by Kaitlyn Hartburg

As a true hardcore Harry Potter fan, I, like many others, ventured out on the opening night of the new release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince to stand in line for an hour and hold my breath until the movie started. Once the movie began, I was able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the movie. Afterward, it was all I could talk about for a couple days. I went back to watch it again with a friend of mine who had not seen it yet. While watching it for the second time, I notice some more details that I had missed the first time through. Later that week, I went back for my third viewing of the feature film, and, once again, I noticed new things. To me, any movie is like reading a book multiple times; the more times you see it, the more new things you come to discover. The first time, I noticed all story plot points. I attempted to see exactly what was added to those precious words produced by J. K. Rowling. The second time, I noticed all of the words that the characters said. I came to find that the movie was much funnier the second time through. But the third time opened up a whole new world of magical discoveries. I found myself noticing the clothing choices, the setting decor, the odd habits the actors had developed, and what things were changed from the last couple of movies. The details mattered only that much more.

If I wanted to keep up my reputation as the resident Harry Potter nerd among my friends, I knew this meant I would have to be able to explain every flaw, minor difference, or funny line that occurred. I would have to be able to quote the movie right down to the very minor lines, just like I am able to do with each of the other five movies. Setting out to watch the movie for the third time, I attempted to quote parts of the movie along with it. I was pleasantly surprised to find the words sitting on the edge of my tongue. Apparently I had paid great attention the first two times! As the movie has a wonderful cast, an amazing crew, a great setting, and more importantly a truly magnificent story, one cannot help but get caught up in the magic and splendor of it all. I came to find that I can point out things that happen before they happen, a little trait that isn’t so widely accepted by my friends and family who apparently don’t enjoy my being able to quote the funny lines before they occur. Who knew?

All of the Harry Potter movies bring something new to the horizon. In The Sorcerer’s Stone, we met Harry and learned about his life and the world he came to live in. In The Chamber of Secrets, we learn about Ron’s family and how close Harry and Ron have become. The trio becomes united in the second film. In The Prisoner of Azkaban, we learn about Sirius Black and his relationship to Harry’s father, James. We learn about James’s life at Hogwarts. In The Goblet of Fire, we learn about other wizarding cultures. We introduce new characters and for the first time the idea of romance is thrown in the air. In The Order of the Phoenix, we learn that evil is everywhere and in unlikely people. We find out about the organization created to bring Voldemort down, and we lose Sirius. Then, at the end, we learn of the prophecy that dictates that Harry will be the one to finish off Voldemort or die trying. And finally, in The Half Blood Prince, we learn what Harry is struggling with. He just lost the closest thing he had to a family, Voldemort is back with full force, he finally accepts that he loves Ginny and does something about it, and he learns what he must to in the end to destroy Voldemort. While new and exciting things happen in every book, usually ending with a big battle of some sort where Harry has a fight for his life, there are some main corresponding themes that echo in all of the books: the power of love as well as the power of loss, that friendship can always over come hard times, and, over all, that good always conquers evil in the end. I shall always be a proud Harry Potter fan. I will always spit out the random quotes that seem to fits into life in extraordinary ways. I will always cry at the loss of Dumbledore and Fred, but over all I will always remember the wonderful life lessons that these books have taught me.


You can contact Kaity at kaity@accio-potter.com.