“I worry about Harry Potter fans. It was 25 years ago, and it’s for children,” – Miriam Margolyes.

Have you ever had a book that completely transports you to another world? One that you don’t just read; you fall into it, get absorbed by it. One that you read year after year and it never gets old. I am an avid reader; I read a hundred or more books a year. I have been to hundreds of different worlds, and lived many lives in the pages of my books, but there are a few that I return to again and again. I am a busy bee; I have trouble sitting still. I am constantly moving, but there are a few things that I can just lay around and lose all track of time in. Very few things hold my attention so fully that I stare off into the distance as I’m pulled out of this world and into another. This is really my mother’s fault; she is the one who started all this. Throughout my childhood, she consistently read to my brother and me; The Chronicles of  Narnia came first, but it was what came next that truly captivated me.

I must have been about 13 when I first traveled to Hogwarts on September 1st; my mom, brother, and I all read the books together, then we watched all the movies. When we finally got to join my mom in her obsession, Mom did very little for herself during my childhood, but when Harry Potter was on TV, she would get us dinner and then tell us to entertain ourselves and not to bother her so she could binge all the movies. Finally, one day we got to join her for part of a movie, and down the rabbit hole we went. I have lost count of how many times I have read this series, how many times I have fallen back into this world. Part of me keeps waiting for it to grow old or the magic to wear off, but here we are 18 years later, and I am still not tired of it.

For a long time I hid just how much I love this series, ashamed of enjoying it so much. Some in my community thought Harry Potter was bad, and at the time I was living by other people’s opinions of what was right and good.  I always loved it, but I felt like I had to be careful; I couldn’t handle the idea of anyone thinking I was bad. I also needed to be as mature and grown-up as possible. So I could not have a Harry Potter fandom shelf or collectibles display. I wouldn’t let myself dress up for September first or listen to the John Williams score on the way to work. I felt so much shame for liking Harry Potter for so long, even though I never felt convicted about it and could even write a whole piece on the biblical elements, parallels, and themes throughout the series. That is a story for another day.

When I decided to start reading fiction again in 2024, I went back to where it all began. I read Narnia and enjoyed it, then I read Harry Potter for the first time as an adult, and it felt just as magical as it did in 2008. The best part now is that I don’t have to hide it. I am now an adult who is free to make her own choices and can do things like buy a Navy blue  Ravenclaw sweater with stars and a coordinating headband to wear in September; I have had them both in my closet for months, waiting for the return to Hogwarts.  This year I have decided to fully embrace the fun and let myself do what I have always wanted to do. So this morning I wore my sweater and headband,  grabbed my purple Pigmy Puff named Bibble, and blasted the movie soundtrack all the way to work. Allowing myself to do this feels healing for that teen who never got to have fun and was so busy trying to be an adult and to survive that she never got to do things like dress up on September 1st. A teen whose whole identity was based on being perceived as right and good, that she never let herself enjoy anything. Today was a reclaiming of sorts. Maybe one day I will outgrow this, as Miriam Margolyes suggested, or maybe I will listen to the words and the story I know so well as I fall back into this world, dreaming of the day I finally have vacation time and money to go to the theme park. Maybe the reason so many in my generation keep reading this series over and over is because we find comfort in its familiarity, in an unpredictable, crazy world. Maybe this piece of nostalgia we will keep forever. Who says we are too old to enjoy this? Am I thinking about this too deeply? Taking this too seriously? Pondering a little too much? Probably, but what can I say? I am a book- loving Ravenclaw nerd.  Now- if you will excuse me, dear reader- this Ravenclaw has a train to catch.