Now that the spell is over and J.K. Rowling with tears running down her cheeks finally presenting the last installment of Harry Potter to the world, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm still caught in a magical web spun by fictional characters turned household names. The enchantment still lingers and whether jinxed or cursed, the entire reading community is as good as stunned for not knowing what to do next after a ten-year journey with the boy who lived to Hogwarts, the Burrow, the Ministry of Magic, and all the places no one but a single mom dared come up with.
We traveled with Harry since his first year at Hogwarts. He was only eleven and new to the Wizarding community but already battling full-grown wizards for the elusive Sorcerer's Stone. We feared for his life when a basilisk that used to dwell in the Chamber of Secrets almost takes his life. What their second year fake Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher lacked, their third year professor, werewolf Remus Lupin, makes up for in a series of practical exams and real lessons. Harry finally gets to meet his godfather Sirius Black, a wrongly accused escaped prisoner of Azkaban.
I was about to say Harry's third year is his best but come Triwizard Tournament on his fourth year, the 14-year-old comes face-to-face with not only grindylows and foreigners, or a Moody impostor and a sphinx asking for a spider, but Lord Voldemort himself back from the dead, or incorporeal state, to be precise. Almost everybody wonders why the prefect badge went to Ron in their fifth year but Harry, having been cleared of all charges (for using magic outside Hogwarts) wouldn't have wished otherwise upon learning about the prophecy that tied him with the Dark Lord. With a newfound ability to penetrate his enemy's mind, Harry prepares for another adventure. My favorite character Sirius Black dies fighting alongside the Order of the Phoenix and into the veil his soul rests.
Snape finally gets the coveted Defense professorship, and where he lovingly gave our hero a big fat D in Potions, his new position gives a different light to his character that leaves the readers asking, hoping and even debating on his true intentions. Given his clear access to Voldemort's past, Harry sixth year is no ordinary quest. Snape, who turns out to be the mysteriously clever half-blood prince, kills Dumbledore, Harry suppresses his love for Ginny, and is left with the task of finding and destroying the seven Horcruxes before finishing off what his enemy started nearly fifteen years ago.
Ah, to be in a world where broomsticks fly and photographs move; where house elves, goblins, centaurs, giants, and merpeople co-exist with the wizards. And not until Harry's 17th year on earth, blood status is checked and Muggle-borns are wanted. Voldemort and his Death Eaters take over the Ministry of Magic, the Daily Prophet, and (surprise, surprise) Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with Snape appointed as headmaster. Harry, Ron, and Hermione camp from one forest to another while infiltrating different institutions with hopes of obtaining the Horcruxes and the Hallows, and finishing the mission thrust upon them.
Times have changed. The Dark Lord's name is Taboo and Snape's deepest secret is revealed. And as Harry finds some of his loved ones at the receiving end of the Killing Curse, he sacrifices himself and dies, only to live again and carry out the prophecy. Hogwarts becomes a battle scene and bears witness to the fall of Remus and Nymphadora Lupin, Fred Weasley, and Bellatrix Lestrange, among all the other wizards and witches who fought to their deaths.
Harry faces off with Voldemort, and with a swipe of his Elder Wand, he kills his enemy with no more than "Expelliarmus!".
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