Harry Potter Madness

As a devoted Potter-crazed maniac, Angela and I of course attended the midnight purchasing party for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." As usual, it was a complete circus--full of the usual weirdos, comings, goings, and generally idiotic people who want to butt in front of you--but hey! It's still fun to hang out with the crazies every now and again.

Our odyssey began early Friday morning as we ventured out at an unholy hour to wait in line for wristbands at our local Barnes and Noble. Like a rock concert, these wrist bands essentially get you in line to buy the book first. After waiting in line for what seemed like forever, we got our wristbands as part of "Group B." That meant, that we were between 101 and 200 in line. That ended up making the second leg of our odyssey, much easier.

Here's our view from the middle of the line which, believe it or not, was moving fairly fast. There were balloons, wrappers, papers and evidences of games long since been played, but the hush inside the store was pretty surprising. Amazingly, everyone was fairly subdued once in the store and on the way up to the cash register--as if taking a walk with a friend for the last time.

Wow! Look at all those books! We'd finally reached the counter where we could purchase our books and boy were there a ton of them (as you can see.) Our purchase was made swiftly and we were out the door only 20 minutes after getting in line. The waiting in line earlier that day certainly helped.

Of course we ran directly home and...fell asleep. But most of the next day and into Sunday was spent reading. I finished the book early, early Monday morning, but I really enjoyed it. I'll post a more final reaction later.

Andrew Parker and the Wait of Death

Hello. My name is Andrew Parker. I'm 29 years-old and I'm a Potter-holic.

"Hello Andrew."

Today is July 20, 2007. It's one day before the final Harry Potter book is released in the United States and I'm sitting here at work being completely useless. I'm trying to work, and getting a few things done, but the fact that over the next couple of days I will find out Harry's fate is never far from my mind.

Adults aren't supposed to obsess about this stuff, right? Especially those with advanced schooling, right? We're supposed to be excited, but not stoked. Happy, but not delirious. And only mildly interested and not completely and wholly obsessed. After all, there are more important things to worry about, right?

Well, there are more important things, but few things that are more fun. And how does the saying go? Men are that they might have joy?

Ok, so maybe that's stretching it a little bit, but Harry Potter brings a certain level of joy into my life. It's certainly not the type of joy family or righteous living brings, but the tale of The Boy Who Lived is, in my mind, a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. After all, the main theme of the Harry Potter books, that our lives are not bound by fate but rather by choice, is a truth. And since we are all seekers of truth, why not have a little fun while you find that out?

In any case, it is now less than eleven hours until the release and I couldn't be more excited. And to help you get through the waining hours, I've posted a few morsels and tid-bits of theory about what I think is going to happen. You know. For fun.

Keep in mind THESE ARE NOT SPOILERS. This is just my opinion.

• Snape Dies - Along with many others, I'm sure. But this one seems written in the cards. He's a double agent, his motives have always been in question and all that will finally be revealed in this book. As such, I think he's a good person at heart and will willingly sacrifice himself for Harry's benefit. He's the redemptive figure in the story (literary speaking) and should fulfill his destiny to help bring down the Dark Lord.
• Ron and Hermione, um, "hook up" - This is a duh. Unless you've not been paying attention, this one's a no-brainer.
• Peter Pettigrew's debt to Harry comes due - I'm not sure if Peter sacrifices himself or if he merely saves Harry's life (possibly from Greyback) in this book, but one thing is for certain. However Peter Pettigrew figures in, you better believe he's toast.
• Neville vs. Bellatrix - Since Frank and Alice Longbottom were tortured and murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange, I imagine we'll see Neville have it out with Bellatrix. My hope is that with Neville having a wand of his own now, he'll be more effective as a wizard.
• The Giants to the Rescue - In Order of the Phoenix, it's mentioned that Voldemort had the command of not just corrupt wizards and witches, but loads of magical creatures as well. In the same book, Hagrid was off recruiting the Giants for the upcoming war. We don't know yet if he was successful, but I imagine his labors will provide fruit in this book. Since we know that Giants can't be stunned by standard spells, expect them to make a big impact in the war.
• The Return of Dumbledore - His symbol has always been a Phoenix, a rather curious symbol seeing that Phoenix's can rise from the ashes after they die. Dumbledore still has a part to play in this book and I think it will revolve around him directing Harry where the remaining Horcruxes are.
  
• Harry is NOT a horcrux - I thought this at first too, but now I don't think it points to that at all. Rather, since Harry has been marked by Voldemort, Harry simply has Voldemort's powers and not his soul. To carry two souls would be rather difficult.
• Aunt Petunia holds the key - Since Lily Potter's blood flows in Petunia's veins, Harry has always been protected from the Dark Lord when he returns to Little Whinging each summer. And even though his Aunt despises him, her blood, which is also Lily's blood, protects Harry because he is protected by the love of his mother. As such, I wonder who Aunt Petunia really is. Is she a squib? Possibly. Or, more likely, she was given this assignment by Dumbledore who has something on her and told her not to fail. It's possible then, that because she hates carrying this burden, she's taken it out on Harry and enlisted her family in the process. Either way, Aunt Petunia is more than meets the eye, and I think she'll be more than important to the stories end.

That's it for now. May your butterbeer be frothy (and alcohol free) and your fizzing whiz-bangs be mighty indeed.