Harry

A couple of hours ago, I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The weekend has been filled with bouts of concentrated reading interspersed only with sleeping and eating. I had to get through the book quickly; not only did I not want anyone revealing what happened before I got the chance to find out myself, but it seemed fitting, given that this whole last week has been namely about Harry.

On Saturday, we had our Harry Potter Extravaganza in the library and it was really great fun, for those organizing it as much as for the kids. It felt awesome to be partaking in what was a global phenomenon – celebrating the close of an amazing chapter in literary history. For every person who has been following these characters for the last decade, the end of the series is sad, but the closure necessary. We can now release our breath as we learn what happened to every figure we had come to love or loathe.

The thing about the Potter books is that they will endure. They are already classics, beloved by children and adults alike, and it’s not about sales figures (which are astronomical), or good reviews, or anything like that. It’s about magic, not the wand-driven variety, but the kind that you feel within you as you read these books. You get into that world and don’t want to leave. The characters are as wonderful as the settings; the friendships, as strong as the animosities. Every person finds within those pages a person with whom s/he identifies.

When I give people the Harry books for the first time, I am excited for them and the wonderful journey that lies ahead. Many newcomers to the series were up to this point too young to read the books; others hadn’t gotten around to it but meant to. In fifty years we will still be reading them, and probably in a hundred too.

As I closed the last book for the last time, I knew that I would visit these friends again someday. I have to.