And Tomorrow it Ends

Rara avis

\RAIR-uh-AY-vis\

A rare or unique person or thing.

June 13th in Turkey. June 15th most other places. Yup, that's right, it's the day the last HP movies comes out. I'm foregoing the midnight showing here (because it would have been essentially impossible) but am seeing the movie at 9 pm tomorrow (the 14th). A little bummed about missing the midnight showing, but okay with it considering I'm seeing it 13 hours before I would if I were home. Yup, that's right, 13 HOURS!

But I thought the end of such a fantastic series deserved a little mention. Sure the last book was a MUCH bigger deal. But my panic that the last book was coming out was slightly assuaged by the fact that there were still movies to come. Because seeing it is different than reading it. Albeit, almost always worse than reading it, but powerful in it's own way. And I'll be the first to admit the movies aren't perfect. I think Steve Klove's work on the screen play hasn't ever fully captured the true magic of the stories (or even come close) and Michael Gambdon's Dumbledore lacks the warmth and charm of Rowling's version. But I also think the movies are...well, truly wonderful. The trio is great, Radcliffe grew up into a gifted actor and some of the scenes will really stick with me: Harry bringing Cedric back from the graveyard and his dad yelling "my boy, my boy", Harry being possessed in OotP in the Ministry, Snape yelling "don't call me a coward" in HBP, Hedwig and Dobby dying in Part 1 of DH.

So the movies are important, and are part of this wonderful series. Which means, this is the end of an era. And really feels like a big end to my childhood. Sure I've been an adult for awhile, technically, but being in college still felt a bit like being a kid. I graduate high school, the last HP book comes out, I graduate college and the last movie comes out. The End. Appropriate, but also frightening.

And, well...Harry Potter has been a big part of my life. When I was 9 or 10, I read the first book and essentially grew up with Harry. I remember reading the graveyard scene alone in my sister's room at night and being scared half to death, and trying to stop crying so I could continue reading when Sirius died. All the waiting for new books and midnight premieres and staying up 'til 6 am reading and re-reading and theorizing was such a big and wonderful part of growing up for me. So, Harry Potter just feels like home and always will. Like JK said during her speech at the London premiere, Hogwarts is home. And it will continue to be home as long as people remember it...but in a different way now that everything is done.

So really, what I'd just like to say is thank you, JK Rowling for being so fantastic and changing my life in the best of ways.

Let's hope this last movie is everything we want it to be.