((Note: Even though this is classified as a fanfic, this is a true story, the story of one Potterhead, and the years in which I grew up.))

I'm proud to call myself a Potterhead. It's a titolo I've justly earned. Especially now. As our first anno without Harry Potter draws to a close, all of us think back, back over the journey that brought us here.

My entrance into the world could hardly be called remarkable. The data of my birth wouldn't become widely known for several years. I was born on July 31st, 1993, at 1:25 in the morning.

The first few years of my life are nothing but a blur, now. te could almost say my life began five years after my birth, in August of 1998. This time, thirteen years fa now, was the beginning of it all. J.K. Rowlingreleased Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 1998. Not long after the book's release, I became , quite possibly, the youngest Potterhead in history.

The book was dato to me da my kindergarten teacher. Since I was barely five, I was still too young to really understand the book. My mom turned it into my bedtime story, Leggere part of it every night to me. Out of the mists of my memories, I can still hear her voice, Leggere the story. "Chapter one, the Boy Who Lived…" Those few words began something that lasted for most of my life.

And so, as the years began to pass, I became a devoted Potterhead, even though the term hadn't reached my ears yet. I was young, yet I dreamed of Hogwarts letters winging their way towards me. I had quite a bit of merchandise from that time, most of which is still in my posession. The Harry Potter libri were, for quite some time, the longest libri in my library.

I spent hours poring over the books. When the first sposta was released, I went tosee it for my birthday. That was in the summer of 2001. Even then, I was still young. When Voldemort made his first appearance, I had to hide my face. Yet the movie had a più lasting effect. Soon after seeing the movie, I returned to the books, and rereadd the first one. And that was when something strange happened. I heard the actors from the movie saying their lines as I read the book.

più time began to pass. I can remember refusing to see the secondo movie in the theater, due to a certain anteprima mostrare the Polyjuice sequence. After that, I didn't see another one of the moviex in the theater, not for many più years.

***

As the years went on, I was no longer as devoted as before. I read the books, and saw the Film some time after they came out, but that was all. Even though I slept on the same cuscino as before, I no longer dreamed of Hogwarts letters. I had hidden my Potterhead past, seemingly for good.

In July of 2011, exactly ten years since the Film began, and thirteen since the series began, the final movie was released. As soon as I saw the previews, I knew what I wanted to do for my eighteenth birthday, the giorno my childhood ends and I become an adult.

As was fitting for my life, I saw the last movie in the theater, the only other Harry Potter movie I saw that way since Sorcerer's Stone. As the last scene faded to black, I could feel tears in my eyes. Not only was I crying for the end of the movie, but the end of my childhood as well. I couldn't quite force myself to set Harry aside. He had always been such a major force in my life. Yet I had to.

***

The first months were the easiest, actually. Occasionally I would have a moment, a moment where I would remember something. But they were few and far between. It wasn't until January 2012 that I reconnected with my inner Potterhead. I found people who knew almost as much as I did, who grew up with Harry, who I could connect with. I really found a place where I belonged. I found my Hogwarts in this very spot.

***

As we sposta into our secondo anno without Harry in our lives, we can at least look back and proudly call ourselves Potterheads. "Always."

***


The past few months made me notice quite a few things I missed before. I was born July 31. I am very nearsighted. My name, Johanna, can easily be shortened to Jo, if I'd let you. My dark brown hair is a thick, untameable mess. My glasses are oval in shape. And, most curoius of all, I grew up with a family that never really understood me.

***

((I would Amore to hear your thoughts. Also, *wink wink* if te know someone that became a Potterhead at a younger age than me, I'd Amore to hear about them. Feel free to share your own story.))