I don’t have any scars to prove I faced the most deadly dark wizard lord. I’ve never felt the burn of a curse striking my skin or the force of one leaving my own wand.

But I’ve definitely watched…

I’ve watched, re-watched, read and re-read about a boy named Harry Potter and his life, ever interrupted by the prospects of death by magic. You can refer to me as a fan of the series, but I belong in the “dedicated from the beginning” class of fandom.

In 1998 when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (book 1) was published in the United States I was in 7^th grade and a reader. Having frequented Borders Books and Music at least every other week growing up, it still comes as a surprise to me that I didn’t find Harry Potter first. My mother had found The Sorcerer’s Stone hoping its boy adventure elements would strike interest in my younger brother…

To date I’m quite sure he hasn’t finished it.

I, on the other hand, snagged the snitch right away.

After finishing whatever-I-was-reading-at-the-moment I found Harry, Ron, Hermione and Hogwarts. Racing through book one with a lightning-bolt-shaped mark on my heart, I immediately followed the trio through the Chamber of Secrets (book 2: SAVE GINNY!) and the saving of the Prisoner of Azkaban (book 3: SAVE SIRIUS!)

Then all the waiting began…

The Harry Potter series is notorious for the waiting game it has put fans through – ebbing its culture with curiosity and a desire for more.

When Goblet of Fire (book 4) was finally released the summer of the millennium, my mother drove me to four different bookstores on August 1^st to ensure my personal copy. It was clear then, and especially over the past thirteen years of Potter, that I have not been alone in the rapture of getting more from the series. With each release – of films and texts – there’s been both story and experience to gain, with especially obvious dedication on premiere nights.

made for excitement

made since he usually did ;P

My first midnight opening (see above) not only involved homemade iron shirts, but also a 9-hour ritual of line-waiting outside the theatre (complete with Harry Potter Uno [by the way – thanks for going through that, Ryan ;p]).  Subsequent years have involved buying-off a cousin for a good line spot, Every-Flavored Beans flavor challenges, tube tops and tattoos (see bottom) and, most recently, forcing wakedness on a school(work) night in the rain with an impending cold.

Anything for Potter.

As for this Thursday: midnight, with this Deathly Hallows finale , it’s hard to know if I’ll be overcome with tears or laughter from this half-a-lifetime journey’s end.

The waiting game may actually be over.

Unless someone wants to help me write Harry Potter: The Musical.

HP for Life -- Word.

… I did not make the tube top 😦   it was a present 🙂