wingardiumLEVIOSA

it was almost 2 weeks ago when i watched the final spells casted by the Harry Potter series.  up until now, i still consider the book series to be a work of a real genius.  i remember spending part of my first ever salary to purchase the first two books of the series.  and since then, my love for rowling's works never died down. aside from the books, i also got myself t-shirts, posters, mugs (my favorite was the magic coffee mug i got for a christmas gift from my mother), playing cards, picture frames, and other collectibles one can think of.

like most harry potter fans, the last movie also gave me mixed emotions. on one end, it was exciting to see on film the final cut which captured the series' conclusion, while on the other end, it was like whisper-shouting that "this is it, it all ends here".. haha.. i recall shedding tears after the last scene of the last movie.. but then again, as every book lover would say, "the end" lines in books won't really signal an ending because every great book will live forever in the hearts of its readers.

still with my two thumbs up sign to rowling, below are some of the book's concepts that i got so fond of and so loved to the core..

bertie botts every flavoured beans - from the time these beans were introduced to harry while on the train to hogwartz, this idea never stopped to fascinate me.  i wonder if they also have flavors like happiness, freedom, and healing.. (alas, earwax - albus dumbledore)

olivander's wand shop - the character of the considered greatest wand maker in the wizarding world, mr. olivander also made an impact on me. from his wand ingredients like unicorn tails, dragon heartstrings, phoenix feathers, and his great memory for every wand he created in all of hogwartz' students (the wand chooses the wizard, it is not always clear why - mr. ollivander)

quidditch - if the muggle world has its basketball, football, and hockey, wizards have their quidditch.  bludgers, quaffle, golden snitch, chasers, beaters, keepers and seeker.. this sport made me love the book even more.  

broomsticks - of course, every wizard needs one to transport. although the idea of flying on brooms is not at all new to me anymore, the variety of broomsticks that were introduced in the book made it a lot more interesting. i have a particular bias on the nimbus 2000 which was mcgonagall's gift to harry when he became seeker (this was out-shined by malfoy's nimbus 2001) and the firebolt which was a favorite in the world cup and a gift from sirius black.. (only harry in the entire of hogwartz owned this broom)... up!

wizzard chess - this is one board game i never learned to play.  the game as played in the first book did not fail to fascinate me. i found the idea of self moving pieces as well as pieces moving according to commands of the player really a-w-e-s-o-m-e.  i so love the giant wizard chessboard played by harry, ron and hermione as one of the security of the philosopher's stone.  (one thing more, i love the idea that ron plays really good at this).. 

scabbers as an animagi - scabbers' character as ron's pet rat (harry potter and the sorcerer's stone)was one character that truly amazed me in the entire series. his transformation in the fourth book (goblet of fire) as peter pettigrew gave me another reason to be awed by rowling's immense creativity.. a true genius (who would have thought scabbers was pettigrew?)..

duel - the confrontation of wizards whose aim is may be to disarm, injure, or kill another wizard..  i got really excited to see on film harry and malfoy's duel.. and heard myself say wooahh! on the last film's duel of mcgonagall and snape.. (a-m-a-z-i-n-g)..

luna lovegood - not only because her name means "moon" in latin and RuSsian, i deeply love her character in the series (probably because i am a lot different from her). sorted as ravenclaw, her very serene disposition, many eccentric belief and qualities, unique fashion sense, and lack of self consciousness are just some reasons why i love her so much.  in fact, up until the last book, i was wishing that she would end up to be harry's lovegood. (the funny part is, harry and ginny ending up together is i think a part of the story that i will never understand.. haha.. #affectedMYA)... (oh no, i'd love to go with you as friends! nobody's ever asked me to a party before as a friend - harry asking luna to the slug club christmas party)..

neville longbottom - a pureblood and the only son of two great aurors killed by the lord voldemort.. i have loved him from book one.. i remember reading (and crying) over and over the part when gryffindor won because of the scores he added for the house for standing up for his friends.. and seeing him play like the underdog in the entire series made me love his character even more. (ok.. the epilogue didn't say who he ended up with.. but if its luna, i can be happier.. :) )

hermione and ron's budding romance - the younger day bickerings must be the reason of it all.. their love story kept me glued from one book to the other.  i remember my kilig moments in the half blood prince when their fondness for each other were becoming more evident.  and of course, their kiss (which sealed it all) on the last film, was a no-match to any budding love story i have ever read.. hai.. 

harry, ron, and hermione - (also referring to daniel radcliffe, rupert grint, and ema watson) aside from rowling, i take this page as my way of paying tribute to the best trio of all. i am really so happy to have read about their characters as well as see them grew together throughout the film. i also believe that the friendship they shared as they played their characters went beyond the film. i believe that their friendship have touched a lot of readers and movie fans in ways more than one. i'll really miss these trio.   

well, i love everything about harry potter (headmasters, houses, hedwig, the weasleys, victor krum, moving pictures, sorting hat, hagrid, dementors, marauders map, portkeys, gringgots, pensieve, spells, centaurs).. as in everything (ohh ok, not very much the harry and ginny part, so sorry ginny), but it will be too lengthy to discuss everything about it.  the film has come to its end, but i promise that if one day i will bear children, i'll make sure it's the first book series they'll read.

the magic lives on..
protego tolatum!

080111monday