Never the End

She stared at the computer screen. With that last bit of typing, those few words, she ended a series that she thought would never pick up. She ended the story of the most famous boy wizard, the original wizard, in the world. In three words consisting of three letters each, she put an end to the story that billions of people around the world were fixated upon. They'd watched the movies; they'd read the books. They waited in lines for hours and days upon end just to crack open the book and read what happened in the life and times of Harry Potter.

All was well

With a bit sadness, she lingered over the period. Would this be the last sentence she would write about Harry Potter? Her Harry, the boy under the cupboard who was created in her imagination? The boy who's world she slaved over for so many years of her life? The boy who made her famous?

And what about his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley? Would this be the last she wrote about them? Did she even elaborate enough of their relationship, explain how a simple kiss brought them to a marriage and two children? Did she explain how perfect Ginny was for Harry and how she had always meant to put them together? Did she put enough thought and detail into every character's children and futures?

And what of those she killed? The characters that pained her so to write their deaths? What about Lupin and Tonks, who would never live to see their child? What about Colin Creevey, who disappeared after a while only to be killed in the final chapters? What of Fred Weasley, oh Fred, the beloved Weasley twin that died? How would George cope?

She had made this world. It was her baby. But she couldn't go on forever, and the story had to end somewhere. Harry would live forever in her imagination, but the books were done. The tale she had set to tell was finished.

So with a queasy sense of apprehensiveness, she pressed the period.

*~*~*~*

Years later, she stood at Trafalgar Square for the premiere of the final movie in the Harry Potter series. It had been years since the seventh book was out, but she still felt nervous. This was the end of it all, all the excitement. Eight movies and one theme park later, it was finally finished.

It overwhelmed her, seeing all those young people. They wanted to be just like her. They wanted to write like her.

With a heavy heart, she took the microphone. Babbling incoherently, she was still taken with the tears Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, her perfect Hermione and Ron, had inspired. Everything went to a loss when the entire square started chanting two words.

Thank you, thank you, thank you

Joanne Rowling fluttered her eyes as she said what would be one of her most famous lines.

"No story lives unless someone wants to listen." she began. "The stories we love best live in us forever. So whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

Tears streamed, hearts poured out.

Because the world realized, Harry Potter was over.

*~*~*~*

JK Rowling has been one of the most inspiring people in my life.

When I was six years old, I picked up a Harry Potter book. I had just learned how to read, and unlike the rest of the kids in my class, I wanted to read a real book with substance, not small chapter books with three words per page. So I chose Harry Potter. My brother had just finished reading it in the third grade, so I took the book and set off on my own adventure.

Around that time, the Harry Potter film came out. It was the most magical movie I had ever seen. It was a story, a real one. For one boy, there was an entire world other than the one he had been living in-a world where he was famous, a world where anything could happen as long as you tried hard enough and cast a spell. I wanted that world, and for years and years I read the books, immersing myself in the dark and light of Harry's universe.

Needless to say, when I turned eleven, I was heartbroken when I didn't get a letter to Hogwarts.

But even though it isn't necessarily real, it is real in my heart. In my heart, I can ride hippogriffs, watch through a pensive, and cast spells. I can eat chocolate frogs and play wizard chess. Harry Potter taught me what is right-tolerance and acceptance. It taught me the difference of right and evil and the in between.

Part of me rolls my eyes at parents who don't let their kids read or watch Harry Potter movies. It's not a question of it being dark or being scary. I know people who won't let their kids read it because it will 'give them a warped image of the world' or 'make them believe magic is real'.

Magic is real. Perhaps not the way it is portrayed in the books, but in the way of Jo's writing. The magic she's made is the story of a little boy under a cupboard who lived. The magic of that boy has gone around the world and back, inspiring so many people.

Jo Rowling inspired me to write. She made me believe that anything can happen. Her writing created a world coexisting with ours that brought magic into so many people's lives. It's not just writing. It's a life she's created.

Many people think the end of this movie is the end of Harry Potter. After this, we'll find another story to fan over, another story to make movies about.

That's not true.

There will never be another Harry Potter. The stories Jo has carefully crafted have become classics. No one will ever forget Harry, because he'll always be the original boy wizard. No one can forget the epic battle of good and evil Jo created. There isn't another story like it.

Harry will be remembered forever, and I will do my best to insure that. All seven hard copies of the Harry Potter books will be treasured and handed down, not just as fragile books, but fantastic memories that sparked my childhood. Like my CS Lewis books, these will be stories told my children, their children, and so on.

And this is the ending of my childhood. Harry has always been there, as has Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Fred, George, and all the other characters. I don't have time to read as much as I want to. But somewhere, deep down inside, Harry Potter will always be a part of me. That magical world that made me who I am will never leave me.

Thank you isn't enough, Jo. I don't know what else to say. Your imaginary world made me who I am. It made me a writer; hopefully someday I'll be as good as you. This is the end of an era, but the beginning of one where people will say "that's Harry Potter. Everyone loves Harry Potter." Hopefully, that will inspire more to read it. The stories you have told will always be around, and I'll be around to read them.

So here's to you, Joanne Rowling. Thanks for my childhood.

And to you as well, Harry Potter-the boy who lived, and will live forever.