I’m the type of person who loves to join a craze. I like to collect things. I like to be a part of special interest groups. I think it helps me express my identity and show off my personality. It makes me feel integrated, yet separate. That being said, I love Harry Potter fans! You know why? Because they come in all ages, and all shapes and sizes. They are as various and as diverse as the characters they cherish. Like Harry, Ron and Hermione, Potter fans are a group of misfits who come together with one common goal: to purchase the next J.K. Rowling installment.
Mike and I decided it would be fun to join the ranks of Dumbledore’s Muggle Army at the local bookstore to pick up our midnight copy of Deathly Hallows on Friday. We met our neighbors, the Fosters, at about 10:00 PM on the threshold of the most anticipated book in history. As we searched around the bookstore for our friends, we were surrounded by various witches and wizards, villains and heroes. I loved seeing all the young girls with their hair crimped and fluffed just like Miss Hermione, and many boys with large round spectacles and painted lightning bolts. It was a glorious sight to behold! There were people whittling and selling wands, free glow-sticks were passed around, and kids got their faces painted with cats, broomsticks, elves and the Gryffindor coat-of-arms.
There was a graveyard set up where you could make paper flowers to place on your most favorite fallen hero (the largest assortment were, of course, for Dumbledore). Inside the middle of the store sat a large cardboard box (that was made to look like a castle painting). In the box sat a young girl dressed in a toga and looking exactly like the fat lady. Wands were waved, and spells were cast. Some fans sat quietly in chairs, re-reading old volumes of Half-Blood Prince and Azkaban, hoping to catch any last tidbits of information before the final chapter was disclosed. A band played funny songs about petrifying and just how cute Hermione is now that she is all grown-up. My favorite costume of the night was Bellatrix Lestrange, who looked eerily like her character, complete with black lipstick and matching bustier.
Meg: Wow. Look at these crazy Harry Potter fans, all dressed-up!
Mike: Yeah no kidding.
Meg: I think the Harry Potter fans could take on Star Wars fans.
Mike: I think they are one in the same.
As the night wore on, we became more tired than excited. The enthusiasm for the book was ebbed somewhat by the fact that we were about 2 hours from the check-out stand and approaching the 1:00 AM hour. Our friends the Fosters had left some time ago with a car full of sleepy kiddies. They had decided to stop at Walmart on the way home to see if they could get through the line quicker there. Mike and I had barely started moving when they called us to tell us they were already at the check-out stand and wondered how many copies of the book we wanted. “Just one,” we replied. Which today (seeing as we are both home) seems like a tragic mistake. The hours in-between my next turn with the book, are ticking by much too slowly…
4 comments:
Yeah so James went out Saturday night and bought the book because it didn't come by mail, SO annoying! He is about 200 pages in and I have yet to start it. I am excited though.I have been hearing him laugh to himself or go, "Well that is an interesting turn of events". He loves to know what is going on before me. Hey whatever makes him happy right?
My copy came in the mail on Saturday. I checked it at 1...nothing then at 5 is was there!! Yay!! I started reading it around 6ish and I finished Sunday around 6ish...yes it took me 24 hours...it would have been less but i had kids to feed and take care of, a husband who likes to talk to me and stupid sleep...it just gets in the way (the sleep, not the family). So, it was SOOO good! I loved it! Lots of twists and turn of events but good! I am sad that it is the last one!! Now, I only have the last 2 movies to look forward to. *sigh* I need you on IM so we can chat!!
I'm borrowing my brother-in-law's copy... he read it in 2 days, and I'm going to finish it tonight! Currently on page 561, but I'm taking a break to check email and make dinner for the missionaries. I just love summer vacation! I guess it's good Jason and I don't have to fight over it; he's reading Lone Survivor, also borrowed from his brother Jon. I probably won't read it, but they say it's really good- about a Navy Seal who was the only survivor of a brutal attack in the Middle East. Well, time to make spaghetti!
It wasn't worth fighting the crowds on Friday night, so we just picked it up on Saturday morning at Costco while we did some other shopping. (Almost everyone had either the book or the CDs in their cart.) Nate got to read it first and finished it Saturday night. I started it Sunday morning but took time off for church, naps (I'm pregnant, what can I say?), making dinner, socializing, etc. So that would explain why I stayed up until 2:45 this morning to finish reading it.
Btw, well worth it! Very satisfying read that makes you laugh and cry, puts you on edge, and answers all the questions you had from the previous books (well, maybe not every single one if you're someone who focuses on the really obscure trivia, but it should satisfy everyone else). I'll write a review in the next day or so (although I'll try to be careful to leave out any spoilers).
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