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| author Kate Brown |
Friday, July 15, 2011
It All Ends Today
Four words which may have changed a lot of people. It All Ends Today.
But there are simply two words which changed my life eleven years ago.
Harry Potter. Those two words, that name, inevitably changed everything
I would be obsessed with in the future. Now, I'm not talking about the
kind of obsessed where I draw pictures of the terrific trio and put
them on my wall or stalk the actors who play the characters in the
films. I mean the kind of obsessed where it literally changes my
personality.
Think about it. If I'd never cracked open Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone, I probably would not have found the love of reading
which I have today. There's something fulfilling about reading a new
story about a new group of characters in a new world. Something
wonderful and exciting about getting to leave your own world, even if
it's just for a few minutes, to visit Hogwarts or Middle Earth or
Alagaesia or even just Lawrence, KS (if you've never been there, that
is). But what is it about Harry that makes his story so intriguing to
children (and now adults) everywhere? The story of Harry Potter
transcends generation, gender, and so much more. But why?
Sure, Harry is destined to be a hero and we know that, one day, he will
have to stand up to the man who murdered his parents in cold blood. And
we follow his story in the meantime when we could choose to read other
books. Harry himself is no extraordinary person, if you think about it,
is he? He goes to school, he makes a few friends and a few enemies and
he goes through the stage which all young adults go through; teenage
angst. So why is he so amazing?
The answer is simple: It's not Harry that's amazing. Or rather, it's
not just him. It's everyone else with whom he surrounds himself.
Hermione Granger, the intelligent, bushy-haired, sometimes overzealous
young girl. Ron Weasley, the fiery-haired, lovable friend who's always
there for our hero... well most of the time anyway. The rest of the
Weasleys who seem to adopt Harry as their own, not because he's famous,
but because they know family is the most important thing. They teach us
that throughout the books. Without the Weasleys, Harry might have
befriended Malfoy and I'm sure we can all imagine how that might have
turned out.
But not just Harry's friends. What about his professors? McGonagall,
the wise, sometimes funny, stern, but caring professor who was there
the night Harry was left with his aunt and uncle. Snape, the man who
hates Harry because of Harry's father, but loved Harry's mother so
much. We see Snape's true colors in the final installment of the films
and the novels. And let's not forget Dumbledore. Dumbledore: the man
who, in truth, raised Harry like a pig for slaughter, but who did truly
care for the boy nonetheless. A man revered by the wizarding world and
loved by his students. It is partly because of Dumbledore that Harry
was able to defeat Voldemort in the end.
I'm getting a little rambly and I apologize, but if you saw the film,
you'd understand. There's just so much going on in my head right now.
Voldemort is dead. My childhood is over. My mischief is, sadly,
managed. What do I obsess over now? I'll tell you what. I'm going to
continue writing and taking cues from my favorite authors and hopefully
my books will be half as loved as Harry Potter because no author could
ever trump JK Rowling.
JK Rowling is my idol. Without her, I would definitely not be where I
am today. So I say thank you, Ms. Rowling. Thank you for thinking up
Harry Potter on a train without a piece of paper and sticking with the
idea long enough to do all you've done. Thank you from the bottom of my
heart and, if I ever meet you, I think I'll be too in shock to speak.
Kate Brown
Author of Rose Legends (http://www.amazon.com/Rose-Legends-Book-One-Found/dp/1456080598/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311557999&sr=1-1
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