To The Muggles Out There... I Am a Wizarding Witch Now

A millennial's Hogwarts' letter just arrived📨

You read it right. It’s not the Hogwarts yet, but I am now a Potterhead.

Too late for me? Maybe.

Because my obsession rose just three - four years ago, when an already existing Potterhead in my family got a set of cool books having graphics of some crazy kids on a broomstick. This Potterhead in my family, my younger sibling has been reading, living, sleeping, talking only Parseltongue, Potions and Spells- and every year getting a cake with Happy Birthday Potterhead, written on it.

This set of books fascinated me, because of its cover. And then started the journey. I took that first book of the series - Harry Potter and the Philosophy Stone (Sorcerer's Stone) - out of the set and carried with me through the metro rides, courtrooms, coffee dates, idle times. While reading it, my expressions spoke louder than the words printed.

I loved it.

Yes, okay, I didn’t finish the whole book in one go (classic me), but I was hooked. Curious like a first-year at Hogwarts, I bombarded my sister with every question as if it were a biology viva. She answered them all with alarming pride.

My sister has been bigger Potterhead, until now, as she has decided to denounce that title because it’s been too many years of Potterhead on the mixed fruit birthday cake. She not only purchased the the whole series, but also got the copies of wizarding books mentioned in the series such as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through Ages and The Tales of Beetle the Bard, and lets not forget Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I am not sure about how many books beyond the series she has read, but now I am interested. But if asked about my favourite wizarding textbook, it would Advance Potion-Making, the one that belonged to Half Blood Prince.

Hindi Harry Potter Hits Different

I binged all the movies in the last three days on Hotstar. Well! it’s not that I haven’t watched Harry Potter before as a child.

A PoGo loyalist, every Sunday at 10 AM, aired the weekly Harry Potter series, where-

• Muggles were called Maglu,

• Moaning Myrtle as Maayoos Meena,

• The Four Houses Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw as Garundwar, Naagshakti, Mehnatkash and Cheelghat

• Deatheaters as Dum-Pishach

• and Deathly Hallows as Maut ke Taufe

Hindi and Harry Potter had a different fanbase, you can be serious and laugh out loud on the translations.

The What-Ifs

Over the past few days, I binge-watched all the movies. It felt like being transported. I wished it were real. I mean,
A platform hidden between two pillars,
Paintings that talk,
Stairs that change,
Floo powder to Diagon Alley that has everything,
Spells to summon light, lift objects, or disarm your enemies and you-know-who.
Flying cars, joke candies by Fred and George, fierce duels, and haunting forests. A house where everything worked on its own, strange creatures, powerful ones.
A life I would definitely apply for on scholarship. (I wonder if they also have 100% placements as other colleges 🤔).

The Lessons Stay

But nevertheless, as all books Harry Potter does have some life altering (I think I have exaggerated) quotations in each chapters. Moreso, the bond and faith every character had with someone or the other, while protecting or prying, was like an unbreakable vow. Severus Snape protecting Harry while obeying Albus, also being part of the dark forces. Hagrid, Sirius Black, Lupin, Weasleys all looking after him, his friends. The devotion Slytherin alumni, giants and other miscreants had to Tom Riddle. And then Dobby the elf.

Here are some quotes from the series-

• “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities”,

• “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends”,

• “The ones that love us never really leave us. You can always find them in here”,

• “There's things more important than keeping a job”,

• “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be”.

And now I understand all the rage behind Deathly Hallows Part - 2, because I couldn’t have bore the sadness of Harry passing away, Neville getting nothing and Voldemort winning.

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Turns out, magic doesn’t arrive with an owl post. Sometimes it sneaks in through a metro ride, a borrowed book and a route to Diagon Alley.

“Relashio” 🪄🎇