2 May 1998 - The Battle of Hogwarts

Today marks the anniversary of the (fictional) Battle of Hogwarts (2 May 1998).  While I know this wasn't a real battle I can't let this day pass without comment. 

I can remember when the final book in this saga was released - I was in Athens about to head to the airport to catch a flight to Istanbul. I was with my sister and American BFF Storm and we had decided that no matter what it took, we were finding this book in Athens. I had already looked up possible places that might sell it and we started our journey to find this final chapter in a country where the main language was not English.

Luck was on our side that day - we found it in a small book shop (in ENGLISH) for some ridiculous price (I think it was 30 Euros - about $65 AUD at the time). Stormy was feeling generous and bought it for me for my birthday.

I can remember opening the book and blocking everything else out. I spent the entire next day lying in my hostel in Istanbul pouring over every word. I can remember reading of the deaths of Hedwig & Dobby with tears streaming down my face. I can remember freaking out every time something bad happened thinking J.K Rowlings was going to kill off one character and then a different one. I can remember reading the battle and feeling mad/sad/horrified as key characters fell and didn't get back up. I can remember feeling really proud when other characters fought back and I remember proclaiming "YES!" aloud when Mrs Weasley finally let loose. I remember Snapes' story finally being told.

These stories were such a massive part of my life for such a long time (I think I got into them around the time of book 2's release) that's it hard for me not to feel emotional about the final movie coming out in July. I'm starting to get the Lord of the Rings dread creep up whenever I think about the final movie. I feel like I've felt these emotions before and I didn't like it last time - that finality is overwhelming.

I'm pretty sure I had to stop myself from crying when I watched the trailer that was released last week (mainly because I was at work - if I had have been at home when I watched it, I would have cried... A LOT). I know that anyone who would have wanted to watch this will have already, but I think it's worth another watch (or multiple), at least until we get the full movie.

For anyone wanting a more in-depth look at the trailer (with a breakdown of the scenes) the awesome movie nerds over at Empire Magazine posted one. I managed to spot a lot of the things they mention, but even a try HP nerd misses things (like Draco in the background as Voldemort wanders past all the bodies on the ground - MALFOY MANOR).

All I can say is accio July 15th (or maybe 14th for us Aussies)

Much HP nerd love

 - Brooke

P.S I know massive things happened in our real world today, but sometimes it's ok to to put your focus onto other things.