They walk among us...

As I have been re-reading Harry potter and The Half Blood Prince (Book #6) this week in preparation for the final installment, I have witnessed an interesting phenomenon. I have discovered that like magical people living in the muggle world, there are Harry Potter fans lurking the most unexpected places all around us. I have met them at work, on the subway, and generally around town, and there is an immediate kinship that ignites between us when we discover we are both members of the secret Harry Potter loving club. Just today, a guest at my office saw the book lying on my desk, and as a smile spread across her face she quickly reached into her bag to reveal her copy of HBP. On Wednesday, as I emerged from my office into a pouring rainstorm, one of the executives from another company in my building, seeing a copy of the book under my arm, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "have you read it before, so amazing!" I am quickly discovering HP fans in the most unlikely of places and it brings a smile to my face to think of the joy and interest these books have spread across the globe. It is almost as if J.K. Rowling has succeeded in creating an magical population in our everyday world. She has taught us to believe in magic, and somewhere in our minds hold on to the truth that somewhere in the north of England, there really is a remote school called Hogwarts, and it really does educate young witches and wizards. We hold on to this, because somewhere inside of all of us there is a witch (a good witch) or a wizard, yearning to come out!

I have loved the excitement and curiosity these books have generated and soon it will all be over. Soon the last word, on the last page, of the last book in the Harry Potter series will be read, and the story will be told. All of this makes me a little sad, and as much I want to know how the story ends, I don't want the story to end, I just want to keep reading.