The End is Near

It is 10:00 o'clock in the morning of the 19th of July 2007. Exactly 45 hours left before stores open and I will have in my hands the last of the Harry Potter series. I am now seated in my cubicle, my earphones plugged, my iPod playing. I am desperately trying to insulate myself from any slip of the tongue or malicious attempt to spoil for me what I have waited for nearly 7 years (I initially said 8, my mistake) - that is, reading for myself Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I could be writing an essay or working on some contract review, but no, I'm writing this blog to let off some steam.

So this is how it feels to be like paranoid Mad-Eye Moody.

I was in law school in 2000 and I had just shouted at someone for some feeble stuff. I had been holding a grudge against that person for nearly 3 years and shouting at him unhinged all my bitter feelings. I felt good for being able to let it off finally, and yet bad for misbehaving. I found solace at National Bookstore's Quezon Avenue branch, then still unrenovated and warehouse-like. I stumbled upon this paperback, with a ruffled hair nerdy boy in its cover. And what's that - he was on a broomstick. I then recalled having read a Newsweek article about Harry Potter. The paperback was priced at just P195, way cheaper than any other paperback. I bought the book, hoping it could distract me from my anger and start forgiving myself for being "bad." Oh boy, the book did just that - and more!

In a matter of hours, I finished the book. It was an escape, it was indeed magical how it brought to life the imaginative in me. All the studying and reading about crimes of passion, greed and betrayals jarred me, but this book taught me the joy of reading fantasy books, as I wasn't really into it when I was younger as I got hooked into reading in high school and started on the classics. I got a paperback copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, a little bit more expensive than Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Now hooked, I was compelled to buy the hardbound edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for around P800. It was already quite expensive but when Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire became available, it costs P1,200++. Good thing I was already employed so I was able to afford it. The next two books was as thick as Goblet of Fire, and as expensive. I remember it was a Saturday in July 2003 and I was attending a seminar in the office but I sneaked out to go to National Bookstore in Greenbelt to get my reserved copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was eight o'clock in the morning when I got my copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince two years ago. As I had successfully converted my sister into a Harry Potter fanatic like me, I had been buying two hardbound copies of the books since Phoenix.

And now, the end is near. I will finally know what happened to my favorite characters. I guess I couldn't stop people who would want to know what becomes of Harry Potter - will he live or die - before the actual publication as spoilers and pirated copies of the book is all over the net. I'm so tempted to stay home and hibernate, but I guess, I have to endure being vulnerable to spoilers the entire day today and tomorrow.