So, a little bit about me (applying to Harry Potter):
I became a fan at 9 years old when I read the first three books - or should I say gobbled up the first three books. I was in the third grade at the time and I believe the books were pretty new to the U.S. My brother was three years younger than me and couldn't quite read the books on his own, so I read them to him!
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is my absolute favorite of the series (with the Order of the Phoenix being a close second). I think it's because you really get introduced to important characters and the final plot that will take us through the rest of the series.
I can't quite remember when the fourth book came out, but I know that it was while I was in fourth or fifth grade. I remember that because the fourth book was considered darker than the first three, my elementary school librarian required parent permission for students to check it out, but lucky for me I had my own copy!
I was in fifth grade when the movie came out, I was 11 years old. That was so big for me and every other 11 year old on the planet (maybe the planet being a bit exaggerated), because it was like we were going to Hogwarts at the right time! From that moment on I used to write in my school notebooks like I was at Hogwarts: History was History of Magic, Science was Potions and Herbology, Math was Transfiguration, English was Charms, P.E. was Care of Magical Creatures. That year (2001) I was Hermione Granger for Halloween ( I even had "bushy brown hair" - it was permed), and my brother was Harry Potter! My mom made the costumes, and you could tell that they were home made, but we didn't care, we were Hermione and Harry! I saw the second movie in California with my cousins, and I remember not enjoying myself because we had to sit too close to the screen, but it was Harry Potter so I ultimately enjoyed it in the end.
The fifth book was the first book I stood in line at midnight for (2003). My brother and I wore our Halloween costumes from two years prior and my dad drove us there. I remember the announcement of the fifth book had been in our newspaper with quotations from the first paragraph. I had that article cut out and up on my bulletin board, it is now in my scrapbook. So the night the Order of the Phoenix came out was the night before my family was to drive from Utah to New York to visit my mom's sister. Guess what I did the whole drive? I read the Order of the Phoenix basically the entire time, and literally finished the last page as we pulled into my aunt's driveway! It actually used to be my least favorite book - I didn't like how angry and moody Harry was - but now it's my second favorite!
The third movie was the most disappointing of the movies for me. I think it is because the prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite book, I had a lot of high expectations for the movie. But while watching a recent Harry Potter marathon in my living room, I decided that the third movie in connection to the second and fourth is not that bad anymore. :)
the Half Blood Prince book and "the Goblet of Fire" movie came out the same year (2005). I'll admit the fourth movie was terrible back then for me, and I still think its the worse of the movies, but it's still good; I mean, come on, it's Harry Potter! The sixth book on the other hand... was AMAZING! I stood in line at midnight with my brother and my cousin. My cousin and I decided to race each other. For a long time it looked like he was going to win, but I pulled ahead and finished in 29 hours, 3 hours before my cousin! And yes, I cried when the unthinkable happened. :(
the Deathly Hallows book and "the Order of the Phoenix" movie also came out the same year (2007)!!! "the Order of the Phoenix" is my absolute favorite of the movies. I felt like with this movie they finally got onto the path of what Harry Potter's world is all about. This movie was also the first movie that I went to at midnight! Ahhhhhhhh.... the Deathly Hallows.... the seventh and FINAL book! This book deserves its own post, well, all of them do; in fact, all of them deserve several posts! But that will come in due time. I loved it. Simple as that. I loved it. I love it more every time I reread it.
In 2009 I got in line for "the Half Blood Prince" movie SIX HOURS before so that I could get good seats. I was the second person in line, and I played games with my brother and best friend who accompanied me. Cried again. It still gets me every time.
For Parts 1 and 2 of "the Deathly Hallows" I did not go to the midnight showing. However, I went the very next day to the first showing after the theatre opened! (The morning shows are NEVER full.) They were great, I was in awe the whole time (while answering my mom's questions, lol).
For Halloween of 2011 my husband and I were Death Eaters. (He is such a good sport about my Harry Potter obsession!) We both wore all black and we bought me Draco Malfoy's wand and the Salazar Slytherin's necklace that Voldemort turned into a Horcurx!
I have a pottermore.com account, and I am in Ravenclaw! Which is actually very fitting because I was a straight A student in High School and am currently rocking a 3.5 GPA at the University I attend.
So that's a little bit about me when it comes to my love of Harry Potter. I probably made this first post way too long; which is why I created a blog, because I can just go on, and on, and on if the subject is Harry Potter! The next post I'm planning is quite a big project, so it will probably be a while before I post again. Until next time!
The portion below was added on April 14, 2014:
I have invited someone to be a contributor to The American Muggle and he said yes!!! So the next post will be all about his Harry Potter past. He is actually my brother, so this is going to be a siblings' blog. :) We are going to create pen names that are Harry Potter related and have them in our posts so that you know who wrote what. We are very excited!
