Fan Focus: Glenn – January 16, 2011

16-year-old Glenn from the United States

 

First off, how did you become a Harry Potter fan?

This one is a bit embarrassing. To be honest, I was not a fan of the series early on. I believe it was in 2000 when my Grandmother bought my Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I do not recall actually reading it for a few years. I remember that I went to go see the film adaptation for the book before I read the book. I may have skimmed the book over, but I know I did not actually read it. Reading did not interest me. When the second movie came out, I went to go see that, but I did not read the book. I liked the movies because they were full of swirling colours and awesome visuals. But that hardly constitutes as me being a fan of the series. The first Harry Potter book that I remember reading in full was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I remember that I was more proud of reading a several hundred page book than I was intrigued by the Harry Potter universe. I think the key moment of my Harry Potter fanaticism began when I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the first time in fourth grade. I thought it was a magnificent story. I think the reason why I was not a fanatic about the series until that point was because I could not comprehend what was being said. I understood the bare plot and, for Harry Potter, that is not very much at all. After finishing the fifth book, I became hooked. I had to see all the upcoming movies on their opening day, if not at midnight, I had to buy the books the day of their release, and I had to talk about the series to anyone that would listen. Ultimately, I believe it was my Grandmother who put the idea of Harry Potter into my head, while it was the fifth book that hooked me for life.

Imagine a world where you are 10 years old and do not know wizards exist. One day, a letter from Hogwarts comes, just for you. Would your reaction be disbelief, like Harry’s? Or something else?

I would have a mixed reaction of disbelief and relief. I would have a hard time believing what was being told to me at first, but I would want something like that to be true so badly that I would be convinced quite easily. And at that point, I would be quite relieved that I was not normal. What is the point in being normal when you can be abnormal!?

Finally convinced that you’re a wizard and are off to a school you’ve never heard of, to do magic that you didn’t believe was possible, you head to Diagon Alley to get some school supplies, including a pet. You can choose from a toad, a cat, or an owl. Which would you choose and why?

I would be a difficult customer and try to convince the merchants that I wanted a cat-owl hybrid. They of course would be telling me that was impossible and I would be whining about how magic can do anything except raise the dead, so why couldn’t a hybrid species be made. After an entertaining debate, I would finally settle on an owl. I love cats, but I would think of them as too ordinary of a pet for magic. An owl would seem either exotic or different. Plus I would have a feeling that the owl merchant would tell me that it could carry my mail. That would make me really happy. I would probably choose a jet-black owl or a fun coloured one. The black one would be really fun for pranks and what not. All of a sudden you get bombarded by dungbombs and you cannot see what did it. Well, it would have been my owl. Shadow.

There are so many new people to meet on the Hogwarts Express! Which Harry Potter character would you become fast friends with and why?

I would be fawning over any Slytherin. That is, until I saw Draco Malfoy. He would be my, well, I would be the Pansy Parkinson to his… Draco. I know he turned out straight, but I would do everything in my power to try and end up with Draco.

You’ve heard so much about a test that you’re going to need to take first thing when you get to Hogwarts! You are terrified until you see that it’s only a hat that sits on your head, and shouts out the house that you’ve been sorted into. What does the hat tell you?

Sharp-tongued, quick thinking on your feet, loyal, full of self-doubt. Better be… SLYTHERIN. (How do I know this? The Sorting Hat at Harry Potter: The Exhibition told me.)

You love ALL of your classes at Hogwarts, learning how to make things fly, and to even fly yourself! There’s just one that you really dread going to, and that class is…?

I would absolutely loathe Herbology. I do not like plants and I do not like going outdoors. I especially do not like things that attack me when I am trying to study them. Honestly, my least favourite class would be a tie between Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology but I think that Herbology would be more revolting to me because of the subject. I at least like some animals.

Congratulations! You made the Quidditch Team for your house, and first year’s NEVER make the team! What position are you playing?

I would be playing Seeker. I have a good eye for small details, I think fast on my feet, and I have a surprisingly good control of my stopping distance (I would not be at the receiving end of a Wronski Feint). I would be unable to focus for the majority of the game unless I was actively involved (therefore Keeper is out). I have terrible accuracy with thrown or hit balls (therefore Beater and Chaser is out). The only position leftover (that I luckily already fit) is Seeker.

Do you have anything else you’d like to add? Maybe a theory you still believe to be true, a shout-out, praise for yours truly?

I’d like to thank the Academy for presenting me with this award. I would also like to thank my Grandmother for buying my Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone when I was a child. Even though she is no longer with us, she still can bring me joy. And I actually do have a delightful theory from the Harry Potter universe! When Harry Potter was “killed” in May 1998, he created a Nobody and was turned into a Heartless. When the soul of Harry Potter finished the discussion with Dumbly-dore, the Heartless regained the soul and became a human again. But, in the creation of the Nobody, Harry Potter has essentially created a Horcrux without killing anyone! He has achieved immortality (until someone kills the Nobody).