Harry Potter and the Last Hurrah

This summer, the seventh and final Harry Potter book is coming out (for a countdown to both the book and the fifth movie, see the side of my blog). I have been a Harry Potter fan ever since I was twelve, I think the first three books were already out, or the third one was just coming out then. Something like that. In any case, it has been eight years since then - eight years where I have been so invested in this series. I used to write fanfiction, I used to play Harry Potter roleplaying games. In eighth grade, I wrote an essay at a high school interview about Ron. I still get into debates over what's going to happen in the future of the books. But in about two months, there will be no more wondering, no more supposing, no more debates. It will be over. The Harry Potter saga will be at an end.

I have toyed with how I feel about that. On the one hand, it's sad. It will be time to move on from Harry Potter (well, except for the movies, of course). But as sad as it is, I think I'm ready for Harry Potter to be over. It's been a good run but it's also been a very long time. Harry Potter, luckily, is still hot. For something to be that popular for the amount of time it takes to put out seven novels is quite an accomplishment. However, as the saying goes, it's always good to quit while you're ahead. I have in mind a particular series of books called The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. I heard they were amazing so I borrowed the first few books from a friend. Even though the first book starts off in a very similar fashion to Lord of the Rings, I gave the series a chance and I got as far as the middle of the fifth book. Then I had to stop. It had gotten to the point where I was gaining nothing new from reading further in the series. I had stopped liking the protagonist, which is never a good thing, and all the women had the same personality (stubborn as a mule, they sniff, tug on their hair, and have low necklines). I was investing so much time in a series that didn't end. The tenth book had come out by then and Robert Jordan still hadn't wrapped things up. Not to mention, mind you, that each book was around a thousand pages. I just didn't have the energy nor did I care about the characters enough to keep up.

That is why it is amazing that J.K. Rowling managed to write a stellar series which kept readers hooked in during the entire ride. That is also why I feel the series needs to at last come to a close. Something as great as Harry Potter - and as much as Rowling borrowed from various other authors, who doesn't? I still believe Harry Potter is great - needs to end on a high, so that people remember it only for the good that it was. If it went on for much longer, if there was even an eighth book, I feel the public would have gotten sick of all the hype. There may not have been as much interest. Harry Potter may have slunk out of style instead of going out with a bang.

And for this reason, I also hope the seventh book lives up to the expectations of the fans. I hope I'm not disappointed because of all the hype. Rowling usually pulls through for her readers, but for this last book, this last hurrah, she'll need to pull through double the amount.

Wouldn't it be so awful if the book ended with Harry killing Voldemort but losing his powers because he was really a squib and only had powers in the first place because Voldemort's rebounded into him?

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