efore the first movie hit the theaters in 2001, I sworn upon all that was holy I would not fall into the fever that was gripping most adolescent youth within spitting distance of a bookstore. I grew up on Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and was an avid fan of R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do’Urden, Forgotten Realms’ resident dark elf. I even was an enthusiastic follower of Dragonlance (first and second generation), so I had no earthly intention of reading any of the Harry Potter books let alone watching the movie adaption of a children’s series of fantasy novels. Somehow though, I fell victim to the frenzied mob of Muggles who had read the stories of the juvenile wizard who inhabited a cupboard under the stairs at number four Privet Drive and ended up watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. And, afterwards, I was uncharacteristically compelled to dive into the pool of all that was Potter, so, if you are one of the 75 million people that read the final novel in J. K. Rowling’s wizardly series (about 1% of the entire global population), you probably knew what was going to happen before you popped the first fistful of popcorn into your mouth. The best part was, that didn’t matter.
Harry Potter led a generation of both young and old moviegoers into a world full of strange incantations, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans, and Quidditch, both in text and on-screen. As such, watching the final installment of Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived-under-the-stairs replaced by a brooding young man with a patchy beard, was something akin to an end of an era. And, knowing how the struggle between Harry and Voldemort ends, I was prepared for the flaws the other movies contained, mainly parts of the book left out and other minor aspects inserted.
Indeed, Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows: Part 2 contained its fair share of flaws, including Daniel Radcliffe’s (Harry Potter) inability to act well, even after the 6 previous Potter films. There was also the time devoted to the ride through Gringots, which seemed to take forever, especially since everyone was waiting for the final confrontation between Harry and Lord Voldemort. On the bright side, the performances Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) were considerably respectable despite the somber, muted colors of the movie and delivered a fitting end to this series. Additionally, Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) emerges as a force to be reckoned with and Alan Rickman dispenses a truly brilliant final performance as Severus Snape. Ultimately, the finale delivered a fitting end to a world where the word “lumos” produces light from the end of a wand and the strangest of heroes emerge from odd places.
Okay, now that it is all over, its time to move on. You can safety return to the real world with all the other Muggles knowing that the halls of Hogwarts’ are pure fantasy. Or are they? Consider Dumbledore’s remarks in Kings Cross Station: “Of course it’s happening in your head Harry, but why on earth should that mean it’s not real?”