July 21, 2007.
One minute I dread this day, the next I wish it were here already. This is the day stores will release "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," J.K. Rowling's seventh and final installment in the Harry Potter series.
This is the book that reveals everything. Harry will wrap up his wizarding education at Hogwarts and deal with issues of friendship, love and death. And Harry will fight the evil wizard Lord Voldemort in an ultimate showdown, from which only one will survive. Harry's fans don't know his fate yet, but one thing is for sure: This is the last we'll see of Harry Potter.
Rowling's series (accompanied by the ensuing movie and marketing blitz) has been a fixture since 1998, when the first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," was published. Nearly 10 years later, after we've devoured the last book, Harry's fans must say farewell to a friend we've had for most of our lives. Despite our sadness, we can't wait to find out what happens.
My teenage brother Wes shares my passion, and we bounce theories off of each other: What position would you play in Quidditch? What Hogwarts house do you think you'd be in? Do you think Harry will die in the last book?
Harry may live or Harry may die, but either way I know I'll have to say goodbye. This spring I also said goodbye to a number of friends and acquaintances as they graduated and moved on with their lives. My friends are going to graduate school, getting full-time jobs, getting married and starting their own families. Most are moving away from Austin to far-away places like San Francisco, New York City and Washington, D.C.
Like Harry, my friends are leaving the safety of school for an uncertain future. Hopefully, they won't have to defeat an evil nemesis, but their lives will be filled with ups and downs and at least a little adventure. I'll keep in touch with some, but drift is inevitable. My only sure mementos of my childhood and college friendships are memories of our times together, memories of how we met.
I first met Harry in July of 2000, when book four, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," came out. Unfamiliar with the already established Potter culture, I attended a release party with my two best friends at a Barnes and Noble in South Austin. I hadn't read any of the books and thought the pandemonium surrounding the book's release was silly. It was a kids' book, after all - why would teenagers and adults mob a store in the afternoon just to wait and buy the book at midnight?
My friend Daniele rolled her eyes. She handed me the first book in the series and a pair of round-eyed, plastic glasses. "Here," she said. "We're going to be here awhile."
I was hooked.
Since then I have been a devoted, no, make that obsessed, Harry Potter fan, hungrily anticipating each new book or movie release. My tired hardbacks have broken spines from repeated readings. I show up early to midnight releases, wearing a lightning bolt-shaped scar drawn in eyeliner on my forehead. Harry inspires my inner nerd.
I've been lucky enough to have friends who either put up with my nerdy behavior or are accomplices in it. I owe a great debt to my friends Daniele and Angela, who first infected me with Potter-mania. We used to sell Girl Scout cookies together. - Today Daniele is seeing success in the business world, and Angela is a burgeoning artist.
If you look past the magical exterior of the Harry Potter series, past the flying brooms, potions, hippogriffs and house elves, you'll see that the books are really about friendship. Harry's bonds with Hermione, Ron and Professor Dumbledore keep him afloat when he's suspected of opening the Chamber of Secrets or when the wizarding world refuses to believe that Voldemort is back.
Harry's friendships help him fight to do what he knows is right. And that, truly, is magical.
However the series ends, Harry Potter won't really die. Generations of children (and young adults) have the opportunity to discover him. I still have two movies to look forward to, and I know I will reread the books. The stories will never be new again; I'll never experience the same joyful apprehension of wondering what will happen next. But each time I return to the books, it will be like reuniting with an old friend and reminiscing fondly about the past.
Goodbye, Harry Potter. It's been a good time.
Armstrong is a journalism and Latin senior.
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