Felix Felicis

Man, I wish I had me some felix felicis...I'd drink it all up, daily! I'd also like an invisibility cloak and the amazing ability to travel via floo powder and portkeys. I also want a time turner and a pensieve to relive my favorite memories. I also think I'd make a great beater on someones Quidditch team! Oh the life of a wizard!

Today is the day my friends. Today marks the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Yes, I am an addict. I admit it. Sue me. I started reading the books many years ago after some persuading from my family. "Come on Mandy, read it, the movie is getting ready to come out and we are going to go as a family and see it!" Not wanting to be left out, I picked up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and I instantly fell in love. From the first chapter about Harry, the Dursleys, the storeroom under the stairs on Privet Drive and Hagrid, it was true love. The book was so enchanting, so mesmerizing, so vivid and it provided an escape to a world that is so imaginative. JK Rowling is truly a genius.

After finishing the first book I went to the movie and fell even deeper. I laughed at the young wizards learning their first spells and experiencing their first broom rides. The book was so well written that I knew immediately who all of the characters were. They had been described in such detail that it was OBVIOUS. I developed a dark hate for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and began to fear him and what he would do to my new friends.

It's been YEARS since my first brush with Harry Potter and I love it more than I did then. I have read all 7 books. I went to Wal-mart at midnight when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released and started reading immediately. I did NOTHING else until I had finished. I didn't turn on the TV, search the Internet or listen to the radio for fear that I'd hear something about the book and I didn't want that. I wanted to end my love affair on my own, in private, just me and Harry.

It makes me sad to think that it's almost over. The books are done but I get to relive the moments with the movies. With today's release of the SIXTH movie, I know that after this, there is only one more and the Harry Potter train pulls into the station (or should I say the Hogwarts Express?). Tomorrow night my dear, sweet fiance is taking me to the movies to see it. You are talking about the people who don't go to the movies! He knows that my love for all things Harry is real and believe it or not, he's OK with this other man in my life.