I was in 5th grade when I started reading the first book. It wasn’t even known yet. My mother gave me the book as a present, she always knew me best when it came to these things. She read with me the first few pages, and I instantly fell in love. I brought the book to school every day, read it during class, in between class, during recess and lunch period. I was pulled into the magical world of Harry Potter and I never wanted to leave, and I didn’t. I don’t think I ever will. Who would want to?

I was obsessed. I lived and breathed Harry Potter. I knew every character, memorized spells, joined online communities and Harry Potter Facts competitions online. I won a whole round and was even champion. The years went by, Harry, Ron and Hermione grew up along with us. We were with them every step of the way.

I guess I always saw it coming, but I didn’t want to deal with it until it was actually there. I was in denial. I ignored it, thinking that maybe if I ignored it long enough I would never have to deal with the emotions. I was wrong, of course.

This morning, as I turned on the television while I ate my breakfast, Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone was on. That’s when it hit me, that’s when harsh reality hit me. My childhood was coming to an “end”. All of the sudden all these emotions started to rush in. A gate has been opened and now I feel every damn thing I can feel about all this. It’s like you’ve lost a friend and all you’re left with are memories you can only replay over and over, not being able to make new ones. You don’t know what to do with yourself. Somehow I feel like watching the final movie will make it all too real, that it is in fact over. You feel like maybe if you don’t watch it, then it wouldn’t have to be over. Denial, denial, denial. You just know that a part of you feels like it’s been taken away. You’re lost. And you know you’re not alone in this, but it somehow doesn’t make it any better. You somehow feel that, no, no one has loved or will ever love Harry Potter the way you do.

But Harry Potter will live on. It will live on through J.K. Rowling, through everyone who was part of the movie, to each and every fan, to each and every one of us. It will live on through generations and generations. We’ll be the lucky generation to have witnessed all of it unfold in front of our very eyes, we’ll be the generation lucky enough to have lived through it all. Harry Potter will live on forever, it is not the end. I know all this, but I still haven’t really accepted it. I don’t think I will for a very long time. But at least I’m not all alone in this.