User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4141247-20110713003027

When I was eight years old, I decided to read the Sorcerer's Stone after my brother and grandpa had read the first couple of books. I was hesitant at first, but as soon as I finished the book I was obsessed and began the rest of the series. I was kind of dorky and sometimes people picked on me in elementary school, but I had something they didn't. I had Harry, and because of him and the series I learned to ignore people who may say things about you or bully you. I have grown into an adult with Harry. I love the story more than any I have ever heard, seen or read. It is so full and complex, so powerful and although it is sad, JK Rowling wrote it beautifully. I have NEVER been more excited than when a new book came out or when a new film was released. I couldn't wait for the first movie and I saw it with my family when I was in the fourth grade. On Saturday I am going back with my family to see the last film as a sophomore in college, and although I know I will weep the whole time and after I go to bed that night, I know that Harry will always be with me. I was so moved at the London premiere last week when JK Rowling said "Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home." Because Hogwarts is like my second home, and as long as I remember how to read I will be reading about Harry again and again. I love the characters and how the story interconnects so much. I still can't believe how much I cried over a book when I read the Deathly Hallows. I almost threw the book across the room when I thought Harry was going to die, and I wept when Dobby and Hedwig died because they were so innocent, and I could not stop crying during the battle and the epilogue. The King's Cross scene is the most beautiful thing I have ever read along with Snape's memories at the end. I love every aspect of the books and I love the movies, I always will. Harry Potter has brought my family together in a way nothing else has since 1999, and for that I will always be so grateful. My favorite thing in the world is to sit down and read Harry Potter on the living room couch in my parents' house. I feel privileged that when I am 80 years old and far from a child with most of my family gone, all I have to do is open a book and read about a boy's adventures and troubles and I'll be young again. I'll miss waiting in line for a book or to see a movie, but I will love Harry and the series for the rest of my life, and I can't wait for my kids to read about him.