A blog post in which I whine about the conclusion of the Harry Potter phenomenon.

Ahhhh, Harry Potter love stories. We've all got one. We can all remember the first time we read Sorcerer's Stone, saw Daniel Radcliffe, cried for Harry's sake. We all can.

I can distinctly remember my love affair with Harry Potter. I'm not going to try and compete with you over who loves Harry Potter more or who would score the highest on a trivia quiz. I am, however, going to give you a brief synopsis of what Harry has meant to me.

So. From the beginning. I actually saw Sorcerer's Stone before I read the book. I was in third grade, and I was spending the night at Chelsea McClellan's house. She fell asleep during the movie, but I stayed awake, enthralled by this magical land of "witchcraft and wizardry." I remember that I couldn't sleep that night; I was terrified by Voldemort's bodiless spirit and tortured by what would become of Harry. I've loved Daniel Radcliffe from the start, and I've wanted to be Emma Watson ever since.

I started reading soon after that. It didn't take long for me to become immersed in the wizarding world. I've read every book at least twice, and I know I've read the final two and Goblet of Fire at least three times. The final two books came out in mid-July, smack dab in the middle of my time at camp. I remember sneakily giving my counselors cash (like some sort of sick drug deal) so that they would buy me a copy of the book on their night off.

Harry Potter is so much more than just a "series" to me. I have never read anything that is so enthralling, so intricately developed, as the Harry Potter series. Anyone who says that the series isn't pure literature is lying. It's so much more than just a story. There is so much MEAT in those books. Themes of death, politics, and, my personal favorite, power struggle. Seriously, study that. Make a Venn Diagram comparing Voldemort to Hitler. Message me. We'll talk.

And it's not just the themes that make these books fantastic. These novels are works of art. They are so intricate. If you have followed the books since the beginning, you know what I'm talking about. I mean, there are things that JK Rowling references in her first few books that are seemingly insignificant, and, although they don't really play a major part in the later books, it is so cool to me to think that Rowling was thinking about little details like that from the very beginning. Example: The deluminator that Dumbledore gives to Ron? Yeah, he whips that little baby out in Sorcerer's Stone, first scene in the entire movie. See what I'm talkin about? SO COOL.

So, in honor of the conclusion of Harry Potter, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite HP moments. Five to be exact. Five days, five scenes or quotes.

One of my favorite quotes from the sixth book that didn't make it into the movie:

"I am not worried, Harry," said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. "I am with you."

And, since it's the first day, a quick clippy clip:

Come on, you know it's funny every time.

See you tomorrow with some more HP obsession.

Clumsy.