Harry Potter.

I became a Harry Potter fan by accident. I was going to Washington DC on vacation and right before I left for the airport, I went to my then boyfriend's house to get something. While there, he traded the book I currently had in my backpack for Harry Potter without me noticing with a note that said "Enjoy!"

I am forever grateful for this act of trickery.

At that point, almost all the books were out and by the time I finished The Half-Blood Prince, the seventh book came out. There were no midnight Barnes and Noble stakeouts for me or waiting impatiently for JK Rowling to put out the next installment. But I devoured those books. I quickly fell in love with all the characters. And I quickly decided that I hated Bellatrix Lastrange a million times more than I hated Voldemort himself.

It was a fun and exciting to see this masterful story unfold and how all the pieces fit together in this intense, overarching plan that boiled down to unexpected secrets and major plot twists. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are, obviously, three of the best protagonists of all time. They were human in the sense that they had issues; they got jealous, they got mad, they made up, they got mad again, and they always, always, saved each other's butts when it counted. Harry, the moody chosen one. Ron, the funny been-in-the-business-since-birth one. And Hermione, the stunningly beautiful know-it-all.

But what about our supporting characters? My favorite has to be Neville Longbottom. In my opinion, his story is the most heartbreaking. His parents were tortured to insanity by a sickeningly cruel woman. Neville was not The chosen one in the sense that he would destroy Voldemort. But he was the one who held Hogwarts together. He was brave all through his 7 years at his school. He was smart and sweet and endearing. I don't want Harry or Ron; I want Neville. And then there's the ever-essentric Luna. Beautiful, strong, hilarious Luna. Strange by all counts, but the war would not have been won without her for so many reasons. Fred (tear) and George. They are right behind Neville in the "favorite characters" list. I definitely started crying in both the book and movie when Fred died. They were hilarious and, without a doubt, the comic relief that this dark story needed.

I could go on and on about how much I love the characters and how amazing the story was. It was unbelievable put on the big screen and, though my mental movies are pretty good, it made everything seem so much more real.

Harry Potter, you will be missed. But you are far from being over. I have a feeling that this is not the last we'll be seeing of you.

"The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are." --Sirius Black