It all started in fourth grade. One school day during lunch, I walked into the library, in search of a book. I had seen the first and second Harry Potter films in first grade, but I don't recall really making the connection when I came across a row of Harry Potter books on the shelf. My memories of watching the first two Harry Potter films were slightly blurry, and only certain scenes came to mind when I thought of them. I hadn't really understood what the Harry Potter films were about, or who the characters were. In first grade, I only really took in the atmosphere of films, and certain scenes would leave an impact on me and stay in my mind, but I never completely understood what was happening in them. So I didn't really make the connection between the books and the two films I had seen before. So, in a way, my discovery of Harry Potter did not begin with seeing the first two films in first grade, but when I began reading the books in fourth grade. I checked out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and began to read it. Immediately I was swept away by the story, the characters, the atmosphere of the series. I read book after book, so that by the time I was in the fifth grade, I had come to the fourth book in the series. For some reason, I never finished the fourth book. I started reading it, but I found it less interesting than the previous ones. Not soon after I had started it, my dad bought me the fourth Harry Potter movie as a surprise one day, having caught on to the fact that I was obsessed with Harry Potter. I watched the movie, and after I had seen it, I didn't feel like reading the book, since I already knew what would happen. So I skipped the fourth book in the series, and moved on to the fifth book. By sixth grade, I was finishing reading the sixth book. I remember very vividly (spoiler alert if you haven't read the sixth Harry Potter book before) when I read the scene in which Dumbledore dies. I was sitting in my car, waiting for my brother's art class to finish, when I read that scene. That was one of the few times a book has ever made me cry. I couldn't believe it had happened. Professor Dumbledore was a well beloved character, and would be painfully missed in the next book. Not long after I had finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I excitedly moved on to the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which is the last in the series.
I loved all of the Harry Potter books dearly, especially Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which opened this whole new world of fantasy and imagination for me. You know how reading a book takes you into a world which you have trouble leaving when you have finished reading it? I didn't want to leave the world of Harry Potter when I had finished reading the series. I had Harry Potter in my mind almost all of the time. I went through an incredibly long phase of being obsessed with Harry Potter. I had read all of the books by J. K. Rowling (except for the fourth one), seen and loved all of the movies with Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasely, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. By the way, I used to think her name was pronounced Her - mi - own, instead of Her - mi - nee. When I began to get into watching the films, I realized her name was not pronounced like that. So from then on, I pronounced her name differently in my mind when I read the Harry Potter books. Her character never felt exactly the same for me after the change in pronunciation, though. It's funny how much a name helps to create a character.
When I was younger, I would often wish I could receive the letter of acceptance to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I even designed the kind of wand I would want to have, what sort of owl I would like, and what house I would be in. I've always wanted to be in Ravenclaw, but I think it more likely I would end up in Hufflepuff. I decided I would want to play Quidditch, and fly on a broom. I even imagined meeting Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. As Harry Potter grew up and the films continued, I grew up. It was as if the Harry Potter series grew up with me. This made Harry Potter a large part of my childhood. When I turned eleven, the letter never came. To this day I still wish I could go to Hogwarts and be a witch.
The world of Harry Potter never left my mind. I'm not "obsessed with it" any more, but the story, the characters, are all in the back of my mind. I would say despite not reading a Harry Potter book for a long time now, and not seeing any of the films in a while, I am still an expert on the subject of Harry Potter. Watching any of the Harry Potter movies, even a short scene from it, will bring it all back to me.
