It’s a warm July night in 2011, close to 3 am. I’m driving on the empty streets of a small town in North Karelia with my sister. We’re on our way back to our summer cabin, having spent a few memorable hours in the tiny movie theater in town. I’m looking at the lakeside views, mesmerized by the pale purple beginnings of a sunrise in the horizon, a light that hugs the tens of islets afloat on the still lake. Feeling sentimental, I’m thinking about the era that has just ended. I’m thinking about my childhood that has now – in a symbolic way – ended. This is a moment that I’m not about to forget soon. I have just been to the midnight release of the last Harry Potter film.

THE BOY WHO DEFINED A GENERATION

I am the self-professed biggest Harry Potter fan in the world.

There are probably loads of fans that would disagree with me on this. I’m not involved in a lot of the usual, so-called “fandom” activities: I’m not active on the forums, I’m not that into fanfiction, I’ve never attended a con, I’m not into roleplay or cosplay, and I don’t know anyone through being a fan of Harry Potter. But I don’t think these types of extra community activities should define a fan at all. What I have been involved with include reading all the books in two languages so many times I’ve lost my count years ago, buying the books when they have been released, seeing the movies in their premieres, being one of the beta-testers on Pottermore, owning all the spin-off books, and so forth. Even these are ultimately just trivialities when it comes to what defines a huge fan (well, except the “reading all the books” part). What I feel is most important, is that I’ve spent probably hundreds and hundreds of hours in my lifetime pondering Harry Potter, analyzing the books and the society in them, dreaming about being a part of it myself… Harry Potter has tickled my imagination in a way nothing else has, and not only has it brought enjoyment, it has also had a huge impact on me as a person. I can safely say I would not be who I am now without Harry Potter. I know, this all sounds rather pompous, but I’m saying it in all sincerity.

There are countless valuable lessons that I have learned from Harry Potter. On top of that it has also taught me to think critically, both when I examine myself, and the world around me.  One of the first things I remember really striking a chord with me moralwise was the notion of judging a person based on their choices rather than their abilities. Harry and Voldemort had many similar abilities and talents but Harry chose to fight against him, which ultimately ended up being the difference between them. I feel like emphasizing a person’s choices over abilities is a great way to look at people in real life too. Another one of the many lessons I learned was the Sorting Hat’s advice of uniting from within – it did not necessarily want to create opposing teams by putting people in different categories, but emphasized that we should all learn to get along with each other. If there is an enemy, their job is made much easier if we are not unified and prepared to work together. And what about the notion of how one can measure a person’s character better by looking at how they treat their inferiors, not their equals? All these enlightening ideas of how to look at life are abundant in Harry Potter, and besides the obvious the-plot-and-society-are-so-flawlessly-built-it-seems-real, they are what make me love and appreciate Harry Potter so much.

Above all, I feel like Harry Potter as a phenomenon is a messenger of tolerance and equality, and that is incredibly important and valuable. There was a study according to which young people who read Harry Potter are more tolerant by average than the ones who don’t. To think of the millions and millions of youth Harry Potter has reached and continues to reach, it is clear it has had a huge impact and role influencing how people view the world. It defines a generation, not only culturally, but also in terms of worldview.

The Boy Who Lived On

I remember those summer vacations when a new Harry Potter book was released and me and my sister would take turns reading it – changing every hour or so. When one would read, the other would pace around anxiously, pondering about what they just had read and waiting eagerly for their turn. These times are among the best and clearest memories I have. It makes me oddly melancholy to think that I won’t get the thrill of reading a new Harry Potter book anymore – the story is closed, it is done. But I still find little joyous moments that mirror those feelings when I read the new material on the wizarding world that J.K. Rowling continues to provide.

Even though I did feel that my childhood had ended in a way after the release of the last film, it was just because it was the end of an era, end of the “expecting a new book or a film” period in the lives of so many people around the world. But it didn’t mean I would grow out of Harry Potter. Oh, how many times I – and, I presume, many other fans – have heard the phrase “don’t you think it is time to grow out of it?” For a true fan, Harry Potter isn’t just something you grow out of, just like for a huge Beatles fan the band isn’t something they grow out of. (In any case, I personally hate the notion of Harry Potter being a “children’s book series.” Since when is a book series centered on the themes of death, power, discrimination, corruption, and racism a children’s book series?) And even when I continue to read the books for the umpteenth time, I continue having new enlightening experiences. There are all these little nuggets of information, hints and wisdom I hadn’t picked up before – and you certainly can’t say it’s because I haven’t read the books properly before, because I practically know them by heart. I guess it’s just the magic of Harry Potter – perhaps tied with the fact that you understand more subtleties and underlying tones as you get older and more mature. But what I know for sure is that I’m not going to give Harry up; as J.K. Rowling herself said back in July 2011 when the final film was released: “Whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”