Friday, July 15, 2011

The End

I took my daughter, Prudence, to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two last night. We went to a midnight show at our favorite theater. It was a carnival like atmosphere with costumes and performances. The theater was packed there were moviegoers in capes and carrying wands. There were house colors and faux British accents.We saw a dozen people who we knew. I waited in line for thirty minutes to buy a five dollar soda.

Despite the air of frivolity, my daughter cried throughout much of the movie. This series isn't just  a story to my daughter. A friend's older brother was obsessed with these books way back in 1999. He counted down the days to the next books release and talked to me of plans for the movie. So one weekend  in the spring of 2000, I started reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to her. I read the whole book in one weekend. We did nothing else that weekend and at the end of the book I has nearly lost my voice and she fell in love with Harry and his friends. She was six years old.

She taught herself to read just so she could read the Harry Potter books to herself. There have been several midnight release parties at the bookstore and movie theater alike. Since then she has reread the books and watched the movies many times. The characters of JK Rowling are like old friends. She has shared much with them through the years. She has celebrated and mourned with them each time she has reread those books. Each book was bought and promptly devoured. Often she stayed up very, very late reading.  Reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was one of those nights. Near the end of the book, she came out of her room. It was after midnight and I started to scold her until I saw her face. She sobbed inconsolably in my arms while I held on tight. She cried even harder through the last book.

Although there were no more Harry books, a whole new world of magic and imagination opened up to her. Not all of the other books she has loved have had a paranormal element to them, but they have all been a portal to another world.

She cried through much of the last movie last night. Yes, it was a story of much loss, but I think she was really saddened by something else. She is seventeen now, nearly eighteen. The release of the last movie is the end of her childhood. Like Harry, Ron and Hermione, she has to face the adult world and it's sometimes ambiguous questions. She has to face loss and betrayal. She has to find love and friendship and navigate their sometimes winding path. No more can a kiss from her mother soothe all ills. She is eager to go out into the world and I find it so hard to uncurl my fingers and let her go and follow her heart, which doesn't lead her where I might wish her to go.

In the end, in that theater packed full of people it was just she and I. This time when she cried she didn't even hold my hand.

15 comments:

  1. Julia, what a beautiful blog, I am not ashamed to admit it brought a tear to my eyes! All the milestones are so bitter-sweet but I can't imagine how watching your daughter on the cusp of adulthood feels. Harry and friends have played an important part in my younger family's life too - I was a Bookseller when the Philosopher's Stone (Sorcerer to you) came out and took little notice although a colleague with kids told me I'd love it. I finally read it on a trip to London and picked up the hardback sequel on the way hme. The third was given to me by the publishers - and several years later when I was looking for ways to fund staying at home with my baby daughter I sold that first edition hardback and publisher copy to a collector for £3000.

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  2. It is certainly bittersweet. The Harry Potter books will always hold a special place in my heart because of how much they have meant to both of my kids. Patience said she cried from Fred's line "Alright, George," all the way until the very end.

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  3. Ah Julia, what a beautiful post. I too had tears in my eyes reading that. Such a bitter sweet time, letting your children go as they grow into adults.

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  4. My daughter saw it last night and loved it. I haven't read the books myself and when I see the films they're incredibly inventive but at the end I have to ask my daughter what it was all about. They're a bit too fast paced for me. But, I love the fact that so many people can come together over such wonderful stories.

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  5. Doris, it is as exciting as it is painful.

    Cara, I think especially the last few films have been hard to follow if you haven't read the books. The later titles were so much longer. There were many things they included for fans of the books that never really get explained in the movies.

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  6. What a lovely post, Julia! Both my daughters are seventeen and, although they aren't fans of the Harry Potter series, I know EXACTLY how you feel!

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  7. Aimee, it is both the most wonderful and the most awful thing at the same time.

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  8. What a lovely touching post - it brought tears to my eyes too. I bought the very first Harry Potter book and began reading it but my husband, keen to read it too, swiped it from me and read it himself and to the girls. I never did finish reading it and consequently the others have never been read either. I feel like I've missed out on something huge and important in my kids' lives. My girls too have grown up with Harry P and it is poignant that a generation has gone from childhood to embarking on adult life just the same as a character they've grown up with.

    My eldest daughter will be having orthodontic surgery at the beginning of August in Aberdeen which will require an overnight stay in the city before the procedure, and her dad is going to take her to see the film. She's looking forward to seeing it.

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  9. It really was something to watch a generation of readers develop. Kids who read and discussed books with great passion. Really a beautiful thing.

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  10. A lovely post, Julia. The reason why so many young adults are captivated by these films is that they grew up through Harry and his friends - I guess many of us did the same with films and books too but somehow this feels so much more tangible than back then...

    Thanks for sharing x

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  11. It does seem so much more tangible and so much more immediate. I'll be curious to see how Pottermore turns out.

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  12. Aw Julia, your blog struck a chord with me too... My oldest son is now 19 and has grown up with the Harry Potter books too. I still remember when I had to dash around like a looney trying to find a soft toy owl for his Harry Potter costume when he was in primary school and they were doing a 'dress-up as your favourite book character' day.

    There were a heck of a lot of Harrys that day! But none of them had an owl except Joey!

    He's training to be an actor now, which fills me with pride and dread (and I suspect all stems from that first Potter costume success!). But is absolutely gutted that whatever happens he won't get to be in a Harry Potter film.... Unless of course The Talented Ms Rowling writes another book!

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  13. I love that you got him an owl. I'd bet he remembers that day too. And now you have yet another reason to hope for another Rowling book.

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  14. The crowds and costumes were the reason we waited nearly a two weeks after opening night to go see the movie. It killed me because I LOVE Harry Potter! Also, a big reason for tears for many was because a lot of people grew up with Harry Potter. Knowing it’s at an end is sad.

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  15. But it's not totally over! There's always Pottermore...

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