Memories formed at HP events

Everyone knows that Harry Potter fans are some of the best people in the world. You can walk into a room of strangers at a Harry Potter event, and by the time you leave you know most of their names and haven’t spent a minute not having anyone to talk to since you arrived. There’s a certain connection we have all formed with each other through these special books that is really interesting. In light of MuggleNet’s upcoming convention, I thought I would reflect on a few of my favorite memories of interactions I’ve had with other fans at Potter events in the past.

When MuggleNet’s What Will Happen In Book 7? came out, I went to my local book store to hear Emerson Spartz and Ben Schoen give a talk about it. I ended up sitting next to this young woman who was a new mother. She had her daughter with her. We naturally fell into conversation since we were seated next to each other. I asked her what her daughter’s name was. She told me it was Lily. I wanted to know if she had named her after Lily Potter, and she told me she had, in a round about way, done just that. Her story was that she kept the audiobooks in her car and listened to them on the way to work. Harry Potter was always playing in the background for every car ride. Her husband came to her one day and said, “What do you think about the name Lily if it’s a girl?” She said she thought Lily became a subconscious namesake because her husband didn’t realize where he had picked up the name. I don’t know why this story stuck with me, but I thought it was interesting how there are subtle influences on us from what we read or hear that last through our whole lives.

Another favorite memory is from Robercon, a convention in my hometown where I served on a Harry Potter panel. It was an all-around fantastic day. None of us wanted to cut the time short; we all were having a great time talking to one another and having discussions about the books and films and the future of the franchise. My favorite part of the day came after we had concluded the panel. We were packing up and vacating so that the next panelists could get started, and two older couples came up to me and started talking. They were so enthusiastic about Harry Potter and had clearly done their homework. They wanted to ask me questions about what I thought of the films since I had introduced myself as a broadcasting and film student. The connection I had with them and the ease in which we were all able to talk about this subject and debate different elements that were added or left out was fantastic. When they were leaving they told me how much they enjoyed the panel and opportunity to just have someone else who cared as much about Harry Potter as they did to talk to.

It’s clear that Harry Potter fans are a special breed of people, and there will always be stories like these that come out of attending events that bring us all together just like the midnight releases used to do. MuggleNet Live! 2015: Expo Patronum is taking place in London on April 18, 2015. For ticket information click here!