Leaving Hogwarts and the Half-Blood Prince

HARRY POTTER AND the half-blood prince

book 2004   movie 2009   first read 2004   first watch 2009

A sixth-in-a-row return to the school of witchcraft and wizardry, where love is in the air and each laugh is followed by a sob.

Leaving Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix

HARRY POTTER AND the order of the phoenix

book 2003    movie 2007   first read 2003    first watch 2007

A fifth-in-a-row return to the school of wizardry and witchcraft, where I realize the upside of growing up and that Professor Umbridge is really Goebbels.

Leaving Hogwarts and the Goblet of Fire

HARRY POTTER AND the goblet of fire

book 2002     movie 2005     first read 2003?     first watch 2005

A fourth-in-a-row return to the school of wizardry and witchcraft, where I marvel at the fast pace, cleverly constructed plot and the connections to North By Northwest.

ZOOM IN.

Leaving Hogwarts and the Prisoner of Azkaban

HARRY POTTER AND the prisoner of Azkaban

book 1999      movie 2004      first read 2002?     first watch 2004

A third-in-a-row return to the school of wizardry and witchcraft, where I swoon over Alfonso Cuarón's directing style, Daniel Radcliffe's improved acting skills and how Hermione's hair looks from behind.

ZOOM IN.

Also known as "The One Everybody Loves", Prisoner of Azkaban marks the point at which the Harry Potter film adaptions became a force to be reckoned with. Changing out director Chris Columbus, who had approached the previous two films from a traditional "children's movie" perspective, with the darker and more stylized mind of Alfonso Cuarón, stepped up the game quite a bit. It also helps that the three leads have grown into better actors and that their characters are able to develop in a more interesting, nuanced way. Finally, Prisoner of Azkaban connects another two Brilliant Brits to the series with Gary Oldman as Sirius Black and David Thewlis as Professor Lupin.

Leaving Hogwarts and the Chamber of Secrets

HARRY POTTER AND the chamber of secrets

book 1998     movie 2002      first read 2005?      first watch 2003?

A return to the school of wizardry and witchcraft, where I pay my accolades to Hermione's last truly geeky year, sleek-hair Malfoy, Ron's first wand and the old Dumbledore.

ZOOM IN.

Once hooked by the magical world of Harry Potter, I never considered actually reading The Chamber of Secrets as preferred to just watching the movie. It was out there, so why not just slip it in the DVD player (easier said than done, but my birthday wasn't far away). I was young, I was stupid. So when I finally did go back and read the book, about two years after watching the film, I was surprised to find so many new aspects of the story in the book. Whether my surprise was caused by the bigger similarity between the first book and its film or whether I was just too inexperienced to know that things do get lost in translation, I'll never know. The scene that left its biggest impression on me then was definitely Sir Nick's ghost party, which I didn't see coming at all. Speaking of that, the ghosts were rather neglected in the Harry Potter films, am I right (Peeves, anyone)? Still, I do love them.

Leaving Hogwarts and the Sorcerer's Stone

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S/ PHILOSOPHER'S STONE
book 1997 movie 2001 first read in 2003? first seen in 2003? 

Sometimes, the most unlikely things turn out to take the most important places in your life, don't they? 
Today, Harry Potter is a synonym for childhood to me - but for a long part of same childhood, it was just 'That boring-looking boys' movie'. It took someone's unsuspecting goodwill to get the book anywhere near me and an intense feeling of boredom for me to wipe the dust off its cover one or two years later. The rest is history. 

When other people turn up James Brown's "I Feel Good", I'll be listening to "Hedwig's Theme". Instead of the Tower Bridge, the highlight of my sightseeing tour in London was Platform 9 3/4. My visit of the Harry Potter Studio Tour in the UK will make out a whole chapter in my self-biography. Basically, I think this is all some kind of mistake and my invitation letter for Hogwarts got lost in the mail. This is why an afresh revisitation of the series seemed like the perfect way to both celebrate and grieve for my leaving/ finishing high school. So the next 8 months, right until my graduation prom in July, I'm going to take a look back at the 7 books and 8 films that make out such a huge part of my girlhood. The title of the series, obviously borrowed from my favourite theme from the soundtrack(s), is not supposed to symbolize any sort of abandon or moving-on from the Harry Potter universe. On the contrary, it signifies the parallels between the world of Harry, Ron and Hermione and my own life. As I'm on my way to end a very important chapter of my life, I once more look to them for inspiration.