatin­g, so eager to turn the page and see where the story would lead. I know it sounds pathetic, but for me, it was more than a children's book, it was an integral part of my childhood. 11 years later, I have finished college and on the process of getting my masters degree, I still read it every once in while and always find joy when I remember a young me, so engrossed, so fascinated with the world of Harry Potter. Can't help but feel nostalgic about it..

[meghanoverdeep]

02:08 PM on 07/13/2011

I've brought all seven books with me to every apartment I've ever lived in. They really become a part of you. Thanks for reading!

[TheLibraryOfCodex]

01:25 AM on 07/13/2011

Awesome article.

I share the feelings expressed in it.

[Dani Slay]

07:19 PM on 07/12/2011

I know exactly how you feel! I grew up with the books as well as the movies. I engulfed the last few books within days of their release. The books are about more than just magic; they are about growing mentally and emotionally, love (after death), good vs. evil, and the power of friendship. This week has been very bittersweet for me--part of me is excited, part of me is depressed. I don't want it to end just yet. And fittingly, this Friday (the release date) is my 22nd birthday.

[3Nox]

07:33 PM on 07/12/2011

I know... I'm 21, and it really is like losing a relative or a pet that's been in your life forever. I'll be honest, when I watched the London premier a few days ago, and Emma Watson gave her little speech at the end, which was quite emotional, I burst into tears! It's just like Wow, this is it, this really is the end...
But it will never end! Never! Haha

[CAMBEL]

08:15 PM on 07/12/2011

LOL! I remember a friend who hadn't read the book yet where Dumbledore meets his end. And I accidentally slipped and said something about it before he had gotten to that part. I got dirty looks for about two days! LOL