User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4195668-20110724153745

It has been the last 13 years of my life- I'm 19 so I can't really remember a time when Harry Potter wasn't a part of my life. I've always loved reading, and so when I saw the big kids reading Goblet of Fire in the playground, I set that as my new challenge- I can't remember if I had already read the first 3 books or not, it's all kind of a blur.

My very first cinema experience that I remember was as part of the preview audience for the first film at the midnight showing, at which I proceeded to lose my Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Bean on the floor as I attempt to decipher its colour in the dark.

I have read and reread every book, watched and rewatched every film and even queued late into the night to purchase the latest instalment, knowing that if I did not, I would surely die of anticipation and impatience. I have felt obliged, honoured and duty-bound to journey with my fictional icon on his quests to defeat his foes, meet new friends and glorify in the magic of it all. I have wasted time pondering how I would have coped with the Dursleys, imagined flying my broomstick in the world’s best sport, and helped my hero struggle against the dark arts whilst battling the Dark Lord.

Quite literally, there are countless nights of sleeplessness where I queued into the night for a book, awaited the latest instalment in the cinema or simply reading throughout the night the greatest story ever told. I have even, though this perhaps is not the worst of it all, lost friends due to the fact that I am a “Potter-nut” who enjoys “stories” they simply refuse to believe have any truth to them at all.

I now have a bizarre level of trivia knowledge about a magical world and its inhabitants. I have had my life enriched by every aspect of Harry Potter. I am proud to say I am indeed a “Potter-nut” who will continue to reread and rewatch anything and everything that can be related to The Boy Who Lived.

It's been 13 years of tears and laughter, awe and wonder.