Accio Popcorn, Harry Potter finale

Are your wands at the ready? The final movie installation of J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world comes out tomorrow. Harry Potter fans around the world have been waiting for this moment with a mixture of glee and heartache. Glee that another Harry Potter movie will be showing and heartache that the series is coming to a final ending. When book 7 was released, we were okay because we knew that there were a few more movies to be made. Knowing that this is the final movie makes me a little sad.

Like many fans, I’ve been watching the previous movies this week in a countdown to Thursday night, and reacquainting myself with some of the minor details of the story. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all hold a place in my heart. I started reading the books right about the time the second movie came out. Initially, I’d been a hard sell. I wasn’t going to read the books because they’d been so popular. I wasn’t going to jump on the band wagon.  But, I took my teenaged dog sitter to go see the Chamber of Secrets so that she wouldn’t have to go with her 3 younger siblings, and I was intrigued. But, I still didn’t jump on the band wagon yet. Fast forward about a year and a half and I needed something to do during the countless hours I was up with a crying newborn. I bought the first book at the book store on post, and I read it. I was hooked. I read through all of the books that were published at the time. I found myself waiting for the next book and movie to come out.

I went to midnight book release parties and midnight movies. I will be at the midnight release for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. I will wait in line for hours so that I can get the perfect seat in the theater. And the chances are high that I will cry when the lights come up at the end of the movie because that is what I do when I say good bye to people who have been a part of my life for the last 10 years.  

It will be nice to have that final resolution between He-who-must-not-be-named and Harry Potter. While I’ve read the book and know how it ends, it will be nice to see how the directors and screen writers handle the second half of the book. The scenes I am most looking forward to? Molly Weasley battling  Bellatrix Lestrange, and the epilogue.

I am looking forward to the camaraderie that happens between HP fans at midnight release parties. You can always count on people dressing up in character and playing trivia games of some sort. It is always interesting to see what people come up with in regards to a favorite character. People support the favorite school houses. Gryffindor and Slytherin colors seem to be the most popular among the fans which makes sense since the rivalry between Harry and Draco is strong in all of the movies, and these are the two houses that are featured the most. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tend to be underrepresented. I’ve always been a fan of Ravenclaw, so I’ll be sporting something blue in support of my favorite house and Luna Lovegood.

I’ll be back Friday morning with a review of the movie.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1201607/