Y 11.20.2005
Dark and Difficult Times Lie Ahead
Soon we'll have to choose between what is right and what is easy. These are Dumbledore's famous lines. (HP GOF) Babbling, bumbling, band of babboons. I've also memorized Prof. McGonagall's tongue twister. I reall am a Harry Potter addict right to the bones. I don't know how my life would be if HP isn't in it. I still remember the day I got hooked. Of course I've already forgotten the exact date but I remember that it was Monday. It was the regular visit to the library during our Reading class. I was addicted to Nancy Drew that time and I really don't bother with Harry Potter though a few of my classmates were already hooked. A classmate of mine, Lady Lynne, borrowed HP SS from our library. I borrowed a Nancy Drew book but I finished reading the book I borrowed by lunch time so I was looking for people who are not that eager in reading the books they've borrowed. I found Lady Lynne and I told her I'll finish it overnight and return it to her the next day. She kindly agreed. During those days I was usually asleep by 8 pm. 10 pm was already late for me. I stayed up that late, didn't do any home works because I can't seem to put the book down. I finished it and I was hungry for more. The next day I was hunting for a copy of the Chamber of Secrets. I was unlucky with my quest but that weekend my mom bought the first two books (paperback). I was so excited to read CoS that I devoured it in one day. Again, the following Monday I was in search of the Prisoner of Azkaban. Good thing an HP fan in our room has a copy of that book (hardbound) and was kind enough to lend me. That was Lara. She's also a bookworm like me but I guess our similarities ended there. We're total opposites. I'm more of a blabbermouth while you can't even hear a word from her. She's tall and I was still a bit on the short side that time but we both shared a passion for books and that's enough. After finishing with Prisoner, I asked her if I can borrow Goblet. She refused because Goblet's a really thick book and she's not allowed to bring it to school. I hate suspenses and open endings. My other classmates who have read gOf were dropping hints. They said Hermione's going to have a partner whose name starts with the letter "V." I was so frustrated in finding a copy that I almost screamed with the delight when my family wen to the mall and I saw a compilation of the four HP books in hardbound. I immediately asked my mom to go in that direction. Turns out the Hp series is free if you buy the set of Encyclopedias and reference books which is worth 24, 000 pesos. Yeah. I really am good. I was able to persuade my dear mother that we needed those reference books etc. etc. but the truth was I just wanted the free HP series. So the truth is my four HP books which would've cost 2, 000 plus pesos cost 24, 000 pesos. I finished reading gOf by Nov. 1, 2001. Of course, the first thing that came to my mind was me wishing that the series will be turned into movies. So you can imagine the shock that I received when I heard the following days that the 1st installment of Harry Potter will be shown in less than a month, two weeks in particular. I was already a fan but I wasn't addicted yet. I was addicted to the books. That was expected because books have been my life since age 7 and I love all the books I've read. I never expected that night when we watched Hp SS that I would turn out this way. That in four years time I would even be thinking of not going to school just to watch the movie. After the sorcerer's stone I was amused but still I was a young fan. I was not that addicted to the movie and I had other matters in my mind. I was addicted that time to Kaede Rukawa so HP was suddenly pushed past my brain. A year after was the release of HP CoS. I watched it with friends. We even went home about 10 pm. I started seeing Daniel Radcliffe in a new light. I had a crush on him then. But Rukawa was still number 1 and I had a crush on a "Rukawa" in our class that time that's why I left Ate Kriz in dealing with her obssession with Dan Rad. Start of 1st year. Whole new world for me. I came from a distant place and I'm starting anew. The first friend I found was also a fan but she wasn't addicted to it. Then I found abychu. She was not just an Hp fan but a fan of Daniel's as well. That's when I started going crazy. It was all because of her. Then, we introduced HP to Marjorie because she hasn't read any of the books. It was the release of OOtp that triggered everything. We talked about it for months. It was the topic of all our conversations. Excanging theories and forming 'ships. That time, I didn't care who ends up with whom. After getting Marj hooked everything was different. We were a group of people who are addicted to the life of this boy who lived. The 3rd movie was coming up and we even watch movies just to see the trailer. We search for every bit of information we could find about the movie, the characters, the author and especially, the actors. We have debates on who looks better, Tom or Dan? Everything evolved untill second year. We were able to watch the movie though I watched it with my brother. As we entered our second year, the Harry Potter world was a bit quiet. JKR was writing. The actors were shooting. Though we anticipated the release of the 6th book and the debut of the 4th movie, the craze sort of died out a bit. I even told Abychu that Dan is hers, as long as I have Rukawa. Haha. That was so silly of me since he's just a drawing, an anime, he's not real. Anyway my sophomore life was focused on other things but junior year brought all the change. For the first time I was infront National Bookstore even before the store opened to get my copy of the Half Blood Prince which I already reserved. I also recently found myself inside cinema 1 of Robinson's place manila the night of the movie's release, giving my advanced ticket to the guard. I've already written fanfictions, shipped ships, argued, debated, cried over and felt all of the emotions a person could feel because of Harry Potter. It has become a big part of my life. Whenever I'm down some info about HP will already make me happy. New pictures, clips, news and of course Dan would already put a smile on my face. Rereading the books will make me escape reality even for just a day or two. Why did I recount my HP story? It doesn't even sumup how it has affected me. We are the chosen people who felt the magic that JKR was trying to send through the pages of her books. We felt the magic that Mike Newell was trying to send through the movie screen. We might seem crazy, delusional or even down right mad but this is who we are. Harry Potter addicts are not addicted just because Daniel Radcliffe is cute (though he is) or only because Emma Watson is pretty (once again though she is). We don't want the Dr/Hr pairing just because Emma and Tom looks good together. We dont go gaga over HP just because it is the latest trend. We did not follow the trend. We were one of the people who started it. You cannot be called an Hp fan if you've just watched the movies and you haven't read the books because then, you don't understand half of what you're seeing. We were hooked not because of some small reason, we were hooked because of magic. It's not the wand-waving kind or the rabbit-out-of-a-hat kind of magic. It's the magic that flows through our veins. It's the magic that makes us alive. I love Magic! You might be wondering why I suddenly wrote about Hp. Well, it's because it has been my solace when dark and difficult times are looming. It has been my comfort. It has been my friend. I couldn't imagine my life without it. I would like to thank JK Rowling because she made the boy who lived. The boy who touched the lives of millions. The boy whose story is about to end in two years time. The boy whose story was like our story. I would endure all the taunts, all the harsh words, all the criticisms people have for Harry Potter because they don't understand. They don't understand how much a simple name, a book character, how much a children's story has affected me.
~Only as high as I can reach can I grow. Only as far as I can seek can I go. Only as deep as I can look can I see. Only as much as I can dream can I be.~
you know you love me
xoxo
12:56:00 PM
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