I’ve always debated which house I would be sorted into if I attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
After taking many pointless online quizzes, it only became clear when I went back to reread the phenomenal best-selling “Harry Potter” series at the age of 22.
The sorting hat’s song in the seventh chapter of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” gave me the explanation I needed: “You might belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal, Those patient Hufflepuffs are true, and unafraid of toil.” This verse describes me to a T.
As I think back to the series and daydream about how Cedric Diggory and I would get along so well, I realize not only how nerdy I am but also how much the series has left a mark on my life.
When I picked up the first book in sixth grade, I became completely lost. No other book took me to a world like J.K. Rowling’s did. In fact, I wasn’t much of a reader before Harry cast his spell on my life.
And because of this series, I often wished I could attend a school that taught Defense Against the Dark Arts rather than algebra.
If you weren’t diving into the world of Harry Potter back then, or you opted to take a ride on “The Golden Compass” instead, I had no time for you. My lunch table often consisted of friends and I discussing the books we became obsessed with.
For the last decade, house elves, Quidditch and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans have taken over the world of books and movies. Rowling, now the richest author the world has ever known, is untouchable, all because of a daydream she had on a train ride.
That daydream of an orphan embarking on his first year studying witchcraft and wizardry has become a cultural phenomenon translated into over 60 languages.
With the film adaptation release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” the end is here. After the final book was released in 2007, the only thing left for fans to hold onto was the films, starring some of the biggest names in cinema and introducing Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.
Friday night I will sit and watch as my childhood comes to an end. When Harry matches his strength against the Dark Lord for the final time, I will match my strength with adulthood. It may be dramatic, but when I leave the theater that night, I will leave a changed man.
But it will be fun becoming the same sixth grader I was for the two-and-a-half hour movie.
As I look back, though, I have to thank Rowling for the awesome time growing up with Harry has been. Generations before me had Luke Skywalker to relate to. Generations after me will have Justin Bieber. I had the boy who lived. I’m pretty sure I win.
The memories Harry will leave me with are endless. Like my teacher in high school yelling “Harry Potter is naked!” in the middle of class, speaking of Radcliffe’s short Broadway stint in “Equus.”
Or the day before the last book came out. I was stuck with the closing shift at Arby’s, and moments after midnight, hundreds of people came from Books-A-Million with their brand new books to get a quick bite. It was one of the busiest nights I have worked and my jealousy was in full bloom for their new reading material.
The trials and tribulations of Harry Potter may be over but I hope Rowling will write more. Maybe spin-offs. A novel or two recounting the days of young Lily and James Potter, Sirius Black, Severus Snape and Remus Lupin would be nice. Or what about going into detail about the other schools in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” Beauxbaton’s and Durmstrang? I can’t be the only curious one.
Until that happens, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter has come to a close, unless of course you are at the Universal Orlando Resort.