Harry Potter and I

So yesterday was the end of my “teenager’s dream” of course apparently the “real” one ended 3 years ago. What I mean is the end of Harry Potter movie franchise.

So this blog is about my encountered with Harry Potter and how it accompanied me throughout my teenage years.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

It started when I was 13 years old [exactly the age suitable to enroll in Hogwarts!!] November 2001. I went to Singapore to stay there for my 2 months secondary school holiday. That time Singapore mobile network M1 was giving 2 tickets of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Since I got nothing to do my Uncle gave the tickets to me and Yong Liang to go watch together at Shaw House.  This was my 1^st and only time to watch movie in Singapore’s theater. It’s very big and grand almost like an opera house to me and we ate Nacho’s with cheese during the movie~

After the movie we went to the Burger King Restaurant and shared a burger meal. It was almost like a movie date wasn’t it? Talk about teenage dream lol~ Of course after that I became one of the million fans of Harry Potter franchise.  I just love the pair of Hermione and Harry, and I even tried to mimic Hermione’s attitude ^^

And so the next day and after on I went to MPH Singapore to buy myself 3 Harry Potter’s books which consist of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secret and Goblet of Fire. I bought the 3^rd book Prisoner of Azkaban in Penang Times book store.

During my stay in Singapore I also bought lots of Harry Potter magazine, Chocolate frogs with wizard cards, Flavors Beans and action figures [if not mistaken]. After back to Penang, I watched the movie again with my parents. I also bought HP jig-saw puzzles of Harry, Hermione and Malfoy, Harry and Hermione Barbie style doll, Harry Potter cassette soundtrack and Hedwig the owl. Other than Hedwig the owl and the soundtrack, I threw or gave away all the HP merchandize.

I even create fake Daniel Radcliffe’s emails to woo other fans...And always hanging around in HP Warner Brothers Message Board.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret

The following year 2002 November, again was a big month for me and the other Harry Potter fans. Watched this movie with my parents, my Dad slept in the theater.   More of the magazines, action figures [Harry, Ron and Malfoy], lego, HP levitation challenge, HP version Clue Do, HP Uno cards, HP Qudditch Game cards, HP version of Polly Pocket, The Sorcerer’s Companion, The Wondrous World of Harry Potter, The beast and monster book, music scores, CD soundtrack and the original movie VCD [my 1^st and only original HP movie]. I even bought a crazy stupid childish version of Hermione’s wand. Not to mention I also made myself a wand using the twig I found near my house and applied mahogany purple maroon colour paint onto it, as for the handle I use tissues paper and glue to make it stiff. Talk about creativity ha-ha!! Well these 2 wands still inside my wardrobe...lol

During the interval of HP2 to HP3 Zhao Wen, Diana and I wrote a love letter in sugar paper to my favourite actor in the movie Mr. Tom Felton a.k.a Draco Malfoy. We got the letter after 2 months inside with his letter and an autograph photo!!

I sent another following month one to Tom again and another to Daniel Radcliffe.  Sadly I threw these autographs away few years ago, stupid me!!

I wrote a fan fiction of the Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix and wrote myself as animagus of white wolf who eventually becomes Draco’s girlfriend ha-ha but this story will never get an ending lol!!

With the HP buzz I fall in love with their HP fashion i.e. sweatshirt, pleated black skirt and shirt + sweater Hogwarts school uniform.

Also my best friend Zhao Wen gave me an offer letter to Hogwarts and a bracelet during my 14^th birthday~

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

This movie released in June 2004, my form 4 years. If not mistaken I watched this movie with my friends [Zhao Wen and Diana] together with my parents in Gurney Plaza. HP 3 truly is my favorite HP movie and my father didn’t fall asleep throughout this movie. Which proved that this is an interesting show^^.  My room that time was decorated with newspaper cutting of HP 3 poster.

I’m in love with the soundtrack too, due to “financial problem” I just manage to get myself a cassette version of HP3 soundtrack.

During HP 3 and 4 intervals I was crazy about the fact of who’s going to play Cho Chang, Harry first crush who is an Asian girl.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Cool one because of the fact that I watched this movie at Genting and it’s only a week before my SPM exam!! Just that maybe the effect in Genting cinema not that state to the art and I felt that the movie not that nice. Nevertheless after the exam I watched it again in GSC Gurney with my buddy, it became much better and I fall for Cedric Diggory [suddenly the actor’s name doesn’t ring a bell in my brain...oh well I “dumped” him after Cedric death  or after the actor went to make the Twilight saga]

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix

Let’s talk about the book first. This book was realized after HP 1 and 2 movies. And it was a highly anticipated one.  With the introduce of a new character Luna Lovegood, it made fans [especially women] wondered who will end up with Harry. Luna definitely my favourite character in the book. I bought 2 version of this book British version and America version later on.

As for the film it was released on 2007 almost the same time with the HP book 7, I had lost the passion for the HP series. Maybe it’s due to the storyline becomes more and more dull and also the soundtrack of the movie. Soundtrack do work you know!! And of course the fact that we have already knew the ending [Harry end up with Ginny].

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Book: Preorder the book and got it very early in the morning around 7-8am at Prangin Mall. Got a sugar paper made hat, wooden wand, long white candle and HP 6 cover printed paper bag as free gift. This book revealed the fact that Harry will end up with Ginny so I just quickly glance thru the book in a day and without reading it again. This book consists of excessive snogging!! Blek

Film: Was a damn big mistake!! It’s so stupid and it’s like a romance version of HP. The movie is 2.5 hours. The 1^st 2 hours was about romance and snogging!! Only the last 0.5 hours was about action. Damn!!  Some from the 1^st 2 hours were quite interesting though, i.e. the Half-blood prince poison book. Watched with my fellow course mate, since us the chemistry student [Poison student in the HP word] so that part really funny to us~ other than that one word -----lame.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Book: Bought it very early in the morning at Tesco because they after the best price compared with other bookstores. Not really looked forward to it because before the release of the book there already had leaked the epilogue of the book around the internet. Though it’s just a small part of it, I really like the love story between Lupin and Tonks and they are my favourite characters in the book.

Film: They split this book into two movies.

Part 1: Why the waste their movie to make this film?? It’s so dull and lame. What on earth was that suddenly a dancing scene out of nowhere? Are they making bollywood movie? I will rate this movie as the dullest and lamest movie throughout the HP series. I like Hermione [Emma Watson]’s fashion and makeup though, and the best part out of the junk was the deathly hallows story. I watched this movie alone in Gurney with grapes as my movie snacks~ Saw some M kids in the theater wondering whether they can understand the movie or not? Or maybe it just “gaya” to go watch the “in” movie…Ha-ha!

Part 2: Watched it with my buddy yesterday.  Interesting but just that everything seems going too fast and got the feeling that it’s not as nice compared with the earlier film [HP 1- HP4]. But still it can considered as the best among the later film [HP5-HP7.2]

There’re quite a lot of my favourite scene in the film i.e.

Professor McGonagall and fellow Professors sealing up Hogwarts ground,

a short scene of Lupin and Tonks holding hands [damn they should film more about them!!],

Ron and Hermione in the chamber of secret [kissing scene ha-ha]

and of course the best of the best The Price’s Tale [it’s so touching!! Dumbledore: after all the years? Snape: always!! I almost cried.]

Plan to watch 7.2 again and maybe buy its soundtrack or some HP collectibles to mark an end to the great saga which accompanied me for 10 years from 13 to 23!!

Afterword

Though this saga got its good and bad, still it had nurtured me the habit of reading. And it will be remembered and bring back my teenage memories when I listen to the HP soundtracks [especially those composed by John Williams i.ie Harry Wondrous World, Hedwig’s Theme, Window to the past or Double Trouble] or watch the movies.

Speaking of favourite:

My favourite characters in the saga are: Remus Lupin

Nymphadora Tonks

Luna Lovegood

Harry Potter

Draco Malfoy

Hermione Granger

Severus Snape [only after watching 7.2 that I truly appreciate his works and love].

As for the favourite movie and soundtrack goes to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Hateful characters: Ginny Weasley [sorry dear I just hate you!] , Dolores Umbridge [you too pink pig], Bellatrix Lestrange [you’re too crazy for me and killed my favourite character!] and Molly Weasley [sorry to say but you are too Ginny alike]

So that’s a wrap!! So long for the HP saga~ tah-tah!!