Is that all?

After a decade of entertaining readers with the story of an orphan, a boy wizard who gives up to fate and defeats the Evil to bring happy times to the world, the Harry Potter series has now officially ended, but not before dividing the world into three categories of people: 

• The captivated (my type!! ;)); 
• The bored (something has to be wrong with these people :P); and  
• The blissfully unaware (:D)

I consider myself fortunate because I belong to the first category. I am one of those people who have been left enchanted by the boy and his magical world. But belonging to this first category has its drawbacks. The most prominent among these is frequent stalkers from the second category, with just one question on their minds, “what does the Harry Potter series have that is new to it?”

I used to prevent answering that one almost always. But now, when I’m really done with a decade of being bugged by that question, and after re-reading the whole series for the hundredth time, I thought I must look for an answer.

Hmmm… So let’s start off. There is a very normal kid, with a very unusual mark on his forehead. He was orphaned when he was only a year old and was left to stay with his only living relatives, his maternal aunt’s mother, who is a muggle. They treat him like filth and barely keep him alive. Their son bullies him around. Usual story. Then one fine day, this boy discovers he is a wizard, and that too a very famous one. This is when he discovers the truth behind the death of his parents and the scar on his head. The villain of the story steps in here. Now equipped with the knowledge of his past and present, Harry goes to Hogwarts, a school for the young witches and wizards, where he discovers ha has an extraordinary nick of falling into trouble. This marks the entry of several characters. There is a poverty stricken lower class family, an extremely talented outcast, a freaked out dumbass, a weirdo who couldn’t care less for physical appearances, a rich spoilt brat complete with really dumb bodyguards, a faithful friend, a great wizard who was once a self- obsessed teenager, a bluff king, an outspoken journalist, brainless beauties, and of course, fortune tellers. 

The story is of trust, betrayal, love, revenge, jealousy, luck, fame, hope, pain, loss… everything. The story is about how Harry just gives in to his destiny. To many, it may just seem to be a mixture of several of Charles Dickens’ books merged together in a very Bollywood-ish way. Looking back, even I wouldn’t deny that fact. Harry’s story is indeed very similar to Oliver Twist’s. This makes me think, is that all? Obviously, the answer is NO.

The story shows how two people with very similar upbringings, can be very, very different from each other, thanks to the choices they make in life. It shows dignity and self-respect is everything you might ever want. It tells that not everything that happens in life is desirable, but whatever happens, happens for the Greater Good. It shows friendship and love can win over any Evil. Most of all, through my favourite characters of Fred and George Weasley, it tells that the important thing in life is not what you are taught, but how much of that you have learnt. Intelligence and genius is not, and cannot be quantized. It makes you realize how all things can be linked to fate. J K Rowling would definitely agree. Who would have thought that yet another story of a destitute orphan would take her from the troughs to the crests of her life? Fate is Magic.

Let me finish this post with a quote I came across in a daily newspaper, the Mumbai Mirror:

'An old belief is like an old shoe. We so value its comfort that we fail to notice the holes in it.'

I think that’s what the problem with all the Harry Potter maniacs. The ‘bored’ category people just won’t understand. They lack the belief.