El Blog de Naraluna

    A couple of months ago we went to the cinema to see Harry Potter The Deathly Hallows Vol. 2. After 10 years the story finally ended. This is not going to be a review about the movie. I guess there are plenty of them and it won’t be that interesting to know whether I like it or not, whether I recommend it or not if it’s better than the book or not. I guess you already have your own opinion about it. You may be a Harry Potter’s fan or you may really hate the story and don’t want to hear the name of this famous wizard again. It doesn’t matter, what matters to me is that this story lasted 10 years and this last movie, in a way, represented the end of an era. Something more than just the movies ended. Some children grew up with these movies. My sister was a little sad when the movie ended and we left the movie theater, she said it was over: the excitement, the waiting, the things we went through in between movies. I’m not such a fan of the movies (I enjoyed the books more than the movies) but I did feel more or less like her. I guess this blog is about the Harry Potter years in my life. I guess it is like my «biography» related to these movies.

I was almost 25 years old when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was released in November 2001, almost ten years ago. Two months before the movie was released, I read the book and was delighted by the story. I had to read the other books. That was a fact. I have always loved magic and I really enjoy reading fantastic stories. Of course ten years ago I wasn’t the person I am today. I was a young adult (not that I am old now, of course not, but, let’s say I was younger and lacked a lot of experience in many important matters). I was clinging to a relationship that was not so good for me. I had just gotten a job as an English teacher four months before the release of the movie and was trying to make my relationship work, my then boyfriend and I had been dating for two years already and things weren’t working well. Anyway, we didn’t break up and were in that moment where you want everything to work but you just don’t feel happy. At that moment Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone represented hope for me. I hoped that my boyfriend and I were still together by the time it was released and that we could see the movie together, which, indeed, we did. The movie was good. I continued reading the books. I was anxious to read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but would have to wait a little bit more for the book to be available. By the time Harry Potter was ready to save Ginny’s life in the Chamber of Secrets, I had already achieved my goal of getting my bachelor’s degree in translation and was teaching English to children too. I was almost ready for making my dream of traveling to Europe, of going to London for the first time, come true. It was a magical time, it was dreaming time. The movie was great and the next month we enjoyed the «Harry Potter mania» in London. My sister loved the Harry Potter’s gifts I brought for her. It took almost two years for the next Harry Potter’s movie to be released. In those times Harry Potter meant a way of communication with my students. Almost all of them loved Harry Potter and it was a way of helping them to learn English in a more meaningful and interesting way. Many of them saw the movies, they were reading the books and most of them were looking forward to seeing the new movie. Grammar was more fun when Harry Potter was involved. Sometimes, when I see the first Harry Potter Movies, I think about my students.

By the time Harry Potter discovered that Sirius Black was his godfather, I was almost 28 years old and overcoming my fear of a serious surgery that I needed in order to solve the problem with my intestine. I was also lost in a relationship where my self-esteem was slowly disappearing. The Prisoner of Azkaban immediately became my favorite Harry Potter movie. Sirius Black was a wonderful character. Harry had to deal with his fear of the Dementors and learned how to make a Patronus. I had to learn how to be strong and how to let go. Anyway, it took me some more time to achieve that. My Dementors were a little harder to defeat. Anyway Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was released in November 2005. Harry barely survived to Lord Voldemort’s attack and Cedric Diggory didn’t make it. The book is a lot better than the movie. I didn’t really enjoy this movie but I cried anyway. I was hurting because I was single again. I went to the movies with my sister and two very close friends of mine. One of them was barely speaking to me and I didn’t know why. I felt alone as Harry Potter did when almost nobody was talking to him and everyone feared or criticized him. I felt like an alien too and at that specific moment I had no idea what I wanted, what my dreams were. I was as clueless as Harry Potter in the Triwizard Contest and as unwilling to find the answers as he was. But I hope that I was a little more intelligent and not as careless.

Time went by. My students still loved Harry Potter and they were wondering what was going to happen to him. I had already read all the books and was waiting for the last one to be launched. I was slowly pulling myself together and worked quite hard to make another long trip. I spent six weeks in Europe where I met my wonderful friends who were there for me when I needed them the most. I hope to meet hem again soon. I visited wonderful places and I stood in front of Hogwarts’ dining table in Oxford. It was a funny experience to be in the place where the sorting hat decided where to place the students. When Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released, I was a happy almost 31 year old woman in control of my life, it was a new beginning for me. At the end, Harry struggled in order to be stronger than Lord Voldemort just after Sirius Black’s death. As for me, my struggle was over and I was feeling quite confident and at peace with myself. The first time I saw this movie, I went to the movie theater alone and it was great. It was the best movie and I was able to cry freely near the end. Some things never change. I have always cried in movies, good ones, bad ones, sad ones, happy ones, it doesn’t matter as long as they make me feel something strong enough to make tears flow. I laughed with the very annoying Dolores Umbridge and fell in love with Snape who takes the blame for everything but who is really a good hearted wizard. In that summer I read Harry Potter and the Deahtly Hallows and finally learned what happened to Harry and his friends…

In 2008 I was learning how to paint. I was writing for a magazine and I was determined to achieve my goals. Then, all of a sudden , I met three extraordinary persons, a very intelligent man and his two lovely daughters. When we met, I never imagined I was talking to my future husband and stepdaughters. The next year, just one month after the four of us started living together, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was released. Since the three of them also liked Harry Potter, we saw the movie together, along with my sister. I must admit I didn’t like this movie. It doesn’t have much to do with the book and the scenes with «Won won» and Lavender are too long and too boring. Anyway, we laughed a lot and after «complaining» about the movie we were ready for the next one. Still, we had a long way to go before the next movie was released. A few months after the Half Blood Prince, we had to deal with leukemia. My little stepdaughter was almost nine years old when she was diagnosed. Everything changed. The word «life» got a deeper and stronger meaning. The word «love» became everything and we were thankful for all the laughter and good moments. We still are, we will always be. We are fighters like the good wizards who never feared Lord Voldemort, who never gave up fighting no matter what.

Last year Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows vol. 1 was released. Meanwhile Harry and his friends were risking their lives for finding the horror cruxes, our little girl was recovering from the chemo. So during this movie, she fell asleep. We had to tell her about it later on.The saga was about to end and everyone was looking forward to learning what was going to happen to Harry Potter. The girls and my students, who hadn’t read the book, were wondering whether Harry Potter was going to die or not. And the show must go on. The struggle continued. I quit my job and I’m finally working on what I love. We grew stronger as a family. Our little warrior kept fighting against this illness and she still does. She’s quite strong.

At last, this summer, the saga ended, after a decade. The four of us went together, with my sister and two close friends. This time all of us were wide awake and ready. We were in the mood for enjoying this moment. The girls loved it. Everyone in the movie theater was excited. There were quite good moments and quite funny ones. We laughed a lot. We made jokes. I felt sad when Snape’s story was being told. The movie ended and Harry was able to continue with his life without Voldemort.

When we left the movie theater, my sister had the same bittersweet feeling I had. The movie ended and a small «summary» of these ten years came to my mind. I’m almost 35 years old now. I have a family and a life full of smiles. I know now what my dreams are and I’m ready to make them come true. Lord Voldemort may have died, but my life will always be full of challenges to deal with and the magic surrounding me and those around me will never end.

So good bye to ten years of «having fun» at Hogwarts, waiting for the new Harry Potter’s adventures and let’s welcome what comes next, whatever that may be. 😉

~ por Naraluna en agosto 24, 2011.

Publicado en movies and biography
Etiquetas: harry potter, Harry Potter and life, Harry Potter and my life, Harry Potter movies, my life, My life through Harry Potter, Ten years of Harry Potter Movies, the harry potter saga, What happened in my life the ten years of Harry Potter Movies