By STEPHANIE GARCIA
Quidditch, dementors, muggles. These terms would not hold value in any other realm than the magical utopia of Harry Potter. Without the imagination of a British writer, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would cease to exist.
“J.K. Rowling provides an escape. The books are more magical than everyday life. Harry Potter is timeless because of the throwback to mystery and magic,” senior Evan Tobin said.
Thirteen years ago, the phenomenon took flight; a seven-book “Harry Potter” series stemmed from the mind of an author who needed no wand to generate her own literary brand of magic.
Starting with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the novels sparked avid readers to camp outside bookstores, hundreds of admirers anticipating the journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Then the adapted film saga grossed over $4.5 billion in international sales, casting a decade-long spell on audiences worldwide, according to Hollywood.com.
Today, the Harry Potter series endures as a reigning component of pop culture, spreading sporadically through varied mediums. This franchise has blossomed, branching into Orlando’s Universal Studios two years ago and now in October an online extravaganza, Pottermore, will hit computer screens.
The innovative online reading experience, Pottermore, will embody a social network feel as the Harry Potter series is electronically transformed to include interactive illustrations and unpublished production notes from J.K. Rowling herself.
“[Pottermore], It’s unbelievably magical. All my life, I’ve grown up with [them]. It’s like I’m a part of the story,” junior Colleen Welsh said.
Since joining Pottermore in August, Welsh has received her first wand from Ollivander’s and has been sorted into the Slytherin house.
Welsh, along with other Hogwarts hopefuls, achieved early acceptance into Pottermore through the Magic Quill Challenge: 7 days, 7 books, 7 chances.
From July 31-Aug. 6, the book hunt tested fans on their Harry Potter knowledge. Each day progressed in difficulty with an additional clue waiting to be unraveled.
Across the world, one million contestants were selected upon completion of this quest; the new found wizards will help shape the magical site for the official launch later this month.
“It hasn’t picked up yet, but I’m excited. I know that it will be amazing. Harry Potter will never die. Twilight and The Hunger Games are good, but they will never live up to Harry Potter,” Welsh said.
This passionate Harry Potter fan started reading the books in second grade and was blown away by the in depth quality of the series.
The inducted Potter fanatic was initially drawn to the spell-bounding environment and sympathized with the main character’s tragic past and self-less nature.
“There will always be a new audience of Harry Potter readers. That is why so many people want her to write more books. The levels of the books evolve, and Rowling grows with her readers,” English teacher Jennifer Hilley said.
While readers grow alongside Rowling’s fiction, global audiences feel they too have grown with the series of adapted films.
Over the summer, anticipation for the eighth and final movie installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, continued to build. An ongoing parade of billboards, emphasizing the approaching release date, July 15, displayed a blunt and candid three-word tag-line, “It All Ends.”
As the curtain closed on a decade long film saga, the cinematic departure of “Harry Potter” was climatic, yet bittersweet.
While the conclusion of the series universally captivated audiences, some muggles felt permanently connected to the bespectacled boy-wizard and his heroic tale.
“[Harry Potter is appealing because] the story shows the growth of a character, and people can relate to the trials and tribulations of his story. Harry Potter is timeless,” junior Olusegun Akinwolere said.
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