I have Hedwig's theme playing in the background, and my copy Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone resting in my lap. My "Mischief Managed" mug sits on top of my CD of Tommy by The Who.
My sharpie Dark Mark has long since faded, and the lightning scar I had drawn on my forehead when I was six lives on in spirit. The "Sorting Hat" from Brigantine, NJ's Public Library sorted me into Ravenclaw, from which I have never left. The "wands" my brother Sean and I used to use have been blown away by Brigantine's sea breeze, lost...
...However, my imagination, magic, and love affair with reading is not.
I am ready to share my secrets of the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II with the public.
Twelve days ago today, I began readying myself to venture to Nieriel's house to begin our night of rambunctious wackiness in preparation to transform ourselves from the pacifistic Witches that we are into Two of Voldemort's Death Eaters: Nieriel as Bellatrix Lestrange and myself as Narcissa Malfoy.
Let me begin by giving a bit of comedic fodder by telling the tale of my brother dropping me off at Nieriel's house.
I had everything I needed with me for the premiere. Dress, makeup, sharpies for Dark Marks, a pair of killer heels, my homemade Slytherin choker, and my love of Harry Potter deep within my soul, ready to burst right out of my body.
My older brother, Sean, (who is twenty years old, mind you) had just gotten his driver's license, and was rearing and ready to drive somewhere...so why not give your hyperactive Potter-obsessed little sister a lift to her friend's house? Sound's legit...
Well, we didn't die on the way there, thankfully, but what I didn't know is that Nieriel wasn't home yet when I got there; She and her mother were picking up her brother from camp at the train station from the city.
After knocking on Nieriel's door for a good 30 seconds, I finally realized she wasn't home. I turned back to Sean's car and blatantly signaled that she wasn't home. I shrugged my shoulders and began to walk back to the car...
But my brother decided to speed off without me.
So, there I stood, on Nieriel's front porch, backpack slung over my shoulder, stilettos in hand, looking like a total dweeb.
Figuring that they'd be back eventually, I sat on the front step and waited, only to be stared at by a few of Nieriel's neighbors. I'm not exactly what one would call 'confident' when it comes to being by myself, so I felt incredibly uncomfortable sitting there with all my stuff, so I decided to walk around the block once or twice.
(I forgot to mention that I also don't carry a cell phone, so I couldn't call my brother to come back and wait with me or call Nieriel to tell her I was at her house.)
After rounding the block a few times, I turned the corner to go back to Nieriel's house and looked ahead, into the blazing glare of the afternoon sun, to see a figure sprinting towards me. I couldn't make out who it was at first, so immediately, I thought was that it was a rapist coming to kidnap me, or something.
As the figure grew closer, my heart beat faster with fear. Who in the right mind was running towards me at full speed?
And then it hit me.
Literally.
Nieriel barreled into me and wrapped me in a tight hug, crushing my lungs.
"I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY!! WE LEFT YOU HERE, I'M SO SORRY!!"
Initially stunned and relieved that nobody was going to murder me, I smiled and explained the situation to Nieriel as we walked back to her house. She laughed, and and mentioned that when she called my mom to ask if she knew where I was, my mom laughed, apparently. I was confused, obviously, so I called my Mom to tell her to yell at her son for leaving me there, stranded. She obliged. (Thanks, Mom.)
An hour or so passed, and our friend Devin joined the pack, ready with as much makeup as I was to attack Nieriel with.
We passed the time to wait for our friend Kellyn by sipping "Butter Beer" (Root Beer with print-out labels)
watching A Very Potter Musical, and getting our make-up done. By the time Kellyn showed up, Nieriel's make-up was finished, as was mine and Devin's, so we had to attack Kellyn with eyeliner, shadow, blush, concealer, and lipgloss. It was only around 10:00 PM by the time we were ready for the Golden Snitch cake that Nieriel's mom had gotten for us, and this is what we looked like, pre-Potter.
(Kellyn's in the purple, Devin's wearing the tie, Nieriel's on the floor, And me, with my Rocky Horror Picture Show T-shirt...)
But, we still had to get our costumes on and get to the theatre. I'll skip about an hour of running around Nieriel's house finding wands for us to bring, and get right to the theatre.
TA-DA!!
And now...for the movie itself.
Words simply cannot describe it.
The entire time, I sat glued to my seat, holding my wand in my hands so tightly I thought it might snap. I had chills crawling up my body every second; I just wanted to scream.
And scream I did.
From the very start of the film, people were cheering. From the siege at Gringotts, to the search for the Horcruxes at Hogwarts, to Neville's bravery to Voldemort's demise. And of course, Molly Weasley's famous line of "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" to Bellatrix Lestrange, which recieved the most applause I've ever heard in my life.
And I cried more than I laughed. Some tears of sorrow, others of happiness.
From Snape's death to Fred Weasley's, to Remus and Tonks, lying dead, hands still clasped within each other's.
But the greatest part was that in the theatre, you could hear a pin drop, it was so quiet. There weren't chatty teen sluts laughing it up about us crying, people weren't getting up every minute for a smoke, people weren't asking what was going on...nothing.
And that was the beauty of it.
I was in a room surrounded by people who loved Harry as much as I did.
I wasn't being ridiculed for something I loved, for once in my life. And that was good.
I cried until my eyeliner was rushing down my cheeks, and even more so afterwards.
"Albus Severus...You were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."
With a final cry of "Mischief Managed!" Myself, Nieriel, Devin and Kellyn said our goodbyes to the Wizarding World, and crossed our Dark Marks for one last time.
Thank you, J.K. Rowling.
Thank you.
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