User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4140909-20110712225008

I don't think my story is very uncommon. In first grade, I was the only one in my class that couldn't read. I had no want to learn until a friend of mine's mother read me part of the Sorcerer's Stone. It completely entrapped me, and by the time I was in fourth grade I was reading at a college level. I remember going to all the book and movie releases with the same friend up until he moved. And even after that, it was the topic that consumed our late night phone calls. He would tease me as if I was like Hermione or Luna and I would him over Draco and Seamus, and on Halloween we'd often dress up as some of the iconic characters. We both began studying Latin together, thanks to the interest we got of the spells and quotes we'd find in the pages. Harry Potter became a bit of an obsession, and an inspiration for me to major in English and begin writing myself. Rowling's ability to create such a complex world completely entrapped me. The uses of literary devices was amazing, especially the character growth. Draco Malfoy, despite being a fictional character, was my first crush. Watching him grow from a slimy, arrogant boy to a struggling young man full of inner turmoil, trying to figure out what was right beyond what he was told made me strong in my own life, helpped me become my own person against the quota. It wasn't long until I actually fell for my friend, and despite the distance apart as we grew older we took the time to see each other for the movies every release. The release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II will be the first Harry Potter movie I see without him. The stories told in Harry Potter helpped me through many harsh nights as well. I remember spending hours locked in the bathroom, curled up in the bathtub reading Order of the Phoenix after my childhood pet, Snowball, died. Many of my books have battle scars of traveling, of tears, holding up with gentle care despite the worn of overuse. And they're still quite perfect.