Thoughts on the era of HP

[allopenstar]

I have so many thoughts on Harry Potter that I don't even know how to begin expressing it.

This is an end of an era, and it is really weird that no one around me feels the same way. No one who has obsessed over the books, complained about the movies and celebrated the entire world of Harry Potter. My experience of Harry Potter has been largely online, watching people as they identify with certain houses or certain characters. watching as they meta and add dimension to these beloved characters. watching as Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy become fan favourites.

I want to talk about how Gryffindor and Slytherin are not dichotomous, how Slytherin simply represent the presence of ambition, just as Ravenclaw represents intelligence. I wish that people around me were into deeper discussion of each character, rather than knowing Dumbledore died, or that Sirius Black was Harry's godfather. Or worse, not knowing that at all.

Harry Potter is not the most well-written series of all time, but the world that J.K Rowling has created is seriously amazing. The vocabulary that has entered in our daily life because of Harry Potter is also worthy of mention. How can I remain unaffected by something that has changed our lives for the past 14 years?

J.K Rowling is the one who taught me the concept of foreshadowing, even before I could even give a name to that technique. She was the one who inspired the millions of words that I would go on to read, which eventually fine tunes my approach towards fiction. It was her world that introduced me to a diverse, international fan community, who would then educate me about everything in life, not limited to Harry Potter.

I really did grew up with Harry Potter, and I do hold it close to my heart. It is always strange to me that so many of my generation (where I live) don't. To them, Harry Potter is a series to be completed, not one to be cherished. To them Harry Potter is a childlike fantasy in face of the real world. Their hearts didn't break when beloved characters died, and they can only glimpse at the impact Harry Potter has made in the lives of others. Harry Potter isn't their story, and it breaks my heart to realise that.

Because the world of Harry Potter is ever complex and diverse, amazing and magical. The ability to explore, and to eventually understand the world of Harry Potter enriches anyone's life, because it adds imagination to one's existence. It also adds a great deal of acceptance in their lives.

The phenomenon of Harry Potter is a rare one, and I will always have been glad to experience it. Since the primary mode of my Harry Potter fangirling is online, I know that it will continue to live on, as acafen continue to dissect the series and the numerous interpretations it can have. Of course, PotterMORE will feed the fan community, and as fans, we will always have a place back at Hogwarts (and on Platform 9 3/4, at Hogsmeade, at Godric's Hallow, at 12 Grimmauld Place, at Privet Drive, at The Burrow and the numerous other fantastical places that have been created.)

The story of the Deathly Hallows lives on. Dan, Rupert and Emma will always be my Golden Trio. Alan Rickman will remain Severus Snape. Tom Felton IS Draco Malfoy, Matt Lewis will always be Neville. Evanna Lynch is Luna Lovegood. And J.K Rowling will always be the author who sparked our imagination so greatly, leading us to debate on the meaning behind each title, to cry at the scenes that were left out in the movies, to laugh at the scenes that were written into the movies, and to do it all with a community that is as diverse as the world of Harry Potter.

It has been fun. But no worries, this is not the end yet, because we can always go back.