Natasha Judd

Headed northwards for work today.  This morning, with a few minutes to spare before our meet-up at St Pancras station time, I diverted to Kings Cross to check out Platform 9 ¾.  I walked past the cafes and the convenience stores, along Platform 8 and there it was, between Platforms 9 and 10.  A sign saying Platform 9 ¾ and a baggage trolley cut in half so it looks like it’s disappearing into the wall, and London’s commuters rushing past as if it wasn’t there.

I guess you could say that I’m a fan of Harry Potter.  I’ve known the launch date for Book 7 longer than I’ve known my own.  I went to a ‘come as your hero’ ball as Hermione Granger.  I’m a geek, yes, that’s a given.  That said, I’m not as fanatical about the series as I used to be (I no longer have a Harry Potter toothbrush for example).  My interest peaked at Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,when the kids I was teaching at the time were all talking about the book as if this Harry Potter was the latest kind of Pokemon. 

When I read Book 5, I thought it would make a great movie – all the battle scenes, and flashes of light coming out of wands.  And indeed it did make a good movie (the boy and I saw it in the weekend), but in the book, all of Harry’s angst and DIALOGUE IN CAPITALS did get to me after a while.  And, while I did intend to read Books 1-6 again before Book 7 came out, life and other novels have got in the way, so I don’t remember the five uses for Dragon’s Blood, and I can’t give a well reasoned argument about who will die before the end of the series.

That said, I’ve got my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ordered from a local bookstore (luckily, given the recent news stories, not from Asda).  And I will be queuing to collect it as midnight approaches this Friday.  Harry’s been part of my life for about six years now, and I can’t wait to see how the story ends.