By Cynthia Parkhill
To preserve the integrity of my Hogwarts school uniform, its gray components have special dispensation to hang with my red wizarding robes in a closet that is otherwise arranged according to the color wheel.
The release of the final film based on J.K. Rowling”s novels brings to an end obvious occasions to wear the complete ensemble, which means I”ll have to invent some of my own. I”ve accompanied the characters for too many years not to retain an acquaintance with them now.
Assembling the uniform began with asking a local high school principal for a graduate”s robes ? red, of course, for House Gryffindor.
Thrift store acquisitions — tie, blouse and pants — encompassed my ensemble until I embarked on a project to crochet a Hogwarts school cardigan.
I don”t know how I could have considered myself to have a true Hogwarts uniform without this most essential of components, complete with a crest depicting the four Houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
The release of each new book in J.K. Rowling”s series offered me an opportunity to wear the complete ensemble, as did each new film adaptation appearing on the big screen.
Several books had already been released when my husband and I began reading the series together, so we only had to wait for midnight releases of the later books.
Local parties brought unique touches to these major publishing events. At one party, which took place at United Christian Parish, a Top-10 list proclaimed reasons why “Our Headmaster” is more powerful than Lord Voldemort.
“Harry Potter” themed games, such as being sorted into Houses, further lent ambience to the parties I attended, which were hosted by local book stores.
The story told in these seven volumes and eight films covers seven years of Harry Potter”s career at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. One of the things that struck me about the books was the way in which they appeared to age with the characters.
Each volume dealt with themes that were successively more complex. Their vocabularies were increasingly sophisticated. By the fourth book, my husband and I were regularly looking up words.
When we began reading the books, there was some outcry about the presence of magic in the books. While magic was certainly an intrinsic part of the world depicted in these books, what struck me most powerfully were the very human values of loyalty and courage shown by Harry and his friends.
I was so captivated by this world that I adopted Hogwarts as my fictional Alma mater. I was aware that bullying took place at Hogwarts, as evident in the experiences of Severus Snape, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, but the spells that students had as resources to defend themselves were very attractive to me. What student who has ever been put down by her peers, wouldn”t have loved to be able to respond with “Petrificus Totalis!”
The series has come to an end, of course, but “Harry Potter” lives on, free to embark on adventures envisioned in the minds of his fans. There is also J.K. Rowling”s new “Pottermore” website that will be open in October; it is being billed as “a free website that builds an exciting online experience around the reading of the Harry Potter books.”
Viewers have a chance to learn on July 31 how to get the chance to enter Pottermore early. To register your interest in the “Pottermore” site, go to www.pottermore.com/.
Cynthia Parkhill is focus publications editor for the Record-Bee. She can be contacted at rbinfocus@gmail.com. or call he directly at 263-5636 ext. 39.
