It all ends today.

I started reading Harry Potter in 2000. I was just fresh out of elementary then when I heard news of a children's book being criticized by some religious groups and banned in some countries because it supposedly promotes witchcraft.

I remember hearing that odd news from my aunt. I was curious to read the book of course. You know what they say about things being treated like that, right? The more they are seen as "dangerous" and "subversive", the more people would be keen to get a hold of them.

But I wasn't just after "that". I wasn't just after the thrill and the rush of having at my arm's length a book that some people see as a contraband of some sort. I guess I had been more interested in the book because I was actually looking for a pretty good read that summer.

And so my mom came home from her office one night, the first two Harry Potter books in tow. Silly me, I had no idea there were already two books that have been published at the time.

You can just imagine my excitement upon seeing the books. I couldn't remember how they smelled like (Yes, I love the smell of new books.) but they must have smelled pretty sweet as any of my books must have smelled when I first had them. Haha.

I became a Harry Potter fan the minute I had read The Sorcerer's Stone's first few chapters and even a bigger fan when I had actually finished the book.

I've been a fan of JK Rowling and her epic series for over a decade now. It was heartbreaking when the final and seventh book came out in 2007, and I know it's definitely going to be bittersweet to see the movie franchise end after a decade. Shoot, I'm even getting teary-eyed while typing this. Sob. (I know it's not Bon Iver that's doing this! I'm actually playing Beth/Rest while writing this.)

Anyway, I'm going to see the movie in IMAX later. I bet my 3D glasses would get muddled with all the crying. If you see a red-lipped lady in a printed dress with the sniffles in the theater later, that would probably be me.

I'm ending this blog entry now lest I burst into tears this early. I still have a birthday party to go. Sigh.

I leave you with this:

"And to you, if you have stuck with Harry until the very end." -JK Rowling

To Harry Potter! Cheers!

*Taken with Hipstamatic
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