By Brandon Stump
Megan Groves doesn’t hesitate when asked what house she’d be in if she were a student at the fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry written about and conjured up by the author of the “Harry Potter” series, J.K. Rowling.
“I’d be in Ravenclaw,” said Groves, a senior at West Virginia University.
That’s how real the world of Harry Potter has been to her — and millions of other fans across the world — a world that the Rowling put a close to with the Saturday release at 12:01 a.m. of the final tome in her series: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
Groves has been visiting the halls of Hogwarts for almost a decade now (reading the books before there was ever talk of a movie franchise). And although she’s excited to see what happens in the final installment to the boy-wizard for whom the series is named, Groves is also reluctant to finish the book. For Groves, finishing the book is the same as packing her trunks and leaving Hogwarts behind.
“Harry Potter is one of the very few things I’ve carried with me from my childhood,” Groves said. “And any chance I get to feel young again … like a child … is worth it. I think it’s like that for a lot of people.”
By now, many quick readers have learned the fate of the unlikely hero, who used to be a little boy forced to sleep in a “cupboard under the stairs,” and the only known being to have survived the Unforgivable death curse.
But let’s not jump ahead of ourselves … .
For those reading this article who wouldn’t consider themselves a “Potterphile” and who don’t know the difference between an “Avada Kedavra” (the Unforgivable death curse) and a “Muggle” (nonmagical folk), “Harry Potter” (first published in the U.S. in 1998) is a children’s (though many ardent fans would argue with this adjective) series based on an orphaned boy-wizard.
At the age of 11, Harry Potter is invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry located in the English countryside — a perfect opportunity for an orphaned boy who has been raised by his less-than-nice aunt and uncle to make friends, learn magic and inherit the battle his parents fought. In fact, Harry was orphaned after his mother and father were killed by a dark wizard named Lord Voldemort, who was trying to kill Harry.
And on that fateful night, though Voldemort was able to kill Harry’s parents, Harry survived the “Avada Kedavra” death curse, which repelled off Harry, diminishing Voldemort to something that Rowling described as less than human. All that was left was a lightning bolt-shaped scar on Harry’s forehead — forever making him a marked man.
Each book in the “Potter” series represents one year in Harry’s education at Hogwarts — an education that takes seven years to complete. Along the way Harry has learned to deal with death, success, failure and fame — as well as puberty, girls, loyalty, friendship and difference. If nothing else, “Harry Potter” is a coming-of-age novel, where school and the world around the characters is literally magical — but the experiences are universal.
Most children experience the death of loved ones and mentors; Harry has experienced death all of his life, from his parents to mentors to friends. Most students have subjects in school with which they struggle; Harry has always struggled with potions. Most teenagers experience mood swings; Harry spends the entire fifth novel in a hormonal rage.
But he hasn’t gone at it alone, for upon his first trip to school aboard the Hogwarts Express, Harry met Ron Weasley, a thin, red-headed wizard his age, who Harry refers to as his “best mate,” and Hermione Granger, a book-smart genius of a witch who is one of Harry’s most steadfast friends. Together, this trio has solved mysteries, written term papers, fought Dark Wizards, had detention and moved closer toward eradicating the evil Voldemort (little by little building up strength since he first tried to kill Harry), who has wreaked havoc on Harry’s life since he was just an infant.
Which brings us to book number seven: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” — the final book in Rowling’s series. At 784 pages, it is not the longest Potter book (that honor goes to the 870-page “Order of the Phoenix”). Fans, though, don’t care how fat the spine is; they just want answers — answers to mysteries and questions that Rowling has been hinting at since the story’s inception.
It’s a book series that Kelly Funkhouser, an accountant at the Morgantown Public Library, believes has the potential to be kept in a special place in libraries and bookshelves for generations to come.
“I think it could (become a classic) because it’s timeless,” Kelly said. “It is mired in the mystical and the past.”
But before the series was complete, all across the U.S., book stores celebrated the coming of Harry Potter through midnight book celebrations. Locally, in fact, Barnes and Noble in Granville featured midnight festivities that included a broom decorating contest, costume contest and a potions-and-spells class.
According to Mugglenet.com, the Web’s premiere Potter fansite, the American publisher of “Potter” — Scholastic — created “Harry Potter Place: A magical, interactive experience for kids and adults” on Friday evening in New York City.
Todd Funkhouser, son of Kelly, won’t be attending any midnight party (that’s past his bedtime), but he said that he would be picking up a copy the next morning. At 11 years old, Todd has been reading the books with his mother Kelly since he was no taller than Professor Flitwick (a Hogwarts professor known for his vertical limitations).
“… I think it will be good,” Todd said — though he was quick to add that the quality of the book, to him, is tied to the survival of the main characters. “I’ve heard that some of the main characters die,” Todd said. “So I don’t know if it will be good or bad.”
And Todd most wants one question answered: “Who wins? Voldemort or Harry? Hopefully Harry.”
While fans were speculating as to the ending of the seven part series, information began to be leaked to the media and on the Internet — a move that potentially spoiled the plotline (shrouded in much secrecy) for wizard-wannabes and magicless Muggles alike.
According to a July 18 press release from Scholastic, on July 17, Levy Home Entertainment and DeepDiscount.com delivered copies of the “Deathly Hallows” to “one-hundredth of one percent of the total U.S. copies to go on sale at 12:01 a.m. on July 21st.” As a result, Scholastic said that they “are taking immediate legal action” against both distributors.
Scholastic also noted that spoilers, leaks and early delivery are the opposite of what Potter fans are seeking.
“The fans themselves have made it abundantly clear that they are looking forward to going to the midnight parties, receiving their very own copy of the book and finally getting to read the book they have so anxiously awaited.”
On Tuesday and Wednesday, rumors of leaks and spoilers infiltrated the internet — from Entertainment Weekly, CNN to AOL News. Pottermania had hit a new level of mass hysteria. On her personal Web site, Rowling attempted to quell the groundswell of anticipation and emphasized the importance of patience.
“We are almost there! As launch night looms, let’s all, please, ignore the misinformation popping up on the Web and in the press on the plot of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.’ I’d like to ask everyone who calls themselves a Potter fan to help preserve the secrecy of the plot for all those who are looking forward to reading the book at the same time on publication day. In a very short time you will know EVERYTHING!”
Kelly Funkhouser doesn’t appreciate those who aim to ruin the secrets of the book before publication. “My gut reaction,” Kelly said. “They need to get a life.”
But as the week progressed, it seemed that her wishes were not met. Only one day before the release, the New York Times, after obtaining an early copy of the novel from an unknown book provider, released an early review. In another response, Rowling sounded off against the U.S. media in defense of her fans.
“I am staggered that American newspapers have decided to publish purported spoilers in the form of reviews in complete disregard of the wishes of literally millions of readers, particularly children, who wanted to reach Harry’s final destination by themselves, in their own time. I am incredibly grateful to all those newspapers, booksellers and others who have chosen not to attempt to spoil Harry’s last adventure for fans,” Rowling wrote in a statement released on July 19.
As a response, many fans, including Groves, bunkered down to get away from the rumors, leaks and speculation. In fact, Groves wanted to visit Hogwarts one last time, and on her own terms.
“I’ll always be able to go back and reread … revisit that world … but there is nothing like the excitement from going in, without any prior knowledge, and solving the mysteries along with the characters,” Groves said.
From the very first time readers were introduced to the potions professor with a passion for the Dark Arts, Severus Snape, questions regarding his character — was he good or bad — have been a central focus of the series.
Kelly Funkhouser said that Snape could have been good, but that was before he murdered a pivotal character in Rowling’s sixth Potter novel, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” This, to Funkhouser, was as unforgivable as the curse he cast to murder the particular character — an action Funkhouser considers pure evil.
“I have a feeling he’ll turn out bad,” Funkhouser said. “The fact that he was the one who killed (HUGE CHARACTER — NO SPOILER) … that’s going too far, no matter what.”
Groves has a different take on Snape’s character. “J.K. Rowling put too many clues about Dumbledore’s (the Headmaster of Hogwarts) intuition and trust into previous books. She also showed that his judgments were correct. He never trusted Voldemort, and he was right. He trusted Snape … in the great novel, Dumbledore is the font of wisdom … I feel like I know him personally, and I trust him.”
Rowling has released no information as to what the “Deathly Hallows” are, though fans have their opinions.
“I think the ‘Deathly Hallows’ is Harry’s parent’s house in Godric’s Hollow where Harry’s parents were killed,” said Ann Bryant, a Marshall University student. “That’s the place he decides to go at the end of book six … There is so much unexplained about the night his parents died, and I think that will be the main focus of the final book.”
Rowling announced that in the final installment in her franchise two main characters will die, while one character originally plotted to die was given a “reprieve.”
Todd Funkhouser said he has heard of Rowling’s plans to kill more characters in the seventh and final installment, but Todd just hopes she doesn’t kill Harry, Ron or Hermione. His mother, Kelly, agrees.
Bryant has her predictions as well. “I think it’s going to be Voldemort and Neville (Longbottom),” Bryant said. And while she’d like to see Voldemort gone, her heart is holding dear to Neville — an underdog character in the series and friend of Harry’s.
However, despite her own feelings about the series and what she believes would be the perfect ending, Bryant leaves the ultimate judgment to the author.
“I’ll be sad just because it’s over, but I’ve never been disappointed with Rowling’s style. Even if it’s sad, it’s the right thing to do. I trust her judgment.”
