The Beginning of the End for Harry Potter?
“We now present the seventh and final installment in the epic tale of Harry Potter.” These are the words that greet you as you look at the paper jacket of the hardcover of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It makes you think, “Wow, so this is really going to come to an end?” Millions of questions race through your head. Will Ginny and Harry stay together? Will Harry finally defeat Lord Voldemort? Once you finish reading all 769 pages of the book, your questions are answered, but one still remains. “How will the movie portray such a long and detailed book?” Well, our questions are about to be answered. On November 19, we will witness the beginning of the end of this beloved series as it is portrayed by actors such as Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint.
Many of us grew up reading the books and watching the movies. We’ve given our opinion for this minor detail or that big detail. We’ve sported t-shirts that show our favorite character, and bought numerous pins that say things like, “Mischief Managed,” and “S.P.E.W.” We’ve seen countless parodies and fan videos. We’ve even seen the opening of a Harry Potter Theme Park in Universal Studios, Orlando. Stores dedicated to the Wizarding World have been opened. Many of us may have thought of owning an orange cat, a three-headed dog, or a white owl. We’ve all dreamed of going to Hogwarts one day.
Harry Potter first started out in 1998, with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. When the first movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, released in 2001, it gained more popularity. Many people say that this book was what got them into reading. Harry became more popular as the years went by. The effects on the movies always blew us away, and even though we’d think, “This scene wasn’t in the book,” or “This scene came out wrong,” we’d still love the way it would come out.
Lots of people might think, “What is so interesting about a geeky kid with a scratch on his forehead who waves around a wooden stick?” Harry is more than just a geeky kid with a scratch on his forehead. As we grew up, so did Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They’ve learned life lessons and things similar to what we have learned in our lives. They know the value of love and friendship, and they have the same feelings toward school that many of us have. They’ve faced problems in the Wizarding World that we know are similar to the problems in the Muggle World. We can all relate to a character at one point or another. Kids who want to be themselves but can’t because they have responsibilities that no one can understand can relate to our main protagonist. Kids who come from a big family, feel like they don’t receive enough attention, and know how to crack funny jokes can relate to Ron Weasley. Girls who are bright and care about school, but are labeled as nerds because of it can relate to the likes of Hermione Granger. There are many other characters, such as Draco Malfoy, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and Ginny Weasley who we can all relate to at one point or another. Many of us even compare our teachers to the staff at Hogwarts.
Harry Potter has touched our lives in ways that no other book has been able to. The last of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, contains many scenes that are warm, but there are other scenes that are tragic. For example, when we lose a character, you think, “Why did they have to die?” A weird feeling stirs inside of you, as if you lost someone near and dear to you. You loved this character from the moment they were introduced, and feel saddened when that character becomes a victim of the Battle of Hogwarts. This is how it’s dealt in the real world. It’s like as if Rowling decided not to sugarcoat it when someone died. This is what many might find cruel, but some might find realistic, and, once again, relate it to some point in their life.
But, like many other good things, the series must come to a close. And what better way than to split the last movie into two parts? For many of us who have read the book, the trailers show scenes that were more than halfway into the book. So, our question is, “Where does Part 1 end?” We feel suspense, as we see that many of our favorite scenes are accounted for, but we don’t know where it’s going to end. Another question is, “What will become of the actors?” Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Rupert Grint practically grew up making this movie. They have had their separate films here and there, but it seems like we’ll always see them as the famous Gryffindor trio that fought for the Wizarding race. To many of us, they will always be known as brave Harry, his best friend Ron, and clever Hermione.
